Allen narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the scene before him. What lay ahead was the Frontier. It felt like it had been a long time since he had last seen it, and in truth, it had been a while. The fact that it didn’t feel so long was probably proof that the journey itself had been fulfilling.
As he pondered this, he felt someone’s eye on him from the side. Turning his head, he found Noel, not even trying to hide her discontent.
“You look...kind of displeased,” he said.
“Of course I am. After all that thinking, after finally making up my mind...” Noel replied.
“This feels like cheating,” said Mylène bluntly.
“I’d have to agree with her. Traveling back by teleportation, is that even fair?” said Anriette.
Allen had returned them to the Frontier town by teleportation. That way, Noel’s reappearance in the kingdom would not be detected by the empire, since she wouldn’t have passed through a checkpoint. It should have been a great solution.
“Sure, no problem. But that doesn’t mean it feels right,” said Anriette.
“It’s only natural to wonder what all that agonizing was for. Not a waste of time, but...” Noel trailed off.
“And you didn’t say a word until right before,” murmured Mylène.
“I thought it would be better not to,” Allen answered.
Noel had been genuinely troubled. Allen didn’t know exactly what had been weighing on her mind, but he’d thought it best not to interfere. And since she wasn’t truly angry now, just complaining, it seemed he had been right.
“Well, anyway, we’ve made it back. What are you planning to do now?” All Allen had heard was that she’d decided to return to the kingdom. He hadn’t asked what she intended once she got there. After all her agonizing, surely she had some plan in mind.
“What I’m planning now, huh? Well, let’s see...” said Noel.
“Wait. You don’t mean to say you haven’t thought that far, do you?” said Anriette, incredulous.
“After all that worrying?” Allen added.
“What I struggled with was only whether to come back here at all.”
“So you weren’t weighing any particular reason, just whether or not to return in the first place?” he asked.
“That’s right.”
Her unexpected answer made the others exchange glances. So, she had decided to return but with no plan beyond that.
“Should we just go back over there, then?” asked Allen.
“If anyone’s going back, it should be her. My part’s done, and I’ve got no reason to return,” said Anriette.
“Maybe the Elven Forest would be a better place to return to?”
“Yes, perhaps. It might be worth reporting back, just in case.”
Though they had gone straight to town without stopping by the forest to avoid dragging the elves into trouble, perhaps a quick visit back would be best if Noel really had no plans.
“Hold on. I’m not going back. All I’d get is a scolding, and it’d just be a hassle,” Noel said.
“Still...if you don’t know when you’ll return, isn’t that a problem? I figured this was just a short stay, which would be easy enough to explain away. But if it’s indefinite...”
“It’s fine. My visit won’t take that long.”
Allen wasn’t sure what she meant, but at least she didn’t seem as aimless as she’d sounded at first. Either way, if she had a reason for keeping her goals to herself (or perhaps she didn’t even know her goals yet) there was no need to push it.
“All right, that’s fine. Just...when you do go back, tell me ahead of time. If you pass through a checkpoint, things could get...difficult,” Allen warned her.
“That could cause more problems than just returning here,” Noel murmured.
“Exactly. You’d have no record of leaving, yet you’d suddenly be back. They’d demand to know how you got out undetected. Definitely a mess.”
“You’re right. When the time comes, I’ll let you know. Sorry to trouble you.”
“No, this is more than half my responsibility. I’ll see it through.” Since Allen had been the one to teleport her there, it was only right he took responsibility for it. “One thing, though. Please tell me at least a day in advance. If you get in touch on the same day, I might not even be around.”
“Reasonable. You’re likely to be off on jobs, maybe away for days at a time.”
“I wouldn’t take anything that lengthy, but there’s always a possibility that I might be delayed. Even if you leave a message at the guild, I might not see it in time. So the day before would be best.” As Allen thought this over, he noticed Noel looking thoughtful. “What is it?”
“Well...it just occurred to me. You’re staying at some random inn right now, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“And when we left, you intended to keep using our old place, didn’t you?”
“Noel...you’re not planning something strange, are you?” asked Mylène.
“It’s not strange. I was just thinking, why not move in a little earlier?”
“Excuse me?”
Her meaning was clear enough. She was suggesting that Allen stay with them.
“That’s more than a little strange. What are you even saying?” said Anriette.
“I’m suggesting the most efficient option. That way, you’ll know right away when I decide to go back. You’d only be shifting your base a bit sooner.”
“That may be true, but...” said Allen.
“This feels reckless,” said Mylène.
“Does it? Do we really need that kind of caution anymore?” asked Noel.
“Maybe not,” Mylène conceded.
She had a point. They’d already shared a house in the Elven Forest, and on the road they’d often slept even closer together. In that sense, it really was too late to start being cautious now.
“Still...” said Anriette.
“If it bothers you, you can stay too,” Noel said, turning to Anriette.
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes. We’ve rented more space than we need, so there are spare rooms. You don’t have an inn tonight anyway, do you?”
“True, I left my last one.”
“Noel?” Mylène gave her a questioning look, head tilted.
Noel only shrugged. Whether there was some deeper thought behind it or not, she didn’t elaborate.
Anriette, too, studied her suspiciously for a while before sighing in resignation. “Well, it’s not a bad offer for me. I’ll take it. What’s the rent?”
“No charge...though I know if I say that, you’ll refuse, so let’s decide after we get there. I don’t really know the market rates.”
“Same here. I’d like to know,” Allen added.
“What are you two doing, asking your host for rates?” said Mylène.
Anriette sighed in exasperation, then turned to Allen. It was clear she was silently asking what he would do.
He thought only for a moment. As Anriette said, it wasn’t a bad deal. For him, it was nothing but an advantage. So the answer was obvious. “All right. I’ll take you up on it.”
“Good. All I’m offering is the room, though. Nothing else.” Noel smiled.
“I’ll take care of myself,” Anriette said.
“We’ve managed fine so far. Nothing’s changing,” said Allen.
Allen hadn’t expected anything else anyway, and Noel surely knew that too.
“Oh, before that, I should deliver the sword,” he told them.
“That’s fine. You already know the place,” said Noel.
“Right. We got what she wanted. I understand wanting to hand it in quickly,” said Anriette.
“By ‘deliver,’ you mean...to the guild?” asked Mylène.
“No, directly to the client,” Allen clarified.
At that, Noel reacted, subtly but clearly. She tried to hide it, but it was obvious that she was curious.
“Want to come with me? If I say you helped, they won’t turn you away,” Allen suggested, even though he had already guessed her answer.
“No. I’m not going. I’ve no business there, and I’m tired. I just want to go home and rest.”
“Same here. Even with that one night in the forest, all the camping’s left me worn out. I want a real bed,” said Anriette, yawning.
“I could manage a short stop, but if you’re resting, I will too,” Mylène said.
“I see...” Allen replied. There was no point forcing them. He would just go alone. “Then I’ll be off.”
“All right. See you later.”
“Until then.”
“I’ll stay, but I want to hear about it after.”
He almost pointed out that Anriette might as well come along, but she was being considerate in her own way. So he just chuckled and nodded, then set off for Vanessa’s forge.
Once there, he found it completely empty.