Eira returned to his homeland quietly.
No escorts. No announcements. No heroic fanfare.
Just wind across the fields and dust along the road that once knew his footsteps when he had nothing — no title, no strength, no recognition.
Now the air itself seemed to part for him.
News had already arrived before he did.
Neo had awakened.
Neo had returned.
Neo was home.
Her name echoed in markets, tea stalls, courtyards, temples — spoken like a blessing people wanted to taste.
He stopped outside her old residence.
The house stood empty.
No caretaker. No laundry hanging. No herbs drying on strings. No laughter drifting from inside. The door had been sealed with royal wax.
A passing elder noticed him staring.
"They left once the princess was taken back," she said gently. "Royal messengers came. Said she wouldn't return."
Eira nodded once.
"…Of course."
---
He spent the evening visiting old guildmates scattered across town.
Not warriors now.
People.
One ran a weapons shop. One was engaged. One complained about taxes. One bragged about his girlfriend. They teased Eira for still being single. He teased them for getting soft.
It felt warm.
Real.
For a few hours, he wasn't a fighter, a survivor, or a chosen anomaly.
He was just Eira.
---
The invitation arrived at dusk.
Not by messenger.
By royal falcon.
It landed on his window, proud and gleaming, a ribbon tied to its leg. He untied the scroll.
Royal Banquet — Celebration of Princess Neo's Return
And Proclamation of Crown Prince Ark
Below it:
Guest of Honor — Eira, Childhood Companion of the Princess
A second seal marked another name:
Prince Vesa — Royal Attendant
Eira exhaled slowly.
"So they remembered," he murmured.
---
The banquet palace glowed like a star fallen to earth.
Golden lanterns floated in the air. Musicians played instruments carved from crystal wood. Noble guests shimmered in fabrics dyed with rare mana pigments that shifted color as they moved.
Every step inside felt expensive.
Vesa adjusted his cuff beside him.
"Don't look so tense. You look like you're entering a battlefield."
"I've entered worse."
"That's not comforting."
They stepped deeper inside.
Eyes followed them.
Not because of Vesa — princes were expected.
Because of Eira.
Rumors had spread.
The nameless commoner.
The silent storm.
The man who grew stronger than legends.
Then—
The hall parted.
Neo entered.
Silver silk trailed behind her like flowing light. Her long pale hair shone under chandeliers. Golden eyes calm. Distant. Untouchable.
She looked exactly the same.
And nothing like before.
Beside her stood Ark.
Crown prince now. Composed. Regal. His presence held the room the way gravity holds the world.
His gaze swept across the guests.
Paused.
Landed on Eira.
A flicker of recognition.
Not warmth.
Assessment.
Then Ark looked away first.
---
Later, Eira stepped onto a quiet side balcony to breathe.
That's when he heard them.
Neo and Ark.
Hidden by the curtain's edge.
"…Isn't he the one," Ark asked lightly, "who brought you that medicine back then?"
Neo paused.
"…Maybe. He could've gotten it by chance."
Eira didn't move.
Ark's tone turned amused. "He might like you."
"That's absurd."
Too quick.
Too sharp.
A small silence.
Then Neo added, voice cool:
"If he really searched the world for it… then he clearly doesn't know his place. My family would've found a cure eventually."
Something tightened in Eira's chest.
Ark laughed softly.
"I would've found it myself if that fool hadn't gotten lucky first."
Their footsteps faded.
Music swelled from inside.
Laughter. Glass. Celebration.
Eira stood alone in the moonlit air.
Stronger than the hero, they said.
Stronger than anyone alive.
Yet none of that strength stopped the quiet ache spreading through him now.
"…I see," he whispered.
And for the first time since returning home—
he wished he were weak again.