Volume 1. Chapter 8. Shadow of the Hero and Una's Dream.

They arrived at their destination when the sun began to rise. The city, once peaceful, now lay in ruins. The soldiers lifted the rubble of the buildings one by one to clear the city and restore order.

"Where is the summoned hero?"

Vail did not feel the presence of the hero in the city.

"Want to ask that person?"

Rii pointed to one of the soldiers, who had an injury on his left hand and suggested.

"That's fine, but before that... let's cast a manipulation spell and change our appearances into children."

They agreed to Vail's words, stepped into a quiet place, and changed into children.

"Uncle!"

The soldier, counting the number of survivors, turned his head, surprised to see a child wandering around the city.

"Child, but why are they here?"

He was confused, because all the citizens of Tars should have been evacuated long ago. Not wanting to think about bad things, he crouched to make talking easier.

"What are you doing in this dangerous place... where are your parents?"

"Uncle, we heard that the hero was in this city. So we came to say thank you to him."

The man heard Rii's words, not expecting that children like them already understood the meaning of gratitude.

"Is that so, but I'm sorry. Hero and his group already left before sunrise."

"They already leave?"

"Yes... they go to Norf City on the orders of the union."

The three of them were very surprised to hear the words from the man.

Meanwhile in Norf City, Elia saw Una come to the Guild with Cindy.

"Where are the others?"

Elia was curious because the three were rarely seen in the Guild.

"I don't know myself. They haven't been in the room since morning."

Una said that she didn't know either.

"Is there a request you can recommend for the two of us?"

"A request? Please wait... I'll look for it for the two of you."

"Thank you, Eli."

Elia searched among the new application letters in the next locker for a request that was suitable and not dangerous for her two friends.

"Ah, found it."

After placing the stack back, Elia pulled a single sheet of paper from the other pile.

Elia showed a harmless request.

"How about it? Are you interested?"

Una and Cindy read a merchant's request letter asking for a B-rank adventurer to accompany them to Souh village.

"Becoming a merchant's bodyguard with a large enough reward for both of you if you're interested. I'll give you this request."

Elia informed her two friends again and asked them to make sure before choosing.

"How about you, Cindy?"

"I think it's okay, but we must tell them first."

Cindy didn't mind and suggested Una tell Cini, Vail, and Rii before leaving.

"Don't need to worry. I'll tell them later."

Hearing Elia's words, Una and Cindy accepted the recommended request.

Una invited Cindy to discuss with the merchant who would be escorted. When the day entered the afternoon, Rii and his friend's come back to the inn.

They go to the Guild because the innkeeper said that Una and Cindy had gone there since noon and had not returned.

"Elia!"

Elia, composing a new request on the guild board, turned around because she heard Cini's voice calling her name.

They approached Elia to ask about Cindy and Una's whereabouts.

"Sorry to interrupt your work, Elia. Have you seen Cindy and Una?"

"They are currently carrying out a request as bodyguards for a merchant from the Karta kingdom."

Elia told them and returned the requested paper to the guild board.

"Becoming bodyguards?"

Vail was confused about it, why Una accepted the request while they were away.

"If I may ask, where did they go?"

Rii was so curious about their destination.

"They accompanied the merchant to Souh village."

Elia said again.

"I almost forgot, can you guys..."

"Eh...?"

Elia no longer saw the three of them when she finished her task.

"If the destination is that village, it is unlikely that they will meet the hero party."

"What does that mean?"

Cini was curious about Rii's words.

"Did you forget what the soldier in Tars City said—that the hero had already left for Norf City this morning?"

Vail reminded his friend again.

"There may be a small chance, but the fact remains—they met the hero and his group."

Rii concluded again.

"That's true, but... are we really going after them?"

Cini wasn't sure whether the others intended to follow Una and Cindy to glimpse the hero.

"The comparison is so small. We followed them not because of that. But rather because of worry, as we know, this is Cindy's first mission."

