The knights spent the whole night patrolling just to be sure there were no straggling sheep to deal with. Sara headed straight home, but after escorting her there, Allen went back out, and he and Elm didn’t come back until much later. Haruto and Kuntz spent the night at their own houses. Ann was the only other one who was home early.
“They said the trainee knights could go home. Tonight really made it feel like the job of the knights is protecting the capital!”
It seemed this operation had had a big influence on Ann.
“And your barrier, Sara! That was incredible!”
“Well, I made sure it was colored so people knew it was there. I didn’t think the migrating dragons were gonna attack, though...”
And she and Haruto were supposed to just have been backup, she thought with some chagrin.
The next day, Ann and Sara woke up at their usual times and headed off to the knights and the Apothecary’s Guild respectively. When they came back at their usual times, Allen, Haruto, and Elm scolded them and told them to get some rest.
Sara hadn’t passed out or anything, so she didn’t think she needed that much rest, and she was pretty proud of what she’d done, so she was a little disappointed to be receiving a scolding.
“So how did everything go? I was at the Apothecary’s Guild all day, so all I know is the number of wounded.”
They all finally assembled again that night and were able to exchange information.
“I was following the head of the pack the whole time, making sure the herd didn’t break up. When the migrating dragons came down, they all fled every which way, so it was pretty rough making sure none of them got to the capital. But at least there were fewer of them to deal with after the dragons.”
Haruto, of course, had been on the front lines.
“It was pretty boring for me just smacking them with my shield every time they tried to go eat the wheat, but when the dragons showed up, it got real rough when somebody who wasn’t used to seeing them broke formation. We were able to get going again thanks to your barrier, but I bet we would have been overrun without it.”
Kuntz had been right in the middle of things, apparently.
Sara had heard the day before that Allen would be helping out where needed and Ann would be transporting protection cases.
“According to the Apothecary’s Guild, three people had to use supreme potions, but they all survived. Noel was all excited to have new data for the recovery period.”
Sara reported what she’d heard that day at the Apothecary’s Guild and Allen and Kuntz grimaced.
“That’s an apothecary for you.”
“Yeah, one like Chris.”
Sara may or may not have agreed.
“There were injured, but no one died. The meadow got destroyed, but over winter, we can gather medicinal plants from the dungeon or import them from other towns. That’s about it, I think.”
“The knights were talking about how much damage the cotton sheep did and investigating how small the herd got and which direction it headed today,” Ann reported.
“They’re working more seriously than I expected.”
Sara’s job was pretty much done as soon as the herd left, so she hadn’t thought much about the cleanup. It was finally starting to feel like there was stuff about the knights beyond her knowledge since she hadn’t before been close to anyone who was with them.
“The Hunter’s Guild’s work is pretty much done now that the cotton sheep are gone. Everything was business as usual today.”
This was Kuntz’s report. He’d stopped by the Hunter’s Guild on his way to the Wolveriés’ townhouse.
“All that’s left is the cleanup. Haruto, Sara, and Kuntz, you’ll probably be getting medals for this one.”
Just as Elm said, when the commotion died down, the three of them were thanked by the king and rewarded monetarily. Sara finished her lessons with the trainee knights and focused on her work with the Apothecary’s Guild for the time being after that.
While Haruto and Kuntz were home with their families celebrating, Sara and Allen stood in the southern meadow. Ann and Elm were with them too.
They were staring down the road toward Hydrangea, waiting for the carriage Nelly and Chris were taking.
“You worked hard too, but you didn’t get a medal, huh?” Sara said to Allen.
“I was just working as a normal Hunter this time, after all. It’d be weirder to give me a medal just because I’m friends with you guys.”
They chatted as they waited. Sara loved that Allen wasn’t concerned with things like that, even if it did worry her a bit.
“Speaking of the medals, the vice commander surprised me back there.”
Sara smiled at Ann’s use of Liam’s title instead of his name. She was really getting used to being part of the knights now.
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure what to do when he took my hands like that.”
“If I’d been up there, I would’ve smacked them away,” Allen said, sounding annoyed.
Liam had also been present when they’d received their medals, and he’d grasped Sara’s hands in emotion after the ceremony. As for how Ann and Allen knew about this, it was because everyone who’d participated in the operation had been invited to the ceremony, so they were all watching. As everyone had congratulated them, Liam had grabbed Sara’s hands without letting her even object.
“Thank you for protecting the capital. You’re like the capital’s guardian spirit, Sara.”
