Mirsha opened her eyes in a hospital. Her body was hurting, and the first person she saw was a man in his thirties.

"Mirsha!? Can you hear me? Do you recognize me?"

"Will?" Mirsha was still a little groggy, but she could recognize that Blue Hair of his anywhere. The contour of Will's stupid and lazy face was something that had been burned in her brain.

"Momma!"

"Ugh!"

A girl's voice echoed in Mirsha's ears. Then the bearer of that voice appeared before Mirsha. A crying girl with blue hair hugged Mirsha's hand. Lucia was in tears as she finally reunited with her mother she so dearly missed.

"I…I thought Momma was going to..." her mind muddled from worry. It had been weeks since they last saw each other, and days before Mirsha was found, reports of connection being severed with their group were reported on the TV.

Some time ago, she really thought that she would die at the hands of that daemon. Her MP was depleted, she was on the verge of death, and if not for that deal, she wouldn't be here with her beloved family.

Mirsha tightly hugged Will and Lucia; quiet tears escaped her, she was thankful for still being alive.

Many things raced in her mind. But none of that mattered to her, "Don't cry. Mom's here, so don't cry."

"I thought I'll never see you again."

"Didn't I promised you that I'll return alive? I will do anything to return to your side again, my baby girl."

She was back and alive; that's all that matters.

'Anything.'

Mirsha, a prospective Guidless Fire Mage. At the age of 29, already reached the heights of a B+ Hunter after deciding to shift from being a simple "Helper" not too long ago.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

She was looked up to by many, and because of her righteous disposition, she is both hated and beloved. But none of that mattered, for what was important was her family.

Though her history was murky, her present life was what mattered to her. As Mirsha looked at her family by her side, she did not care that her life was now chained to a daemon's whims. She did not care, not even for a single second.

'This is the price for my life.' She does not wish to let go of the happiness she attained. Like she had said before, she would do anything to remain by her family's side.

Two days later.

Soon after Mirsha awakened from the coma and reunited with her family, two people dressed in black came to ask her some questions after her mind stabilized.

The questions were not that hard to answer. Most of them were about the mission they undertook in the Scorching Forest. They asked her to detail the events that had transpired.

"The mission to clear out the mysterious village of daemons has been completed. But as for the casualties, I fear that 99% of the Hunters who came with you died. We require a detailed explanation to understand such a devastating loss of life. We need to inform the families of the deceased and let the public of your story."

'They want to know how I was the only one who survived.' Mirsha was capable enough to read between the lines.

It was a man with little to no expression who asked her the questions. His voice was neither loud nor strong, but it was undoubtedly oppressive for reasons unknown to her.

As Mirsha looked at the man, she remembered what it was that she needed to say.

She needed to follow that girl's instructions.

"There were a lot of Epic-tiered monsters. Although there were not too many of them, and we outnumbered them by a lot, their sheer strength outclassed us. They…" Mirsha bit her lower lip, held her chest as she showed genuine fear and frustration, "…they were too strong for us to fight without incurring sacrifices. Our plan was broken in mere moments, and we were forced to combat them without a plan.

"Killing, my comrades one.after.the.other those damn beasts spared no one! One of them tore my arm off... its fangs... its..."

At that moment, Mirsha's voice was beginning to show instability. Her mana affected the room's temperature.

"Hunter Mirsha, please, calm down." one of the men tried to calm her down/

Her fear mixed with self-loathing was erupting from within her, and it took a while before managing to relax. She took a deep breath and paused for a long time before being able to speak again.

"...we, fought and fought until the last daemon. I didn't even know how many I killed. I looked for a survivor, and to my regret, I only found one." As if she realized something, Mirsha raised her head to ask, "How was the Hunter I saved? I remembered he was still saying something about wanting to fight more; I assume he too is fine?"

The man in a black suit stood up. He cleaned his dress and looked at Mirsha as he informed him, "He died before the rescue team arrived."

"Is that so…" Mirsha lowered her head.

"That would be all. Thank you for your cooperation. The mission reward will be sent to your account. As for the dead Hunters, no need to ask; the Association will take of their family. We hope you get well soon, Hunter Mirsha." The man in black was just about to leave when he remembered to say something, "If you wish to retire after this, please contact the Association so we can process your papers faster. We understand the pain of Hunters like you."

"…thank you for the consideration."

The doors of her room opened as the two left. A tear escaped her eyes, not out of sadness but of guilt. She just said what the daemon sent her a day before the smoke rose up. The number of Hunters that were killed that day was her responsibility.

She was the one who planned it all; they left their lives in her hands. Their blood stained her hands. If they had just retreated, their chances for survival could have been much larger.

But as of this moment, she was already burying their deaths under layers of lies. Mirsha does not know why this was happening, but as she closed and then opened her eyes, her eyes no longer showed guilt.

The only thing remaining in her eyes was determination. The determination to live and ride down this current of lies she was made to commit just to keep the happiness that she had found.