'Soft... and warm.'
A gentle scent surrounded Jan. Floral, delicate.
'My pillow never smelled this good. Did Mom wash it yesterday...? It smells too nice…'
He sighed, sinking deeper into the comfort beneath him.
'I'm so tired… just a little longer…'
"Jan, are you awake?!"
'Augh...'
"Jan!"
"Five more minutes, Mom..."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING MOM?!!"
*Boom—*
"Ouch! What the hell?!" Jan shot upright, rubbing the fresh bump on his head.
Maria leaned over him. "Are you okay?"
Jan groaned, blinking rapidly as dizziness clouded his thoughts. "I… I think so? My head's spinning. I swear I was awake—I saw the sun—then suddenly I was sleeping? Maybe dreaming? It was soft, warm, and smelled really—Ouch!"
Sophia smacked him again.
"Stop describing it in detail! You were just resting your head on my lap!"
Jan blinked. "O-Oh? T-Then… what happened to me?!"
Sophia scowled and pointed. "You were knocked out by this ungrateful brat we risked our lives to save last night!"
Jan's gaze followed Sophia's finger—straight to a silver-haired elven girl glaring back at them.
She huffed, crossing her arms. "Brat?! I'm way older than you, Crispy Carrot! Also, it was an accident! I said I was sorry!"
Sophia's expression froze…
A vein twitched on her forehead…
"C-Crispy… Carrot?!"
Her fists clenched. "I'm gonna wash that mouth of yours with soap with my own hands, you insolent little—"
"Give it your best shot!"
The two lunged at each other, locking hands as they began wrestling across the room.
Jan sighed, rubbing his temples. "So… she's the one who was inside the bag?"
Maria nodded. "Yes. We were actually worried since she didn't wake up after last night, so we brought her here to the council hall. The moment she woke up, she started screaming that we kidnapped her."
Jan raised his brow. "Is that so?"
Still quarreling with the elven girl, Sophia added, "And she didn't even say 'thank you' after we explained everything to her!"
The elf scoffed. "Huh?! Thank YOU?! Why would I?! From what you told me, it was this kid who saved me—not you, fatass!"
"F…F…F-FATASS?!"
Sophia went dead silent.
A dark aura surrounded her.
Her voice dropped to a dangerously low whisper.
"Maria, let me kill her."
"Don't, she's our guest. It would only make us look bad."
The elf smirked. "You already look bad, Noodle Legs."
Maria's eye twitched.
"Kill her."
"Gladly!"
Flames burst from her fist, but Jan immediately threw himself between them, arms spread wide.
"Guys, stop before someone gets hurt again! And that someone will be me—I just know it!"
The silver-haired girl sneered, then patted his head with a sly grin.
"Relax, Mr. Savior. I won't hurt you… ever agai—Ow—ou—Ouch!"
Jan pinched her cheeks. "Act your age!" he scolded.
The elf huffed. "But I AM old!"
Sophia grinned mischievously. "Hehehe, you got rejected!"
Jan rubbed his temples harder. "You too, Sophia! You're older than her—act like it!"
Maria then chuckled. "No, Jan—she's actually older than us."
Jan frowned. "What? But she looks like a kid!"
"She's an elf. They live longer than humans and age way slower. She might even be a hundred years old."
Jan's eyes widened. "A hundred?! No way!"
The elf shrugged. "It's true."
Jan studied her carefully. "Wait… how did you know she's an elf?"
Sophia gestured at the girl's ears.
Jan followed her gaze. "Oh! Whoa! That's… actually really beautiful!"
The elf's face went bright red.
"I-I've never heard someone say that before..." She mumbled.
Jan blinked. "Really? How come?"
Sophia huffed. "Hmph! It's nothing special—I have them too!"
With a flourish, she moved her hair aside and removed her earrings.
A soft glow shimmered over her ears, their shape shifting into elegant elven points.
Jan stared in awe. "Whoa! That's beautiful! How did you do that?!"
Sophia blushed, turning her back with a flick of her hair. "H-Huh, you're as ignorant as always..."
The elf's eyes widened as she looked at Maria. "You guys are elves too?!"
