“So I guess that’s it?”

The thought, voiced aloud by Falynn, matched how they all felt pretty accurately. To find out that the fighting was over with after they’d taken part in only one small aspect of it, was a bit of a letdown. They’d assumed that they would be useful for more than one thing, at least, and not just guarding some priests. For Taiki and Leonov, more accustomed to fighting as they were, they felt unsatisfied. The end of the plot had come unexpectedly before they could witness it.

“You four look like you quit baking halfway through the cake.”

They looked up at the sudden voice and saw a white-robed figure approaching. Taiki was the only one who got to her feet, offering a respectful bow, which the Issho-Ni member returned. “Good morning, Master…”

“Master Tokugawa,” the man said. “But you may call me Shiora, if that’s more to your comfort.”

The name meant nothing to most of them, except of course for Taiki. “You’re Grandmaster Tokugawa’s father?”

“My greatest achievement, being that boy’s father,” Shiora Tokugawa said. In another man, the words might have been sour, but he grinned easily as he said them. “He does me proud with his strength. Just barely thirty, and he’s already surpassed me!”

“You’re a great warrior too, Master Tokugawa,” Taiki refuted. “I’ve heard the stories of your days in battle.”

“Aye, I’m good, but I’m nowhere near his level. He’s nearly as deadly as my grandfather Tobito.”

Now there was a familiar name for all of them, even Leonov. Despite being a foreigner, he was familiar with the tale of Shigeru’s first adopted son, and his legendary prowess in battle. Rumor was he’d trained alongside Samuel Bragg, and that they’d taught each other their specialties. The rare combination of mastered magic and melee had made both individuals legendary combatants.

Falynn didn’t take part in the conversation, being too busy growing a flower in the ground at her feet. But she did glance up at Shiora Tokugawa from time to time as if she were too shy to stare for too long. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn’t a Nihon-Jan that made him less of a standout in his family’s history. But she pushed the thought away almost as soon as she had it, knowing it made no difference. Tyrman had created just as many great warriors as the exotic nation from the corner of the world. No, it was likely some other cause that had resulted in Shiora falling short of the expected glory of the family.

“Anyway,” Shiora said, his grin widening, refusing to let the conversation drag off into silence. “I understand you four were part of the effort that rescued the artifacts of the Divine from the Temple District?”

They nodded in confirmation, and he gave them a shallow bow. “My thanks for your help in that matter. One of the priests told me that Rajlen Taro even made an appearance! You must be more than worth your salt if you were able to tango with him and get away uninjured!”

“We did defeat him,” Leonov said. He sounded slightly annoyed as if their efforts were being downplayed. “It may have just been a simulacrum, but we did beat him in combat.”

“My apologies,” Shiora said quickly. “I did not mean to belittle your efforts. It is a triumph, and you should be proud! But if I may offer you some advice, I’d avoid encounters with other members of his family, if you could. They’re a very proud bunch, and they may not like word of you defeating one of them getting out.”

They took a while to mull that one over, then nodded without a word. He clapped his hands together, sealing the matter and moving on. “Well then! As you’re aware, you were being held here until we could be certain that you aren’t possessed. As far as I can see, you’re all clean, so you’re free to leave when you want!”

“Master Tokugawa,” Falynn said suddenly, looking up from the fully-grown bunch of flowers she’d created. “What is to become of the city? How long will it take for Milagre to recover?”

Shiora Tokugawa’s face twisted in a thoughtful frown, and he hummed quietly as he considered his response. “Well, to tell you the truth, it’s hard to judge. There was considerable damage done to the city, as I’m sure you can guess. Plus, many of the townsfolk were possessed, and therefore killed or severely wounded in the battle. It may take years for true recovery, but we expect to be operational by the end of the year.”

Even Roni looked taken aback by that. “It’ll take eight months for the city to recover? I can’t imagine it would take that long to rebuild.”

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“Well, rebuilding is only one part of it,” Shiora explained. They were troubled by the sudden darkening of his expression. “If you haven’t heard by now, the Queen was killed. She had no children, and her siblings were killed.”

“Her siblings?” Falynn asked, frowning. Last she’d heard, Queen Elena’s only siblings had been the two original children of Bora Bora. “You’re telling us that two gods are dead?”

Shiora nodded gravely. “Worse than that, they were butchered. And Bora Bora is sure to follow them. But you should not go about yelling that.”

They were all struck dumb for a second or two, in which time Shiora put one finger to his lips in a gesture of silence to reinforce his warning, then turned on his heel and strode away. It took some time before their minds could begin to comprehend what he’d said. Before they could grasp it, Roni asked the first question that had sprung to all their minds.

