The Observer's Dream
The man took my hand.
Countless streams of wisdom flooded into me like a river of enlightenment.
The man pushed me forward.
Courage and insight took root within me—unbreakable even before calamity and nightmares.
The man showed me the way.
Every choice I made became the correct one, and the world itself seemed to align in my favor.
“Thank you! Thanks to you, I was able to resolve it safely this time as well.”
“—.”
“Really? But I only moved exactly as you instructed.”
“—?”
“Hehe, no matter how humbly you speak every time, it’s always you who reaches out first.”
A person more precious than any other.
A person beyond the reach of words.
The most perfect guiding star of my life.
Someone who becomes my sun by day and my Polaris by night.
With my heart overflowing, I turned my head so I could finally face him properly.
“Ah, now that I think about it, I still haven’t asked your name?”
My breath caught.
His entire form was blurred.
Where a face should have been, grotesque black noise writhed and flickered.
As if that part alone had shattered, sharp particles screamed and swirled together, devouring his features.
An empty, pitch-black void without substance.
Yet the warm presence remained unchanged.
Entranced, I reached out with a trembling hand toward it.
It never touched.
Not even once, in the end.
—.
“Hic…”
A morning thick with discomfort and dreamlike haze.
In stark contrast, the sky visible beyond the window was so clear it hurt the eyes.
The pale blue air slipping through the gap tickled the pure white curtains and filled the room with a chill.
“…”
She stared blankly at the open sky outside for a moment before quietly climbing out of bed.
A knight’s day begins early.
It was because the requests submitted to the guild the previous day were distributed at dawn according to each person’s capabilities.
Most of the missions involved supporting civilians or escorting royalty and nobles.
The current era was relatively peaceful, after all.
Swish.
After finishing her preparations to head out, she made one final adjustment to her clothes in front of the mirror.
Her mysterious silver hair, threaded with a subtle platinum sheen, was pleasing to the eye.
But her gaze caught on the deep shadows that had seeped into her once-clear blue eyes.
Was it because of that dream earlier?
Every time she faced those unknown memories, an indescribable longing rose within her.
And that was always where it ended.
The moment she woke, the rush of reality swept those precious fragments beyond the edge of consciousness.
—Who in the world are you?
A hollow question left behind in the wake of the dream.
Would the day ever come when she received an answer to that question?
“Ah! Good morning, Miss Asera! You’re the first one here again today?”
A bright voice shattered the morning quiet.
As soon as the guild door opened, the small girl who had been guarding the counter hopped out and greeted her.
“Yes, good morning to you too, Velvet.”
The inside of the guild was still steeped in the calm, hushed atmosphere unique to dawn.
It was also why she always came at this early hour.
Or perhaps it was simply because she didn’t particularly enjoy encountering others.
“You’ll wait until Sister Lien arrives, right? Would you like a warm cup of tea?”
“Thank you. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d appreciate it.”
“Hehe, this is a special service just for you, Miss Asera~”
A glimpse of light green hair swayed at the edge of her vision. It was receptionist Velvet.
The girl in her adorable uniform trotted away, then soon returned with a warm teacup.
Asera wrapped both hands around the cup and smiled.
“Velvet, where should we head today?”
“Ah! The request assigned to you and Sister Lien today is… right here! It’s in the southeast, toward the Great Forest.”
“Pielses Great Forest? In that case…”
“It’s a wolf extermination mission! Lately there have been more and more reports that the beasts’ movements have grown unusually fierce and savage.”
After checking the map, she gave a calm nod.
“Mm, understood. We’ll finish before evening and return.”
“As expected of Miss Asera! Anyone else would have grumbled about whether there weren’t any closer assignments, but you always take on the tougher ones without complaint. I really admire that!”
“Ugh… That’s exactly why the annoying jobs always get pushed onto the two of us…”
A groaning voice came from behind them.
A female knight with hair the color of soft pink spring blossoms was walking over with a sullen expression.
“Good morning, Lien.”
“Morning! Good morning to you too, Asera! And… sorry I’m late…!”
“It’s always new to me how you apologize every single time even though you’re constantly late, Sister.”
“Ehh, maybe it’s partly because Asera wakes up way too early…?”
Instead of answering, she habitually scanned her companion’s uniform.
The red-and-white coat was sticking out awkwardly, and the collar was a complete mess.
With practiced hands, she straightened every part of the outfit.
“There. Let’s head out right away, Lien. We should finish early today.”
“Ah, before we go, I want some of that black tea too! Hehe, thanks.”
“Aah! That was for Miss Asera—!!”
“Hehehe, what’s given to Asera is also given to me.”
Paying no mind to the protest, Lien downed the tea in one swift gulp.
Velvet let out a horrified gasp and immediately reached out with her tiny hands.
Clack.
The now-empty teacup returned with a hollow sound.
Velvet stared at the empty cup in utter despair, gently stroking its rim.
“We’ll be back, Velvet.”
“See you in a bit, Velvet~!”
The two knights strode briskly toward the guild door as if their business there was finished.
“Ah…! Just a moment, Miss Asera!”
The girl’s voice carried a hint of urgency.
At her call, the pair stopped and turned around.
Velvet was still clutching the teacup tightly, her face clouded with worry.
“Of course nothing would happen to someone like you, Miss Asera, but… the number of requests from the Great Forest area has increased noticeably lately! Just in case, please, please be extra careful…!”
—A rumor she had overheard in passing.
That the beasts and lesser monsters in that area had recently become abnormally ferocious.
“Hmm? Isn’t that area mostly just beasts and maybe a few small monsters?”
“Thank you, Velvet. I’ll keep it in mind.”
“…Huh? What about worrying for me…?”
“Since Miss Asera will handle everything anyway, I’m not too worried about you, Sister Lien.”
“That’s so mean! I do my best too, you know!!”
Leaving Lien’s grumbling behind, Asera stepped lightly out of the guild door.
A blue sky.
A cloudless expanse stretched wide above her head.
Asera gazed up at it blankly for a moment, then offered a small smile to Lien, who was following after her.
Today, once again, another step on this journey—
A fleeting memory from that morning.
The black, flickering shape that had reached out to her.
—Who in the world are you?
The question that always surfaced whenever she wandered through those unknown memories, only to vanish like foam.
Perhaps.
Today might be the day she finally reached its answer.
