Suraj was hiding behind the rock. Morning had turned to evening. The crowd that had gathered outside had long since dispersed. Maruls, Uni, Metye, and Asfer had bid farewell to Shine and left as well. Silia was still hiding under the bed, still furious, sweat beading on her skin.
Daichi had arrived too. The four of them sat on chairs, talking. Shine had told him everything about Nain's condition. And Jhed had told him about Silia — though he kept her secret to himself. He explained that he'd found Silia that very morning and had brought her to the guild. But Daichi and the adventurers had been too angry to listen, so they'd fled from there. Jhed also mentioned that Silia would now be traveling with them — though he said nothing about the deal he'd made with her.
"Hmm, I understand. It's fine. If you've forgiven her, then I won't do anything either. I'll tell all the adventurers tomorrow," Daichi said.
"Thank you so much. We'd like to give you this," Jhed said, and handed Daichi five gold coins.
"Oh no, I didn't do this for money." Daichi tried to refuse.
"You truly are a good man. In this day and age, it's hard to find someone like you. This is just a small token from us. We know your town needs money badly. The guild master of Mariana is a close friend of ours — we'll ask him to help your town. He'll surely help you," Shine said.
Daichi really was a good man. He had kept this town alive all this while. If not for him, the town would have collapsed eighteen years ago — without a single attack even being needed.
"If Guild Master Ro-Ro helps us, our town will flourish just like before." Daichi's heart swelled with quiet joy. A flutter rose in his chest, because all his effort until now was finally about to bear fruit.
"Thank you. Five gold coins is worth a great deal in this town." Daichi accepted the money. "Master Ro-Ro once saved our town from the blood demon. The blood demon had killed so many of our people, but Master Ro-Ro drove it away. He truly is a powerful and good man. He saved our town from starvation too. Our town used to just be a village. When Master Ro-Ro first came here, he taught everyone how to farm. He taught people how to fight. He taught them how to draw out the magic within themselves. Even this forest of flowers exists because of him. Because of him, people started coming to settle here. And slowly, our village grew into a town."
As Daichi told this story, a smile spread across his face — it was clear how much he respected the old man. We truly never know anything about anyone. If Daichi hadn't told him, he would never have known what kind of man Ro-Ro really was. Powerful, yes — and he had given them a gift too, the kind people spend their entire lives chasing. It felt, in that moment, like we never fully know anyone. What a person truly is, deep down — that's something almost impossible to find out. If I hadn't thrown that knife in anger that day, it would never have struck Reena, and I wouldn't be in this world. That day, Mom had come to make me understand. I was the fool who couldn't understand her. My greed had taken hold of me — I'd become so obsessed with that phone. Jhed said this to himself. And he was right. We never truly know what's going on in someone else's heart. Maybe we never fully know anyone. Just as the people of his own town saw Ro-Ro as a weak guild master, to others, he was a hero. What a person should be — Ro-Ro had shown that.
Jhed was immortal. He would remain here forever, but the people around him would always keep changing. That thought troubled him deeply. Because once you grow attached to someone... that attachment never really leaves