Before knocking on the door, Chain's mind was filled with all sorts of negative thoughts.
He worried that his wife might be angry upon seeing him return, that his daughter might be cold despite her letters, that his son-in-law whom he was meeting for the first time might find him uncomfortable, and that he might be driven away without even seeing his grandchild's face...
The worst possible scenarios crowded Chain's mind.
As he had not been a devoted family man, the fear took a concrete form and choked him.
"..."
But Chain exhaled and summoned the courage to knock on the door.
He had already seen the end of the world on the battlefield.
He wanted to apologize for his past mistakes before it was too late, and... he wanted to see the faces of his precious, still-living loved ones at least once.
Knock, knock-
After knocking, what felt like an eternity passed.
"Yes! I'm coming~!"
A young woman's voice came from inside, and the door opened.
The young woman's eyes widened. Chain didn't recognize her at first, but she immediately recognized him.
"Dad!"
"...Kate?"
His daughter, whom he hadn't seen in ten years, was now an adult, grown beyond recognition.
With a slightly awkward but bright smile, she gestured him inside.
"You must have had a hard time traveling. It's cold outside, come in quickly. Hurry!"
"Ah, well, um..."
Kate tugged at Chain's hesitant sleeve and pulled him inside. Chain awkwardly entered the house.
Inside, a sturdy young man was moving a pile of firewood. Kate patted the young man's shoulder and said,
"Al! Greet him. This is my dad."
"What? Oh...! Hello, father-in-law!"
The young man, who had dropped the pile of firewood to the ground, greeted him stiffly.
"It's, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Kate! My name is Al! Ah, I look forward to your guidance!"
"..."
Chain, who was just as stiff, spoke in a trembling voice.
"I'm sorry."
"Yes? What, what do you mean?"
"For not being there for the wedding..."
"Oh, no! It's me who should apologize to Kate. I didn't have any savings as an orphan, so we couldn't have a proper wedding..."
"No, if I had saved up properly..."
"Oh, no! We will work harder and..."
As the son-in-law and father-in-law kept bowing apologetically to each other,
"Mom, Mom! Dad's here!"
Kate ran towards the kitchen connected to the living room, shouting.
"..."
His wife stood at the stove, her back turned. Despite the news of her husband's return, she silently stirred the pot. Chain, approaching her, stopped at a distance, leaning on his crutch.
"...Hannah."
When he cautiously called her name, his wife stopped stirring the pot and spoke in a curt voice.
"I heard the news. You've been fighting at Crossroad all this time?"
"Huh? Uh-huh..."
"I wondered which front you were working as a mercenary on, and it turned out to be that notorious monster front?"
Her voice carried layers of resentment and sorrow, and also...
"Well, at least... you were fighting to save the world, not just to line the pockets of some other kings or nobles."
A faint sense of pride.
Turning slightly, she gave him a smile with more wrinkles than he remembered but still the same.
"That's what makes you admirable."
"..."
Only then did Chain understand the source of the goodwill from his daughter, son-in-law, and wife.
Everyone knew that the people of the World Guardian Front fought to save the world.
Everyone knew that the world continued to exist because of those who sacrificed their lives there.
Chain, who was retiring after a great battle, was rightfully someone to be respected.
Everyone knew that.
Except Chain himself.
"Why are you so cautious? Are you afraid we can't even treat a hero who saved the world to a meal?"
"But..."
Chain stammered.
"I've been away for ten years..."
"I knew from the moment I first saw you that wizards don't stick around at home."
Hannah lifted the pot with both hands, making a grunt.
"It would be a lie to say I don't have any resentment, but if you had been as shameless as before, I would have gotten angry. But you look like a beaten old dog, so I can't even get mad."
"..."
"Come sit at the table, wandering black wizard. It's New Year, so let's have some meatball stew. We can talk after that."
Hannah carried the large pot to the table. The table was already set with a tablecloth and utensils.
Al, the son-in-law, came over to support the still hesitant Chain.
Chain sat down, placed his crutch beside him, and blankly stared at the table being set with warm food. Hannah quietly served him a large portion of stew.
"Dad, before you eat!"
Kate ran into an inner room and came out holding something very small wrapped in a blanket.
"You should greet your grandchild too!"
"...!"
Kate carefully showed the tiny baby nestled in her arms.
The baby was sleeping soundly, its small, weak breaths barely audible.
Seeing the innocent face of the baby, Chain suddenly saw the faces of his fallen comrades.
For another child, for this world, and for this baby...
He saw the eternally resting faces of his comrades who died fighting.
"..."
Chain, choking with emotion, finally smiled and whispered softly.
"Happy New Year, little one."
Feeling the profound meaning of all the battles, all the struggles to protect the world.
"May you continue to receive blessings next year, and the year after that, forever. Blessings to you, little one..."
