Nobina returned to her room not too long after finishing her talk with Mimiki. The bed was looking more and more tempting, given her current state, but she couldn’t help but notice two things were amiss. First, Pauser was looking around in a panic, whimpering. Seeing this, Nobina ran to Pauser’s side and tried to comfort them as best as possible.

“What’s wrong Pausers? I’m here,” said Nobina, stroking the fur of her bunny companion.

Pausers seemed to be looking for something, but Nobina had no idea what it could be.

Suddenly, the Gaze returned, which seemingly calmed Pausers down.

“Pausers? Do you… feel the Gaze?”

They gave a nod, making Nobina wonder how linked Pausers was to the Gaze. She was aware that their origin was her bag, but she didn’t know if the things that came from the bag would all notice the Gaze. In fact, if an actual person came from the bag, would they know about the bag, Gaze, and perhaps Nonomo themselves?

“So many questions,” Nobina thought.

Her attention started to move towards her bag, which contained an envelope. It was an odd thing to see, but Nobina wondered if this was perhaps from Nonomo. Maybe they were trying to contact them. However, that seemed unlikely as a God had to have an easier way to do so.

She walked over to the bag, taking the letter from the bag. The envelope looked normal, but Nobina knew better than to underestimate whatever came from the bag. With that, she took a breath and began opening the envelope.

Inside the envelope was a letter with what appeared to be comments that specifically addressed her journey so far. It seemed like either someone or something had advice for her at various points of the story. Some of those points were when she had just arrived in the world. Others involve meeting people like Eric and Mimiki. All of it seemed to be mostly helpful, but the last comments they made seemed a bit much. Regardless, it seemed their intentions were all good and she felt obligated to write back.

“Wait… But if they know my journey… Do I… need to write back?”

At that moment, the Gaze disappeared.

No. That wouldn’t be accurate. It felt as if the Gaze was fazing in and out. As if something was wrong with it. It was there, yet at the same time it wasn’t. She couldn’t explain the feeling.

Pausers was reacting to the Gaze disappearing though. They seemed to be looking around once more for it before sitting back down in Nobina’s lap. All she could do was pet it to keep it comfortable, and soon, Pausers seemed to fall asleep.

“Oh Pausers,” she sighed.

She began to realize that if she was being watched, then these comments were from someone aware of her journey. It was as if she was some sort of protagonist from a book.

“Or maybe it’s like I’m some entertainer like a vtuber,” she chuckled.

It was different though, considering she was her own flesh and blood and not some virtual avatar. As she thought more about it, she began thinking about how much she really didn’t know. Were the Gaze and the comments linked together? It didn’t make sense since the Gaze was always on her, yet the comments were clearly from someone who was following along in her journey like a reader.

“So many questions, yet I’m nowhere close to getting answers.”

Despite possibly resolving the matter with Mimiki, it was only one roadblock of many. She needed to figure out more about the strange things around her and to what extent they would play a role in her life. Were they really just observers, or were they more like puppeteers, able to control her life without her having a say.

Looking at the bag, she noticed something else. Two more objects were in the bag. One was a can with the symbol of the devil. She immediately began panicking, wondering if the drink was some deadly poison before reading the label.

“It’s… alcoholic and has caffeine?”

She stared at the can, wondering if she should even try it. If she tried it and got drunk immediately, that wouldn’t be particularly helpful.

“Well… Doesn’t say ‘drink now’,” she laughed, putting the can to the side.

Besides that, there was a pink butterfly wing. Next to it was a note saying, “throw this at someone to protect them from harm. However, they cannot move for the duration.”

“Fascinating,” Nobina said.

The item screamed fantasy and the potential of it seemed great. Of course, the greatest fear was that she didn’t know to what extent did it protect someone. If they were frozen in place and the protection was pierced, it could mean disaster.

“I’ll need to see if I can figure out the limits of this thing before using it. If it was a one and done item… that’ be pretty sad.”

As she placed the objects outside the bag, she felt a headache. Memories of her flashed only for a second, but she saw a memory where she was writing a letter of sorts, and the objects had appeared during it. She couldn’t make much sense of it, and thinking about it more started hurting her head.

“What is this… Why… Did I see… fragments of memories…”

She took a breath and calmed herself down.

“I have to figure this out sooner rather than later,” she told herself. “Perhaps Eric…”

As she said that, something gave her pause. The comment earlier made her think about telling Eric about all these things. She wasn’t sure if Eric had a Truth spell, but he could certainly discern truth and lies. She’d probably need to try to avoid revealing more of her circumstances to Eric for her own sake, but it felt sad thinking about the idea of not trusting him after revealing her big secret.

“If it becomes important, I’ll ask,” she nodded.

For now, she intended to put everything to rest. She took the letter and thought about what to do about it, but that flash in her memory showed one particularly interesting thing.

“Recall.”

The paper with the comments disappeared immediately. She then used Summon to bring it back, and it appeared as she suspected.

“So that did happen… I can Summon and Recall this paper about twenty times.”

With that, Nobina decided to note one last thing in her diary before calling it a night.

