Six months had passed since Lyria arrived.
Six months during which my routine had completely changed.
In the mornings, I trained with Kael.
In the afternoons, I studied with Lyria.
And once we were done, I would sometimes spend even more time reading or practicing on my own.
My progress continued, slowly but surely. I understood my mana much better than before, and my spells had become more precise. Swordsmanship was much more difficult. Kael still categorically refused to let me use even the slightest bit of magic during our training, and he never let me make up for a lack of technique with my mana.
I had gotten used to this routine.
But over those six months, something else had changed.
Lyria was no longer simply my teacher.
She had become my friend.
The first friend I had made since my rebirth.
We were close enough to constantly tease each other, talk about everything and nothing, and even spend time together when it had nothing to do with my training.
One afternoon, we were sitting in the garden after our training session.
Lyria was lying in the grass with her hands behind her head while I watched the clouds.
A long silence settled between us.
Then I turned my head toward her.
“Lyria?”
“Hmm?”
“Can I ask you something?”
She opened one eye.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On the question.”
“Why did you come here?”
She looked at me for a few seconds.
“To your village?”
“Yes.”
Lyria fell silent.
Then she smiled faintly.
“Because your parents asked me to.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you asking?”
“Because I want to know why you agreed.”
She sat up.
Her expression had changed.
She wasn’t sad.
But her eyes suddenly seemed more distant.
“You really want to know about my past?”
“Yes.”
She remained silent for a few seconds before sighing.
“All right.”
She crossed her legs and gazed into the distance.
“I was born in a small village in the south of the Demon Continent.”
I listened attentively.
“My family was very ordinary. We weren’t rich or important. We lived quietly in our village.”
She paused.
“Until the war came.”
I said nothing.
“A terrible war struck the Demon Continent. Many regions were affected. Our village was, too.”
Her hands tightened slightly.
“Everything changed very quickly.”
I could hear the calm in her voice, but I knew she was talking about things that had deeply scarred her life.
“We lost everything.”
“Your house?”
“Our house. Our land. Our money. Everything.”
She looked down at her hands.
“We became unimaginably poor.”
I frowned.
“Because of the war?”
“Yes.”
She paused again.
“At that time, a great conquering demon named LaPorte had once attempted to conquer the entire Demon Continent. I never knew him personally, but the consequences of that war left their mark on countless territories.”
I remained silent.
I knew almost nothing about the history of this continent.
And yet, I could understand one thing.
The war had destroyed her life.
“So what did you do?”
Lyria looked at me.
“I left.”
“By yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She smiled faintly.
“To save my family.”
She turned her gaze toward me.
“I didn’t have many options. I had no money. I couldn’t rebuild our life. So I decided to become an adventurer.”
It was hard for me to imagine.
The Lyria I knew was always smiling.
Always calm.
Always ready to make a joke.
But before all that...
she must have left on her own, trying to save her family.
“It wasn’t always easy.”
She gave a small laugh.
“Obviously.”
“Were you already strong back then?”
“Not as strong as I am today.”
“So you were weak?”
She shot me a look.
“Watch what you say.”
I smiled.
“I just asked a question.”
“Do you really want me to turn you into an ice cube?”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“I could.”
“But I’m your favorite student.”
“You’re my only student.”
“So technically...”
She burst out laughing.
I smiled too.
Then her expression grew serious again.
“I changed adventurer parties a lot.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t trust people easily.”
“Really?”
“Some demons can’t be trusted.”
She shrugged slightly.
“I met a lot of different people. Some were good. Others... not so much.”
She stared up at the sky.
“So I changed parties often.”
“Until you met my parents?”
“Yes.”
I sat up a little straighter.
“How did you meet them?”
Lyria smiled.
“That’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
“I know.”
She thought for a few seconds.
“Your father and mother had come to the Demon Continent for a mission.”
I listened without moving.
“At the time, I was part of a party. Well... it was supposed to be my party.”
“What happened?”
“They abandoned me in a dungeon.”
“What?”
I sat up all the way.
Lyria laughed softly.
“Yes.”
“They really abandoned you?”
“Yes.”
“But how did you survive?”
