-1634- Not long ago...

The Top Floor of the Tower of the Wind, the Observation Deck

When the elevator reached this floor, Rozen and Leafa stepped out together, arriving at the observation deck.

Bright sunlight poured down from the sky.

A comfortable breeze brushed past them.

The boy and the girl stood side by side at the edge of the deck, gazing into the distance.

One looked relaxed, while the other remained somewhat silent.

Rozen glanced at Leafa's expression and spoke in a casual tone.

"Looks like I caused you a lot of trouble, huh?"

He said it, at least as a matter of formality.

Whether he really felt that way was another question entirely.

Leafa gave Rozen an annoyed look.

"You're just trying to stop me from dealing with people like him, right? That's why you went so far?"

Leafa had already seen through Rozen's intentions.

The reason Rozen mercilessly trampled Sigurd wasn't just because he disliked him and wanted to vent Leafa's frustrations. He also wanted to make sure Sigurd could no longer manipulate Leafa into staying in his party by using moral justifications like "for the race" or "for the collective good."

Otherwise, as Sigurd was the assistant to the Sylph Lord and part of the higher ranks of the Sylph, he could easily guilt-trip Leafa into staying by appealing to a sense of duty.

Considering this, Rozen had thoroughly disgraced Sigurd, burning any bridges between them so that Leafa wouldn't have to endure any more pressure from him.

Of course, this was a rather extreme approach.

Antagonizing someone to that extent also meant they might retaliate later.

However...

"For someone who only acts tough on the internet, there's no need to be polite." Rozen shrugged indifferently. "Guys like him only resort to petty tricks. Nothing serious."

In other words, Rozen didn't see Sigurd as a threat.

Watching him, Leafa didn't know what to say.

(It feels like... he's much more assertive here than in real life.)

That was the only thought that crossed Leafa's mind.

Then Rozen spoke again.

"If you're scared, I can take care of this problem for you."

He seemed to be challenging Leafa.

Her competitive spirit kicked in immediately.

"Scared? Me? Not a chance!" Leafa replied, unconcerned. "If it comes to it, I'll just become a territory traitor."

In ALO, players generally fell into two categories.

The first were players like Leafa and Sigurd, who treated their territory as their base, forming parties with players of the same race. These players would go out to complete missions and donate part of their earnings to the governing council to help their race develop.

The second group left their territory behind, basing themselves in neutral cities and forming mixed-race parties to explore the game.

The former type of players had a stronger sense of responsibility and belonging to their race, contributing to its progress.

The latter type lacked such responsibility and could keep all the rewards they earned, but they were often looked down upon by the first group.

These players were commonly referred to as "territory traitors."

The term alone showed how much disdain and rejection they faced from others.

There were two kinds of territory traitors: those who left voluntarily and those who were exiled by their leaders. Either way, their reputation wasn't great.

However, traitors enjoyed more freedom, and many players actively chose this path to escape the constraints of their territories.

Leafa didn't have a strong sense of belonging to the Sylph, but she liked Swilvane and stayed there out of laziness.

Additionally, she had hoped that by contributing to her race's efforts, she could help them conquer the World Tree one day, become a Alf, and remove the flight time limit, gaining the ability to fly freely.

But now, after seeing Sigurd's behavior, Leafa's desire to be free grew stronger.

After all, Leafa was a girl who valued freedom. She didn't want to be tied down by a team or a territory.

"I've been planning to leave for a while, but the idea of being on my own was scary, so I couldn't make up my mind," Leafa said, taking a deep breath and looking relieved.

"But now, I can finally fly as freely as I want."

As she spoke, Leafa smiled, her expression genuinely joyful.

Seeing this, Rozen's usual indifference disappeared, replaced by a warm smile.

Clearly, Rozen's laid-back demeanor had been for Leafa's sake.

"Since you've made up your mind, let's head out," Rozen said, gently ruffling her hair with a smile.

"O-okay," Leafa muttered, her face turning slightly red, though she didn't resist his hand. Then she smiled as well.

They exchanged a glance and spread their four wings, ready to take flight.

Just as they were about to leave...

"Le-Leafa!"

A panicked voice called out as a figure stumbled out of the elevator.

"Rekon?"

Leafa froze, staring at the figure in surprise.

It was Rekon.

"Didn't you run off crying?" Rozen raised an eyebrow, looking amused.

"I-I didn't cry!" Rekon protested immediately.

But aware of his own limits, he quickly turned to Leafa instead of continuing with Rozen.

"I heard you left the party! Is that true?"

"Yeah, it's true," Leafa confirmed without hesitation. "Is there a problem?"

"Of course there is!" Rekon exclaimed. "I only joined Sigurd's party for your sake! If you're not there, I don't want to stay either!"

Rekon's tone was sincere; he wasn't joking.

"You're not thinking of coming with us, are you?" Rozen asked with a smirk.

"Of course! No way I'm letting you hang around Leafa alone!" Rekon declared, filled with hostility.

Unfortunately for him...

"We were just alone in a room not long ago, exactly the way you're worried about," Rozen said nonchalantly.

"W-What!?"

Rekon looked utterly devastated.

"Stop saying weird things!" Leafa slapped Rozen's shoulder, her face bright red, and glared at Rekon. "And you, stop talking nonsense, or I won't be so nice next time!"

"O-okay!" Rekon quickly surrendered, though he muttered reluctantly, "I'll stay in Sigurd's party for now, but once I finish my business, I'll catch up with you."

Rekon clearly wasn't happy about it.

"Even if you do, you'll just slow us down. You'd be no help getting to Alne," Leafa said bluntly, dealing another blow to Rekon.

"A-anyway, I'll come find you as soon as I can," Rekon promised, mustering his courage. He then gave Rozen a serious look.

"Don't forget—Leafa is still my...!"

Before he could finish, Leafa kicked him off the edge of the observation deck, sending him plummeting toward the base of the tower.

The fall would no doubt cost him a significant chunk of HP.

"Idiot! Always saying weird things..." Leafa muttered angrily.

"Heh..." Rozen chuckled quietly.

"What are you laughing at?" Leafa shot him a displeased look. "Are we going or not?"

"Yeah, yeah," Rozen replied, trying to suppress his laughter as he followed her.

The two of them, still bantering, took to the sky and flew off toward the distant horizon.

Thus, their journey began.