"No."
Captain Shin calmly shook his head before continuing.
"It's one of the new creators."
For a brief moment...
Silence settled inside the room.
Gray had already told me that while I had been away, two new creators had arrived at HQ. One supposedly possessed an affinity for every elemental attribute, something rare enough to sound almost impossible. The other...
Well...
Gray hadn't said much about that one.
In fact, he seemed to know almost nothing.
Which meant...
Whoever was about to walk through that door was a complete mystery to both of us.
I unconsciously found myself staring toward the entrance.
Excitement?
Curiosity?
Maybe even a little anxiety.
Who would it be?
Someone easy to get along with?
Or another troublesome person whose personality would give everyone headaches?
Before either of us could continue guessing...
A soft knock echoed through the office.
Knock.
Knock.
The sound was surprisingly gentle.
Captain Shin raised his eyes from the documents resting on his desk.
"...Come in."
The handle slowly turned.
For some reason...
Time itself seemed to slow down.
I glanced toward Gray.
He was staring at the door just as seriously as I was.
Our eyes met for only a second.
Neither of us spoke.
We didn't need to.
Both of us were thinking the exact same thing.
"Let's see what kind of creator this is."
The wooden door slowly opened.
Then...
Our expectations completely shattered.
Standing at the entrance wasn't some experienced warrior.
Nor an old creator with an overwhelming aura.
It was...
A young girl.
She couldn't have been older than fourteen or fifteen.
Long brown hair rested neatly over her shoulders, while a large pointed hat covered the top of her head. Combined with the black dress decorated by small silver stars, she looked less like a creator...
And more like someone wearing a witch's costume for a festival.
For several seconds...
Nobody said anything.
Her bright brown eyes curiously observed the three of us.
Meanwhile...
Gray and I quietly lost all the excitement we had built up moments earlier.
"...We're babysitting."
Gray whispered under his breath.
I quietly elbowed him.
"Don't say that."
"What?"
"You were thinking it too."
...
Unfortunately...
He wasn't wrong.
The girl slowly stepped inside before stopping a short distance away.
She looked at each of us one by one without speaking.
There wasn't fear inside her eyes.
Only curiosity.
Maybe...
She was observing us just as much as we were observing her.
I decided to smile first.
No matter who she was, she was about to travel with complete strangers into another realm.
Creators rarely arrived in the Imagery World with carrying some kind of burden.
Perhaps...
She had one too.
The moment she saw me smiling...
Her face immediately brightened.
With cheerful energy that completely filled the room, she raised one hand.
"Nice to meet you!"
"My name is Alysa!"
She happily spun once before grinning.
"Let's make this journey an exciting one!"
"..."
That...
Was certainly one way to introduce yourself.
Gray immediately matched her enthusiasm.
"Haha! That's the spirit!"
He proudly pointed at himself.
"I'm Gray!"
"And I have to say..."
"Alysa is a really nice name."
His smile looked so natural that I almost believed he had rehearsed those words beforehand.
I looked toward him.
Behave yourself.
She was still a kid.
Gray noticed my expression before awkwardly coughing.
"...What?"
I ignored him before turning back toward Alysa.
"My name is Zaraf."
I offered my hand.
"We'll be traveling together."
"So..."
"Let's watch out for each other."
She happily shook my hand without hesitation.
"Okay!"
Simple.
Honest.
There wasn't a trace of doubt in her answer.
Captain Shin quietly watched the interaction before finally standing up from his chair.
"Now that everyone's here..."
He looked at each of us.
"Are you ready..."
"...to venture beyond the Imagery World?"
The atmosphere immediately changed.
The cheerful mood disappeared.
This wasn't another ordinary mission.
For the first time...
We would be entering another realm.
Together.
Almost instinctively...
The three of us answered at the same time.
"Yes."
Captain Shin nodded once.
"Follow me."
The headquarters gradually disappeared behind us as we walked toward the outermost border of the Imagery World.
The further we walked...
The quieter everything became.
Eventually, even the wind seemed to lower its voice.
Alysa walked several steps ahead of us, looking around with sparkling eyes as if every flower and every tree were something worth remembering.
Gray walked beside me.
"So..."
He quietly spoke.
"What do you think?"
"About?"
"Our little teammate."
I glanced toward Alysa.
"...Too early to judge."
Gray laughed.
"That's a very Zaraf answer."
Along the way, we talked little by little.
Mostly simple conversations.
Favorite foods.
Different creator worlds.
Small stories.
Enough to make the long walk feel shorter.
Surprisingly...
Even Gray admitted this was his first time meeting Alysa.
She had apparently spoken only with Captain Shin after arriving at HQ before immediately disappearing again.
Meaning...
All three of us were strangers.
Yet somehow...
That didn't feel uncomfortable.
Maybe because Alysa had a strange talent for making conversations feel easy.
After nearly an hour...
The scenery finally changed.
The road ended.
