The next morning, I woke up feeling lighter than I had over the past few days. Perhaps it was because I had finally made a decision about the trip to the Kingdom of the Giants. Whenever something stayed only in my mind, I tended to overthink it. But once I decided on a course of action, my mind became much calmer.
I got out of bed and prepared to begin another day. The mansion was slowly waking up. Some of the staff were organizing their tasks while the aroma of breakfast spread through the hallways.
When I arrived at the dining room, I found almost all of the girls already gathered.
Scarlett was already arguing with Rai'kanna.
Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the two of them were looking for a reason to argue.
Elara watched everything while sipping her tea.
Lyannis was reading a book.
Vespera remained as silent as ever.
Liriel was sitting by the window, looking out at the garden through the glass.
I greeted everyone and took my seat.
Breakfast passed peacefully.
After the meal, each of them began going about their own activities.
I remained seated for a few moments, watching the activity around the mansion.
Then a memory surfaced in my mind.
An old promise.
A promise I still hadn't fulfilled.
I spent a few seconds trying to piece the memory together.
Then I finally remembered.
Liriel's assistant.
It had been a long time since I had last seen her.
In fact, ever since our journey had become increasingly intense, we had hardly had any opportunity to meet again.
Between missions, wars, training, and battles against demon generals, many things had ended up being postponed.
I stood up from my chair.
I knew exactly who I needed to talk to.
I found Liriel in the mansion gardens.
She was sitting beneath the shade of a tree while admiring some flowers.
That scene suited her perfectly.
Liriel had always given off a sense of tranquility.
I approached slowly.
"May I sit down?"
She smiled.
"Of course."
I sat beside her.
For a few moments, we simply looked at the garden.
The wind gently swayed the leaves of the trees.
The surroundings were quiet.
It was hard to believe that this very world was fighting a war against the Demon King.
"Liriel."
"Hm?"
"Do you remember your assistant?"
She turned toward me.
"What about her?"
"Actually, nothing."
I scratched the back of my neck lightly.
"I was just thinking that it's been a long time since we last saw her."
Liriel seemed to think for a few moments.
"That's true."
"Actually, I think I promised we'd spend more time together once things became more peaceful."
She continued looking at me.
Then a small smile appeared on her face.
"You remembered that?"
"Of course."
Maybe it had taken me longer than it should have.
But I truly hadn't forgotten.
A lot had happened over the past few months.
Even so, that promise had remained somewhere in my memory.
Liriel lowered her gaze for a few moments.
"She would probably be happy to hear that."
"Then get in touch with her."
The goddess blinked a few times.
"Now?"
"Why not?"
She let out a soft laugh.
"You can still be impulsive sometimes."
"I don't think that's a flaw."
"That depends on the situation."
I laughed as well.
Liriel then fell silent for a few moments.
Her gaze became slightly distant.
I already knew what that meant.
She was using magic to establish contact.
I watched the garden while I waited.
A few minutes passed.
Then she focused her attention on me once more.
"I managed to speak with her."
"And?"
Liriel seemed a little hesitant.
"She said she'd like to come."
"Great."
"But there's a problem."
I folded my arms.
"What problem?"
"She's still responsible for various duties in the divine realm."
I thought for a few seconds.
Then a simple idea came to mind.
"Can't she use that ability?"
"Ability?"
"The one that creates a copy."
Liriel blinked.
"You're talking about duplication?"
"Exactly."
She spent a few moments thinking.
The more she considered it, the more it seemed like a simple solution.
After all, I had already seen far more unbelievable powers being used.
A temporary duplicate didn't seem impossible.
Liriel placed one hand on her chin.
"Actually..."
"What?"
"That might work."
I smiled.
"Then it's settled."
She let out an amused sigh.
"You really like simplifying everything."
"It works most of the time."
"Not always."
"Most of the time is good enough."
Liriel ended up laughing.
Shortly afterward, she established contact once again.
This time the conversation seemed much shorter.
When it ended, she opened her eyes.
"So?"
"She accepted."
"Great."
"Actually..."
"What?"
Liriel smiled.
"She seemed quite excited."
That didn't surprise me.
After all, it had been a long time since we had seen each other.
Besides, she had probably been following everything that had been happening in the world.
Perhaps she was curious to see for herself how much things had changed.
"When will she arrive?"
"Soon."
"How soon is soon?"
Liriel looked up at the sky.
"Considering who she is..."
Before she could finish her sentence, I felt a faint ripple of mana spread through the surroundings.
I looked around.
So did Liriel.
A few seconds later, a gentle light appeared in the garden.
It appeared quietly.
Without explosions.
Without exaggerated effects.
Just a familiar presence appearing before us.
The assistant had arrived.
She looked around for a few moments.
Then her eyes met mine.
A smile immediately appeared on her face.
"It's been quite a long time."
I stood up.
"It really has."
She walked toward us.
For a few moments, I had the feeling that many things had changed since our last meeting.
But at the same time, it felt as though nothing had changed.
The familiarity was still there.
"I see you're doing well."
"I'm trying."
She studied my face.
Then she folded her arms.
"You've changed."
"For better or for worse?"
"Definitely stronger."
I couldn't help but smile.
"You could tell that so quickly?"
"I didn't even have to look very hard."
She then turned her attention to the rest of the mansion.
"Besides, I've been following everything that happened."
"So you saw the war."
"I did."
Her expression grew a little more serious.
"I also saw the battle against Vaelthor."
That immediately brought the fight back to my mind.
A battle that had nearly cost us victory more than once.
"It was complicated."
"I noticed."
She looked at me again.
"But you've grown a lot."
Before I could respond, she continued.
"Not just you."
Her gaze swept across the garden.
"The others have as well."
I nodded.
That was true.
All of us had changed.
All of us had become stronger.
Not only in power.
But as people as well.
The assistant looked around the mansion once again.
"By the way..."
"What?"
"I have to admit something."
"Go ahead."
She pointed toward the building.
"This is very different from what I expected."
I looked at the mansion.
It really was large.
Comfortable.
Far removed from the life we had when we first started.
"Well, a lot has happened."
"I can see that."
She began walking slowly through the gardens.
We followed her.
As we walked, I showed her various parts of the estate.
The gardens.
The training grounds.
The auxiliary buildings.
The interior corridors.
She looked at everything with genuine curiosity.
At times, she even seemed surprised.
"You've really become rich."
I couldn't help laughing.
"When you say it like that, it sounds strange."
"But it's true."
Maybe it was.
Compared to the clumsy group we used to be, our current situation was completely different.
We continued talking for most of the afternoon.
She asked about many different things.
About the war.
About the lands.
About our adventures.
About the girls.
About Vailor.
In return, she also told us stories about what had happened while she remained at her post.
When the sun began approaching the horizon, we returned to the mansion.
Dinner was lively.
The girls quickly included her in their conversations.
The atmosphere became livelier than usual.
It was as though an old friend had returned after a long journey.
When night finally arrived, I felt that the mansion was more alive.
Perhaps because it had been a long time since we had received a visitor like this.
Perhaps because everyone was genuinely happy to see her again.
As I watched the scene, I realized I had made the right decision by asking Liriel to contact her.
It had been far too long.
And now, at last, she was here again.
At the end of the evening, as the conversations began to quiet down and everyone prepared to rest, the assistant looked at me and the others.
Then she smiled.
"I'll accept the invitation."
I blinked a few times.
"Invitation?"
"To stay here for a few days."
I looked at Liriel.
She simply smiled.
I turned my attention back to the assistant.
"Are you sure?"
"I am."
Her smile widened slightly.
"It's been a long time since I've taken a vacation."