"That's true, but…"

"No ifs and buts. We will watch them from a distance."

Ultimately, Cini agreed to Vail and Rii's wishes, casting magic again to fly. They also cast magic so that they would not be seen while in the sky.

"Vail... why is your presence so small?"

ini and Rii didn't understand what Vail was doing.

"Did you forget that Una is a talented mage?"

"I did this for a reason, and I hope she doesn't know where I am."

"I see..."

Cini understood his friend's words, so she and Rii did the same thing. Suppressed their presence and disguised themselves.

After flying in the sky for a long time, they finally found a group of merchants from the Karta kingdom and saw Cindy talking to Una in one of the horse-drawn carriages.

"Why are we talking about this?"

Cindy was confused because Una suddenly brought up the man she liked.

"I was just curious, especially since my conversation topics were up. So this is the only thing left,"

Una said the reason she asked about the man Cindy liked.

"What are they talking about?"

Cini was so curious about the conversation they were having.

"Want to get closer?"

Vail suggested his two friends, and they agreed.

Without Cindy and Una realizing it, they were right on the horse-drawn carriage they were riding.

"... what about the three of them? Is there one of them that interests you?"

Una was so curious about the man Cindy liked.

"If I think about it twice, Rii and Cini are responsible men, so do not ignore someone."

"What about Vail? Why didn't you mention him?"

Una was curious because Cindy excluded Vail from the men she liked.

"For me, he's a man who's hard to talk to, and our conversations end quickly."

Cindy said that she was always awkward because their conversations always ended quickly.

 "Then, between them, who would you choose?"

"Maybe Rii."

"Eh…"

Una was curious about why Cindy chose Rii over Cini, but Rii was shocked that Cindy chose her.

"What made you choose Rii?"

"I like Cini, but I quickly realized that Elia likes him too. As her new friend, I don’t want to get in the way of their relationship."

Cindy said she chose Rii because she didn't want to be the one who ruined Cini's relationship with Elia.

"And you? Do you have a man you like?"

Cindy asked Una again.

"Last night I had a dream,"

"A dream, but what's the connection?"

Cindy was surprised because it was outside the topic of their conversation.

"Cindy, do you believe I dreamed of meeting a Gerna prince from another world?"

"Come on, why did you…"

Cindy stopped speaking because Una looked at her with serious eyes.

"That's impossible. The Gerna kingdom has no prince, and the king there only has Princess Naria."

Una's words made Rii, Cini, and Vail curious and surprised.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?"

"But I dreamed of being in a world that had been destroyed, leaving a giant castle and its courtyard."

"And in that courtyard, I met the prince of Gerna, claiming to have many names. What surprised me was that one of his names was similar to Vail."

Una told the dream she remembered.

"Una, you seem so tired. Besides, how did Vail become the prince of Gerna if he wasn't the crown prince?"

"I know, Cindy. What I told you was just a dream."

The horse-drawn carriage stopped, which confused Una. The merchant told them that their horses needed time to rest.

At the same time, Vail asked his two friends to find a place for them to rest.

"Mr. Grit, are we going to spend the night here?"

Una said, approaching the merchant with Cindy.

"Right, after thinking about it. We better—"

Grit's words stopped, and they heard a voice from the bushes.

Una and Cindy prepared to fight.

"Who's there !?"

"You better surrender, or we'll—"

Una stopped speaking. They were shocked to find three children coming out of the bushes. Cindy immediately sheathed her sword again so the three children would not be afraid.

"Why are there children in a place like this?"

Grit was so surprised by the presence of the three children.

"Don't be careless, Cindy. They could be bait, and the bandits are watching us."

Una asked Cindy not to relax her vigilance against strangers, even children.

"We are not bandits!"

"Yeah, that's what you said."

Una didn't believe Cini's words.

"Please forgive us if we startled you. We just escaped from the slave traders who were chasing us."

"While resting here, we saw a group of horse-drawn carriages. Thinking you were slave traders, we immediately hid behind the bushes."