The market was alive.
Voices filled the air from every direction—merchants shouting their prices, children running between crowded stalls, and the steady clatter of wooden carts rolling across stone roads. The smell of roasted meat drifted through the crowd, mixing with the scent of fresh bread, spices, and fruit piled high in colorful baskets.
Everything moved.
Everything breathed.
Everything was loud.
And for Vein—
it felt wonderful.
He stood there for a moment, simply watching.
After everything that had happened in the forest—the suffocating silence that had nearly killed them—this noise felt warm, safe, alive.
Out there, there had been nothing.
No birds.
No insects.
No wind.
Only the quiet presence of death waiting somewhere unseen.
But here—
life existed everywhere.
People laughed. Merchants argued. Somewhere down the street, a blacksmith hammered iron, the sharp rhythm echoing like the steady heartbeat of the town.
Vein exhaled slowly.
His shoulders relaxed.
For the first time since leaving the farm, the tightness in his chest began to fade.
Beside him, Rosa walked with small, excited steps, her drawing clutched carefully in both hands. Her eyes darted everywhere, taking in every detail.
"Brother Vein, look!"
She pointed toward a stall filled with colorful ribbons, then another stacked with baked pastries, then toward a cage of small white birds chirping loudly.
Everything fascinated her.
Kael walked ahead of them casually, his hands resting behind his head, completely at ease—as if this were nothing more than a peaceful stroll instead of a quiet aftermath of survival.
"So this is the town market," he said lightly. "Haven't seen this place in five years."
He glanced around.
"Still crowded."
Rosa tugged Vein's sleeve gently.
"The post office is this way!"
She pointed down a street lined with wooden shops. A small sign hung ahead, marked with the painted symbol of an envelope.
The town's post office.
Kael nodded.
"Well then. Lead the way."
And the three of them moved together through the crowded street, heading toward the place where Rosa planned to send her drawing to someone far away.
—
Rosa stopped in front of the post office.
A red wooden box stood beside the entrance, its paint slightly faded from years of sun and rain.
The town's mailbox.
She held her drawing carefully and looked at it one more time.
Five figures.
Pink.
Black.
Blue.
Gray.
Yellow.
Then she lifted it and slid it through the slot.
The paper disappeared inside with a soft sound.
Rosa smiled.
"Now Mama will get it."
Kael leaned casually against the post box.
"Hopefully."
Vein glanced through the open door.
Inside, letters were everywhere—stacked on desks, bundled with string, scattered across shelves and tables. There were far more than he expected a small town to handle.
For a moment, he wondered how many of those letters had been written by Rosa.
Small drawings.
Simple messages.
Sent again and again.
Waiting for someone far away to answer.
He said nothing.
He simply watched.
Then Rosa tugged Kael's sleeve again.
"Look!"
She pointed down the street.
A small stall stood between two shops. A man spun sugar inside a metal bowl, thin white threads gathering on a stick.
Cotton candy.
Bright colors hung in soft clouds—yellow, blue, pink.
Rosa's eyes sparkled.
Kael chuckled.
"Well… looks like we found the next stop."
—
A few minutes later, they stood beside the stall.
Rosa held a pink cotton candy almost as big as her head.
Kael held a yellow one.
Vein had the blue one.
At least—
that had been the plan.
Vein stared at the fluffy sugar in front of him.
Both of his hands were still wrapped tightly in bandages.
"…right."
He couldn't hold it.
Kael noticed immediately and shrugged.
"Well, that's inconvenient."
He tore off a small piece of the cotton candy and held it toward Vein.
"Open."
Vein blinked.
"…what?"
"Open."
Kael said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Rosa giggled beside them.
Vein hesitated.
This situation felt… absurd.
A Royal Knight.
Feeding him cotton candy.
In the middle of a crowded market.
But after a moment, Vein sighed and leaned forward slightly.
The sugar melted instantly on his tongue—sweet, light, disappearing almost the moment it touched his mouth.
Rosa laughed.
Kael smirked.
"Told you."
"Best medicine after fighting giant monsters."
Vein stared at him, then glanced down at the blue cotton candy again.
Still strange.
Very strange.
But somehow—
after everything that had happened in the forest—
this ridiculous moment
didn't feel so bad.
—
They continued walking through the market.
Rosa skipped ahead beside Kael, her pink cotton candy slowly shrinking with every bite. Kael occasionally pulled small pieces from his own—sometimes even from Vein's—and Rosa laughed every time Vein made a confused expression.
