“Do you remember the troublesome trio I mentioned were being raised elsewhere?”

I immediately recalled what the Guildmaster had said.

“Yes! The ones who fought and damaged the furniture?”

“You remember. One of them made a complete mess of my house. It wasn’t easy cleaning up.”

So it wasn’t because of business, but because of pets?

He didn’t come to see me… just because his house was in a mess?

Not only was that incomprehensible, but it also strangely upset me.

After asking me to make him number one, he treats me as a lower priority!

I gave a bitter smile.

“Couldn’t you have hired someone?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m going to use someone else starting today.”

The Guildmaster either pretended not to notice my sarcasm or genuinely didn’t notice, responding casually.

That only made me more annoyed.

“You must have found a good employee.”

“Indeed. A beautiful woman with experience in taking care of troublesome children.”

“A woman?”

And even a beautiful woman at that?

My temper flared at those words. At the same time, I felt disappointed in the Guildmaster, and the situation was frustrating.

The good atmosphere from earlier seemed to have shattered.

“Then I’ll go handle the task you requested. I also need to check if the woman I hired is taking good care of the troublemakers.”

The Guildmaster rose without hesitation.

In just two steps, he moved away from the desk and was about to pass by me who was sitting across from him.

“Dear?”

At that call, I realized what I had done. Without knowing, I had firmly grabbed the hem of his robe.

“Don’t go.”

“But Duncan…”

“Send another employee for that.”

“….”

“Can’t you stay with me?”

“….”

“Stay with me until we meet Duncan.”

I looked up at him.

I belatedly thought that my sincerity, which had flowed out without restraint, might have been too much.

Since the Guildmaster was like the wind, he might find such whining burdensome.

But paradoxically, because I felt hurt by him, I had to hold onto him.

I wanted to be a higher priority to him than a messy house or another woman.

Waiting for his response, I swallowed hard.

The Guildmaster spoke without removing his robe from my grip.

“Promise me, make such requests only to me.”

I nodded. Because right now, he was the only man I wanted to stay with.

***

As the battle dragged on, more people fell. All the Espers and Guides who had entered the battlefield were exhausted.

The fortunate thing amid all this was that they had managed to slaughter almost all of the S-class monsters that had appeared in large numbers.

Now only the eight-legged spider monster ‘Tarantula’ remained.

“I’m going to push the poison away with wind, so if you don’t want to die, hold your breath for a moment!”

Baron shouted loudly as he gathered the surrounding air.

Then he created a strong wind to drive away the poisonous smoke leaking from the Tarantula’s mouth.

As if mocking Baron, the Tarantula opened its mouth even wider.

─Gyaaaaaang!

Purple, sticky liquid began shooting out from the creature’s mouth.

It was a powerful poison that could melt internal organs if it made direct contact.

The Guides who couldn’t participate in combat were able to avoid the poison as they were waiting at a distance.

But the situation was different for the Espers who were facing the Tarantula.

While Baron and Lambert quickly dodged the rapidly shooting poison, several exhausted Espers were hit by the poison and screamed.

“Injured ones, get back! Get back quickly!”

Though his words were rough, Baron was using his telekinesis to throw various debris to draw the Tarantula’s attention.

“Lambert, you go get guided too. Don’t be stubborn like last time and collapse somewhere unnecessary. Everyone’s about to die here!”

“I’m not injured like last time.”

It meant he wouldn’t receive guiding.

Seems he’d forgotten about getting badly hurt in the previous battle.

What a stubborn fool. Would he only come to his senses after dying?

Baron clicked his tongue and stepped back a couple of paces.

“Then you deal with the poison spider. Unlike you, I need to get guided.”

“Oh.”

Baron retreated a bit further and reached out his hand to the temporary Guide of the Allen Knights.

“Guide me.”

Though he pretended to be tough and strong in front of Lambert and the other Espers, Baron’s condition wasn’t good either.

Baron’s vision was slightly blurry from overusing his telekinesis. Though he wasn’t injured, his mind was extremely fatigued.

Baron roughly rubbed his flickering eyes with his remaining hand.

He thought if he received guiding to stabilize his wavelength, he might be able to hold out for a few more minutes.

‘…Benjamin would probably come just before I die.’

I’d rather die than rely on that bastard. But it felt like this fight wouldn’t end without Benjamin showing up.

But wait. Why is the Guide I asked for guiding so quiet?

Baron stopped rubbing his eyes and looked toward the Guide.

“Hey! What are you doing? …Huh?”

Baron’s expression crumpled harshly mid-shout. The temporary Guide he looked at had fainted.

Since they looked fine externally, they probably weren’t injured but either ran out of energy or fainted from shock at this horrific situation.

At that moment, without being able to stop the flow of thoughts, he remembered Yerena.

‘Yerena never even flinched.’

No matter how frightening the situation, even when pushed into a corner, Yerena always kept her wits about her.

And without being asked, she would provide guiding whenever his wavelength became unstable.

Though he hated to admit it, she really did have good intuition.

Baron tightly gripped his cold hand.

His empty hand, held by no one, seemed particularly lonely today.

“Where are you hiding! Damn it.”

He still thought Duncan was hiding the living Yerena somewhere.

Since Benjamin was investigating Duncan with the palace investigators, clues to find her would be discovered soon.

That meticulous Benjamin must have considered that far.

While tormenting Duncan, he must be ransacking the Center to find traces of the disappeared Yerena.

‘By the way, why isn’t that damn Benjamin coming yet. Haa.’

As he sighed while looking up at the blue sky, that’s when it happened.

He saw a Ptero carrying someone approaching the battlefield.

“Benjamin? No… that bastard doesn’t ride anything like birds, who is it?”

Finally, the Ptero landed on the ground.

It was near where Baron had retreated to receive guiding.

Baron narrowed his eyes as he watched the person on the Ptero.

The person securely mounted on the Ptero was a woman.

Baron watched as the woman descended from the Ptero’s back.

Silver hair flowing softly with her movements, small feet stepping lightly on the ground, the gesture of brushing back fallen hair was full of grace.

The woman seemed to sense his presence and looked his way.

The moment their eyes met, Baron felt like he might faint like the temporary Guide.

He stood frozen stiff, unable to take his eyes off the woman’s face.

Through his clenched teeth came a name he thought he’d never call again.

“…D-Diana?”

She looked similar.

No, beyond similar, her appearance was exactly the same.

He had no doubt that if Diana hadn’t died and had grown up, she would look exactly like the woman who appeared now.

Perhaps that’s why it felt like Diana had returned alive.

Was he seeing things because his vision was too blurry?

Surprised, sad, and somehow with a numbing chest, Baron couldn’t move an inch.

If he uttered another word, he felt tears would burst forth.

He absolutely hated acting weak by crying…

The woman’s eyes, reminiscent of verdant green, came closer and closer. Because she was walking toward him.

Before he could stop her, he found himself face-to-face with her.

The woman’s face was too clear to be an illusion.

Her white skin gleamed, and his own reflection was visible in her clear eyes. His dumbfounded face with slightly parted lips.

She wasn’t an illusion or fake.

The woman was real.

And she looked unbelievably similar to Diana.

He couldn’t deny these facts.

Baron collapsed sitting right there. The woman worried about his sudden collapse.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt somewhere?”

Her pleasant voice resonated in his ears.

Baron once again uttered that name he had longed for.

“Diana…”

The woman remained impassive at the unfamiliar name, showing no sign of surprise. Only a strange light flickered in those clear eyes.

At her attitude suggesting this wasn’t an unfamiliar name, Baron muttered like a madman.

“Could you really be Diana?”