Chapter 42: Chapter 41: Light of a Billion Stars

"I'll be going now." ［Grey］

"Un. Take care." ［Yuna］

"See you later, Elder Brother Grey～!" ［Eliza］

A large smile bloomed on her face as Eliza waved her hand left and right, seeing off Grey to complete his task. Yuna was beside with a similarly bright smile.

With the contract signed the day before, it was decided that Grey will deliver the lord's official request letter to the Adventurers' Guild. Meanwhile, Yuna will be left in the mansion to look out for Eliza.

As Grey neared the gates, the guards bowed their heads to greet him as they opened the gates. The gates were so large and heavy that it made a cranking sound as it was being opened up.

It took about a quarter of an hour before Grey reached the Adventurers' Guild, and with the passing of the days, the guild became filled with more and more adventurers. It was a sign that the Labyrinth was about to open.

Also like usual, the moment the adventurers recognized him, they quickly averted their eyes away from him. Even the newcomers who didn't witness the scene more than a week ago were cautious of him. They have heard exaggerated stories which were enough to give them nightmares.

"Good morning, Miss Anna. Is the Guildmaster present?" ［Grey］

"Ah, yes, she is. I think she's currently working on some paperwork right now. Should I call her?" ［Anna］

"Yes, please. I have something to give her." ［Grey］

"Understood. Just wait a few minutes, please." ［Anna］

Anna didn't waste any time and quickly headed to the Guildmaster's office. As soon as she left, another receptionist took her place and Grey headed towards the quest boards to kill some time.

With the amount of adventurers arriving increasing day after day, there were barely any quests left on the boards. As soon as a quest was posted, adventurers quickly flocked it and took it for themselves.

The only quests left are the permanent ones including herb collection, extermination of weak monsters, and some odd tasks. Even then, there were still too few quests that the boards were almost laid out barren.

"Mister Grey, Big Sis said you could just head to her office. She's currently working on some important paperworks so she can't leave her office." ［Anna］

"Is that so... Alright, I'll head there in just a moment. Thank you for your help, Miss Anna." ［Grey］

"Anytime." ［Anna］

Hearing Anna's words, Grey lingered a bit in the quest boards and then headed to the Guildmaster's office. There, he was greeted with the Guildmaster who was currently swamped in paperwork.

Anna had mentioned that she was working on "some", but what Grey saw was a mountain of files and documents needed to be sorted out. They were all documents related to the opening of the Labyrinth.

"Oh, Grey... You're here..." ［Althea］

The Guildmaster tried to greet Grey with a smile but it had the opposite effect instead. She was so tired that thick bags could be seen below her eyes and her complexion was paler than usual.

It wasn't just today that the Guildmaster dealt with the paperwork. She has been dealing with them for quite a few days now, yet more just kept on coming, one could easily tell how busy she was with the amount of paperwork on her table.

"Guildmaster... You should probably rest..." ［Grey］

Grey said with a trace of worry in his face. The Guildmaster was so exhausted, she looked like she might collapse at any moment.

"Don't worry... I can still keep on going..." ［Althea］

To the Guildmaster's reply, Grey could only shake his head lightly as he heaved a lengthy sigh. The Guildmaster had no intention to rest until she could finish all of the paperwork.

Unable to convince the Guildmaster to rest, Grey slowly approached her and then extended his hands, with his palm facing towards her direction.

"This should help a little. ⟨⟨Recuperate⟩⟩." ［Grey］

With Grey's incantation, light shone from his hands towards the Guildmaster. Soon enough, the Guildmaster was completely enveloped by the light. But even when it was bright, it wasn't painful to the eyes.

As the light embraced her figure, the Guildmaster's complexion slowly turned healthier and her fatigue melted away. The tiredness she felt was no more. There was only energy left in her body.

"Recuperate" was a spell which removes both physical and mental fatigue of the target. The only drawback it had was that the mana consumption increases depending on the amount of fatigue and combat power of the target. It was the reason why Grey could not willy-nilly use it every time.

Well, even if the fatigue is gone, the brain and body will still seek out rest after some time. After all, even with the help of magic, the body's functions will still continue to function like normal and seek out its needs.

"Oh! I feel much better now!" ［Althea］

"Guildmaster, that's just a temporary measure. Please find time to rest your mind and body later." ［Grey］

"I know, I know. I'll rest as soon as I'm finished... Ah, right. Anna mentioned you have something to give me?" ［Althea］

"Ah, yes..." ［Grey］

Grey sounded a little surprised as he heard the Guildmaster's words. Seeing the Guildmaster's poor condition made it slip his mind that he has a letter from the lord to hand to her.

