I’d finally reached the top of the adventurer stack—I was the owner of an S-rank platinum plate at Trundle Guild.
So why couldn’t I feel genuinely happy about it?
✦ ✦ ✦
As the master of Trundle, I gathered as many people together as possible at the end of the year at the burnt remains of the mansion and had a campfire party. We barbecued some food that we’d hunted and gathered from the mountain, and Matsuki, who had recovered from his injury, took care of the cooking. We all gave thanks for the prosperity our domain had enjoyed up to now and prayed for it to continue into the future; both the young and the old raised our muscles as one!
I hadn’t yet gotten around to greeting the people of the domain who weren’t from the guild (like the lumberjacks, the bakers, and the housewives), but they all still accepted me as their master thanks to the groundwork my grandmother had laid.
“That’s to be expected!” Lara giggled. “Everyone’s seen you running around Trundle doing your hellish training since you were little!” She petted my head like she’d missed me as she munched on a sweet potato tart.
My brother had managed to dig up a weird black spherical fossil and auctioned it for a hundred million gold. With that, he’d paid off both our portions of the loan, bringing Lara back to her usual cute-big-sister self. Thanks, brother! And thanks, fossil geeks!
Later, at the beginning of the year, I was summoned to Galé to stand next to Gillain and receive greetings from the nobles who came to wish us well in the new year. Since Gillain was stone-faced, I gave myself a stomachache being sociable for the both of us, but Asu found it worthwhile to show himself and wrapped me in his wings, which made me more comfortable.
“This is an event worth celebrating!” Regueid kept announcing whenever we heard cheering nearby. I hadn’t missed being annoyed by him.
Tabuchi and Yamada came from the friendly nation Marsche to give their new year’s greetings. It was a hectic but refreshing experience to hear about what our friends from Marsche and Regan Island had been up to, check on how the Nirva Orphanage was being run, and revitalize both Arthur and the kids who had been living on easy street after losing their tough director.
Gillain was always spending time with me at the Twilight Palace.
I had two platinum plates at my chest now—one of mine and one of Gillain’s. I imbued one of the two Trundle platinum plates with my magic and gave it to Gillain, so he also had two now. We matched perfectly. As I gazed at those plates, hesitant and afraid of the future, Gillain made me promise to spend the new year in his arms.
Once Lou and I had finished what we needed to do, we went back to the Granzeus domain to revert back to just a normal girl and a silly fluffball and get spoiled by my father, my brother, Enrique, and Martha.
“Miss! Matsuki’s been working hard pounding mochi all morning! Do you want red bean paste or roasted soy flour?” Martha asked.
Matsuki had finally made it to mochi!
“I’ll take one of each!” I replied.
“I want chocolate!”
“You want chocolate, Lou? That’s original...” my brother remarked. “Can I ask for some Marschean soy sauce, Martha?”
“Let’s go give out presents to the children once we’re done eating,” my father suggested. “They’ve been looking forward to it. They’re already lined up waiting at Mammoth Park.”
“In this snow? We have to hurry, father!” I insisted.
“Aghh!” Hack! Cough!
“Lou, did you get the mochi stuck in your throat?” my brother asked.
“Oh, Lou, you dummy!” I chided him. “Get him some water, Martha!”
Matsuki had started packing us lunches that didn’t just taste amazing but even replenished our stamina and magic.
“Matsuki... You’d do all this for my sake...?” The emotionally unshakeable holy beast cried.