A NEW REUNION (PART 1)

[A Few Minutes Earlier at the Wooden Lodge]

A black-haired elf with a long braid, dressed like a maid, stood behind the counter, serving a knight in front of her.

"Don't lie to us, Miss! Tell us quickly where your master is!" the knight demanded, his expression irritated.

"I have already told you, sir that Lady Rimaria is away at the moment, and I do not know when she will return. If she comes back, I will make sure to deliver your message. So please, leave a message."

"This is a royal decree! It’s of utmost importance! Do you dare defy the kingdom?"

"Hey, hey, just let it go."

"Bret! Stop it! You’ve been rude to Miss Lusserina. Miss, please forgive his behavior. He didn't mean to offend you."

"Tch!"

"In that case, we’ll take our leave. Once again, sorry for disturbing you."

With that, the knights left the wooden lodge. Lusserina let out a relieved sigh as they walked away.

(If not for Lady Rima’s kindness, I wouldn’t bother dealing with them.)

Still slightly annoyed, Lusserina walked to the back room. As she passed through, she noticed a figure outside the window from the corner of her eye. When she turned to look, sure enough, there was commotion by the lakeside.

(Lady Rima has returned?)

Excited, Lusserina hurried toward the figure standing by the lake. From a distance, she could see a woman talking with the knights, but judging by her expression, the conversation seemed tense.

"Excuse me, what’s going on here?"

"We are here to deliver a message to Lady Rimaria, but she claims we have the wrong person."

"Apologies, gentlemen, but could you please give Lady Rimaria some space? She has just returned from abroad and may need to rest first. Please come back tomorrow."

"The royal family wishes to meet her immediately, but she insists that she is not Rimaria, but Luna. She must be joking, right?"

Hearing this, Lusserina's entire body stiffened. Her heart pounded furiously. Slowly, she turned to face Luna. For a moment, she just stared before snapping back to reality.

"(Luna?!) Lady Lunaria?!"

When the black-haired elf girl turned to her, Luna felt as if she had seen her somewhere before. Then, the memories resurfaced…

"Lusserina?!"

Lusserina's body tensed. Her eyes widened, and her lips trembled slightly. Slowly, she stepped forward, as if afraid this was just an illusion.

"Lady… Luna?" her voice quivered.

Without waiting for an answer, she lunged forward and embraced Luna tightly. Her body shook, and the tears she had been holding back for so long finally spilled uncontrollably. Sobs wracked her frame, as if two centuries of longing and waiting had burst forth in this single moment.

The knights, witnessing this scene, stood in confusion.

After regaining her composure, Lusserina released her hug and straightened her posture like a skilled maid.

"Welcome back, Lady Luna."

"I'm home."

The knights still looked puzzled, except for one.

(Lunaria? Where have I heard that name before?)

"…"

(OH!! Lunaria Oberyth! The commander once mentioned that Lady Rimaria Oberyth had an older twin sister named Lunaria Oberyth, the original owner of the Moonshine shop?!)

Realizing this, he immediately bowed deeply and apologized.

"Lady Lunaria, please forgive the rudeness of my subordinates earlier."

He also instructed the other knights to bow respectfully and apologize. Though they still didn’t understand what was happening, they followed their superior’s orders.

"I hope Lady Lunaria can find it in her heart to forgive us. Now, we shall take our leave."

After saying that, he and the other knights departed.

"Ugh… those knights are so annoying! They come here almost every day looking for Lady Rima. Even when I tell them I'll deliver the message, they still don’t listen. So frustrating! If it weren’t for Lady Rima, I would have chopped them up long ago."

(Goodness! Is this her personality when she’s alive? Back in the game, she always maintained perfect posture, like a well-trained maid. I never expected her to be like this in reality.)

"Ahem! Forgive me. Come inside, I’ll make you a drink, Lady."

(Lady?)

Lusserina walked back into the house, and I followed her. We entered through the back door, the one leading to the lake, rather than the front door where the knights had left.

Inside, I was greeted by the sight of a European-style minimalist kitchen. The cabinets were made of Stokra wood, the strongest tree in the game. They were painted a bright blue.

