Nobina sat patiently on her bed and waited for Lila to wake up. In the meantime, Pausers was next to her, merely snuggling against her innocently. During this time, Nobina had examined Pausers all over to see if there was something she was missing. From a glance, Pausers seemed like any other bunny. However, looking at him further in detail revealed that perhaps that wasn’t one hundred percent true.

Pausers had white and pink fur, with most of the pink being on their backside. His eyes were rather large, and his ears even larger. Looking at him further in detail, it seemed he had a bit of redness in both of his cheeks, making Nobina wonder more about his look compared to a normal bunny.

“Hm,” said Nobina. “I didn’t think those details really matter, but I guess you aren’t exactly a bunny from my world.”

After ten more minutes, Lila started to wake up. She gave a casual stretch as she stood up before turning to Nobina. However, the moment her glance fell onto Pausers, she instantly froze. Nobina could see the hairs on her all standing up as she kept her eye on Pausers.

“Nobina,” spoke Lila, caution in her voice. “Why do you have an Alpha Death Hare in your room? And why are we still alive?”

Nobina gave a shrug, petting Pausers a bit. The moment she did that, it looked like Lila was going to faint again.

“Wait,” yelled Nobina, which seemed to snap Lila back to reality. “Pausers wouldn’t hurt a fly! He’s just a friendly bunny I received as a gift.”

Lila gave a laugh, shaking her head.

“Who gives an Alpha Death Hare as a gift? One would think they were out to assassinate you if they let one loose within your city.”

“That’s surely an exaggeration,” chuckled Nobina.

Lila shook her head, taking a seat.

“There are only a few sightings of a Death Hare in our recorded history. None of them have turned out well.”

Nobina listened intently as Lila began telling her the history of the Death Hare. The Death Hare was a very fast, lethal bunny. According to their history, the first one appeared in the middle of the Demon War. A battalion of soldiers was passing through a forest to flank the demon army. However, the reports indicated they stumbled upon a den that had four bunnies. Three of them had a large section of pink on their back, while the fourth was even more pink, similar to Pauser’s fur.

Things were fine until one soldier approached a bunny, being killed immediately by its jump attack. Chaos ensued when the battalion decided to try to deal with the bunny. Two of the bunnies were on the offensive while the other two were merely sleeping.

It was a slaughter on the human side.

Only a few survivors remained when the battle was over. They recounted the sheer horror of the bunnies’ rampage as they tore through highly trained soldiers, mages, and even those as strong as A-rank adventurers. If not for the fact they kept to their den, the survivors knew they would have perished that day.

“That’s… horrifying,” said Nobina, looking at Pausers in a bit of a new light. She was still convinced she wasn’t going to be harmed, but it made her much more wary about their potential.

That was if Pausers was an Alpha Death Hare.

“It is,” said Lila. “There are other stories about one destroying a town, but I rather not discuss something so graphic. Bear in mind, it was taken out by two S-rank adventurers, who said it was their hardest fight ever.”

“So… then what’s the difference between a Death Hare and an Alpha Death Hare,” asked Nobina.

Lila, looking at Pausers for a bit, seemed hesitant to speak. However, she gathered courage and spoke up.

“An Alpha Death Hare is a power we have never truly understood. All we know is that there were several Ancient Dragons in our world, but apparently, this number has fallen by three. It was only after learning from someone of the dragon race that apparently, those idiots challenged an Alpha Death Hare and were defeated within a minute each.”

“Wow,” said Nobina, covering her mouth. “So… if Pausers was an Alpha Death Hare…”

“He is,” yelled Lila, scaring Nobina a bit.

Pauser gave a squeak, immediately causing Lila to bow down on the ground, her head firmly against it, and beg for forgiveness. Nobina felt it was a bit sad she was likely going to treat Pausers like some sort of supreme being. However, convincing her that Pausers was not an Alpha Death Hare would likely be hard to do. After all, she had no proof he wasn’t an Alpha Death Hare.

