In a world of swords and magic, the trade-city of Averl stands above countless dungeons managed by the Adventurers' Guild. Jill, a slim young man who swings two steel blades, and Fina, a girl who wields a bow and enchantment magic, were forced into a partnership through an endless argument over splitting profits. Unable to be honest, they bicker constantly yet fight in perfect sync underground. Fina has fallen for Jill at first sight but hides it behind her sense of duty to her large family back
Each One's "Place to Return To - A Summer of Teasing, Crossing Feelings
Summer had come to Avel.
Heat haze wavered and rose above the cobblestones. From the Central District market, the sweet scent of overripe fruit drifted in, mixed with the stifling heat. At some shopfront, a proprietress wiped her sweat as she sprinkled water. Dogs lay sprawled in the shade, tongues lolling, while children sat on the fountain's edge, kicking their legs.
Seven days had passed since the failure of that request.
Jil was heading alone to the headquarters of the Iron Road.
(It's hot.)
He wiped his forehead with a hand towel. His brownish-black hair clung damply to his skin. His eyes—deep blue as the sea—narrowed against the glare. On his left wrist, the trace of an old bandage. Beneath it, hidden, was a burn scar from childhood.
The three-story stone guild headquarters came into view. Above the entrance hung a crest shaped like a metal prosthetic hand. It was the symbol of the adventurer's guild "Iron Road," which had stood in this city for a hundred and fifty years.
Jil pushed open the heavy wooden door.
The hinges creaked.
Inside, the first-floor reception hall was packed with adventurers. The smell of sweat, alcohol, and leather mingled. Someone laughed loudly; someone else shouted while clutching a request slip. The walls were plastered with request notices. Beside them, the floor plan Bardo of Bardo Real Estate had posted the other day—"Young couples, must see! Single-family home with garden, outstanding environment for raising children!"—still remained, not yet torn down.
Jil walked to the reception counter.
"...Excuse me. I need to report a failed request."
Behind the counter, a woman with chestnut hair tied in a bun looked up. Her golden hairpin caught the light of the magic stone lamp and glittered. Her amber eyes reflected Jil.
Mirene. The receptionist of the Iron Road, and the one in charge of Jil and Fina. Twenty-three years old. She had once been an adventurer, but retired after an injury and took up this work. On her left wrist was an old scar, a remnant from her adventuring days.
"Oh my, Jil. Are you alone today?"
Mirene tilted her head slightly and looked behind Jil. The girl with the gold hair streaked with vermilion, who should always be there, was absent.
"...Yes. Well."
Jil lowered his eyes.
Mirene let out a small breath. Then she smiled mischievously.
"Oh dear. Fighting again? You two really aren't honest with each other."
"N-No, it's not that. It's not a fight... I just did something reckless and failed."
Jil's voice grew quieter and quieter.
Just then, a young receptionist from the neighboring counter leaned in.
"Hey, hey, Mirene. Is that girl not here today? You know, the cute blonde one."
"Right, right. She's always with him, isn't she? Fighting again?"
The receptionists gathered around with curious faces. Jil, feeling awkward, hung his head even lower.
"...It's not really a fight. It's my fault. Because someone like me is paired with her, I just cause her trouble."
Mirene's expression grew complicated at those words.
(This boy is always like this. Whenever something happens, he immediately blames himself.)
Mirene knew Jil's reserved nature. And because she knew, it ached in her chest.
"Jil. You can file the failure report in writing later. Could you come here for a moment?"
Mirene beckoned Jil to the end of the counter.
Jil approached hesitantly.
Mirene, a little away from the other receptionists, brought her face close to Jil's ear.
"...That girl likes you."
Jil froze.
For a moment, he didn't understand what had been said to him.
The next instant, heat rushed to his face. From the tips of his ears to his neck, he turned red all at once.
"W-What are you saying!? That can't be. Someone like me... there's no way she'd like me."
Jil's voice cracked as he shook his head vigorously.
Mirene shrugged, looking exasperated but amused.
"Oh dear. You don't have to deny it that much. Well, fine. If that's what you think, then so be it."
Mirene said nothing more and returned to the counter.
Jil stood there frozen for a while.
(That girl likes you.)
Mirene's voice spun round and round in his head.
(That can't be.)
(Fina, liking someone like me.)
(Impossible.)
Jil fled the guild as if escaping.
The heat outside clung to his skin.
The cicadas were crying shrilly.
——
After leaving the guild, Jil walked along the streets of the West District.
He had intended to ask the tool shop to restock arrows. Fina's bow arrows. They had been consuming a lot lately.
(If I could fight better, I wouldn't make Fina waste arrows.)
Jil thought that, and fell into self-loathing again.
Next to "Gardo's Blade Shop" was a small tool shop. Magic stone lamps, rope, preserved food, and other goods were crammed into the storefront.
When Jil entered, a bent-backed old woman appeared from the back.
"Oh my, welcome.... You there, what happened to the usual blonde girl?"
The old woman grinned with her wrinkled face.
"...Today I'm alone. I wanted to restock arrows."
"Hoh. Arrows. That girl's bow arrows, eh.... Hmm. You there, did you two have a fight or something?"
The old woman's eyes glinted.
"W-Why would you think that?"
"Haha. It's written all over your face. 'It's my fault,' it says.... That girl's been cold to you, hasn't she?"
Jil was at a loss for words.
"You're so dense people would laugh at you. When a girl acts cold, you know... it's only in front of the one she likes."
The old woman laughed heartily.
"...Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. You're polite to people you dislike. Acting cold is proof she's conscious of you.... That girl probably likes you. Anyone can see it."
Jil's mind went blank.
(Fina, likes me?)
(No, but that's impossible.)
(Fina is always angry at me.)
(She's cold because she dislikes me.)