***
Crossroad.
Junior's Room.
Bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Junior, trying to focus on a book that wasn't holding her attention due to her uneasy mind, was startled by the sudden rough knocking at the door.
"What is it?"
Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!
The persistent knocking made Junior hurry to the door and cautiously open it.
Standing outside was...
"Huff, huff, huff...!"
"Hecate?"
It was Hecate.
She was dressed just as she had been for her date with Lucas, meticulously done up. Junior blinked in surprise.
"Didn't you go on a date with Sir Lucas? Why are you back so soon..."
"I, I, I..."
Hecate, stammering, shouted with a flushed face.
"I broke up with Lucas...!"
Junior, not understanding the context, blinked.
"What, what?"
"I, I dumped that stuck-up guy. Can you believe it? Well, technically, he let himself be dumped..."
Hecate, rambling, suddenly wobbled as if her legs gave out. Junior quickly supported her and guided her to a chair by the table.
Hecate briefly explained what had happened during the date.
That she decided to be reborn anew, having lost everything.
That to do so, she had to let go of Lucas, her first love and obsession, completely.
"So my heart feels clear, so clear... like there's a hole in it. A huge hole bigger than my body..."
Hecate, covering her face with both hands, took a deep breath.
Junior made a cup of warm honey tea and placed it in front of her.
For a while, the only sounds in the room were the crackling of the fireplace and the faint, calming scent of honey from the tea.
After a long silence.
"...I still don't know where to go or what I can become," Hecate said in a voice tinged with tears, slowly removing her hands from her face.
"But... I'll go somewhere, become something. I won't fear any new 'where' or 'what' anymore."
"..."
"If I keep trying, I'll eventually find it. What I truly want to do in this world."
Junior nodded at Hecate's rambling words.
"You will. Definitely."
"..."
Hecate, her eyes red, looked at Junior and then lowered her gaze.
"And that time you said... were you serious, Junior?"
"Huh? What did I say?"
"When you said I could visit your resort with a swimming pool when you retire..."
Hecate's voice trembled.
"When you said I could come to your dream. Was that real?"
"Of course. If you come, I'll always open the door for you."
Junior shrugged playfully.
"In return, when you find your dream, you have to tell me. I want to visit your dream too."
"Okay. Then we're both making a promise?"
"We're both making a promise."
Their conversation paused.
In the ensuing peaceful silence, the two women quietly looked at each other.
The deep chasm of history between them was still too vast to fill, but for the first time, Hecate... didn't mind the enmity and looked Junior in the eyes.
There she saw a person, just like herself, wounded and bleeding, yet still walking towards her dream.
And at the same time.
A young woman who simply wanted to be friends with her.
Hecate smiled unconsciously.
"Hey. Junior."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember reaching out to me for a handshake a few days ago?"
"Uh... did I?"
"You did. You said you'd go through any funny, absurd thing with me. That we should live together. That you wanted to be my friend."
Junior's cheeks flushed.
"Oh, right. I remember. Sorry for being so silly..."
"But we couldn't shake hands because of the monster attack and all that, right?"
This time, Hecate, feeling shy, stammered.
But she didn't hesitate anymore.
"Can you... offer me that handshake again?"
"..."
Junior, surprised for a moment, then smiled.
"Of course. Anytime."
In the room, the fireplace crackled, and the scent of honey warmed the air as snow silently piled up outside the window.
Without saying a word, they both slowly reached out to each other.
And finally, their fingers gently clasped together.
As if they were laying a bridge across a deep chasm for the first time...
Very slowly. Very gently.
***
Crossroad. Central Plaza.
On New Year's Day, the plaza was filled with citizens and soldiers enjoying the peaceful afternoon air.
"..."
Evangeline sat on a bench in a corner of the plaza, her chin resting on her hand, wearing a deeply sullen expression.
"It's so unfair... so unfair..."
She muttered continuously with a voice filled with resentment and frustration.
"I can't live like this... How do I release this grudge..."
Frightened citizens, sensing the negative aura emanating from Evangeline, hurriedly moved away. Ignoring them, Evangeline continued to exude a dark, brooding air.
At that moment.
"What are you doing?"
"...?"
Evangeline turned to see a familiar blonde-haired, blue-eyed knight.
It was Lucas, dressed in neat civilian clothes.
Evangeline snorted and turned away, grumbling again.
"Don't mind me, Mr. Handsome who went on a date today~ I'm just growling because I set a rare record of zero confessions and one rejection."
"Ha ha, that's a funny story."
Lucas laughed out loud. Evangeline glared at him with narrowed eyes.
"Is that funny, old man?"
"Not teasing, just amazed."
Lucas sat down next to Evangeline with a thud.
"I'm also in the zero confessions and one rejection state."