The Struggle of Returning to The Other World

After my interview with Mr. Luno, I was to be retained as a guest at the Royal Palace.

Sometimes after the sun had already set, it was difficult to arrange an interview with Lady Frahamti during that day.... Maybe if I made contact from the back route, I would have been able to meet him soon though. But then you can't.

"This room. Use it as you please."

"Wow..."

Guided by Noel was an adorable room with a brown tone.

A spacious room with wooden floors, in the middle of which is one bed that looks comfortable to sleep in to see. On the door side, sofa and table. And at the window, there was a small desk that seemed to treasure reading and a little writing.

For the first time in the royal palace, rooms for guests like this were also available.

"I think the meeting with Lady Frahamti will be after tomorrow"

"Okay."

"... so what are you going to talk to that guy about, is it decided?

Noel has asked that as he sits on the couch.

I'll sit on the edge of the bed, too.

"... yeah, for once. I've been thinking about it, so I have these thoughts."

I answered carefully.

It's not an easy decision to make. Besides, it doesn't make sense if Lady Frahamti doesn't accept the answers you give. It's a very, very difficult problem.

"I don't care about that tomorrow or after, but before I meet with Lady Frahamti, I'd also like to talk to Lady Ardina. Because I don't think it's something I can decide on my own."

"Okay. Let's make time tomorrow."

"Thanks"

Then Noel showed slight signs of cruising.

"... the choice not to return to the original world is in you?

Noel, in a calm voice, turned to the core question.

"Talking to Lady Frahamti will inevitably mean we'll settle for such a story"

"... I know"

I'm going home. I have to go home.

Ever, that's what I've been thinking.

But go home now, don't I really regret it?

Besides - Noel held me back from leaving.

Like me back in the day, it's not the same confessional language that ran just emotions without looking over.

Noel must have thought a lot about me. About my world, about the people that surround me, about my own attachment to my homeland.

That's why his retaining words were so heavy.

(I need to think about Noel properly)

Whether you think about it or not, you end up in a trail.

I don't know how to respond to Noel's feelings when he says he's also scattered lost in his words to Master Frahamti. But I have to think about it.

Because I can't remain vague about this guy.

I grabbed my fist and got out of bed.

Stay close to the side of the couch and peek into Noel's face as he sits. His eyes, opened to surprise, looked so good.

"Noel, just give me a little more time about me"

"Hulka?"

"When I was a witch, I was - I was such a child. Maybe I admired 'love'. Yeah, even though it didn't feel light to like Noel. But I'm sure I wasn't seriously thinking about how to handle that feeling. When you say goodbye, just throw your feelings at Noel. So we were torn apart, like the protagonists of sad love, what a dip."

Since then, it seems short and a long time has passed.

Now I'm not the same me.

"Noel was right then. Besides, it was sweet. Thanks for letting me go."

I don't know why, I don't know, but I'm about to have zero tears.

"But I won't let Noel do the same anymore. Now it's time for me to think properly. What do you want to do now? Do I, after all, want to return to the original world? Or will it stay here? If it stays, think hard about what it means."

"... oh"

"I'm sorry I can't answer you right now. But I'm not trying to be vague, so I want you to know that."

"I know."

Noel gently wiped the tears that had accumulated in my eyes.

"I'll wait. - Give me your answer."

The next morning.

I was secretly struck by the fact that I was able to wake up in the bed of a given room without anything.

The weather still looks nice today, with the brilliance and morning sun plunging in from the big window.

As I opened the curtain, I thanked God for this peaceful awakening.

I was afraid that Mr. Ars would break into his room in the middle of the night and kidnap me.

'Cause this is the royal palace, Lady Frahamti's lap.

A place where awesome people, like those with power after the king, can unleash that power no matter how much.

There, the witch who escaped came back about this, so it seems like she can do something about it. Absolutely, I thought that was what I was after.

Are you seeing things because I have become quite a prominent presence within the royal palace as a "common man who has been distracted by the pilgrimage"? Or is Noel, Dear Ardina, Mr. Luno, etc. well disposed of? Or maybe Mr. Ordis, who hasn't seen him in a long time, cares. I still have the bracelet I left with him.

Either way, I get noticed that the royal palace, which was supposed to have just been uncomfortable, is changing things in me just a little bit.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hulka"

In the meantime, I was about to start putting my sleeves through the clothes I had prepared in an attempt to get to know myself. An understated knock, then a woman's voice sounds from across the door.