He quickly took the letter from his "Inventory" and gave it to the Guildmaster. The latter's face showed hints of surprise as she read the letter Grey handed her. She even wore a troubled expression for a few seconds.

"I see... So that's what happened. Alright, I'll approve this as a quest from the lord. I'll decide how many points to allocate later after I'm finished with my work." ［Althea］

"Thank you, Guildmaster." ［Grey］

"Don't worry about it. It's my job to handle these things. And I should be the one thanking you with your help. I feel like I could finish all my work today!" ［Althea］

Althea declared confidently as she puffed out her chest. She was looking at the paperwork as if they were enemies which needed to be exterminated.

Grey could only laugh wryly at her actions. Even when he helped her by healing her fatigue, he didn't expect that she'll work even harder right after feeling better. Grey now knows what the Guildmaster was like... She was a workaholic.

With his business finished, Grey left the Guildmaster's office and headed back to the lobby. There, he met two familiar figures who were inspecting the quests left in the almost barren quest boards.

"Oh, Grey! Nice meeting you here." ［Kris］

"Good morning, Grey... Is Yuna not with you today?" ［Aria］

It was Kris and Aria whom Grey had not seen after the raid. They have just arrived in Moterno after finishing their duties.

"Ah... Yuna's guarding someone for a quest right now. I'm only here to submit the request letter to the Guildmaster." ［Grey］

"Oh? You're already acquainted with Althea?" ［Kris］

"You know her?" ［Grey］

"Of course. This is already our third time participating in the Labyrinth, you know? We've interacted with her quite a lot back then since there were a lot of high-ranking quests at the time, right, Aria?" ［Kris］

"Yes. She was a very wonderful person. Though... She's a bit of a workaholic. Even her younger sister has given up on her at that front." ［Aria］

"Right? I could still remember the time she collapsed just before the Labyrinth opened. Anna was really worried back then." ［Kris］

With the topic of the Guildmaster, the betrothed couple recalled memories of the past when they had challenged the Labyrinth. It was the first time Grey saw Kris and Aria not banter with one another.

Of course, Grey also understood what they were talking about. After he had just witnessed the Guildmaster's workaholic attitude just a few minutes ago. He could still remember how thick the bags were under her eyes.

Grey also became more worried after learning the fact she had already collapsed from exhaustion before. While he had casted "Recuperate" on her, she might still overwork herself and collapse again.

There was also the fact that Anna had given up on her. Grey could finally understand why she only referred to the mountain of paperwork as "some". Anna had seen much more documents before that it could make people feel sick.

"Well, those were the times. I'm sure it will be more interesting this time around. After all, we have you and Yuna participating with us." ［Kris］

"Yeah. We'll be in your care once again." ［Grey］

"Hahahaha, don't be too stiff! Hey, why don't we have a competition? See who'll get deeper down in the Labyrintー Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" ［Kris］

Kris couldn't even finish his words. Just as he was about to, Aria's hand struck faster than lightning and pinched hard on Kris' ear, making the latter feel quite the pain.

Just when Grey thought that they were getting along well, Aria suddenly went ahead and destroyed his train of thought. It seems like no matter what the conversation was about, the couple before him could find a way to banter.

"Don't drag other people in your antics! Haven't you learned your lesson when you got grave injuries from one of your mischievous ideas?!" ［Aria］

"Alright, alright, I get it, so let go already!" ［Kris］

"As long as you understand... And, Grey, make sure you don't get influenced by this idiot. I'll feel sorry for Yuna if you become like him." ［Aria］

"Ah, y-yes..." ［Grey］

Grey could only smile wryly as he replied to Aria's question. Meanwhile, Kris was holding his ear and rubbing it gently as if he was trying to ease the pain.

Although Aria had a sharp tongue towards Kris, Grey knew it was her way of showing affection to Kris. After all, Aria only scolded him out of worry and to keep him from causing trouble to others.

In the end, even if they bantered a lot, they were still an engaged couple who only wanted the best for one another. Their ways of expressing it might be strange, but that's just how life is.

"Anyway... there sure are very few quests here. It seems like the amount of quests couldn't keep up with the amount of adventurers." ［Kris］

"Yeah, we haven't taken a lot of quests for the past few days because of it." ［Grey］

"Huh?" ［Kris］

Kris subconsciously let out a voice filled with confusion as soon as his ears picked up what Grey had said. Even Aria's face showed some change as soon as she heard it.