After about five minutes of asking for forgiveness, Nobina eventually demanded she stand up and calm down. As if now listening to Nobina like a student to a master, she merely nodded and stood up. She tried to display a level of calmness, but Nobina saw through it. She was as nervous as possible, and she had signs of someone who was mentally breaking.

“Anyway,” said Nobina. “This is my room. You can look around if you want.”

“Ok,” said Lila obediently.

She began wandering through the room, trying to find something of interest. Eventually, her attention turned to Lebron. Her expression drastically shifted the moment she saw how cute its face was.

“Oh my god,” said Lila, staring at Lebron.

Lebron, who had been sleeping moments before, slowly started to wake up. When he caught a glimpse of Lila, he gave a bark, walking over to her. When he was close enough, Lebron began treating her like a fun new person to play with, with Lila completely giving herself over to playing with Nobina’s corgi.

“He’s such a good boy,” said Lila, enjoying every second she was spending with Nobina’s dog.

“Bark,” responded Lebron, enjoying his time as well.

“Guess it’s better than you and Pausers,” chuckled Nobina.

The two had a good time playing together while Nobina decided to be productive with her time. She began filling out her diary, drawing curiosity from Lila. When she explained what she was doing, Lila seemed a bit in awe.

“Wow,” said Lila. “I never expected to meet a writer before. I’m normally doing adventuring or spending time with my family, so there’s not much time to meet different professions.”

“What’s your life like Lila?” asked Nobina with curiosity. “I’ve always been curious about the world in general, so I bet your life must be interesting.”

Lila chuckled as she heard that, adjusting herself as Lebron moved to the other side of her.

“Perhaps that’s the right word for my life,” smiled Lila.

Lila was an Alpha Magical-Wolf, meaning that she was destined to help lead her race or to become a beacon for it. As a result, she started to train to become a fighter at a young age. Eventually, she began her service as an adventurer in the Nation of Arrin until she became an S-rank. Once she reached that status, she decided to explore the world. She headed to the Kingdom of Lumira, where she became an adventurer under Aunai. She’s been with her ever since.

“Fascinating,” said Nobina. “You must have amazing stories of things you’ve fought.”

“Oh yeah,” she said, a burning excitement now in her eyes. “I’ve for all sorts of strong people! That’s why I am excited to face you and Eric.”

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The moment she said that Pausers hopped in Lila’s direction.

“Eek!” responded Lila, immediately having her back against the wall.

Lebron, seeing this, turned to Pausers and barked. Seeing that, Lila spoke in a plea to Lebron.

“Lebron,” she begged, starting to cry in tears. “Don’t anger the Alpha Death Hare! Please! I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

However, Lebron barked again. Pausers seemed to look at Lila once, blinked, and then hopped back next to Nobina.

“Nobina,” said Lila. “I’m sorry. I refuse to fight you now. I can see now that if I do, I won’t see the rest of my days. Maybe out match might have been close, but any harm to you… I’d died of the fear that Pausers would destroy me in a flash.”

Nobina had no words for the conclusion Lila was coming to. She was thankful that it sounded like she wasn’t going to needlessly attack her, but she really wanted Lila to treat Pausers like a kind bunny.

“Alright,” said Nobina. “But promise me you’ll try to make friends with Pausers. He’s a kind bunny and I will not have to causing him problems by making people fear him.”

Lila seemed to want to protest, but she merely sighed and nodded

“If you desire that, it shall be done Nobina,” she bowed.

“Why are you acting like Merrick?” Nobina screamed, startling all of them.

Immediately, Lila’s eyes went towards Pausers to confirm they weren’t going to act. Once that was done, she turned to Nobina, her heart racing.

“Why did you scream like that,” asked Lila. “Who is this Merrick person?”

“Oh,” said Nobina, realizing what she did. “I’m sorry about that. It’s just… I don’t want people treating me more than a normal person. Merrick is someone who treats me too formally.”

Hearing that, Lila gave a strong laugh.