Maria nodded. "We're half-elves."
"I didn't know that," she mumbled under her breath.
"Maybe if you let us explain earlier instead of arguing, you would have." Maria crossed her and added, "We're the daughters of Eleocry Marcus—one of Valkeries' three rulers."
At the mention of the name, the elf's expression shifted. She blinked. "Marcus? The infamous Marcus?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she processed everything.
Maria seized the moment. "Do you remember anything from last night?"
She hesitated, brows furrowing. "I... I don't know. It's all vague."
She clenched her fists slightly, trying to piece together fragments of memory. "I remember being in my bed… then suddenly, the alarms in the village rang out. But after that…" Her voice trailed off. "It's blank."
Jan's brows knitted. "That sounds like memory loss. Do you at least know your name? Can you tell us what day of the week it is?"
The girl scoffed. "Of course, I can! I am Aeris Sylvari of Sylvalis—the princess and the daughter of the late King Vaelthor Sylvari!" She placed a hand over her chest as if daring the world to challenge her claim.
Then she shrugged. "As for the day? Pfft, when you're as old as me, you stop keeping track of something so trivial."
Jan squinted. "You keep mentioning your age... You're not actually that old, are you?"
Aeris stiffened slightly. "W-Well, I'm old enough."
Sophia smirked, leaning in. "How old exactly?"
Aeris avoided eye contact. "Seventeen."
Sophia burst out laughing. "So you're not older than us after all!"
Aeris' cheeks flushed as she stomped her foot. "B-But I'm royalty, so you better treat me with respect!"
Sophia wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, still chuckling. "You're no royalty here, Princess. You better start behaving like a normal person!"
Aeris huffed, crossing her arms. "I can still beat your ass, you know."
Sophia grinned. "Bring it on, brat!"
They squared off instantly, noses nearly touching, sparks flying between them.
"Guys, please! Enough already!" Jan turned around for support. "Maria!"
She was already turning away. Barely glancing back, she said, "Let them be. We have more important things to do, Jan. Let's go."
Jan gawked. "Wait—what?! You're just going to leave them?!"
"I'm not babysitting these idiots all day."
Maria walked off without a second thought, forcing Jan to hurry after her.
"Who are you calling an idiot?!" Aeris suddenly shouted.
Jan groaned and turned back—
And there it was again.
'Huh? The sun…?'
*BOOM—*
***
"Soft... and warm. My pillow never smelled this good..."
"We're not doing this again. WAKE UP!"
*Boom—* *Boom—*
"AUGH!" Jan screamed, carefully patting the fresh double bump on his head. "Why did you hit me twice?! One was enough!"
"B-Because you were thinking out loud, idiot!"
"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?!"
"I don't know!"
"Wha—?!" Jan groaned, clutching his temples.
"What's more important—are you okay?!" Maria asked.
"Yes… I think. But if this keeps up, probably not!" He muttered, casting a side glance at Aeris.
She was whistling, examining a seam between two bricks in the wall.
"I know it's you already!"
The whistling stopped immediately, and Aeris flinched.
"You said you wouldn't hurt me again!" Jan added.
"I know, I know! I'm sorry! Sometimes I lose my temper and—But she started it! She called me an idiot!"
"And that you are!" Sophia chimed in. "You almost killed him—twice!"
The three girls launched into another argument.
"AUGH!!!" Jan shouted, louder this time, enough to cut through the chaos.
They froze.
"You three! Either stop, or I'm leaving!"
"What?! But Sophia and I wanted to ask you something!"
"And I still haven't thanked you!"
Jan sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine. But you better behave!"
"Yes!" all three said in perfect unison.
"Good. Now I'm setting some ground rules. Maria!"
"Yes!"
"Treat Aeris with respect. She's our guest in Valkeries and is still a bit shaken after what happened. She was kidnapped by that devil, after all. Also, stop calling her an idiot."
"B-But she's—"
"No buts! Do as I say."
"...Yes."
Aeris nodded with her eyes closed, clearly pleased with how things were going.
"Aeris."
"Yes, Mr. Savior!"
"Just Jan."