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"Grey... Don't tell me... You and Yuna have been taking the maximum amount of quests every single day?" ［Kris］

"Well, yeah... Is there something wrong with it...?" ［Grey］

Shock. Kris and Aria's faces were filled with shock as they heard Grey's answer. The person in question on the other hand was confused as to why the two were wearing such expressions on their faces.

The reason for their shock was simple. It was because the amount of quests Grey and Yuna took were too much. Even lower rank adventurers who needed money for survival didn't work as much. Grey and Yuna could be called workaholics just like the Guildmaster was.

With the amount of money a high-ranking adventurer earns in a single quest, it would have been understandable if they only took one quest every other day or so. Yet Grey and Yuna took a dozen times more than that.

"You know, Grey... While adventuring is fun and all, there's more to life than just taking quests and earning money. You should enjoy your life to the fullest while you still can. Don't you have something more important than adventuring...?' ［Kris］

Kris' question struck Grey like lightning. It was a question which he never really put much thought on before. He wasn't able to answer it immediately no matter how hard he tried.

Ever since Grey arrived in Merusia, his thoughts were mostly filled with the idea of adventures and exploring the fantasy world. While he has his hobbies, most of his time is filled with training, adventurer work, or exploring the world.

God had wished for him to enjoy his second life to the fullest. It was something he had only done partially as even right now, Grey's mind was filled with accomplishing and experiencing things he had read or seen in fictional works before on Earth. He has yet to explore other aspects of life which aren't part of a fantasy world.

After his conversation with Kris and Aria finished, Grey left the guild still pondering about Kris' question. No matter how hard he thought of it, there wasn't a single thing which he could consider very important to the point he'll give up everything for, even his adventurer work.

Grey then headed to the "Blue Spring" inn to cancel the remaining days of their lodging. It was the task his previous self left him to do, and he was able to perform it without much trouble.

Time passed by quickly and another day was coming to an end. The last bell had already rung and most of the people had already gone to slumber. The night was peaceful once again.

"Haah... What am I doing...?" ［Grey］

Grey asked himself as he wandered around the large corridors in the mansion in the middle of the night. It was so peaceful he could even hear the chirping of the crickets.

He couldn't fall asleep as he kept thinking about what Kris had previously told him. The latter's question kept repeating inside his mind over and over again to the point that it was haunting him.

As Grey continued to wander in the corridors, he arrived on an open balcony before he knew it. There, he saw the back of one familiar figure.

"Need to take a breather, too?" ［Yuna］

The figure standing by in the lonely balcony was Yuna. Before Grey could even greet her, Yuna already noticed him approaching and took the initiative to call out to him.

"Yeah. I just have something on my mind right now that I couldn't even get a wink of sleep." ［Grey］

"Hehe, looks like we're on the same boat." ［Yuna］

A gentle smile appeared on Yuna's face as she giggled silently. Although she was already beautiful, with the light coming from the moon and stars, her allure became even more accentuated.

As Yuna giggled, Grey joined her on the balcony. He took a step outside and a cold yet gentle nightly breeze greeted him along with the light coming from the city. It was beautiful scenery.

"So, what were you thinking before I came over?" ［Grey］

"Nothing much... Just things about the past and some what ifs." ［Yuna］

With the mention of "the past", Grey's attention was fully drawn to Yuna. He had a feeling that it had something to do with the incident three years ago.

"You see, before that day came, I never knew much about the outside world. All I know is from the stories the grown-ups told me... That time, my biggest dream was to explore the world and meet all sorts of people. It was a good dream, right?" ［Yuna］

"I suppose so." ［Grey］

Hearing Yuna's dream, Grey also reminisced about his past. At some point in time in his childhood, he also had a dream to explore the whole world. He wanted to take pictures of the places where he had been, try all sorts of food, and experience all sorts of things.

It was a time where he was still naive and innocent. There was even a time when he wanted to become an astronaut and visit all the planets in the universe and take pictures with aliens.

"Grey, you're smiling." ［Yuna］

"Ah, I just remembered some things in the past." ［Grey］

"I see... It must have been wonderful." ［Yuna］

"Yeah, It was." ［Grey］

Seeing Grey reminisce about the past, Yuna giggled softly. It was a rare sight for Yuna to see Grey being nostalgic. A smile gently bloomed on her face as well as she saw Grey smile.

"Anyway, after that day came, I was so overrun by grief and sorrow, I forgot all about my dream..." ［Yuna］

Yuna's gentle smile was replaced with eyes of longing as she continued to tell her story. But that longing only lasted for a few moments. Her smile quickly returned to her as she opened her mouth once again.