Lusserina guided me to sit at the dining table. Soon, she brought me a cup of warm tea before taking a seat nearby.

"I know you must have a lot of questions, but I will tell you everything."

She then asked where I had been all this time. I explained my situation based on the context of this world.

"…"

"I thought you were gone forever, but Lady Rima, along with the Young Master and Young Miss, always believed you would return. And they were right. You came back. I’m so happy!" Lusserina’s eyes welled up with tears.

(Young Master? Young Miss? Is she talking about…)

"I'm sorry for making you all worry."

"It's okay. The important thing is that you’re back. Lady Rima and the others will be overjoyed when they hear the news."

"Oh, by the way, where is Rima?"

"Lady Rima is an S-ranked adventurer. Aside from handling difficult monsters, she often meets important figures from various nations. Many have even tried to win her over by offering marriage, but she has turned them all down."

"Oh? She sounds like a celebrity. How long has she been gone?"

"Four months, Lady. She usually comes home every six months."

"I see. And what about the children?"

"They only visit during the annual festival since they have their own homes and lives now."

"So that means you've been here alone all this time?"

"Yes, Lady."

"…"

"Thank you for always taking care of this place by yourself."

"There’s no need to thank me, Lady. It is my duty as a servant of this family."

Oh right, Lusserina was originally an NPC created by my friend. He had left her in my care, saying I would need a maid to help look after my children.

"What happened after I left?"

Hearing this, Lusserina fell silent, staring into the teacup in her hands.

"…"

Suddenly, a memory flashed in my mind, like an old recording being replayed.

I saw myself standing beside a male elf. In front of us, three small children, around five years old, looked up at us with hopeful eyes. Behind them, Lusserina and a female elf stood with gentle yet watchful expressions.

"We're leaving now, okay? Be good at home and listen to Lusserina and Aunt Rima, alright?"

"Mm! Okay!"

I smiled and turned to Rima. "Rima, we’re going now. Sorry for burdening you with the kids."

"It’s fine, sis. They’re like my own children. Be careful! Come back soon!"

"I will!"

"Lusserina, please help Rima take care of the kids, okay?"

"Lady, do not worry. I will look after them."

"…"

"Alright, we’re off!"

After saying our goodbyes, we flew westward into the sky.

(That… that was my memory?)

"Lady, what’s wrong? Are you alright?"

"Ah, I’m fine. I just remembered something. Where were we?"

Lusserina continued her story…

[Lusserina’s Story]

After you left, everything remained as usual. I continued cooking meals and doing household chores, while Lady Rima sat on the balcony reading a book, keeping an eye on the children as they played in the yard.

After a while, the children suddenly stopped playing and stared toward the west.

"What’s that in the sky?"

"A red ball?"

"Auntie, look! There’s a red ball in the sky!"

Hearing the children's voices, Rima put down her book and walked over to see what they were looking at.

As soon as she saw the direction they were pointing, an uneasy feeling crept over her, though she still wasn’t sure why.

(A red ball?)

The red sphere looked small from this distance, but she quickly realized it was because it was far away. If it were closer, it would be massive—far too large to be just a simple ball.

The children kept watching as the red sphere disappeared behind the mountains. Since it was out of sight, they lost interest and returned to playing.

However, just as Rima was about to head back inside, she saw flocks of birds suddenly flying away from the west.

(This is a bad sign.)

Moments later, a powerful earthquake struck.

The ground… the trees… the lake… even the mountains trembled violently.

Acting on instinct, Rima rushed toward the children. They screamed and clung to her, trembling with fear. The tremors lasted for a few moments before finally stopping.

"Children, hurry inside the house!"

I was startled by what was happening and ran out of the house to grab the children, ushering them back inside.

Then, from the west, a massive column of smoke rose into the sky, forming a towering mushroom cloud.

Rima's unease deepened.

"Get inside, quickly!"

After I got the children indoors, Rima soared into the sky to get a better look.

What she saw horrified her.

A high-pressure shockwave was heading straight toward us.

Rima reacted instantly, casting a protective barrier over the house and herself.

Just seconds later, the shockwave struck.

