Four Years Since Those Days

"Haa… Haa…"

He suddenly sat up and began breathing roughly.

"That nightmare again?"

He looked at the woman that had talked to him and nodded.

"It's been four years since you last saw her, how are you still not over it?"

The man—Sebastian calmed his breathing and responded.

"You've been with me for two years, you should know how much everything back then meant to me. No matter how much time passes, that won't change."

"...The target will reach us in less than half an hour, are you ready?"

"Yeah."

Not minding the sudden shift in topic, Sebastian stood up and took the black bow from his shadow.

"I'll take it down from here."

"Mister, the last time you did that, we got scolded. You may be my senior but why are you so reckless…?"

Sebastian jumped up a tree and stood atop the leaves without disturbing them.

He pulled the arrow on his bowstring back and waited.

"I can confirm the target's identity just fine from here, there's no point in getting closer."

"Haa… Mister, I'm really jealous of how many abilities you have."

"Stop thinking about pointless things and get ready to run over there."

"Yeah, yeah… For someone only a little older than me, you sound like an old man…"

"..."

Sebastian decided to ignore his companion. If he continued speaking with her, it wouldn't end.

Lining up his shot with his finger, Sebastian slowly followed the carriage and wagon passing through the forest. Then, he raised his bow and fired.

The woman that was looking at her nails as Sebastian was preparing to fire immediately vanished. In just an instant, she traveled over hundreds of meters, and on top of that, she wasn't slowing down at all.

Though the carriage was at the horizon from their former position, she managed to arrive in less than half a minute.

In another half minute, the woman blinked her eyes and saw a flicker of light in the night skies.

"It's finally arrived."

The woman followed the arrow with her eyes until it landed right at the carriage.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM

"...Is this what he meant about not worrying about the identity of the people? Because there'd be nothing left of them to identify?"

Even the wagon was engulfed by the huge flame that came from the arrow. Though the woman was standing nearly twenty meters away, she could still feel the heat on her skin.

"Seriously, he's only an Adept, why is he able to make such strong flames?"

The woman sighed and was about to turn back when she heard footsteps.

"Eh? Someone managed to survive that?!"

A few seconds later, a person covered in flames from head to toe walked a few more steps toward her before dropping down on the floor.

"Oh, a straggler. That must be the target, he was an Adept, after all."

The woman looked around the area for any signs of other survivors before running back to Sebastian's side.

"Ainslie, you missed one."

"Eh?! Where?!"

"I already took care of it."

Sebastian gestured to his bow.

"...Will you please not tell the others?"

"You made another bet? You're already in debt, why are you making more? Besides, what kind of a useless bet did you make?"

Ainslie fidgeted for a few moments before answering with her head lowered down.

"I-if I can beat your eyes."

Sebastian sighed and dropped down from the tree without a sound.

"My eyes are even sharper than an eagle's, and you made a bet wanting to test out the skills that you've learned for what, half a year?"

"H-hey, I heard from Wisteria that you did something even more reckless when you joined."

"And, that's why I know that what you're doing is foolish. You have more potential than me, you need to know how to use it."

"Jeez, you're really like an old man."

Sebastian didn't mind her comment and snapped his fingers. Slowly, a circular doorway of energy was being created behind Sebastian—a portal—showing a dark room.

"Ladies first."

"Yes, yes…"

Ainslie shrugged and walked into the portal. Sebastian followed her and once they both got through, the portal closed.

…

"Lady Luna."

"...Deimos, what is it?"

Amy looked up from her desk and responded to the one who had called out to her.

"The spies from the west have returned."

"And?"

"There's been no sighting of anyone like Lord Sebastian."

"..."

Amy looked at the piles of paper on her desk and swung her arm, knocking them over.

"It's been four years! I refuse to believe that he managed to hide his tracks that well!"

Even with all of the resources at her disposal along with help from the other houses, not a single clue about Sebastian's whereabouts were uncovered.

The other houses were all losing any hope of ever finding Sebastian, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that it may be the last year she could have all of their support in her search.

Deimos walked inside and closed the door behind her slowly.

"However, there has been an interesting piece of information we have uncovered."

Deimos prompted Amy to calm down and waited. Once she saw that Amy managed to stabilize her breathing, she began.

"The reason that we haven't found a single trace of Lord Sebastian after all these years is a simple reason—we're searching in the wrong places."

Amy frowned.

"What do you mean? We've searched every city and village in the country, and we are still doing so in other countries too. While he has lived in a forest before, he won't be able to stay for four whole years. Is there anywhere else he could be?"

Deimos took out a sealed envelope behind her. It looked old, at least three years since it was sealed.

