Amidst the silly bantering and ridiculous arguing, a small smile tugged at the corner of Jay's lips. Despite what he'd said earlier, he actually missed this time very much.
The stupid conversations, the sarcastic jokes, and the relentless teasing that had defined their youth. Even in the worst situations, facing powerful beasts or swarms of hundreds of enemies, they never passed up the chance to throw jabs and laugh together.
But those moments had become increasingly rare. Under the pressure to rebuild their kingdom from ashes, the grief of losing the King and the former archknight, then the trauma from losing Lory, everything happened so much and too much, at the same time, yet they didn't have the luxury to mourn because millions of their citizen depend on them.
Thus, everyone threw themselves into their responsibilities, using work as a way to cope with the lingering trauma, overwhelming grief, and unspoken guilt.