“I survived.”
She shrugged as if that didn’t require any further explanation.
“That’s where I met Kael and Mira.”
I listened attentively.
“They had entered the dungeon for their mission and found me alone.”
She smiled.
“They helped me.”
Then she looked into the distance.
“And after that, I stayed with them.”
“With the whole party?”
“Yes.”
“And you traveled together?”
“A lot.”
“Where?”
“Everywhere.”
She looked at me.
“We traveled across the entire Demon Continent.”
I remained silent.
“Then the other four known continents.”
My eyes widened.
The entire world I knew consisted of our house, our garden, and the immediate area around the village.
And Lyria was talking about entire continents as if she were describing a casual stroll.
“You really traveled that far?”
“Yes.”
“All together?”
“For a long time.”
She smiled.
“It was an incredible time.”
“And then?”
Her smile changed.
“Then Kael and Mira got married.”
I immediately looked toward the house.
My parents.
A life of adventuring.
Journeys across entire continents.
And now...
They lived quietly here.
“After they got married, they decided to retire.”
“And you?”
Lyria shrugged.
“I remained an adventurer for a while longer.”
She looked at me.
“Until today.”
I thought for a few seconds.
“So you knew my parents even before I was born.”
“Yes.”
“And you came to teach me magic because you were their friend.”
“Exactly.”
I smiled.
I didn’t know why, but I found the story fascinating.
Lyria had lived a life completely different from mine.
She had known poverty.
War.
Travel.
Dungeons.
Adventurers.
She had traveled the world.
And now, she was here.
With me.
I was silent for a while before asking another question.
“Do you regret it?”
“Regret what?”
“Becoming an adventurer.”
Lyria thought about it.
“No.”
She smiled.
“Not even once.”
Then she added:
“And I’m glad I met your parents.”
Her gaze settled on me.
“And you.”
I smiled.
That sentence pleased me more than I wanted to admit.
A few days later, Lyria suggested something.
We were in the garden when I noticed that she seemed to be thinking about something.
“Ewen.”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to go out with me?”
I froze.
“Go out?”
“Yes.”
She pointed toward the road beyond our house.
“Go a little farther.”
I looked in the direction she was pointing.
The road.
The houses.
The outside world.
My heart immediately began beating faster.
I didn’t need to think about it.
My body already understood.
Fear.
An old fear.
A fear I knew all too well.
Lyria looked at me.
“You’ve never really left the house, have you?”
I slowly shook my head.
“No.”
“Even after all this time?”
“I’ve already been to the garden.”
She smiled faintly.
“That’s not exactly what I call exploring the world.”
I didn’t answer.
She was right.
It had been about three and a half years since I was born into this world.
Three and a half years.
And yet, I had never gone farther than the garden of this house.
I knew things I probably never should have known at my age.
I could read.
Write.
Count.
I had mastered the basics of several forms of magic.
I was learning to wield a sword.
I could understand complicated concepts.
But leaving my home...
That simple action seemed more difficult to me than anything else.
I clenched my fists.
“I’m scared.”
Lyria didn’t make fun of me.
She didn’t tell me it was nothing.
She didn’t tell me to stop being afraid.
She simply stood in front of me.
“I know.”
I looked up.
“How?”
“Because I know you.”
She smiled faintly.
“And because I know you want to go outside, despite your fear.”
I didn’t answer.
Then she held out her hand.
“You don’t have to go far.”
I looked at her hand.
“Just a few steps.”
I still didn’t move.
“What if I get scared?”
“Tell me.”
“What if I want to go back?”
“Then we’ll go back.”
“What if I panic?”
“I’ll be there.”
I stared at her hand for several seconds.
It was simply held out toward me.
A hand.
An invitation.
A choice.
I took a deep breath.
Then I looked at her.
“All right.”
Lyria smiled.
“Tomorrow?”
I looked at the door.
My heart was already pounding.
But this time...
I didn’t want to run away.
I wanted to try.
I didn’t yet know what awaited me on the other side.
I didn’t know whether my fear would win.
I didn’t know whether I would manage to move forward.
But tomorrow...
I would finally walk through that door.