"Mr. Jan."
"Just Jan!"
"Oh~ are we already on a first-name basis?"
"That's your first rule: stop teasing me."
Sophia barely stifled a laugh and muttered under her breath, "Burn."
"What did you say, Crispy Carrot?!"
"What did you call me?!"
Jan glared at both of them. They froze.
"Aeris, second rule: stop giving Sophia and Maria nicknames."
"Yes, J.a.n.~"
Jan exhaled as she spelled out his name slowly and playfully.
"And the last rule. Like Sophia said—you may be a princess, but not this town's princess. So treat everyone here with respect. You don't have to thank me, but you should be thankful to this town and everyone who fought to protect it last night. If it weren't for them, you would have never been saved."
"...Yes."
"Glad you understand that."
He paused, then turned to Sophia.
"And finally—Sophia."
She blinked. "Y-Yes…?!"
"…"
Her face slowly reddened, deepening with every second of silence.
"W-What?! Say it already!"
"Sorry… I couldn't think of anything. Just… stop fighting with Aeris, I guess."
"O-Okay…" Sophia mumbled, turning her face away, her cheeks now fully tomato-red.
"Now that we've cleared the air," Jan said, his tone shifting to something more serious, "There's something important I need to tell you."
The change in his voice immediately caught Sophia and Maria's attention.
"Is it about Mom and Dad?!" Maria asked quickly.
"What about Uncle? Is he alright?!" Sophia added, eyes wide with concern.
Jan shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint. I don't have any information about them yet. This is about the next Wave Attack."
"The next one?!" Sophia echoed.
"Yes. This morning, I received a notification from the system. It said that after successfully defending against last night's wave, Valkeries is protected for two months. Something about an enforced protection period."
Maria held her chin. "So the rumors were true?"
"You've heard of this before?" Jan asked.
"Not exactly. It was just a theory," Maria replied. "Valkeries is one of the towns that gets attacked the most. And the shortest time ever recorded between two wave attacks here was exactly two months. That's how the theory started—that there's always at least a two-month gap between waves."
"You think they'll attack again when the two months are up?" Jan asked.
"They rarely do…" Maria hesitated, "...but maybe this time, they will."
"What?!" Sophia exclaimed. "Why now?"
"Think about it," Maria said seriously. "The town's strongest are missing. I was hoping they'd be back by morning… but they're not. If they don't return before the next attack—"
"Then we'll be vulnerable." Sophia's voice dropped.
"So what's the plan?!" Jan asked. "Can't we ask for help from somewhere else?"
"Normally, each town has to defend itself," Maria explained. "Wave attacks can happen simultaneously across multiple towns. Last night, both Valkeries and Sylvalis were hit—and who knows how many others. I still haven't received full reports. But... maybe if we contact the capital, they might send reinforcements."
"Anything else?"
"I've already ordered all our guild members to return immediately," Maria said. "I haven't heard anything back yet, but I'm hoping they'll arrive in time."
Jan frowned. 'Tsk… everything is uncertain. All we've got are guesses and hopes. If the worst happens, what can we even do...?'
"I know it's not ideal," Maria said, trying to reassure him, "but I'll find a way to get us some support. You can rely on me, Jan."
He gave her a faint smile in return—but then his eyes widened abruptly. "Wait! What about the other Heroes?! They could help, right?"
Silence.
Both Sophia and Maria glanced at each other but said nothing.
Then, Aeris, who had been quiet this whole time scoffed.
"Heroes? Please. They're the worst of the worst. Don't even dream of them helping. Most of them stay up on the higher floors, far from here. And when they do come down, it's either to handle some shady business or chase profit. If, by some miracle, you convince one to help, they'd charge you a fortune for it. You'd have better luck asking a goblin for charity."
Jan lowered his head, her words hitting harder than he expected.
Maria glanced at Sophia, then gently placed a hand on Jan's shoulder. "It's the truth… but we don't feel that way about you. You're different. You're not like them."
Sophia nodded in agreement, offering him a warm smile.
But Aeris's expression suddenly shifted. Her eyes narrowed in surprise.
"Wait. You're a hero?!"