I didn't sleep well that night.
Not because of monsters, nor because of the dungeon that still awaited us to the north. What kept me awake was the strange silence between us after everything that had happened over the past few days. It was as if each of us was holding onto something we didn't want to say out loud.
Morning in Vailor dawned gray, covered by a thin mist rising from the stone streets. I was sitting at the table in the house we rented, staring at a glass of water as if it might give me some kind of answer. The flame inside me was too quiet. Not restless, not agitated. Just… watching.
Vespera was the first to appear. She looked too normal, which in itself was suspicious. She walked up to the table, sat across from me, and stared at me for a few seconds longer than necessary.
"Are you going to keep staring at me like that, or are you going to say something?"
I sighed. "Good morning to you too."
She crossed her arms. "You've been acting strange since yesterday."
"We all have."
"Don't dodge it, Takumi."
Before I could answer, Elara entered the room. Her steps were heavier than usual. I recognized that way of moving. It was when her mana was too low and her mood went with it. She sat beside me, resting her elbow on the table.
"If anyone suggests a mission today, I swear I'll pretend to faint."
Vespera let out a crooked smile. "That wouldn't be pretending, that would be routine."
Elara shot her a murderous look. "Want to test that?"
Before the argument could grow, Liriel appeared in the doorway. As always, she seemed detached from the real world, holding a small object of faint light between her fingers. Her magic flickered, unstable as ever.
"Good morning," she said, in a tone far too calm for someone who had clearly spent the night awake trying to conjure something that didn't work.
"You tried again, didn't you?" I asked.
She looked away. "Maybe."
"Failed again?" Vespera teased.
The light in Liriel's fingers flickered and vanished. "Maybe that too."
The silence settled between us again, heavy. It wasn't hostility. It was buildup. Fatigue. Expectation.
I stood up and went to the window. Outside, Vailor followed its routine. People walking, merchants opening shops, adventurers laughing too loudly. Everything looked normal. And maybe that was what bothered me most.
"We're stalling," I said, without turning around. "The dungeon isn't going to disappear. The General isn't either."
Elara sighed. "We know."
"Then why does it feel like no one wants to talk about it?"
Vespera stood up abruptly. "Because talking doesn't change the fact that we're afraid."
The words hung in the air.
Liriel clenched her hands. "It's not fear of the enemy. It's fear of losing someone."
That hurt more than any blow.
I turned to them. "I don't want anyone here getting hurt because of me."
Elara laughed, without humor. "Too late for that."
"You think we're here because we don't have a choice?" Vespera said, staring at me. "I miss arrows. I always have. Even so, I keep moving forward. It's not for money. It's not for glory."
"Then why?" I asked.
She hesitated. Just for a second. "Because I trust you."
Elara looked away, clearly uncomfortable. "It's not just her."
Liriel nodded. "Even being… limited… I stay. Because your flame doesn't hurt me. It warms."
That tightened my chest in a strange way. I didn't have a ready answer for that.
The mood grew too heavy, so I did the only thing that came to mind. "Let's go out."
"Where to?" Elara asked.
"Train. Walk. Do anything that isn't thinking."
No one disagreed.
We spent the morning around the outskirts of the city, no official mission, no pressure. Just moving. Vespera shot at improvised targets and missed half of them. Elara conjured spells too small for her liking and got irritated when her mana ran out quickly. Liriel tried to help and ended up hindering more than helping.
At another time, it would have turned into a joke. Today, it was just… real.
When the sun began to set, we sat on the grass, exhausted.
Elara moved closer to me. "Takumi… when this is over… if we survive…"
"When," I corrected.
She smiled faintly. "When. Don't disappear, okay?"
Vespera overheard and snorted. "As if he'd have a choice."
Liriel stayed silent, but moved closer too.
I looked at the three of them and finally understood what had been bothering me from the start.
It wasn't the General. It wasn't the dungeon. It was the fact that, when everything collapsed… I wouldn't be fighting alone.
And that scared me more than any enemy.
The flame inside me pulsed softly, as if it agreed.
The tensions hadn't disappeared. But now, at least, they were exposed.
And that made everything more dangerous… and stronger at the same time.