“Three gods, the Archmage, and the Queen all killed?” She asked, her hands gripping her knees so tightly that the knuckles showed white. “In one week?”

Chaos could descend on an organized nation quickly, they all realized. From the time that Milagre had fallen to today, barely more than six days had passed. But the damage done to the nation of Tyrman was so severe that it had been shaken to its core. Even Leonov, who’d taken part in the last war as one of Milagre’s attackers, was surprised at the speed of it. Even with thousands of men at his beck and call, the best Attos had managed was breaking past the outer wall of Milagre, the weakest of them all. Milagre had recovered quickly from that attack while the Attosian forces retreated, licking their wounds. They’d been back to working order in less than a month, mainly due in part to the strength of its leaders.

“Tyrman will be vulnerable for quite some time,” he muttered quietly. Falynn and Taiki looked at him with frowns of confusion, but he didn’t bother addressing their silent questions. “I hope that Attos doesn’t take this chance to attack again.”

It was the first time he’d mentioned anything regarding a conflict between the nation he was from and the one in which he currently lived. He’d always maintained a strict neutrality on the subject, in fact, perhaps out of fear of making others think him a spy. Many who saw the Attosian patch on his armor suspected him already, but the reactions were more guarded than outright hostile. The single accusation by the survivor in Shallow Brook had been a rare occurrence.

“If there’s another war between Attos and Tyrman, which side would you fight for?” Falynn asked. She was surprised to find the question leaving her, as she hadn’t really meant to ask it. Her face immediately flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply.. I mean… I just wanted to know…”

She resolutely closed her mouth, determined not to ramble anymore. To their surprise, a wry sort of smile twisted Leonov’s face. “I don’t begrudge you for asking, Falynn. To tell you the truth, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know which side you would take?” Taiki asked. It was a struggle she could align with easily enough. She’d only taken part in the previous endeavor because it had been an opportunity to get stronger.

As if by divine timing, a soldier passing stopped to address them. “You four. You’re part of the Adventurer’s Guild, no?”

When they nodded confirmation of his question, he withdrew a scroll and proffered it to Falynn. “You’ve been summoned to the headquarters in the Noble District. You have several rewards to collect, and you’re to report to training.”

“Training?” Roni asked, looking between the courier and the scroll he’d delivered. “After all that, they think we need more training?”

“It could also just be an assessment of our skills,” Falynn replied, a little lost for words. “I heard that the better you do, the better jobs they can offer you.”

But Taiki, who’d barely paid any attention to the arrival of the courier besides confirming his question, was still looking at Leonov. If she were asked, she wouldn’t have been able to tell why she found the point so fascinating. All she knew was that she wanted one more answer before she could be satisfied. “Leonov. If war breaks out between Attos and Tyrman, what will you do?”

They locked eyes for a few seconds before he answered, with the other two watching tensely for his reply. Leonov could tell that her interest in the question wasn’t out of a sense of caution or suspicion. If anything, he’d guess that the answer would help her answer some internal question regarding her own motivations. He doubted that his answer would be of much use, but he still gave it.

“I would do everything in my power to avoid fighting and benefiting either side,” he said, his face stoic. “If I had no other options, I would try to leave entirely.”

“And if you were forced to fight for one side or the other?”

“I would see my life end before I went back to war. That part of my life is over, and I fight for nothing but myself now. I swing my sword for my own goals, and nothing else.”

They nodded as they thought it through. Taiki in particular seemed impressed by the answer. “I suppose that’s the determination you need to stay on the path you chose.”

“What path have you chosen, Taiki?” Falynn asked suddenly. Quite apart from the question itself being unexpected, the source of it came as an even greater shock to the warrior. Immediately, her face shut down in a way, blocking out all emotions and becoming icily neutral. Falynn immediately withdrew her inquiry. “If you don’t want to tell us, that’s fine. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Well,” Taiki said, rising to her feet without warning. “I suppose we should go to the headquarters to collect our rewards. Perhaps we can spend more time upgrading our gear.”

“I already have Spellrend,” Leonov said, patting the hilt of his new sword. “I don’t need anything else. And it would be too expensive to get a shield infused with Mana’s Bane.”

“New armor, then,” Taiki said, resolutely refusing to give up the subject. To make sure they followed, she picked up her weapon and began marching out of the woods in the direction of the Queen’s Road. “Whatever you like. Let’s go.”