Chapter 0
One morning, Tarmin the hunter witnessed the door of his friend’s house—locked for years—open.
“Huh?”
“Ah.”
The little girl coming out of the house met his gaze, then immediately disappeared back inside and shut the door.
He stared blankly as hair that glittered like gold dust vanished behind the door. Coming to his senses, he pulled on the doorknob of his friend’s house for the first time in ages.
The door opened without a hitch, revealing a neatly kept interior.
Everything from the new furniture and bed to the book-filled shelves was something that hadn’t been there before.
A sweet smell wafted from the kitchen, as though something was simmering.
How had he not noticed all this new household stuff being brought in next door?
As he stood there, confused, one object on the shelf caught his eye.
A gift he’d given to a friend he could no longer travel with.
….”
What did it mean for the gift he’d given his friend to be carefully kept in her house?
Tarmin scratched his head. After thinking it over for quite some time, he spoke to the girl in the room.
Calling on the name of a dear friend.
“Enya?”
“…Hello, Taal.”
The girl had been hiding in a corner, but now smiled shyly and greeted him.
Taal was a nickname only his childhood friends knew.
His friend, who had set out to save the world, greeted him in the form of a golden-haired girl with one side of her hair loosely tied up.
**
“My part ends here.”
It was around the time the hero’s party had traveled about halfway around the world.
Tarmin sat up in his sickbed and announced it to the party in a voice that was neither casual nor solemn.
“What do you mean?”
He’d already explained it to everyone in the party except the hero and gotten their agreement, but naturally, the hero was the heart of the group, so he had to explain again.
“It goes without saying. Every time we face another trial from here on, I’ll end up bedridden like this. Wouldn’t it be better to retire before things get even more miserable?”
Enya fell silent, looking stunned.
Her expression was so pitiful that he ended up adding something he didn’t need to say.
“I’m just a rabbit hunter, not some hero out of a myth.”
“But... but we relied on your ability to sense things.”
“Enya, you’re already noticing anomalies faster than I am. You even sensed danger and woke up in your sleep. Haven’t you become someone who doesn’t even need sleep anymore?”
He sighed at Enya’s startled expression.
He knew she wasn’t trying to dismiss him.
It was just that being a hunter didn’t mean he spent all day watching animal tracks and traps.
They tried to persuade him with various arguments after that, but he rejected them all.
Tarmin watched Enya for a moment as she struggled to find some way to keep him with them.
His friend, born as the Child of Prophecy with shining golden hair and bright-red eyes, was being considerate of him.
It was only natural for Tarmin to leave.
Through the repeated trials and ordeals, the blessings they’d accumulated had already carried the hero’s party beyond the bounds of humanity.
And among them was one hunter who had received no noteworthy blessings.
“Here, take this.”
Hoping it might comfort her, Tarmin handed her whatever he had on hand—which happened to be a silver ring.
Though it was engraved with indecipherable writing and various designs, an examination had shown it to be nothing special. It was the sort of ring he thought he might melt down later to make arrowheads.
It was an item his hunter father had owned, and Tarmin had naturally inherited it.
Even after thinking of other useful things, nothing suitable came to mind.
No matter what precious treasure he gave her, it couldn’t be more valuable than the equipment the hero already had.
“I’ll be waiting for good news back home, so give it back to me someday.”
**
Taking his gaze off the ring carefully enshrined on the shelf, he said,
“Are you Enya?”
“Yeah.”
….”
There were so many things he wanted to ask that, instead, not a word came out.
His mouth moved as if to speak, but nothing came.
He covered his mouth and tried to figure out what he should say.
It would’ve been nice if she’d said something.
The girl before him merely looked back at him with those distinctive red eyes that drew in one’s gaze.
Eyes with such a bewitching allure that, as a child, she’d even been attacked because people thought they were ominous.
Those eyes were definitely Enya’s.
What had become of their great adventure?
He’d left the party, but had they seen it through? Had the world’s greatest evil been defeated? How many more great deeds had they accomplished? What had become of his troublesome companions? Had that witch, who’d been so eager to drive him out, finally grown up?
How had she ended up looking like this?
Instead of forcing out words that wouldn’t come, he decided to start with something simple.
“Whatever happened, I should say this first, right? Welcome home.”
Enya smiled faintly as she replied.
“I’m home.”
Tarmin looked down at his childhood friend, who was now shorter than him.
Had she failed? And was this appearance the price of that failure, or something?
Rather than saying she’d become shorter, it seemed more accurate to say she’d grown more slender.
Enya standing before him looked young enough to be called a girl.
Beneath her sparkling blonde hair, her dainty red lips and red eyes gleamed.
His friend, in the form of a pale, delicate girl, stood facing him.
It was an appearance he never could have imagined, considering how she had once seemed capable of working miracles at any moment.
"Are you really Enyaril?"
"I told you, I am."
"But, uh..."
Why are you in that form? He couldn’t bring himself to say those words.
Perhaps Enya had guessed what he was thinking, because she said,
“A lot happened.”
….”
Enya’s eyes were forlorn.
Tarmin looked at Enya, tense all over.
Her next words would determine whether he should offer congratulations or comfort.
The next moment, she placed one hand near her chest and held up two fingers with the other.
Her long skirt fluttered up slightly, then fell back into place.
“But don’t you worry! This hero took care of it!”
“…Haaaa. You idiot.”
He rubbed his tense neck. Enya burst out laughing at the sight.
Apart from the fact that her voice had become thinner and higher, it was the same laugh he remembered.
He thought about giving her a smack, but after all, she was a friend he hadn’t seen in years; it felt a bit wrong to act too familiar.
Especially when she looked like that.
Wiping away tears of laughter, Enya said,
“The news will arrive soon. That evil is gone, so the world is now in humanity’s hands.”
“Yeah. Then there shouldn’t be any problems anymore, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then see you later. You think it’s funny to mess with me? You’re dead.”
Enya just chuckled, naturally undaunted by that adorable threat.
“Where are you going?”
“The lord requested me.”
Tarmin showed her the bow, hand axe, and traps slung over his shoulder. What a hunter had to do was obvious.
Enya nodded, and Tarmin reached toward the shelf.
“You kept the ring safe after all. I’m taking it back.”
“Not yet.”
“Huh?”
“I haven’t returned it to you yet.”
Tarmin turned to look at his friend, who was now a woman.
Her large eyes, tinged with anger and resentment, looked back at him.
What had he done wrong?
Feeling at a loss for words, Tarmin withdrew the hand he’d reached toward the ring.
He didn’t know why she was reacting so sharply, but he’d given it to her as a token of friendship in the first place, and there was no need to get it back right away.
“All right. Then give it to me later.”
Enya didn’t give him any answer, even as he opened the door, left, and said he’d see her later.
It puzzled him, but he was busy right now. As someone employed by the lord, he couldn’t afford to be any later.
After Tarmin left, Enya stood alone in the spacious house.
She picked up the ring on the shelf and held it close to her chest.
She stood holding it like that for a long time.