“I can’t say that will ever happen,” said Lila. “You’re a hero by all accounts. You’ve saved a town from goblins, and no one will ever forget it.”

Such a fact should have made anyone happy, but not Nobina. Instead, she laid back in her bed, Pausers staying by her side.

“Then is a normal life really forever gone for me, Lila?”

Hearing that, Lila tilted her head. She noticed the sadness in Nobina’s face, prompting her to sit beside her and ask her what was wrong. Nobina, seeing this, decided to tell her the problem she was facing.

Nobina told Lila about her destiny. She knew the dangers of telling someone she couldn’t completely trust, but she knew that Lila was never going to reveal it. Pausers had scared her to death, and as much as Nobina didn’t want to lean on that fact, she knew that it made Lila someone who wouldn’t harm her.

“Huh,” said Lila. “So, you’re both the hero and cause of everything?”

Nobina nodded her head, still lying back in her bed.

“And you fear that you’ll never have a normal life ever again because of destiny?”

She gave another nod.

“Well, that’s dumb,” said Lila, standing up. “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you have to. Why not stay here and live a rather normal, mundane life?”

“Because destiny has other plans. First it threw goblins at me. Then it threw demons at me. Now its dangling my best friend and is telling me to bite.”

“Best friend?” asked Lila.

Nobina began telling Lila that she had lost a dear friend three years ago. Initially, she thought they were dead, but Eric had told her that she was alive in Arrin. Hearing that, it seemed Lila understood the problem.

“I get it,” she nodded. “So you feel obligated to go to Arrin, which might take multiple years, to confirm they are alive.”

A lightbulb seemed to go off on Lila’s head as soon as she said that.

“I got an amazing idea,” said Lila. “I’ll go to Arrin myself and search for her. I’m sure she’d recognize your name. Then she can come here, and you can live your simple life! One problem solve.”

Nobina got up immediately, excitement in her face.

“My god Lila. You’re a genius. But… I don’t know if I can ask you to do something like this for me.”

“No worries,” she responded. “Such an act is a surefire way to convince Pausers I’m your friend. Right Pausers?”

Nobina was going to say something, but she saw Pausers nod, prompting her to be in shock while Lila seemed excited.

“Friends with an Alpha Death Hare… Oh my race will love this story,” said Lila with the biggest grin. “Tomorrow, we’ll talk over everything with the rest of my group and go from there. I’m sure there will be much to discuss, but for now, I shall take my leave for the night.”

Lila left the room without another word, leaving Nobina to absorb what had just happened. She had basically received the advice to try to live as normal of a life as possible. Part of Nobina was skeptical that was possible, especially because others wanted her to live a grand life as an adventurer and writer. However, she knew that there was some balance out there she could reach. One that led to her becoming great, but also being able to live a peaceful life. The life she wanted to live.

With that done, Nobina updated her diary once more for the night. She wrote about what had just happened and her dreams for the future. Once that was done, she decided to call it early for the night. When she was lying down, she fell asleep without issue. However, she called Fay’s name once before falling asleep.

The early morning of the next day was a bit cloudier than usual. The sunlight that normally shined through the window was replaced with a soft light that made the room a bit darker than she was used to.

Nobina slowly got up, not waking any of her companions. She prepared herself for the day, thinking about what she was going to do in the guild. If she was right, then Aunai and Line would have been back already, and a discussion about what had happened would begin at any moment. However, part of Nobina felt she wasn’t ready to see them just yet. Instead, she wanted to ask Sarah one thing to convince her of the path she was choosing.

Making her way out of the guild, the air felt colder than usual as well. It felt like a bad omen, but Nobina wasn’t convinced of that. It was likely just because they were slowly approaching the wintertime of this world.

“Where was Sarah’s house again?” asked Nobina to herself.

She traveled to the residential block on the south side of town. There, she went from house to house until she found one matching the description Sarah had given her. It had a nice, well-kept lawn that was more colorful than all the ones around it. Part of it was likely Sarah’s love for color since she often preferred more colorful dresses rather than the guild’s blue and brown uniform. It still made Nobina partly concerned about having a non-standard uniform, but she was convinced to not worry about it.