“So something strange happened. I received four things. One was a paper with comments on my journey. Next was a gold coin from someone who made one of those comments. After that was a can with the symbol of the devil that said alcoholic caffeine on it. Last was a pink butterfly wing that apparently could shield someone she threw it at, but at the cost of freezing them in place. This is the most things I’ve received so far at once and it’s making me question everything. All I can say is that it feels like I’m someone playing a role in something far bigger than myself.”

“I also received a flash of a memory. Most of it was hazy, but there were a few things to note in this memory. As far as I could tell, I was writing a letter in the memory. While I was doing that, the can and butterfly appeared. Lastly, I discovered I could use Recall and Summon on a piece of paper. I’m not sure if its conditional since it worked with the comment paper, but that’s to investigate later.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“For now, I’ll sleep on everything and think about it later. Tomorrow will be where I speak to everyone and hopefully resolve everything.”

Once that was done, the diary was once again recalled and Nobina moved to her bed, placing Pausers on their spot on the bed.

“I wonder if these Observers can figure out what’s going on with my life,” she chuckled, falling asleep.

…

Nobina awoke to the light piercing through her room once more. As she slowly got up, it seemed Pausers had woken up before her, as it was staring at her bag, giving what appeared to be a surprised face.

“What is it Pausers?” asked Nobina as she slowly got up.

She made her way to her bag, where she saw that it was rather full.

Checking her bag, she noticed that there was a metal object in it. As she reached in to pull it out, she became surprised as it seemed to get larger as it was pulled out, like how magicians pulled swords out of top hats. Her eyes widened as she finally finished pulling out what appeared to be a stainless steel compact foldable chair.

“… Why?”

Seeing a chair from her old world was odd. Did the person who gave her the chair want her to sit down? Was it merely to give her something so she could relax more? Or perhaps it was a metaphor meant to tell her to “take a break.” Whatever the case was, she enjoyed the fact she had received such a useful object.

“There were a few other things…”

Nobina went into her bag and saw two more objects. The first was a photo of herself in a sci-fi world. Seeing that suddenly made her extremely happy, as in her mind this meant one thing.

“Is this… fan art?”

She didn’t consider herself someone who would receive fan art, but perhaps after the events of last night she had to think of it being a possibility. At the very least, someone felt she should have it.

“I’ll cherish this,” she smiled.

The last thing in her bag was a spare pair of glasses matching her current ones. She nodded, appreciating having a spare in the worst case.

“Man… so many things in such a short period. I’ll need to find a better place to store all these things soon.”

With that, Nobina began to get ready to head to work. Today was the day she was going to meet everyone, and it would be a discussion of how things would be going forward.

Walking outside and towards the guild, Nobina felt a bit nervous. She knew she shouldn’t have been nervous, but she couldn’t guarantee that things would go smoothly once she was at the guild. In fact, something horrible could happen should Sarah not accept what had happened between Nobina and Mimiki.

Stepping into the guild, she saw Sarah was at the desk, but she seemed in a bad mood. Seeing Nobina, to her surprise, didn’t change her mood.

“Sarah?” asked Nobina, approaching her.

“What?” she responded in an unusually annoyed tone.

Nobina knew immediately that Sarah had likely heard the news and was not happy. Nobina couldn’t say it wasn’t expected, but Sarah’s colder reaction towards herself made it clear she wasn’t happy with the outcome.

“I’m…”

“Don’t say it Nobina,” said Sarah. “I know you think I’m mad at you, but I’m not. I’m mad at Mimiki. Mad that she’s getting away scot-free.”

Nobina could understand her complaint, and even one of the comments she received was upset that she was far too lenient towards Mimiki. However, Nobina felt that it was too late to change her decision. If she was suddenly colder towards Mimiki, it might just throw away all the progress she had made, and that would be far worse than forgiving someone. Besides, she still felt it wasn’t bad to be kind to others.

“Nobina. Sarah,” called Lare. “We are meeting with the guild master in the upper floor meeting room. Sarah, close the guild temporarily.”

“Right,” she said, calling out for everyone to leave.

The few people there left without issue, and Sarah locked the front door. As she did, she took her leave.

As she walked into the back, Nobina saw Mimiki and Lare pass by as well. Mimiki was giving a downcast look, and Lare looked upset.

“Oh boy,” said Nobina.

Nobina made her way into the back and upstairs. Once there, she found the door leading to the meeting room, where she saw that everyone was waiting for her.

Eric was at the end of the table, with Lare and Sarah on one side and Mimiki on the other.

“Nobina,” smiled Eric. “Please, go ahead and take a seat.”

Seeing how they were set up, Nobina took a seat next to Mimiki. When her gaze fell on Mimiki, she was giving a downcast look still, not giving her even a glance.

“Now then. Let’s get this meeting started,” said Eric.

Despite his smile not disappearing, Nobina could feel the tension in the air increasing. Eric looked directly at Nobina before speaking.

“Nobina,” said Eric. “Let me start off by saying that I apologize to you officially as the guild master of this guild. It was unacceptable for me to let Mimiki treat you poorly and then basically force you to endure the burden on resolving everything.”

