“Right then─a toast to the end of the war, to the original free district receiving its new name of ‘Glakitacis,’ and to the arrival of the first trade ships from the Forbidden Land─cheers!”
The icy plaza Zero had built was immediately put to good use, both to store trade goods and as a banquet venue. And it was Seth, the merchant leader, who now stood on the glittering snowflake stage and raised his glass to the crowd.
It was ultimately decided that the man-made island of Glakitacis would serve as the center for trade between the Forbidden Land and the New World, and accordingly, Seth was put in charge.
Zero had, of course, vehemently refused the position. “You wish me to govern…? Ick, what a tiresome prospect. Look, the very thought is giving me goosebumps.”
Har had been the other candidate, but she had elected to focus her energy on assisting Utsuwa.
“It’s like, everything’s finally over and done with! Right? I mean, we were just supposed to pop over for some quick trade negotiations then go straight back to Wenias, but we’ve been here for what feels like forever! I wonder how my troops are doing…” Hort mused.
“Mighta felt like forever, but it ain’t even been a year yet,” Kudo replied. “Though I know what you mean. I was only countin’ on being here for a few days at most.”
“Yeah, you two have it rough… I was able to just push all my work onto Ulula and waltz on over here.” Saybil was the only one who could be so laid-back about their stay. For one thing, there was nobody in Wenias for him to rush back to. Ulula was the only person he might have missed, and now she had joined them in the New World. “Ulula really is amazing, though. I mean, maybe the reason we weren’t making much progress on our research is because I was there in the lab with her… I don’t possess that powerful drive to keep making things better, more convenient…”
“That’s our Sayb!”
“An’ when Ulula sees all the technology they’ve got over here, she’ll prob’ly start developing all kindsa new stuff. Seems like you might just be dead weight in the lab at this point.”
“Kudo!”
“What’s it matter?” Kudo brushed off Hort’s scolding. “It’s a question of what he’s gonna do next, is all.”
“Huh? Next?” Saybil blinked a few times. “Hmm… Yeah, I guess you’re right. There wouldn’t be much for me to do back at the lab, if we’re being honest…”
“Huh? Are you gonna join the Mage Battalion, then?! Wanna join my unit?!”
“I think I might stay here, actually. We’ve been so busy with the war, I haven’t had a chance to look over any of their texts… And I want to check out all the animals and plants and minerals and whatnot that they have here.”
“So, are you saying we won’t see each other again…?”
Saybil looked down, then raised his head once more. “I love you both.”
“Well yeah, you already told us that!”
“I know. It just struck me again, that’s all. I feel safe when I’m with you, so if the two of you stayed here, too…it’d make me happy.”
“I-I want to stay! But… But… I wonder what Headmaster Albus would say…? Maybe she’d be all like, ‘A survey of the New World? Sounds cool, go for it!’…?”
“I can’t stay. Got my people waitin’ for me… And heck, I never intended on comin’ here to begin with.”
“Huuh?! Come on Kudo, at least give it some thought!” protested Hort.
“Yeah, think it over. Just consider it.”
“My ducklings! I have caught you at the perfect moment!”
A shrill, high-pitched voice pierced the air, jolting the trio to their feet just as they were slipping into a bittersweetly intimate moment. They turned to see Los, seeming in particularly high spirits, standing there with the Staff of Ludens in her hand.
“Huh?! Professor, your staff is fixed?!”
Despite having been snapped in two during the battle, the Staff of Ludens had been seamlessly restored to its original form.
“Indeed so. ’Twould appear that over many long years of confinement, the demon hath become one with the staff itself. I simply attached a splint, and before I knew it the two halves had joined themselves anew.”
“Whoaaa… I-I didn’t know your staff was quite so…lively!” said Hort, recoiling a little, at which the orb embedded in the tip of the staff rippled with resentment.
“Now that the staff has been broken, the seal is undone, and little Ludens is free… But we are come all the way to this New World, and I would adventure a little longer!” Los clenched her fist. “Hence, Ludens and I have decided to extend our contract a short while. When it came to actually returning to the demon realm, it seems my little Ludens felt bereft at the thought of leaving my side.” Los rubbed her cheek lovingly against the staff.
“Hwanh?!” Hort let slip an odd cry. “Then you’re staying here, too, Professor Los? In the New World?”
“Mm. Mud-Black and Mercenary also say the same. And Father mentioned something of missionary work, which means the mouse will surely stay to be at his side.”
“Whaaaa?! So, like, everyone’s staying?! C’mon Kudo, everybody else is staying!”
“I already told you, I’m not freakin’ staying here!”
Even when Hort started shaking him, Kudo’s resolve didn’t falter, and she puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
Los seized the moment to press on. “Now! There exists a wonderfully amusing invention here in the New World called a visage tracer! This supremely impressive device is not only capable of drawing an incredibly detailed portrait in a flash, it can reproduce that portrait endlessly! Being as I am the Dawn Witch, pursuer of all things novel, I have sought one out in the hopes that I might assay a trial of its function together with my dear students─!”
“Whoa─! That sounds super cool!” exclaimed Hort, a broad smile replacing the gloom of a moment ago.
Explaining that all was already in readiness, Los hurried them to a corner of the banquet area where a tent had been set up. They were startled to see Zero and Mercenary emerging from within just as they arrived.
“M-Mud-Black! You have used the device?!”
“Ah, Dawn. I saw how pleased the mouse appeared to be with so many portraits of the priest in her possession, and I thought I might indulge myself. I must admit, though, I had not expected it to be quite so exceptional. Here, I will share one of ours with you.”
“H-Hey, cut it out! Don’t go spreadin’ those around…”
“Whyever not? I have taken a fancy to this portrait.”
The slim piece of paper Zero held out to Los was so detailed, it truly looked as if the subjects had been sealed bodily within. The portrait showed Zero kissing an irritated Mercenary on the cheek.
One look was enough to drive Los wild with excitement. “A-Astonishing! ’Tis nothing like the staged moment of conventional portraiture─there is a brilliant energy within these lines that bespeaks an entire tale!”
“That’s sure one long-winded way o’ puttin’ it…”
Los ignored Mercenary’s grousing and gleefully clutched the portrait to her breast. “Wait right there, for in a matter of moments we shall have a stunning portrait to give thee in return!”
+++
The banquet went on late into the night, until everyone was either exhausted from laughing, staggeringly inebriated, or asleep at─and in some cases underneath─the tables.
Kudo took a drunken Hort to the clinic and tossed her onto one of the beds, then went to lie down in one of the on-call rooms himself.
There was an air of euphoria in the city, amid which Los sat on the roof of the bell tower smiling and gazing at the portrait of her three beloved fledglings, looking up only occasionally to take in the full vista of the moonlit night.
“You don’t need to look at that portrait when I’m right beside you,” said Saybil, emerging from the shadows.
Los gave a voiceless shriek and leapt back. “Wh-Why dost appear so suddenly …? Didst give me such a start! What would thou with me?”
“You’re leaving tonight, aren’t you?”
“Most incisive…! And when I took such pains to imply that I would remain in the city a while longer.”
“I was thinking the same thing… That if I’m going to leave, it should be tonight.”
“Oho?”
“I invited Hort and Kudo to come too, actually─but neither of them could give me an answer on the spot. So if I stay here now, Hort will agonize over it, and she might end up coming along even if it meant abandoning things she didn’t need to abandon. I really don’t want that.”
“So thou wilt simply depart without saying goodbye?”
“Yes. Just like you do, Professor Los.”
“Bold indeed thou hast grown! Speaking as if thou knowest all, despite having lived not even a century!”
Yet perhaps he is right.