Some trees were ripped from the ground and hurled several meters away.

(This… it's coming from the west. Isn’t that the direction where Sister Luna went?!)

Just as she was about to descend, another wave followed.

Unlike the first, this one carried intense heat.

After it passed, Rima remained in the air, scanning the west for any further danger. When she was sure there were no more aftershocks, she descended back into the house.

The children were huddled together, clinging to me in fear.

"Auntie, I’m scared."

"Me too, Auntie…"

"Don’t worry. Auntie and Lusserina will protect you."

That night, since it was already late, Rima and I put the children to sleep after dinner. For safety, we had them sleep on the first-floor sofa where I could watch over them, while Rima kept guard from the balcony.

Neither of us slept that night.

We stayed awake, on high alert, in case anything else happened.

Thankfully, nothing major occurred—though we did notice something unsettling.

Throughout the night, we saw large groups of monsters running past the house.

They weren’t attacking us…

They were fleeing from something.

From the distance, Rima noticed a red glow on the horizon.

She flew closer to investigate.

What she found was terrifying—massive wildfires had broken out, not just in one area but across multiple locations.

The fires were too widespread to handle alone, so she cast a large-scale rain spell to extinguish them.

When morning came, Rima told me she was going to investigate further and asked me to take care of the children.

With a worried expression, she took off toward the west.

As she flew, she was shocked by what she saw.

Entire trees had been uprooted and scattered across the ground.

Many of them were charred.

She also saw the corpses of countless monsters lying in heaps.

After crossing several mountains and valleys, she finally arrived at the central plains.

What she saw there made her blood run cold.

What was once a lush green land…

…had turned into a barren wasteland.

Signs of destruction were everywhere—burnt trees, cracked earth, and the lingering stench of ash in the air.

Then, she saw it.

A massive crater.

It was four times the size of a football stadium.

Seeing the scale of destruction, Rima’s face turned pale as she imagined what must have happened that night.

Desperately, she called out your name.

"LUNA!!!"

She searched everywhere in the wasteland.

But there was no sign of you.

[The Aftermath]

Days passed.

Days turned into weeks.

Weeks became months.

Months stretched into years.

No matter how far Rima searched, she found no trace of you.

She even traveled to nearby villages and cities, asking if anyone had seen you.

But no one had.

Eventually, the children, who had been waiting anxiously, begged her to stop.

They were afraid of losing Rima, just like they had lost their parents.

At that moment, Rima embraced them, tears streaming down her face, and made a promise.

She swore to be their mother.

To protect and raise them, just as she had promised you.

The children, devastated by the loss, struggled to cope.

At first, they were withdrawn, unable to find joy in anything.

Even eating became difficult for them.

It was a painful time for all of us.

But as the years passed, they gradually learned to move forward.

Rima, too, threw herself into helping people.

Though she had given up hope of finding you, she refused to stop fighting.

She gained fame across the continent for her deeds.

She became an adventurer—not just for the thrill of battle, but in the hopes that, one day, she might hear news of you.

Because of her strength and contributions, many nations sought to recruit her.

She was offered nobility, high-ranking government positions, and even marriage proposals from princes and kings.

But she refused them all.

She believed that if you ever returned, you wouldn’t want to find her trapped in a political marriage.

Even the royal family of this country tried to recruit her, but she turned them down.

Thirty years after the incident, the kingdom of Nuzantra relocated its capital to this region.

Why?

Because they wanted to be close to one of the strongest individuals on the continent—Rima.

"Since then, I’ve helped Lady Rima raise the children until they grew up, strong and independent. When the capital was moved here, the children found jobs in the city."

Hearing all this, I felt an unbearable weight pressing on my chest, as if something was squeezing the air out of me.

I never expected them to have suffered so much.

It must have been agonizing for everyone.

Especially for the children—losing their parents at such a young age.

And Lusserina…

She waited for me all this time.

She never gave up.

I…

I’m so lucky to have her.

"I see… I’m sorry for making you all worry, for making you wait for 200 years."

Hearing this, Lusserina stepped forward and embraced me tightly.

"The only thing that matters… is that you’re back."