Beyond it stood enormous stone cliffs stretching endlessly toward the sky.
Ancient symbols covered their surface.
They looked worn by time itself.
As though they had stood there since before
Two familiar figures were already waiting.
"Lusy."
"...Master."
They turned toward us.
Lusy smiled gently.
"So..."
"You really made it."
Master simply nodded.
His usual calm expression hadn't changed.
Alysa politely greeted them before curiously looking around.
Gray stretched his arms.
"This place..."
"It's surprisingly quiet."
"It has to be."
Lusy replied.
"The Fairy Realm is closest to the Imagery World here."
"Any unnecessary disturbance could affect the border."
Her words immediately made everyone look around more carefully.
The atmosphere here...
Really did feel different.
The air itself seemed heavier.
Almost sacred.
Lusy folded her arms while looking toward the three of us.
"The Fairy Realm is much larger than the Imagery World."
"So..."
"Try not to get lost."
She suddenly paused.
"...And..."
She frowned.
"...Hmm..."
Several seconds passed.
"...I forgot what else I wanted to say."
Gray blinked.
"...Seriously?"
She confidently nodded.
"It'll come back eventually."
"...Probably."
Gray looked completely speechless.
Meanwhile...
I quietly walked toward Master.
He looked at me.
"So."
"You remember what we talked about?"
I nodded without hesitation.
"Yes."
"And this time..."
"I'll do it properly."
His eyes calmly observed mine.
After several moments...
A small smile finally appeared.
"Good."
Then he lightly patted my shoulder.
"And don't lose to their children."
"...Come back safely."
I couldn't help smiling.
"I'll try."
Nearby...
Captain Shin slowly stepped toward the enormous stone wall standing before us.
He raised one hand.
Without saying a single word...
He gently placed his palm against the ancient surface.
The symbols engraved across the cliff suddenly began glowing with deep violet light.
The entire mountain trembled.
A low vibration echoed through the ground beneath our feet.
Then...
The stone slowly split apart.
Not by breaking...
But by opening.
As though invisible doors hidden inside the mountain had finally awakened after countless years.
A deep purple light poured from the darkness beyond.
Moments later...
A portal revealed itself.
It wasn't beautiful.
Nor welcoming.
It radiated overwhelming pressure.
Simply standing before it made breathing feel strangely difficult.
Unlike the portals creators normally used to travel between worlds...
This one felt...
Ancient.
Heavy.
As if it connected not two places...
But two completely different realities.
Even Alysa became unusually quiet.
Captain Shin stepped before the portal one last time.
"I suppose..."
"I should leave you with a few final pieces of advice."
His voice became more serious than ever before.
"First."
"No matter what the fairies say..."
"No matter how much they provoke you..."
"Keep a calm mind."
"Not every insult deserves an answer."
"Especially not with violence."
The three of us silently nodded.
"Second..."
He looked toward the swirling darkness.
"Once you enter..."
"Time will become strange."
"It may feel like only a few hours."
"But by the time you arrive..."
"Nearly two days will have passed."
Gray frowned.
"...Seriously?"
Shin simply nodded.
"So don't panic."
"Just enjoy the journey."
Then...
His expression became unusually firm.
"Lastly..."
His eyes slowly swept across each of us.
"Do."
"Not."
"Get involved..."
"...In Fairy Realm politics."
The way he emphasized every word made my chest tighten.
It wasn't ordinary advice.
It sounded like experience.
Like regret.
Whatever had happened between the two realms...
It clearly wasn't something simple.
I nodded.
"I understand."
Captain Shin looked relieved.
"Good."
"The rest..."
He glanced toward the portal.
"...Elta will explain once you arrive."
The moment those words ended...
A familiar fluttering sound echoed through the air.
Tale appeared beside Gray, lazily floating with his hands behind his head.
Almost at the same time...
A tiny fairy emerged beside Alysa.
Unlike Tale's relaxed attitude...
She excitedly circled around Alysa several times before happily landing on her shoulder.
I couldn't help staring at them.
Soon...
We would be entering their world.
Would they hate creators?
Would they welcome us?
Or...
Would we simply be outsiders walking into a place where we didn't belong?
Captain Shin took one final step backward.
His voice echoed across the silent border.
"...Good luck."
"Go."
Before anyone could react...
Alysa suddenly laughed.
"Last one there loses!"
Without waiting for permission...
She sprinted forward.
Then jumped straight into the portal.
"...She's really excited."
Gray chuckled before smiling.
"Guess I can't lose to a kid."
He followed immediately after.
Now...
Only I remained.
I turned around one last time.
Master.
Lusy.
Captain Shin.
All of them quietly watched us leave.
I smiled.
"I'll see all of you..."
"...in a few days."
At least...
That's what I believed at the time.
None of us knew...
That this farewell would last far longer than any of us had imagined.
Taking a slow breath...
I stepped into the ancient portal.
And the Fairy Realm welcomed me with darkness.