“I’ve heard the news. Are you injured anywhere? No, no. It’d be rude to keep you like this when you must be tired. You should go in and rest. Treat it like my home and relax.”

As soon as morning came, I set off back to the village to fetch the carriage I had left behind and headed to Eldora, where I first arrived through the Teleport Gate. As I passed through the castle gate and entered the city, Craig, who had evidently gotten the news, was waiting to greet us just like when we first came to the city.

Of course, with someone like Craig, he could have easily received the news of the battle’s outcome and that we had set off through a simple communication spell, but there was no way for him to know when we would arrive in Eldora. All he could do was guess, but how accurate could that really be? If he hadn’t shown up precisely at the right time, he might have waited for several hours.

Certainly, the reason he came out to greet us was out of concern for us, but a large part of that was likely his worry for his daughters, Yuli and Linne. His love for his daughters is extraordinary.

After being guided by the butler to the guest room, we decided to rest for a while. It wasn’t just a quick overnight stay; we planned to stay for a few days.

Of course, none of us were injured, but the change in plans was an unavoidable choice. The information from Vulcan didn’t match the memories from the previous round, so I couldn’t trust the memories regarding the other Four Heavenly Kings blindly either.

While it’s important not to give the enemy any leeway and to hurry, it was also necessary to collect at least some minimal information. We might have managed to defeat Vulcan thanks to Anne’s rampage, but it would be better to consider such luck as a mere coincidence and exclude it from our calculations to avert greater losses. Still, since Lindy was personally taking action, it shouldn’t take too long.

I walked through the interior of the mansion, leaving my friends behind for a moment. The mansion was vast, but I didn’t need a guide. It was a place I was already more than familiar with.

Familiar hallways, familiar gardens, familiar rooms.

Of course, it’s not strange for me to find them familiar since I visited Yuli’s home three years ago during summer vacation, but I had known this scenery long before that. I just hadn’t known that I was Zeno Frentz during that summer three years ago.

However, as I awakened as a hero, I also recalled my past and learned everything. The fact that I was Zeno Frentz. That I had been kidnapped by the Black Moon, my memories erased, and raised as an assassin.

With every step I took down the mansion’s hallway, memories resurfaced. Memories of playing in the hallway as children and getting scolded.

Every time I passed a tree in the garden, memories awoke of us playing on the swing hanging from the tree.

And upon arriving at a door and entering, I recalled the joy of spending the night gossiping in one room with my sister until we fell asleep in the same bed.

All those memories were very happy, warm, and nostalgic, but at the same time, they were also deeply sad, painful, and heartbreaking memories.

In those memories, there were always three of us. Yuli, me, and ‘Elysia’ sister. Not a fake Elysia like me, but the real ‘Elysia.’ My one and only sister.

Since regaining my memories, I haven’t visited the Frentz family territory where I spent my childhood, my hometown.

The territory devastated by the Demonic Race has already been completely restored and is functioning normally, and I’ve heard that a memorial space has been set up for the victims of that time from Lindy.

However, I intentionally avoided it. Part of it was that I felt too ashamed to see my parents and sister’s faces, but the bigger reason was…

“Sister….”

Because I missed her.

I never knew it would be this hard to accept death. As an assassin who used to regard other lives more lightly than anyone else in my previous life, I couldn’t treat my family’s matters lightly. Although it has been a long time since I bid farewell, and it has been three years since I recalled my memories, I was still consumed by the past.

Whenever I close my eyes, the memories from that time flicker before my eyes. Especially when it comes to my sister, even after more than ten years, I still feel that I’m just a little kid.

That’s why I’ve been intentionally trying to avoid thinking about my family, but until I stepped foot into Yuli’s house, I hadn’t thought about it, and even if I did recognize it, there was no good reason not to stop by.

Once those emotions were unleashed, I couldn’t contain the surge of feelings. Every little sight around me reminded me of ‘Elysia’ sister.

I could feel the heaviness in the air from my murderous intent directed toward the Demonic Race that had violated my hometown and my family.

If I had to face Lilith, the Demonic Race member, right now, I could hardly imagine what expression I would have. Of course, Lilith is now my comrade and hasn’t caused any harm to humans in the past, so I wouldn’t blame her. Instead, if Lilith were in danger, I would step in and help.

But that’s that; this is this.

If the Demon King hadn’t resurrected, my sister wouldn’t have died. Then the Demonic Race wouldn’t have gone rampaging. Why, out of all the cities and villages they could rampage through, did it have to be my hometown?

I’m not saying that another region should have suffered instead, but with nowhere else to place the blame, I’m just taking out my frustration.

“There you are.”

Lost in thoughts, I stood there in a daze when a familiar voice called out from behind me.

“Yuli…”

The person who spoke was none other than Yuli. Being here in this mansion, where my memories of my sister always had Yuli share in them, tugged at my heart.

“By the way, how did you know I was here?”

Surely, along the way, I had crossed paths with several servants, so I could have asked about my general location, but at the moment I entered the room, I hadn’t drawn any gazes.

“With such a gloomy aura radiating from you, it’s hard not to notice. Despite my appearance, I’m quite a competent necromancer, you know.”

Indeed, I had been feeling a bit dreary. I was glad Yuli sensed it and came to check on me. If it had been another sensitive person and they felt my aura, they might have misconstrued it as murderous intent directed at the Demonic Race and assumed I was invading the house.

“And… this is the room where the three of us used to sleep together, so it holds memories for me as well…”

Perhaps Yuli also missed that time, as she walked slowly around the room, her delicate fingers lightly brushing against the furniture that bore our childhood marks.

“When we visited, we always slept in this bed together.”

Stopping in front of the bed, Yuli sat lightly on the cushion and spoke. At that time, all three of us were around five years old, so the bed was more than spacious enough for the three of us to sleep in.

Thinking back, Yuli didn’t have much of a habit of tossing and turning back then, but now she has become so restless that she often finds herself in my bed. Come to think of it, it’s not just Yuli; all our party members except me have some serious sleep disturbances. Every morning, I’d wake up to someone’s face in front of me, and now I’m used to it.

“We often fought over who would sleep in the middle.”

“Right? What was it about? Once, we ended up bickering late into the night and got scolded for it.”

“Well, no matter how it ended, the conclusion was always the same. No one could change your stubbornness.”

“Was it like that?”

Of course, even though I remembered, those events were over a decade ago, so some parts were a bit hazy. Upon reflection, I think I always held my hands tightly while laying on the bed.

“They both were particularly weak against you…”

Yuli spoke, trailing off as she reminisced about that era, her voice tinged with nostalgia. Standing up from her spot, she wandered around the room again, busy recalling memories of those days. This time, she was in front of the dresser.

In our childhood, that dresser was so tall it reached my head, but now it barely comes up to my waist, making me realize just how much time has passed.

“Ha ha… do you remember when you climbed all the drawers to get the candy basket on top and fell backward crying?”

“Oh, I do remember that. I think Craig rushed over when he heard you crying.”

I clearly remember this. Because I fell backward, my head hurt and I cried, while Yuli and Elysia were surprised and worried about me, causing a fuss.

“That was really a shocking and scary memory, but now it just feels so nostalgic now that time has passed.”

“All those memories have turned into nostalgia after all this time. We really did have many memories, didn’t we?”

There were indeed many memories within this small room. If I were alone, those would have been gloomy and depressing memories, but since I was conversing with Yuli, I could at least recall them as somewhat positive memories tinged with longing.

“Indeed… We had so… many memories together…”