Jil couldn't accept the old woman's words straightforwardly.
"...No. Her, liking someone like me. That's impossible. She acts cold because I said something unnecessary. It's my fault."
Jil said that and placed the payment for the arrows.
The old woman sighed.
"...You there, you think too little of yourself. Well, I suppose that's how it is when you're young. Here, the arrows. Make sure you give them to the girl properly."
The old woman handed Jil the bundle of arrows.
Jil took them and left the shop as if fleeing.
(It's my fault.)
Jil's head was filled with those words.
(Fina acts cold because of me.)
(Because I said something terrible back then.)
(Because someone like me is by her side.)
Jil trudged along the hot street.
——
Around the same time.
Fina was at the Iron Road headquarters.
For a different matter. To be precise, she had documents to submit to the guild. A copy of the failure report for the other day's request. Apart from what Jil had submitted, Fina herself had documents she needed to submit.
Fina stopped near the entrance of the reception hall.
(Jil might be here.)
Just thinking that made her heart pound loudly.
(What am I getting nervous about?)
Fina placed her hand on her left chest.
Thump, thump. Thump, thump.
Since that night, this heartbeat hadn't settled.
(I don't feel anything for that guy.)
(He's just a party member.)
(That's all.)
Fina took a deep breath and stepped into the reception hall.
That was the moment.
"...That girl likes you."
A voice she recognized reached her ears.
Fina stopped dead in her tracks.
She looked toward the voice.
At the end of the reception counter. Mirene was bringing her face close to someone's ear.
That someone was.
Jil.
Fina hid herself behind a pillar.
"W-What are you saying!? That can't be. Someone like me... there's no way she'd like me."
Jil's voice reached her.
(She'd like him.)
(Does that mean... me?)
Fina's face turned bright red all at once.
Her heart felt like it would explode.
The depths of her chest tightened.
(Do I... like that guy?)
(Is that it?)
(No, no, no.)
(That can't be.)
(I just can't take my eyes off him because his fighting style is so reckless.)
(That's all.)
Fina pressed both hands to her cheeks.
Hot.
She didn't need a mirror to know. Even the tips of her ears were bright red.
"Oh dear. You don't have to deny it that much. Well, fine. If that's what you think, then so be it."
Mirene's laughter.
Fina crouched down on the spot.
(Mirene, why would you say something like that?)
(That I like him.)
(It's not true, it's not.)
(But.)
(My heart is pounding so loudly.)
Fina couldn't believe her own heartbeat.
She had vaguely noticed.
The self that followed Jil's fighting figure with her eyes.
The self that felt relieved when she heard Jil's voice.
The self whose chest ached faintly when Jil talked with someone else.
But she didn't want to admit it.
If she admitted it, she felt like something would break.
"...I like him."
Fina murmured aloud.
In that instant, the back of her eyes grew hot.
(Why, of all people, does it have to be him?)
(Why does Mirene know how I feel?)
(It's so embarrassing.)
(I want to die.)
Fina, in her agitation, left the spot.
Forgetting even to submit her documents.
——
The next day.
Jil stood on the second floor of the Iron Road, in front of the request board.
Today, he intended to take some simple request.
(I can't just keep doing nothing.)
(I have to work.)
(I can't keep causing trouble for Fina.)
On the board were several iron-rank request slips. Slime extermination, herb gathering, patrolling the shallow dungeon layers. All of them paid only a few copper to a few silver coins.
Jil reached for one of the slips.
That was when.
He heard footsteps behind him.
He turned around.
Standing there was.
Fina.
Gold hair streaked with vermilion. A ponytail. Greenish-gray eyes.
The moment Fina saw Jil's face, she stopped dead.
And then, rapidly, her face turned red.
"...Ah."
A small sound escaped Fina's lips.
Jil, too, was startled and froze.
(It's Fina.)
(What do I do? I have to say something.)
"...Good morning."
Jil managed to squeeze out his voice.
Fina turned her eyes away from Jil with a huff.
"...I don't have any reason to be greeted by you."
Fina's voice was cold.
(Ah, she's still angry after all.)
Jil's chest tightened.
"...Fina. Um, I want to apologize for the other day. Did I do something wrong? If you're being this cold, it must be because I did something."
Jil desperately searched for words.
Fina, still facing away, bit her lip hard.
(No. That's not it.)
(It's not that you did anything wrong.)
(It's that I can't control my own feelings, and that's what's wrong.)
(But I can't say that.)
Fina shook her head slightly.
"...It's nothing."
"But—"
"I said it's nothing! You're so persistent!"
Fina raised her voice.
Jil flinched, his shoulders trembling.
"...Sorry. Someone like me being so persistent. Sorry."
Jil hung his head.
Seeing that, Fina's chest constricted painfully.
(No. I'm the one at fault.)
(Because I can't be honest.)
(Because I like him.)
(That's why I can't even look him in the face properly.)
Fina, unable to say anything, left the spot.
Jil was left alone in front of the request board.
(As I thought, it's my fault.)
(Fina doesn't want to talk to me.)
(Because someone like me is by her side.)
(She's suffering because of it.)
Jil sank to the bottom of self-loathing.
——
Three days passed since then.
Jil and Fina did not have a proper conversation.
Even though they stayed at the same inn.
Even though they went to the same guild.
There was an invisible wall between them.
In the morning, even when they saw each other, they looked away.
At the guild, even when they passed each other, they didn't speak.
They took requests separately.
Jil handled a slime extermination request alone.
Fina handled an herb gathering request alone.
Their fighting was clearly awkward.
Jil acted recklessly and got covered in wounds.
Fina wasted arrows.
Even so, the two chose to fight alone.
Only the summer heat grew day by day.
The cicadas cried, loud enough
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.