Eric gave a bow, prompting Nobina to shake her head quickly.

“Guild master. There’s no need to apologize. Everything worked out in the end anyway, so…”

Eric shook his head.

“Unfortunately, that isn’t the case,” he replied.

His gaze turned to Lare, who stood up.

“Under Section 3, article 12 of the guild employee handbook, Mimiki’s actions must be treated as serious as possible. The punishment may be increase at the directive of the guild master, but it must meet the minimum requirements,” said Lare in as serious of a tone as possible.

“But,” said Nobina, standing up.

“Sit down Nobina,” said Eric, his voice carrying authority.

Nobina frowned, sitting back down.

“As such, the punishment for attacking a fellow guild officer, which this is being seen as, is at least temporary suspension with removal from employment or even jail time if such a crime takes place again. Do you deny breaking these rules Mimiki?”

Nobina, turning to Mimiki, shook her head.

“No sir,” she said.

Lare, turning to Nobina, shook his head.

“I’m sorry Nobina. Your recommendation cannot be accepted under the guild employee handbook. I recommend you review it when you get the chance.”

She could only nod in response.

“Now that that’s sorted,” said Eric. “Let’s talk about assignments for the future. Mimiki, the suspension, at minimum, will be two weeks. During this time, please reflect on your actions and afterwards, come back to meet with me and Nobina. You may speak with the other officers outside of work, but not during. You may not participate in any adventurer-related activities. Understand?”

“Yes master,” she nodded.

“For now, Lare will cover Mimiki’s tasks. Sarah will continue as normal. Nobina, you shall continue your project. Are there any questions?”

Eric, looking around, saw Nobina stand up.

“May I say something guild master?” asked Nobina.

“Of course,” he said.

Nobina, turning to everyone, gave a bow.

“I want to apologize to Sarah and Lare. While I know that I’m the victim of Mimiki’s actions, I did not take your feelings into consideration when I basically absolved Mimiki of her actions. For that, I am sorry.”

She turned to Mimiki to address her directly.

“Mimiki. Everything I told you yesterday I still believe in, but I realized something. Perhaps unless you face repercussions, you might not feel like you deserve the kindness I wanted to give you. I hope that after the two weeks are up, that… you learn from your actions.”

Sitting down, Mimiki stood up to speak.

“I want to apologize to everyone, especially you Nobina,” she said. “My actions were ones that are unforgivable, and I accept the punishment that befalls me. Like Nobina has said, she wished that I be given a lesser punishment, but it is far better that leniency isn’t given unless its earned. Even if the guild handbook would have allowed her punishment to happen, so far my actions towards my fellow guild employees have not given me such a right. When I come back, I will do whatever it takes to make up to not only Nobina, but everyone.”

With that, Mimiki sat back down. Nobina’s face turned to Sarah and Lare, who were taking in what Mimiki had said.

“Mimiki,” said Sarah, her tone full of uncertainty. “I… Hope that once your punishment is over, you can really prove to us that you’ve changed. I’m rightfully furious with you and I don’t know why this isn’t being mentioned more, but you could have killed Nobina. You understand that, right?”

Mimiki, hearing those words, shook her head.

“Yes…”

“Well, it doesn’t feel like it,” said Sarah, raising her voice to a yell.

Tears began flowing as Sarah’s thoughts and emotions on the matter became clear.

“Nobina. You could have died! I know you’re a kind person and you really wanted to work things out with Mimiki, but treat your life more seriously!”

“But I knew she wouldn’t kill me,” Nobina replied back in a panic.

“You can’t make such assumptions when you’ve seen her almost land a serious hit before,” said Lare. “I told you the story about why she hated you. I’m fine with you trying to train again under her, yet you should have stopped it much sooner rather than commit to prove a point. If Eric wasn’t there… Who knows what would have happened. She’s a former A-rank adventurer.”

Nobina saw both of them were expressing how they truly felt and realized that they were mad at how she handled things. They wanted her to realize how serious everything was. Seeing no other choice, Nobina stood up and spoke her mind.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a plea. “I’m not the best at resolving things and I took an unnecessary risk. Please forgive me.”

Eric, seeing all of this, spoke up.

“Enough. Things are unnecessarily escalating. I want everyone to remember that we are a group. Instead of yelling at each other, speak to each other in a more professional manner. Understand?”

Everyone took a breath and sat back down. Nobina felt thankful Eric was here, or else things could have escalated even further.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you Nobina,” said Sarah, wiping away her tears.

“As am I,” replied Lare. “It was unbecoming of your supervisor to yell at you.”

“It’s fine,” said Nobina. “I’ll learn from this and take everything you’ve said to heart.”

The tension seemed to fade as everyone merely relaxed.

“Meeting dismissed,” said Eric, taking his leave first.

Next was Mimiki, who left without saying a word. Following her were Sarah and Lare. Both of them seemed to want to say something to Nobina but decided against it and left.

When Nobina was the last in the room, she looked at the ceiling and sighed.

“Why can’t things be simple.”