"Oh, yes, go ahead"

In a hurry to get dressed and reply, it was Mr. Quinn who came in.

"Good morning, Mr. Hulka"

"Mr. Quinn! Good morning."

On a witch pilgrimage, Mr. Quinn also supported me as a caretaker and knight apprentice. I can't believe we're seeing each other so soon in this royal palace. To my pleasant surprise, I raised my bounced voice.

"Today, I will be able to help you around Master Hulka. Thank you for your continued support."

"Nice to meet you"

Mr. Quinn, who came in, is pulling the cart on hand. On the cart, lots of plates, big and small. It smelled so good that I couldn't even tell from them that I accidentally rang my nose.

"I will prepare breakfast, would you mind?

"Oh, is this my breakfast!?

"Of course it is. Please be at ease and wait until you are ready."

Wow, this is not a treatment for "ordinary people". Though I've known since I got this big room ready.

"Uh, by the way, Mr. Quinn"

"Yes, what is it?

Mr. Quinn says the main business is supposed to be knight apprenticeships, but breakfast will be ready with smooth hands. I continued my conversation as I admired the series of streams.

"Um, were the Ardinas okay yesterday?

Mr. Quinn, for a moment, stopped his hand.

"... well, it still seems like a lot has happened"

"You reported to the state that the 'pulse' was corrected, didn't you?

"Yeah, it seems so. However, there was something about Rayburn."

I can't stand Mr. Quinn's expression.

Though I knew it, I couldn't seem to say it was because the 'pulse' had been corrected, i.e. a large circle. There are still many walls to cross in front of Master Ardina.

"About me..."

Has my presence, the former witch Halutia, also become public?

"I was also present as an escort at the Return Ceremony, but I could not touch on the matter. I don't think it's a matter of standing up for you, because you have been given a strict order to participate in the Witch Pilgrimage."

"Really?"

Relaxed, then quickly tightened my mind.

Not if you're relieved. How my presence will affect me in the future - because that depends exactly on my upcoming meeting with Lady Frahamti.

That afternoon I gave Noel time again.

Three people, Ardina and I, who came sewing between us busy, poke each other in the knees and discuss an interview with Lady Frahamti.

None of us have the right answer.

There is also no guarantee that our thoughts are right.

Still, if you decide to stand up to it, you can't run anymore.

The meeting with Lady Frahamti was decided the afternoon after that.

When I promised, I quickly came around.

"Master Hulka, if you'll excuse me. It's time for a meeting with Lady Frahamti."

Mr. Quinn called me to my room.

"Yes."

Standing up with my spine stretched out, I sneezed and headed to the entrance to the room.

Mr. Quinn barely opens his mouth. But he even took me to Master Frahamti's office, looking back at this one from time to time to care for me.

Previously, in Mr. Ordis' art of forced metastasis, he was to meet with Lady Frahamti without preparing his mind.

And at that time, it no longer came true to return to its original place.

- What about now?

(It's okay, 'cause Noel's following me)

I tell myself strongly that I'm going to be captured by anxiety.

That made me feel a little light-hearted.

(Now, I'm not alone)

That fact inspired me.

"Master Hulka, this way."

After a long walk down the hall, Mr. Quinn stopped.

She pulls herself one step in front of the big door. As intimidating as ever, I swallowed a sawdust at the door.

"Thank you"

Step forward. Get ready and open the door.

Then - across the door, between refrains, there was Noel's appearance.

He's not the only one.

My God, even Master Ardina was waiting for me.

"Huh..., how so?"

Unexpectedly, I opened my mouth pompously.

Because Lady Ardina was not scheduled to be present here today.

"Mr. Hulka, I'm sorry to surprise you. I may be disturbing, but let me still be with you. I'm the culprit, so I think it's something I should talk to Lady Frahamti about properly. I want to tell him directly what I'm ready for."

Master Ardina told me so, gently enveloping my right hand with both of those palms, but only with sincerely sharp eyes.

"Dear Ardina......, is that okay?

The interview with Lady Frahamti will remain directly linked to the story of Lady Ardina's progress and retreat. Ardina's presence on the spot means she can't escape, hide, or delude herself.

"Yes, please, please"

Master Ardina's determination seemed firm.

I snorted back firmly and then looked up at Noel on the side.

"Let's go"

I nodded again at Noel's words and sent my gaze across the door to Lady Frahamti, who would refrain.