Nobina approached the door, hesitant to knock since Sarah might have been sleeping. However, she knew she wanted to discuss it with Sarah as soon as possible, so she decided to knock.

“Coming,” yelled Sarah.

When she opened the door, Sarah was surprised to see Nobina standing there.

“Nobina,” said Sarah. “What are you doing here so early? Oh! Are you taking another day off to join me in the world of fashion!”

Nobina couldn’t help but laugh as she shook her head.

“As much as I’d love to… do you mind if I get your advice on something?” asked Nobina.

“Of course,” she nodded.

Nobina and Sarah sat down in her living room. This was her first time there, so Nobina was amazed by how decorative Sarah was with her room. It seemed designed by someone who was an artist given how colorful everything was. Despite that, it all felt as if everything was perfectly balanced. The colors felt right for everything in the room, while the furniture felt all purposeful in its placement.

“So,” said Sarah. “What’s going on?”

“Ok… So, I’ve learned that apparently one of my friends from my old world might be here,” said Nobina.

Sarah’s expression changed to shock as she heard that.

“What are the odds of that?” said Sarah.

“It should be near zero unless someone is pulling the strings in my life,” said Nobina.

Hearing that, Sarah shook her head.

“Nobina…”

“Sarah,” said Nobina. “I know. I won’t let destiny dictate what I do, but I fear for the future. So far, I’ve handled everything thrown at me. I’ve even got someone who’d check to confirm the Fay here is the one I Know.”

“Who?” asked Sarah with a curious face.

“Lila,” responded Nobina. “She’s an S-rank who was a part of the reinforcement.”

“Oh… how did you convince her to agree to help?”

“It’s a long story,” sighed Nobina.

“Well… I guess we don’t have much time. However, you said you needed advice. What’s the advice?”

Nobina gave Sarah a serious look as she spoke.

“Sarah… Should I try to fight against destiny and stay here? I’m scared… that another greater threat will put all the innocent people here in danger.”

Sarah easily heard the fear in Nobina’s voice. There was a slight tremble as well, as Nobina’s fears were rising to the forefront of her mind. Nobina knew Sarah was one of the few people she felt could scare the fears out of her, so she desperately needed her reassurance to force herself to stay here.

“That’s a tough question,” said Sarah to the surprise of Nobina. “I want you to stay here for sure, but I don’t know if I can comfort you if worse thing happen and its clearly your fault.”

Nobina’s face went pale, and soon, she was in tears.

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I… I feel like I’ve been crying too much but… It all seems unfair. Like someone is stacking the deck against me.”

“It does feel like that,” said Sarah, going over to hug Nobina. “However, you need to keep looking at all of this in a positive light.”

Nobina turned to Sarah, whose bright smile helped calm her down a bit.

“I might have said I don’t know what the correct choice is, but we have to believe either choice will work out. If you end up having to leave us even for a bit, don’t let it worry you. Think about the positives that will come with it. Eventually, you might be able to fight and change your destiny and obtain the lifestyle you want.”

“Change destiny?” asked Nobina. “What do you mean.”

“Remember? Our Paths are something we are born with, but we can always fight against our destinies to change them. If you change your Path, would not your destiny change as a result?”

Nobina gave it some thought and nodded. However, she felt a bit unsure after doing that.

“But I don’t want to stop being a writer.”

“A Path cannot tell you to write or not,” said Sarah firmly. “You can write without a writer Path like you can swing a sword without a sword path. Just keep that in mind.”

Nobina knew she was right. Soon, she’ll meet with Eric and Aunai to discuss what had happened and what was going to happen going forward. There was still a lot of uncertainty, but with the advice of Lila and Sarah, two individuals with valuable perspectives, she was confident that she’d make the right choice.

“Thank you Sarah,” said Nobina.

“Happy to give some solid advice,” she nodded.

With that, the two decided to chat a bit before Nobina headed out for work.