I retraced my steps back to the place where we’d watched the ceremony.

  Grandpa was still there.

  In the exact same spot.

  As if only I had moved.

  When he saw me, his face fell instantly.

  「Good gods… Are you alright? What happened?」

  He didn’t even let me answer.

  「We’re going to the Haldens’. I’m not leaving you like this.」

  The Halden herbal shop was wedged between two stone houses, like it had grown there by choice.

  From the outside, it looked more alive than built: vines climbing freely, a wooden sign carved with a leaf, and the smell of damp soil, mint, and something spicy drifting through the linen curtains.

  The Haldens were known for using natural remedies alongside healing magic.

  She was the one with talent for spells, sure—but both believed in medicine that’s planted, mixed, and left to rest.

  「Magic heals fast,」 he always said. 「But plants teach the body how to heal on its own.」

  The door opened before we could knock.

  「You again…」 the old man said, half-smiling.

  But the smile vanished the moment he saw my eyebrow split open.

  「What did you do this time? Fight a scarecrow?」

  「Something like that.」

  I didn’t have the strength to explain more.

  The healer—his wife—sat me down without a word.

  She had that way of looking at you that made you stay still even if she didn’t ask.

  She placed her hands on my forehead and whispered a spell.

  Soft light.

  Warmth.

  Nothing.

  She frowned and cast it again.

  Nothing.

  She straightened, and her eyes weren’t the same anymore.

  She glanced at Grandpa. Didn’t speak.

  But it was that look.

  The one that understands something too late.

  「I’ve never seen anything like this. The magic goes in… but it’s like throwing a stone into a dark well. No echo. No reaction. It just… disappears.」

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  Grandpa didn’t say a word.

  But he didn’t look surprised.

  Just… resigned.

  「Well,」 she said at last, back to her practical tone,

  「we’ll do what we always do: bandages, salve, and some rest.」

  While they cleaned the wound and spread a resin-scented paste on my eyebrow, the door burst open again.

  「I’m baaaack~!」

  A loud voice tumbled in along with uneven footsteps and a runaway cabbage falling out of a basket.

  「What happened?! Did you fight someone?! Did you win?! Did you finally pull off the secret technique of the Seven Magic Elbow Strikes?!」

  「I elbowed a guy and took back the bell. I don’t know what’s ‘secret’ about that.」

  「Ah-ha! ‘Wandering Elbow Style — Third Form: Spin of Shame!’」

  He threw himself onto the floor, lifted the basket like he was summoning holy power, and spun dramatically.

  SMACK.

  His mother slapped him on the head with the efficiency of someone who’d done it a hundred times.

  「I don’t care if he’s your friend—do not bother a patient while I’m treating him! What kind of healer will you be like this? Honestly… what am I going to do with you? Stop fooling around or I’ll have you chop jengra root by hand.」

  「Hyaaa~!! Okay okay okay!」

  I couldn’t help a small smile.

  He was the only idiot who could make me laugh even with half my face open.

  For a moment, the mix of herbs, warm light, and familiar voices almost made it feel like everything was fine.

  Just for a moment.

  When they finished bandaging my side, Grandpa stayed behind talking with the Haldens.

  I didn’t catch everything.

  At some point, they slipped into the back room, leaving the folding screen half open.

  The sound of the mortar grinding roots stopped.

  Then silence.

  And then their voices—quiet, muffled.

  「…Didn’t react. Nothing. As if—」

  「…you told me it might happen, but I didn’t think—」

  「…we shouldn’t rush. Not yet.」

  My shoulders tightened on their own.

  They were talking about me.

  No doubt.

  And the worst part was… I wasn’t surprised.

  Same thing as always.

  Another mystery with my name on it.

  Another half-whispered conversation ending in 「when the time comes」 or 「he shouldn’t know yet.」

  As always.

  I sighed. Low. Almost without noticing.

  Just then—

  「And then you went POW, and the guy went flying straight into the wall!」

  The Haldens’ son reappeared, mimicking a spinning jump with the basket on his head.

  「I’d call it ‘Wandering Elbow Style: Justice Finisher’!」

  「I didn’t hit him that hard. He tripped.」

  「Pfff! That’s exactly what a humble hero would say!」

  「That’s what a farmer who hates talking would say.」

  Nael was… a character.

  But somehow, being with him in that moment made it easier not to think too much.

  Even with the voices still coming from the back room.

  Even without understanding anything they said.

  I just had this feeling that, starting today…

  things weren’t going to go back to normal.