After I made my decision to agree to Aunt Melissa joining us, I continued eating in a quiet silence, as if trying to process everything that had just happened in a matter of minutes.
It wasn't an easy decision… but in a strange way, it felt right.
As soon as I finished, Aunt Melissa clasped her hands together in front of me and said, her tone slightly hesitant:
"So… I have a request."
I raised my head and looked at her.
"What is it?"
She took a light breath before saying:
"Could you postpone your resignation… until I'm able to sell the inn?"
I froze for a moment.
"Huh?"
She continued calmly, but with clear determination:
"I mean… I won't be coming back here once I leave with you. So… it's better if I sell it."
Something tightened in my chest.
This place… wasn't just an inn.
It was the first place that took me in this world.
I said, my voice tense:
"Wait… are you really going to sell it?"
She answered simply:
"Yes."
"But… we might come back here someday!"
She shook her head slowly, her eyes carrying an irreversible decision:
"I won't return… until I find my husband."
Silence fell.
Not an ordinary silence… but a heavy one, filled with everything left unsaid.
Then she broke it, as if she had sensed what I was feeling:
"Don't worry… selling the inn is my decision."
I let out a slow breath, surrendering to this new reality, then said:
"Alright… I'll postpone my resignation until you're able to sell it."
Her expression immediately softened, and a genuine smile appeared on her face.
"Thank you."
I gave a small smile.
"No need to thank me."
Then I turned to Visper—who was still eating as if the world contained no life-changing decisions—and said sarcastically:
"Come on. Let's go to work."
He swallowed his last bite quickly, thanked Aunt Melissa enthusiastically, and followed me.
We stepped outside, and the air felt slightly colder… or maybe that was just how I felt inside.
As we walked, Visper broke the silence:
"So… we're really going to resign?"
I hesitated for a moment before answering:
"Yes…"
Then added, looking ahead at the road:
"But not now… at least not before Aunt Melissa finds a buyer for the inn."
He nodded in understanding, and silence returned between us… a silence that carried the beginning of the end of an entire chapter.
After a few minutes, we arrived at work.
Everything looked normal… annoyingly normal.
The sounds, the cart, the people, the orders…
Everything was the same.
Except me.
I started working as usual, but my mind wasn't fully there.
Thoughts kept colliding inside me without pause…
The journey, the capital, my family…
resignation.
Then break time came.
I had already made my decision.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead, sat down for a moment to catch my breath, drank some water, then slowly stood up.
My steps were steady…But my heart wasn't.
I walked toward the cart.
And there he was.
The employer.
Sitting in his usual spot, reviewing some papers with intense focus, as if the world around him didn't exist.
I stopped in front of him.
He didn't look up.
Didn't acknowledge me.
He simply said coldly:
"What do you want?"
I swallowed.
Gathered what little courage I had left.
Took a deep breath…Then said:
"I want to resign."
...
The employer stopped reading.
Slowly, he lowered the papers from his hands, then closed them carefully—as if closing the door on an unfinished thought.
A brief silence followed.
Heavy enough to make my breathing feel louder than it was.
Then he said, without looking at me:
"Why?"
At that moment, a sarcastic smile formed inside me.
"Why?"
How many times had I heard that question today?
Visper asked me
.
Melissa asked me.
And now… him too.
I lowered my gaze slightly, organizing my thoughts.
No need for long explanations… I'd keep it simple.
I took a deep breath and said:
"I've saved enough money… and I want to go to the capital, Storn… to search for my family."
He didn't reply immediately.
Instead…He did something stranger.
He simply returned to his papers.
As if I hadn't said anything important.
I blinked several times, unable to understand his reaction.
Did he ignore me? Or did he not hear me properly?
Before I could speak again, he said calmly, his eyes still on the papers:
"If that's your situation… then there's no need to resign."
I froze.
"What?"
Before I could even question him, he added in the same calm tone:
"Our next destination… is Storn."
At that moment, it felt like the world stopped for a second.
Storn?
The same place… I had decided to go to?
I raised my head quickly and said in clear shock:
"What? Really? When?"
"Thursday. In three days."
Three days…
My eyes widened slightly.
"That's… really unexpected. Do the others know?"
"No."
Then he added:
"I was planning to tell them after work."
Silence returned.
But this time…It wasn't ordinary.
It was filled with thoughts.
Too many of them.
He rearranged some papers, then said:
"So… do you still want to resign after hearing this?"
I hesitated for a few seconds.
Then said:
"If we're going to Storn… then I don't think there's any reason to resign."