After being gestured to do so, Amy cut it open and then began to read through the parchment inside.

"...The underground."

"We've searched everywhere under the sky, but not below the ground. It's highly likely that Lord Sebastian has joined an underground organization." [1]

"I see…!"

Amy quickly ran around her desk and took out a map from one of the drawers. It was a map of the city with everything important written on it.

"We'll start with Blue Rose! We neglected to search them because of the deal with the kingdom, but with this letter…"

Seeing that Amy had finally regained some of her energy, Deimos could breathe a sigh of relief. She raised the hems of her skirt, curtseyed, then walked out.

"If he's really there…"

Amy felt her heart beat faster. For the first time in four years, she had finally gotten a lead on his location.

…

"Welcome back~"

"Geh! Serena…"

"Geh? Oohhh, you lost the bet."

Serena giggled and walked over to the frozen Ainslie.

"That's another fifteen thousand Aur."

"Auuuu… I'm going to have to live on bread crumbs for the next week again…"

"Doesn't that mean that nothing changed?"

Sebastian ignored their banter and walked ahead. Before he could get very far, though, Serena ran over and stopped him.

"Wait, Sebastian."

"What is it?"

Serena fidgeted for a few moments. Her face was flushed and her eyes were moving all over the place. Seemingly having gained enough courage, she took a deep breath and looked at Sebastian's eyes firmly.

"P-please go out to have dinner with me!"

Ainslie's mouth gaped as she pointed her trembling finger at Serena.

"Y-you… M-mister, you're not going to accept her invitation, right? Right?!"

Sebastian glanced at Ainslie before looking at Serena. While he'd call Serena a beauty, that would be undermining her. She had wavy golden locks that stretched down to her upper back, there wasn't any hint of makeup on her face but she had round eyes and rosy lips.

Of course, Sebastian was glad to receive an invitation from someone like that.

"Sure. I don't see a reason to refuse. Let me go report to Wisteria first."

A smile bloomed on Serena's face as she vigorously nodded her head repeatedly. It was a cute gesture in contrast to her mature appearance.

However, Sebastian's heart wasn't moved.

He walked past Serena and headed for Wisteria's office, leaving the two girls behind him.

"Excuse me."

"Ah, Sebastian. Come in, I just finished my work."

Even though four years had passed, Wisteria's looks hadn't changed at all. Even though she should be around three or four years older than him, she looked even younger.

"I completed the mission."

"As expected."

Wisteria sighed and leaned back on her chair.

"You know, when I picked you up around five years ago, I didn't expect you to be this useful."

"Picked me up, you say…"

"Don't disturb me. Anyway, where was I… Right, I didn't expect you to be able to use any ability that you properly understand."

"Isn't it a little too late for this talk? I showed this to you on the day I left."

"And could you imagine the surprise I felt?"

"Ugh…"

Sebastian groaned and sat down on the sofa by the side of the room. It was obvious that Wisteria wasn't planning to let him go. The stories were just an appetizer for the main course about to be served.

Sure enough, Wisteria's story ended and she gave him a sealed envelope, much like the one he always receives for missions.

"If you wanted to send me on another mission, you could have just said so."

"Ehem…"

Wisteria coughed. Sebastian frowned as he felt a sense of foreboding.

He quickly unsealed the letter and began reading through the contents. Wisteria explained while he was reading.

"The House of Luna is requesting an assassin as a bodyguard for the house head during a trip."

"I refuse."

Wisteria scratched her cheek. It was rare to see her so troubled.

"You're the only assassin we have who fits the bill, and somehow, they knew that and requested you personally. Rest assured, they don't actually know your identity and as long as you only use wind, then you'll be set. I'll also be sending Ainslie with you, she can handle the talking while you do your job."

Sebastian looked at Wisteria for a few moments.

"And, what's the real reason that you're forcing me to do a job?"

Wisteria winced and took out another envelope. It was unsealed, but, there wasn't a single fold on the paper inside.

"A request from the royal family."

"..."

Sebastian sighed. There were only so many things they could do with Euphea's influence without exposing her identity.

"Alright, I'll take it."

"Good! Don't worry, if things go as planned, you only have to show yourself and hide away from them after. I'll tell Ainslie about it too."

Sebastian turned to his back and opened the door. Before he could get more than a few steps out, Wisteria's teasing voice could be heard.

"I'm sure you wouldn't want Lady Luna to know about your philandering with younger girls as well."

Sebastian paused for a second before groaning and leaving. He also closed the door on the way.

"Euphea isn't going to be happy."

Wisteria giggled and went back to her desk. She put on a tired smile and continued on her work that never seemed to end.