The tavern was lively, filled with laughter, music, and chatter. The smell of roasted meat, fresh bread, and ale filled the air, mingling with the scent of wood and smoke.

The patrons were diverse, from farmers and merchants to adventurers and nobles. They sat at wooden tables, drinking from mugs and goblets, sharing stories and jokes.

Some played cards or dice, others danced or sang with the bard. The tavern keeper and staff moved around, serving food and drinks, collecting coins, and keeping order.

The atmosphere was warm and cozy, inviting anyone who entered to join the fun, not until…

Bang!

The loud sound of cracked wood piqued customers’ attention in a tavern. Every head directs at the door with a broken knob, with their mouths hanging open.

Everyone sits still. Two people entered the scene. One is Ellyn, wearing her adventurer suit as she reeks of sweat after running from the castle to here. The other one is I, who also reeks of sweat, wearing my sturdy leather armor full of marks, dust, and craters.

We catch up our losing breaths as we approach the counter. An older adult with fixed hair and thick glasses cleaned a wine glass with a fine cloth.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Ellyn? Don’t break the door knob! That’s unwomanly for a sexy lady like you,” the old man argued, burning his gaze at us.

“Don’t worry, Pops. As long as I have this body, I’m still sexy,” Ellyn bragged, resting her head on her arm beneath the counter.

Ellyn circled her eyes, wandering from every corner of the first floor. As she turned her gaze back at the older adult, she sighed. “Is Elara resting upstairs?”

“She’s been taking her shift out every day since last month. She doesn’t mention where she’s going, though. ‘Just a stroll,’ she said.”

“Just a stroll? Then she’s doing something reckless again. You’re not even paying attention, Pops,” Ellyn exclaimed. “ That girl has huge guts.”

“Don’t you have any clue to where Elara goes?” I asked, entering their conversation.

“And… who’s this?” He asked.

“I almost forgot. This is Pr— Vena, my disciple and soon-to-be adventurer like me. She’s pretty close to Elara too. You know what I mean, Pops,” Ellyn introduced with her open palm at me.

“So that’s the situation, huh? I see,” he nods. “If you got paid in your job, pay all those doorknobs you broke. Your orphanage is after that.”

I didn’t know how, but I got the feeling that they already knew who I was, even without exposing my identity to the other customers.

Suddenly, Pops pulls a customized envelope under his counter and gives it to Ellyn. The letter is addressed to Elara, and the sender is named Elma.

“Those two suddenly got close through letters. I don’t know what happened, something important maybe? Do you know anything about this, Ellyn?”

“Eh? I never thought there would be a reunion for Class E soon,” Ellyn said as she opened the letter.

I can’t see the content of the letter. Ellyn intentionally hid it from me. I can only see her reaction to it.

She hissed with her trembling arms, gripping the paper, nearly tearing. Her eyebrows are furrowed as she bit her lips. Her chilling voice growled these words,

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“She wasn’t the outcast. It was I.”

We didn’t waste any more time departing at the tavern. I followed Ellyn, who barged out the door as we caught everyone’s attention again.

But she suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. She turned her head at me with a blade pointing millimeters away from my neck. It made me breathless how quickly I reacted to it.

“You’re not following me,” she argued, not withdrawing her dagger as we caught the public’s attention. “From this point, nothing involves you anymore.”

“What do you mean nothing?” I argued with no fear but confidence in my words. “As long as I look for Elara, I will search for her! It was I who asked for this request, and I will see this through the end—”

“I don’t want to repeat that incident ever again!” She shouted. After a moment, her face turned downhill. “You know what I mean, Vena. This problem isn’t your problem nor the kingdom’s problem.

“Bringing you isn’t worth the risk. It would be best if you understood that I’ve been doing this for your safety. I will bring Elara back. You can wait for us to go back.”

I know her concern. I have a nine-year-old body, and she, the Guardian of Children, thought of me as someone who needs to be protected.

But where did my efforts go? What’s the point of my seven months of training if I don’t see how I grew?

“Can’t I—” I muttered with my bowing head that later raises. My voice amplified into a shout as tears crawled out my eyelids. “Can’t I protect everyone!?”

I feel the weight of silence as the public looks at me. Their eyes are wide, their mouths are open, and their breaths are held.

I scan their faces, looking for a sign of encouragement, a hint of sympathy, a glimmer of curiosity. But all I see is expectation, judgment, and pressure.

“Vena, you’re not getting my—”

“My dream is to protect everyone with what I’ve got. I knew my starting and ending points, but now I’m in the middle and getting lost. You’re the only guide I have now, Ellyn…

“Because I believe that you’ll protect my dream.”

The silence was deafening. She bit her lip and stared at me as she pulls back her dagger back into her pocket. Time ticked loudly, marking the seconds of our standoff.

This desperation was a product of my carelessness and regret. I shouldn’t have the right to face Elara after what I’ve said, but the importance of my apology pulls me toward her.

Ellyn sighed and smiled, leaving no marks of hostility. “You never know when to give up, aren’t you?”

I followed her to the gate, where a familiar face blocked us. It was a guard who once stared at me with intent, Castor.

“Aren’t you the princess?” Castor asked.

“I’m not the princess! I’m Vena, a rookie knight.”

“We don’t have much time, Castor,” Ellyn demanded. “Do you see Elara going out?”

“Don’t you know? Since last month, she’s been accompanied by knights every day she goes to the forest. Our guards don’t know the confidentiality of their task.”

Ellyn clacked her tongue. “Damnit! Something’s happening without me knowing.”

“And why did you bring her again? Won’t you start another chaotic knight search inside the town, aren’t you?”

“The queen has our permission, and she insisted on coming. That’s all you need to know. We’re going to borrow a ride in urgency.”

We borrowed a horse to ride into the Harswell forest. The moment we reached the outskirts of the forest, Ellyn squinted her eyebrows.

“There are no monsters in the vicinity,” she muttered. “How long are they diving in this void?”

“Don’t you know this, Ellyn? Didn’t Brodveth tell you?”

“There’s not even a pinch of trust that flat-face have for me.”

We stopped at the nearest tree and leashed our horse to a branch. The piles of leaves in trunks reminded me of the day I nearly died.

Like a rotten soul, the forest expresses beauty on the outside but harbors danger on the inside. My nose welcomed the smell of uncut wet grass, but that’s not true for Ellyn.

“I smell something rotten. Don’t you dare run like a bitch again? I’ll let you die by yourself. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”

“I—It’s not like I’m going to escape from you!” I squealed. Since Ellyn is the only person I can now consider my haven, losing her will welcome fear in my heart.

As we entered the forest, I didn’t see her cast a spell, but I could sense the depleting mana from her. She must be using magic to track where Elara and the others are.

After fifteen minutes of straight walking, we reached where the past incident had happened. But something’s strange. We didn’t encounter a monster once.

As I thought this place might already be safe, something rustled behind us behind the bushes. It was late before I turned back and felt enormous air pressure like a gunshot.

Ellyn swiftly vanished in front of me as she ran through my back. From my view, I can only see her back as she blocks an attack with her dagger.

“Why are you here, Senior Ellyn!?”

“That’s my question to you, former underling.”

When I peeked beside her, I saw a lady with long, chestnut brown hair, wearing a clean white cloth with golden shoulder plates.

When I saw her bright blue eyes, I grinned with dilating pupils.

“Elara!”

“Princess Veniara!?”