The market remained loud, warm, alive. Merchants shouted, coins clinked, footsteps echoed across the stone road.
For a moment, Vein allowed himself to relax.
Then—
he saw her.
At first, it was only a glimpse between moving figures. A familiar shade of hair. A silhouette he knew too well.
Vein stopped.
His eyes focused through the shifting crowd.
There.
At a small stall near the corner of the street.
Elna.
She sat behind a wooden table surrounded by baskets filled with fruit—red apples, golden pears, purple berries stacked in neat rows, small crates of oranges and peaches.
She was selling fruit.
But something was different.
She wasn't standing.
Elna sat in a strange wooden chair that hovered slightly above the ground. A faint glow of mana shimmered beneath it, holding the structure a few inches in the air. It drifted gently when she moved, like a small boat floating on still water.
Vein stared.
His chest tightened.
Before he realized it, his feet had already begun to move.
He walked toward her, leaving Kael and Rosa behind. They were still laughing about something, Rosa pointing excitedly at another stall while Kael pretended to steal her cotton candy.
Neither of them noticed him leave.
Step by step, the noise of the market faded from Vein's ears.
Until he stood in front of the stall.
Elna was arranging fruit carefully, her fingers moving slowly, precisely, as if focusing on that alone.
Then she noticed the shadow in front of her.
Her hand stopped.
Slowly, she looked up.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The market continued around them—but between the two of them, everything felt quiet again.
—
Vein stood there, unsure of what to say.
The noise returned faintly to his ears—voices, coins, footsteps—but it all felt distant.
"…Elna."
The name slipped out softly.
Elna blinked.
Then, suddenly, she tilted her head.
A playful smile formed.
"Hm?"
She looked around exaggeratedly.
"Who's Elna?"
She tapped her chin lightly.
"Oh! Maybe you mean Elna's little sister."
Her tone was casual. Light.
"Elna isn't here today. She's not feeling well. Resting at an inn."
She shrugged.
"You must have mistaken me."
The smile remained.
But her eyes—
didn't match it.
She let out a short laugh.
Almost forced.
Then fell silent.
Vein didn't laugh.
He didn't move.
He only looked at her.
"…what happened to you?"
The question came quietly.
Elna's fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the table.
She didn't answer.
Instead, she reached quickly toward a basket.
"Hey, look."
She picked up a fruit—round, bright orange.
"You should try this one. It's new."
"Sweet and sour. Really good."
Her voice steadied again, as if she had already decided to change the subject.
But Vein didn't take it.
"…Elna."
She froze.
Vein took a breath.
"I'm glad I met you again."
Simple words.
Honest.
Nothing complicated.
But Elna's shoulders trembled.
Her head lowered.
Her fingers tightened around the fruit.
"…idiot."
Her voice cracked.
"Why would you say something like that…"
Her shoulders shook.
"…of course I'm happy to see you too."
A small sob escaped her.
She looked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks—yet she was smiling.
A real smile.
One Vein hadn't seen since before the forest.
Vein stepped closer, slowly, carefully.
He wanted to hug her.
But both of his arms were still wrapped in bandages.
Useless.
He stopped in front of her.
Unable to move further.
Elna looked at him.
Then—
she leaned forward.
Her arms wrapped around him tightly.
She hugged him first, pressing her face against his shoulder.
Her body trembled.
But she didn't let go.
For a moment, the market noise faded again.
Only the quiet rhythm of her breathing remained.
—
Not far away, Rosa's voice echoed across the street.
"Brother Kael, where is Brother Vein?"
She looked around curiously.
Kael followed her gaze.
Then he saw them.
Across the street—Vein and Elna standing close, Elna holding him tightly.
Kael blinked.
Then a small smile formed.
He gently turned Rosa's head away.
"Hm… looks like Brother Vein went to the bathroom."
He pointed casually toward another stall filled with bright colors—rows of candy, sugar treats, chocolate sticks.
"And look over there. Candy."
Rosa's eyes widened instantly.
"Candy?!"
Kael nodded.
"Yep. Let's go check it out."
Rosa grabbed his sleeve excitedly.
"Okay!"
The two of them walked off toward the stall, laughing, chatting, leaving the fruit stand behind.
And in the middle of the crowded market—
two people stood quietly together.
Holding onto each other.
Not to escape.
Not to survive.
But to confirm something simple.
Something fragile.
That after everything they had endured—
they were both
still here.