A GREAT LENGTH OF TIME HAD PASSED and Zero III had finally reached his destination at the western coast of the Unkempt. Stepping onto the once familiar lands of the Unkempt, he felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. Once more, he felt in his proper place within the world around him. Despite this, he knew that he had more important matters at hand than enjoying the simpler aspects of life. He changed his form to be that of Zenpan Imoru, a form he hadn’t taken since the War of the Swords.

His trek toward his father’s house was somewhat shorter than his father’s journey with Lanya and Musuko. Zero III was the type to keep things brief and to the point when it came to travel, while Zero II had a stronger desire to take in the atmosphere of any given location. Because of this, there were many occasions where the younger of the two Kantokus would become impatient with the elder’s choice to move at what he saw as a snail’s pace whenever they went somewhere else. This time, however, Zero III was unhindered by his father’s meandering. He was entirely able to move at his natural pace.

The journey lasted about six minutes before he knocked upon his father’s door. A slight click sounded before the door opened.

“How may I help you?” Zero II said as he answered the door for his disguised son, henceforth referred to by his pseudonym of Zenpan for the remainder of this period in the Unkempt for the sake of simplicity.

“I have come for Lanya & Musuko Kenshi,” Zenpan answered in response.

“I’m afraid I cannot do that,” Zero II responded, preparing to fight Zenpan if the situation required it. “I was directed to watch over them by the Royal Advisor of the Joined Nations.”

“And I was directed to return the children to Crenon by that same advisor,” Zenpan refuted.

“How am I supposed to believe that?” Zero II was not very easy to shake, but Zenpan had to keep his identity hidden.

“Let the humans see me,” Zenpan requested. “They know me well enough to confirm that I mean no harm to them.”

A brief moment of hesitation could be seen in the elder Kantoku’s eyes before he nodded and gestured for Zenpan to come inside.

“Lanya! Musuko!” Zeronius II called out. “You have a visitor.”

The two rushed into the living room to see Zenpan. The two recognized him and greeted this familiar figure with a hug. Zenpan took them in and hugged them as well.

“You really weren’t lying, were you?” spoke Zero II from outside of the group hug.

“No hard feelings,” Zenpan replied.

The eldest of the two maila in the room, as well as the only person that was noticeably a maila, cleared his throat before continuing to speak.

“So, I would presume that you need to get going with these two?”

“You’re right,” Zenpan responded.

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“Wait, we’re leaving?” Lanya interjected. “Where are we going now?”

“We’re going back to Crenon,” Zenpan told her. “I have a plan to help you two reclaim the throne and you both are vital pieces in this puzzle.”

Lanya was unsure how to feel about this. Of course, she was excited to return to her home country and perhaps even regain her position as her people’s leader. Yet, in the time that she had lived in the Unkempt, she had grown to admire the people there and their timelessness. She wished she could exist in both worlds, but this was impossible. She had to choose, and she knew what her duty asked of her.

“Can we at least say our goodbyes before we leave?” she requested.

“I don’t see why not,” Zenpan answered.

The three left Zeronius II’s house, allowing him once more to have the independence that he had sacrificed for the short period that Lanya and Musuko were under his care.

First, the two stopped at the residence of Noka Oritsu. They said their farewells, but before they left her house, Musuko stopped for a moment and turned to Noka.

“Ms. Oritsu?” he started.

“Yes, Musuko?” she replied.

“There’s something you need to know. It’s about Satsujin, your son.”

“I already know. Don’t worry.”

“What?’

“Yes, Zero kept me up to date on everything.” She then turned to Zenpan.

“As for you,” she began, “do what you must to stop Satsujin from causing any harm to Crenon. Just make sure you do it with honor.”

“I will do my best,” Zenpan assured her.

The three then made their final stop at Astrid’s house. After the two humans had said their goodbyes, they turned to leave.

“Wait one moment!” Astrid said just before they began to walk away from the house.

“Is something wrong?” Zenpan asked in response.

“Just…” Astrid seemed almost worried as if she had been tormented by the wandering of her mind and the possibility of those daytime nightmares becoming reality. “If you can get into contact with Zeronius Kantoku III, tell him that I’m doing fine. I just hope that he’s feeling the same.”

The immense sorrow of Astrid pained Zero III to see. It was hard for him to see her in this low state, going through so much melancholy because of his extended absence. At that moment, he contemplated revealing himself to her just to let her know that he’s alright. He was willing to do anything to let her rest easy. He couldn’t reveal himself to the rest of the Unkempt quite yet, however, and decided to stay under the radar while ensuring that Astrid would not worry as much.

“I’m sure that he’s doing just fine,” Zenpan reassured her. “I know Zeronius just as I know my right hand, and I know that he has every intention of returning to the Unkempt once this is all sorted out.”

As he said that, he let his right hand return to its normal form as a sort of tongue-in-cheek code for Astrid. She was overwhelmed with joy and hugged him very tightly. He was initially caught off-guard, but eventually, he caved in and reciprocated this embrace.

“I haven’t forgotten about our promise,” Zero told her, “and I plan on following through with it once I return if that’s alright with you.”

Astrid did not say anything in response to this, nor did she need to. Her emotions told Zero all that he needed to know.

“I must be going now,” he said, gently relinquishing his hug. “I will return once Crenon can once again rest easy.”

Although Astrid protested to Zero leaving so soon after their reunion, she knew that there was nothing that could convince him otherwise. He never was the type to abandon his work and it would be naive of her to attempt this.

The three of them said their goodbyes to fathers and friends before once more boarding Orban’s Ferry. Although Zero was leaving his home, Lanya and Musuko were coming back to theirs. Perhaps once this was all done, however, the three could rest easy, knowing that they would all be allowed to live peacefully in their respective worlds.