He stayed silent for a moment…Then I added, curiosity creeping in:
"But… why did you suddenly decide to go to Storn? What do you have there?"
His hands paused for a brief moment.
A short moment… but I noticed it.
Then he said:
"You'll find out after work."
He finally looked at me and added:
"Anything else?"
I shook my head slowly.
"No… nothing."
I turned and left.
Returned to work…But I wasn't the same as I was minutes ago.
My body worked.
But my mind…Was somewhere else entirely.
This didn't make sense…
When I decided to go to Storn…
When I decided to resign…
And suddenly, our next destination is the same place?
A coincidence?
…It didn't feel like one.
I looked toward the cart from afar, where the boss was still reading his papers.
Did those papers have something to do with Storn?
Had he been planning this from the start?
Or was there something bigger…Something I just couldn't see yet?
I let out a quiet breath as I continued working.
"It's not like I'm the protagonist of a novel… for things like this to happen to me."
But… for some reason…It didn't feel normal.
...
Minutes passed slowly… slower than they should.
The end of the workday approached, and everything seemed normal…
Except me.
I moved, worked, responded to others…
But inside, I was completely occupied.
Storn…
Three days…
And a coincidence that didn't feel like one.
I took a deep breath, then decided to move.
I walked toward Visper, who was busy cleaning one of the corners, moving quickly as if trying to finish before time ran out.
As soon as he noticed me, he stopped and raised an eyebrow.
"What brings you here?"
I hesitated for a second… then said:
"Well… this might be surprising, but… I'm not resigning."
His eyes widened immediately.
"What? Why? Did you suddenly change your mind?!"
I opened my mouth to answer—
But—
"Riiiiing—!"
The meeting bell rang.
That sharp metallic sound no one could mistake.
It always meant one thing…A new mission.
I raised my head slightly.
"Looks like it's time."
I looked at Visper.
"Come on… you'll understand everything there."
He didn't look convinced…But he didn't argue.
We moved together toward the meeting place.
Everyone was there.
As usual… no one was late.
Marcus, Knox, Luxian… and the rest.
Familiar faces… but behind each one, a different story.
I stood among them, trying to look as normal as possible.
But the chatter began quickly.
Luxian crossed his arms and smirked.
"Looks like today we've got a mission worth something… every time this bell rings, it only brings dangerous ones."
Cairo smiled lightly.
"You're right… I wonder what's waiting for us this time."
Tyros spoke with curiosity:
"Won't it be another strange mission? The boss never gets tired of surprising us."
Zairos sighed heavily.
"If you knew what I went through last time… it was real torture. And I wasn't alone… the three who were with me know that well."
Knox said calmly:
"You say that… as if you didn't get seven thousand dollars."
Marcus laughed lightly, then shook his head.
"Even so… I hope it's not like the monster hunting mission. I don't even want to remember that moment… when the beast grabbed me… and trapped me inside the cave."
His voice trembled slightly.
But Calster responded calmly:
"Come on… don't be such a coward. In the end… the boss, Reagan… and Nilot saved you."
Then he turned to me and smiled.
"Right, Nilot?"
I smiled lightly.
"Heh… yeah."
But the reaction wasn't normal.
Visper froze for a second, then turned quickly to Marcus:
"What? That really happened?"
Marcus laughed.
"Yeah… it was a while ago. You weren't with us back then."
Visper turned back to me, eyes wide with shock:
"And you… you helped save him?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
I raised my hand modestly.
"It's not like that… I wasn't alone. The boss and Regan were there too."
But he didn't calm down.
He stepped closer.
"No, no… you have to tell me the full story! Come on, tell me!"
Before I could respond—
A calm but sharp voice cut him off.
Sirion.
"Don't you see Nilot is annoyed by your insistence? You're acting like a child."
Visper's expression changed instantly.
"A child?! I'm fifteen!"
Tension began rising—
I was about to intervene…
But—
"Silence."
One voice.
Calm…
Yet enough to silence everyone.
The employer had arrived.
In a single moment…All noise disappeared.
Silence took over.
He stepped forward steadily, then looked at everyone.
"Since everyone is here… I'll begin."
Everyone stood attentively.
Eyes focused.
Breaths nearly held.
Everyone… waiting.
Waiting for what he would say.
Waiting for the next mission.
Waiting… for the unknown.
As for me—
I was the only one who wasn't waiting.
Because I… already knew.
I knew what he was going to say.
And that…Didn't make it easier.
It only made it…Stranger.