What I've been missing this whole time

After the ceremony in the morning, we’d eaten lunch with Shimu and then gotten straight to work tending to those still wounded in the medical tent. After such a busy day, Ann and I were happy to return to our room in the inn for some much-needed downtime.

“Shiidou, when last did we write to the lord and lady back home?”
“Uhh… I suppose it’s only been a couple days, but in that couple days a lot has happened. You thinking of penning another letter for ‘em?”
“Indeed, after such a busy few days it would be a welcome break to spend some time simply corresponding with those we left in the west.”
“Yeah, I feel ya. Plus I’m sure Shimu has already sent them word about the dragon incident, and mum’ll go loopy if she doesn’t hear from us soon.”

I walk over to the desk and take one of the pieces of parchment stored underneath it. Before I begin writing, a thought occurs to me.

“Uhh… hey, Ann?”
“Yes, Shiidou?”
“Do you think we should tell them about… y’know… us. That we’re… together?”

God dammit, why am I hesitating so much as I say that?

“Ah- maybe that’s a subject best saved for when we see them in person. I would like for us to seek your father’s approval directly, a letter may feel a tad… impersonal.”
“Ah, that’s a good point. I’ll hold off on mentioning it then.”

Ah shit, I didn’t even think about that. Ann and I are so close that I often forget that we’re supposed to be master and servant. Under normal circumstances, a lord and his maid being romantically involved would be heavily objected to, but considering Ann’s status as the islands most beloved hero, a marriage between us might find no opposition.

Wait, marriage? What am I talking about? We’ve been together barely more than 24 hours, for god’s sake. I’m starting to sound like Shimu, the bastard.

“Shiidou? Are you not going to write?”
“Huh? Oh, shit, sorry. Lost in thought.”

I’m hoping she doesn’t notice the red tinge in my face, because “I was just thinking about wedding plans” is probably not a good excuse if she asks me why I’m blushing.

Shaking the thought out of my head, I finally begin to write my message

Dear Mum and Dad

I know it’s only been a couple of days since our last letter, but a lot has happened in a short period of time. As I’m sure Shimu has already informed you, the flooding of the eastern coastline was caused by a wave dragon attack, the first in 150 years. And I’m sure he also told you that it was me and Ann that face that dragon down and ended the attack.

I know you dislike me using them, but to be completely transparent, I had to invoke a forbidden technique to win that fight. Gravity manipulation, to be specific.

Part of our deal was that I wouldn’t use any form of magic that would put others in danger, and since Ann and I were the only ones around, I’d ask you to please overlook this one. Had I not beaten the dragon there and then, the island would have had hell to pay.

On a nicer note, Ann’s doing a lot better now than she was when we first arrived. Her mana pool has grown a lot, and she’s learned to pace herself properly. I’ve been really happy to see that, I always worry about her overworking herself.

When we get home, I want her treated as a guest of honour, not just a maid. She deserves the world over, so anything to take some stress off her plate would be appreciated. Just don’t tell her I said that, she’ll lecture me about how unbecoming it is for a maid to slack off.

Shimu’s had one hell of a week, the poor bastard. After losing both his wife and a large amount of his population, he was already barely keeping it together, so all the complications have been weighing much heavier on him than he’s willing to admit. Still, he’s been as great a host as he could possibly be, Ann and I have been well off in his care.

He’s even hosting a festival next week, in honour of me and Ann’s victory over the dragon. ‘The Sword and Shield of Shimatou,’ he calls us. It’s got a nice ring to it.

Ever the overworker, Ann has offered to remain behind for a while and help with the reconstruction, so we might not be home for quite the while. The situation is looking up a lot from how it was, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. We’re both missing you a lot, but it wouldn’t feel real right to leave a job half finished. We’ll write home again once we know when we’re likely to be back.

Sincerely yours,

Shiidou

P.S, tell Okaa that we’ve been missing her too. And that she ought to be incredibly proud of everything her daughter has achieved. I’ll look forward to seeing her face when I bring Ann home to her safely.

“My, you certainly wrote a lot this time. But I suppose there is much to say.”
“Indeed there is. Plus, the more I write, the more Mum’s likely to write back. I always love reading her handwriting.”
“You always have been a mother’s boy, haven’t you?”
“Well when I’m not even my own dad’s favourite, can you blame me?”

I get up out of the seat and leave it open for Ann, who gets to writing pretty much immediately. Since that first letter, it’s become common practice for us to not read each other’s messages. Ann’s weirdly secretive about hers.

As I think of something to do in the meantime, my mind wanders back to the enormous grimoire I was given today. Since we got to work practically instantly this morning, I haven’t even had the chance to look inside it yet.

Despite everything seemingly going my way these past couple days, I’ve still not been able to shake this feeling that there’s something I’m missing. Something that’s leaving me incomplete. It’s a long shot, but maybe studying the magic in here will jog my memory.

I pour over the pages one after another, reading about spells I’ve neither heard nor dreamed of, but nothing comes to mind.

“You seem to be looking for something. Is there a particular spell you’ve been desperate to learn?”

I look over at the voice to see that Ann has already finished writing. I must have really let time slip away while I was skimming through the pages.

“Hmm? No, none in particular, just seeing if there are any that catch my eye right off the bat.” I look back down at the pages as I talk. Even though there’s nothing that grabs my attention in particular, for some reason I get a strong feeling I’ll find something in here.

“That’s an awfully intense expression for a simple skim. The book must really have drawn you in.”
“Well I guess I am looking for something, I’m just not entirely sure what fo-“

As I turn the page, something sucks me in so quickly that I cut off my own speech.

“Shiidou? Is something the matter?”
“This is it.”

I look down at the words at the bottom of that page. I knew there’d be something interesting by the title at the top: YUSING DARCK MAJIK TO OPEN WYRMHOLES

“This is what? You’re hardly making any sense.”
“This is what I’ve been missing this whole time. A way back home. A way to see Earth again.”

At the bottom of the page, a smaller title preceded a sizeable paragaraph.

WYRMHOLES AND CONNEKTIONS TO OTHER WORLDS

“We can go back.”