Alfia turned her head away with a subtle frown, her expression tinged with discomfort.

"I've already been touched by your hand. I don't want them anymore." She muttered, her tone evasive.

After a slight pause, she added softly, "Consider it… a souvenir from this trip."

As she said that, she raised her ungloved right hand, gently brushing her long silver-gray hair behind her ear. Her fingertips traced through the silken strands, sending a faint floral fragrance drifting into the air.

Akira accepted the gloves and looked at them curiously. They were exquisite—made from fine, supple leather, still warm from her touch.

"Seriously? This is all you're giving me as a thank-you gift? How stingy." He grinned mischievously, teasing her on purpose.

Alfia's eye twitched slightly. "Then give it back."

Without hesitation, she reached for the gloves again.

Akira quickly dodged and tucked the gloves behind his back like a naughty child hiding candy. "I didn't say I wouldn't accept them."

"Then stop running your mouth, you rude brat." Alfia's voice was expressionless, but there was a distinct note of exasperation.

"Huh? I never thought you were the type to give away personal items like souvenirs. Auntie, you're kinda freaky."

Akira smirked, arms wide as if to say 'Isn't this a bit much?', completely unaware of the approaching crisis.

...Ah. I'm dead.

In the very next moment, a fist moved so fast it seemed to warp space itself.

No chance to dodge.

No chance to defend.

Pain exploded through his skull as if he'd been struck by divine retribution. Even his instinct to retaliate was forcibly suppressed.

After all, he couldn't seriously hit back—not when the one punching him looked like she was about to collapse any second.

"Do you want me to beat you senseless?" Alfia's brow twitched in irritation as she lowered her fist, radiating the unmistakable presence of a woman done with nonsense.

Akira squatted down, rubbing the top of his aching head with a pitiful look. "Ouch… don't say that after you've already hit me. That seriously hurt, y'know."

Alfia leaned down, placing a gloved hand atop his head, her smile chilling yet strangely majestic. "You get to choose: either call me Alfia, or never speak again. Say it one more time, and I'll knock you out."

"Yeah, yeah…" Akira muttered, his expression twitching as he let out a resigned sigh.

"A good man never argues with a woman."

Then, forcing a grin, he straightened up and said with mock obedience, "Ahahaha… Alfia it is."

As they bantered, murmurs began to rise from the surrounding adventurers and passers-by.

"Wait… isn't that Morning Star?"

"Oh gods, did that woman just beat Morning Star to his knees?! Is she trying to force him to return to the familia and awaken the familia's fury?!"

The rumors spreading through the streets were absolutely absurd, and Alfia's expression grew darker by the second.

"…What an annoying crowd." She muttered under her breath.

With a cold glance at the murmuring onlookers, she suddenly turned away from the clinic in the northwest and began walking toward West Street instead.

'Huh. Morning Star, is that his nickname?' She thought to herself, amused. 'It's a quiet-sounding alias… not bad.'

Noticing her change of direction, Akira quickly chased after her.

"Hey, hey! That's not the way to the treatment center. Where are you going?"

Without turning her head, Alfia replied flatly, "I never said I was going to the treatment center."

"…Really?" Akira crossed his arms, staring at her with suspicion. "Looks like your condition is worse than I thought."

Alfia didn't answer. She simply kept walking, her footsteps steady despite the weariness lingering in her frame.

Seeing her remain silent, Akira fell into step beside her again, quietly making sure she didn't stumble.

The city street stretched ahead of them. Without someone to argue with, Akira found himself uncharacteristically quiet.

For a while, he just looked around at the shops along the roadside, a curious spark in his eyes as if studying a new world.

Alfia walked in silence, absorbed in her thoughts. But after a few minutes, the growing quiet began to gnaw at her. She felt oddly restless—bored even.

Something's wrong with me. Why do I feel this way?

Her gaze drifted to the young man beside her.

He was energetic and full of life, his expression animated as he examined street stalls and storefronts.

She had allowed him to get close, even given him her gloves—though her excuse had been that he'd "contaminated" them.

But deep down, she knew. If it were anyone else, she would've thrown them away without a second thought. So why did she offer them to him?

Even more baffling was how lenient she had been with him.

Calling her "Auntie," teasing her, testing her patience again and again.

If it were in the past, she wouldn't have hesitated to respond with a devastating strike.

But with Akira, she only gave him a small warning.

Alfia furrowed her brow and muttered under her breath, "What's wrong with me…?"

A strange possibility flickered in her thoughts.

Could it be… that this is the first time a man dared to stand up to me? Is that why he gets under my skin?

But she quickly dismissed it.

Zeus had annoyed her plenty of times before. That wasn't it.

Then what was different?

Maybe… it's because he doesn't know who I am.

In his eyes, she wasn't the Alfia of the past—the feared mage, the hero's mother, or the former tyrant.

To him, she was just… a normal injured woman.

And that's why I'm letting my guard down around him…

"Hmm?" Akira's voice suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Alfia's body stiffened slightly.

She hadn't expected him to hear her muttering.

Her expression turned slightly awkward, and she frowned. "…You're still here? You really like bothering people."

Her words were harsh, but her tone had lost its bite.

Akira gave her a helpless smile and shrugged. "That's harsh. I'm just a nice guy walking with a grumpy aunt—I mean, woman, who doesn't know how to say thank you."

As he spoke, he leaned in closer with a curious look. "So, where are you going, anyway?"

"It's just an abandoned church."

Alfia answered nonchalantly, her tone calm and indifferent, as though the place held no special meaning to her. But her face, unreadable and poised, made it impossible to guess her true thoughts.

The two continued walking, Alfia quietly leading Akira through the lively crowd toward the end of West Street.

Akira followed without complaint, though his heart was full of questions. Even so, he bit down his curiosity and didn't press her further.

Eventually, they arrived. At the farthest corner of West Street stood an old church, forgotten by time and swallowed by the creeping passage of years. The walls, weathered and cracked, were overrun by moss and lichen, the once majestic bricks now worn and dull, leaving only a husk of its former glory.

The entrance door was slightly ajar, creaking gently in the wind. Golden rays of sunlight slipped through the gap and scattered across the dusty stone floor in fragmented beams of light.

Without hesitation, Alfia stepped inside. Akira followed in silence, his gaze roaming the empty halls.

The sound of their footsteps echoed through the vast, abandoned sanctuary. Dust floated in the air like lingering ghosts of the past, and an old, somber atmosphere wrapped around them like a heavy shroud.

"Meteria... I'm back."

Alfia's soft voice rang out, a whisper that seemed to drift across the walls like a ghost's lament. There was a subtle quiver in her tone—a longing so deep it felt as if her soul was trying to reach someone long lost.

Akira's chest tightened the moment he heard it. The voice… it didn't sound like the confident, sharp-tongued Alfia he'd known during their journey.

No—this was the sound of sorrow. The grief of someone standing before the gates of Hades, whispering a final goodbye to the world.

The silence of the church deepened. The loneliness became suffocating.

Akira opened his mouth, wanting to say something. But when his eyes fell on Alfia's back—so straight, yet so fragile—he swallowed his words.

(End of Chapter)

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