"But when I saw the scenery outside the balcony, I realized how much I had been traveling all this time, and I remembered that innocent dream of mine." ［Yuna］

"So, how was it? Was traveling as fun as you thought it would be?" ［Grey］

"No, it wasn't. Why would it be? You have to travel long distances, you need money to stay at an inn, you get all dirty as you move from place to place, and there are also dangers in doing it! Traveling is a nightmare!" ［Yuna］

Words came like a barrage of bullets as Yuna ranted about traveling. It was as if she just got scammed with all of her money taken away. She was like a high school student complaining about how much homework she has.

After letting all those pent up emotions out, Yuna then heaved a brief sigh and looked outside the balcony into the city. Soon after, she continued with what she was saying.

"But... meeting all sorts of people, encountering all sorts of things, and creating lots of memories, I realized that it's not the traveling itself that makes it fun, but the experiences you've had along the way. And.... It was all thanks to you that I was able to have those wonderful experiences. I'm really grateful to have met you." ［Yuna］

"Well, that makes the two of us!" ［Grey］

Grey replied with a large smile on his face. It was a smile which was full of sincerity. He was also thankful that he has Yuna by his side throughout the years he has lived in Merusia.

Although living in the forest alone, learning magic, and fighting monsters was fun, it's nothing in comparison when you have someone to share those fun times with. That was why he was very grateful for meeting Yuna.

"Grey, look! A shooting star!" ［Yuna］

Yuna pointed towards the night sky where millions of stars shone brightly as if there was no tomorrow. It was like a sea of stars one could only see when they were on a mountain. It was a beautiful sight

"You know, someone from the past told me... that if you wish something before a shooting star, your wish would come true." ［Grey］

"Really!? Then what are we waiting for?! Let's make a wish!" ［Yuna］

After Grey told her a popular saying on Earth, Yuna frantically closed her eyes and then started wishing. She acted just as hopeful as a little child as she wished with all her heart

Yuna didn't utter a single sound as she wished earnestly towards the passing shooting star. Grey, on the other hand, was just carefully observing her with warm eyes.

"Done!" ［Yuna］

"So, what did you wish for?" ［Grey］

"I wished I would have more fun adventures with you!" ［Yuna］

Yuna answered with a warm and bright smile on her face as she looked towards Grey, who was listening to her ardently.

In the very moment unveiled her genuine smile, Grey felt as if the world stopped and what he saw before him was a scene unlike anything he had ever witnessed before. A scene that will forever be engraved on his mind.

Standing silently in the lonely balcony, her silver hair fluttered in the cool breeze as it gleamed from the light of a billion stars. Her eyes, as blue as the deep ocean, sparkled brighter than the city lights over the horizon. Her slender figure was illuminated by moonlight and became more dazzling than the moon itself. Before her, the moon, the stars, and the dazzling city lights seemed nothing but decorations in the night, only there to highlight her gracefulness.

It was then that Grey thought to himself...

'Ah, how beautiful...' ［Grey］

Ba-dump Ba-dump Ba-dump

It was in that moment that he realized that what he thought was a simple fascination of the elven girl named Yuna, was actually an emotion so strong that he couldn't contain his heart nor mind. And that emotion was what one would call... "love".

'I didn't know I was such a fool.' ［Grey］

Grey thought to himself, thinking back to the past three years they have been together and all the experiences they had shared together. All his attention focused on magic and adventures, yet he couldn't notice what was beside him all along.

He wanted to laugh at himself, seeing how long it took himself to notice the feelings that has always been inside of him. Yet no matter how foolish he was, he was thankful that the fool that he was was able to finally understand those hidden feelings.

It was a night full of surprises. Just moments ago, he was struggling to find the answer to Kris' question, but who would have thought that the very answer to the question was just a few steps away. He couldn't be any more happier.

'Mister Kris, thank you. I have found my answer.' ［Grey］

A subtle smile appeared on Grey's face as he continued to look at the figure of the woman who had captured his heart. The more he looked at her, the more beautiful she became.

"Grey, is something wrong?" ［Yuna］

"No, nothing... I just just realized something... The moon is beautiful, isn't it." ［Grey］

As he looked up into the night sky riddled with billions of stars, his words carried by the gentle and cold wind reached into Yuna's ears. While she couldn't quite point out why, somehow she felt very happy hearing those words come out from Grey's mouth.

While it may be just another night for everyone else, to the two of them, that night became a night which brought about a special meaning and emotion. It was a night which will forever be engraved in their hearts.

CHAPTER 41 END

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