“N-No, I’m not. This is all thanks to the hard work of the knights and the people of the capital.”
Sara had cried out in her heart that she didn’t want anyone calling her a guardian spirit. She’d just thrown in a mental plea for Liam to let go of her hands, since everyone was watching them.
“To be honest, when I saw your barrier go up in front of me, I feared for a second that I wouldn’t be able to pass through it.”
Sara hadn’t realized her seeing him as an enemy in the past had really affected Liam so much.
“But the barrier let me through with no hesitation. And not just me, everyone fighting out there was able to cross through it just fine. You’ve finally acknowledged the knights as your allies, haven’t you, Sara?”
Hmm, I wonder, Sara thought to herself. If Liam’s—the knights’—sense of justice hurt someone she cared about again, she would no doubt go right back to treating them as enemies.
“I thank you. And I swear that I too am your ally, Sara.”
“Well, I appreciate it.”
They were allies for now. As long as their values didn’t conflict, Sara added to herself. What was right wasn’t a simple matter. But if they never said what they were feeling, they’d never understand one another. Sara would have to express her own values even more, like when she’d used her barrier this time. If they both did so, maybe they’d both change little by little.
“Oh, I see the carriage!”
“I can see it too!”
Allen held his hand above his eyes, and Ann stretched up to look down the road.
“Your eyes are good as always, Allen. Yours too, Ann.”
“Well, I am taller than you.”
“Just by a few centimeters!”
Sara did not mention how the difference in their heights had grown even more pronounced since their reunion in spring. She looked off into the distance, lamenting the fearful power of growth spurts.
By the time the carriage was in view for Sara, she could also see someone jumping out of it.
“Aah! I bet that’s Nelly! Nellyyy!”
The figure grew larger and larger, red tail bobbing behind it, until it leaped at Sara.
“Sara! Have you been well?!”
“I’m good. Listen, today...”
She could see Chris taking his time, walking to catch up to her. No requests to Nelly or Chris had been sent out this time around. That was another mark of the knights’ and the capital’s growth.
They’d sent word about the cotton sheep, however, so they must have been worried. But Nelly and Chris hadn’t rushed over, and Sara hadn’t been expecting them to either.
“Wait, wait, wait. I’m sure a bunch of fun stuff happened, right? Since we’ve got the opportunity, I want to hear about all of it from the very start.”
“Oh, right.” Sara gasped and then cleared her throat, turning around. She’d turned into a kid again for a second, but she was nineteen now, so she had to act her age.
“Ann and Elm are here to meet you too. And Allen.” She couldn’t forget that they were all there.
“I can’t believe it. You’re taller than Sara! And the way you stand now... You’ve really grown in the short time since I last saw you.”
Nelly was looking at Ann with eyes wide in surprise. Then she looked at Elm and her eyes widened even more.
“And why do you look so proud, brother? It’s not like you had anything to do with her height.”
Nelly was hard on her brother, but Elm wasn’t bothered at all.
“Ann’s still growing, you know. And she’s been really proving herself with the knights. She’s got a lot of friends, and we go down into the dungeon together sometimes.”
“Elm, you’re starting to sound like Latifah,” Chris said, finally catching up. He tried to wrap his arm around Nelly’s waist, but she batted his hand away. It was the same sight as always. Neither of them showed any concern for Elm, who seemed to be in a bit of a state of shock after having been compared to his overprotective sister.
“Well, should we walk and talk?”
Chris was as easygoing as ever.
“Yeah. Okay, start with your trip to Gardenia.”
“Wait a second, they should start with the cotton sheep, shouldn’t they? We both wanted to rush up here, but we controlled ourselves, you know.”
Ann was the only one there who wasn’t from Hydrangea, but from their time in the capital together, she was close enough to them that she was like a sister to Sara and like a daughter to Elm. As for Allen, he thought of her as something like a friend’s sister. They had an easy relationship, not too close but not too far apart either.
The six of them walked together, trading places every so often, as if they’d never had any time apart at all. They’d continue on in just that way, taking a steady step into tomorrow.
Sara’s other hand was held tight in Allen’s.
“Hold hands with me on this side.”
“I want to hold hands with Sara too.”
“What about me?”
Ann could hold hands with Elm, and Chris could hold hands with Nelly. Sara silently squeezed Nelly’s and Allen’s hands with her own.
“My Sara’s so popular. But I’m not giving up her hand.”
“Neither am I.”
She was sure tomorrow would be another great day.