“Klaha, is there anywhere you want to go next?”

It was something said in the research facility’s cafeteria, two weeks after that day.

Summer was slowly coming to an end.
That subtle chill felt when returning from a shopping trip in town and stepping back into the facility had begun to fade. The trees of the forest, once exhaling heat so fervently, were now gradually internalizing that warmth in preparation for winter, and that vivid blue sky was beginning to retreat into the distance.

Parting for a time—something that comes with every summer.
This year’s end was likely not far off either.

The forest exploration team, consisting of eight members, was now settled down in anticipation of summer’s end.

“Eh,”

Among the four who had casually gathered in the cafeteria between breakfast and lunch, Klaha was slightly flustered.

“Me? If you have something planned, Ziel, you should prioritize that instead…”

“I don’t have anything either. At the moment, there’s nothing from the church or the Magic Federation, right?”

“Nothing urgent from the church. There’s no situation where we absolutely must do something right now. If you find something interesting during your travels, we’d like you to solve it for us—something like that. It’s a workplace that values autonomy.”

“The Magic Federation is also in a wait-and-see mode for that analysis. Actually, I don’t have anything lined up next either.”

Ziel gave a puzzled look and said,

“Aren’t you doing that? The analysis of that tower.”

“I was officially removed from the analysis team in writing yesterday. Basically, Wilae-sensei will be taking the lead, and the rest will be handled by the additional personnel they’re sending over.”

“Why?”

“With things like that, it’s not about having one person excel. The facility is large, and there’s a lot of data to collect. On top of that, it doesn’t necessarily require extremely advanced magical theory. What’s needed is time, manpower, grit... and teamwork.”

“You’re good at teamwork too, Eunice. This last investigation went well.”

“Nf. Nfufufufufufu… I guess I do come across that way! Right!?”

“There’s a growing possibility of a misunderstanding here.”

“But people who naturally refer to themselves as ‘exceptional’ don’t seem all that cooperative,” Lililia said.
Eunice grinned, showing her teeth.
Lililia laughed, saying, “So cute, so cute,” and patted his head.
Klaha smiled at the sight, and Eunice, a bit embarrassed, straightened his posture.

“—Anyway. From the Federation’s perspective, I guess they want to keep someone like me as a wild card. I’m a top theorist, after all. They probably want to keep me in reserve in case any big trouble arises.”

“I want to be a wild card too. I’ll never go back to being management at church headquarters again…”

“How nice. Not having teamwork.”

“I’m going to use a forbidden sacred spell to grant Eunice teamwork now.”

“Don’t... Don’t stop.”

“I will stop.”

And so, Ziel turned toward them.

“That’s the situation. I don’t have anywhere in particular I want to go next. Going to Chikano’s place was, at least partially, to show that there are other places to learn swordsmanship or other weapon skills.”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

“...I didn’t say that, did I?”

“...No.”

“What a kind teacher. To introduce an alternative place right from the start, just in case the student doesn’t mesh with the instructor’s method or personality.”

“Why is that so monotone, Lililia?”

“I was trying to give the room a healing atmosphere.”

There were many things she wanted to say, but going into all of them would halt the conversation. Klaha gave a slight bow and said, “Thank you for your consideration,” waiting for the conversation to continue.

“...Well, that’s why. There are no plans for now.”

“Ziel, do you personally have anywhere you’d like to go? Not just what’s needed or not, but simply like, ‘I want to go here.’”

“I don’t really think like that when I travel. No point, since I won’t be able to go even if I want to.”

“Everyone has a sad past.”

“Isn’t it the same for you, Lililia?”

“I have a secret trick: I get people to give me rides. Not that I ever really want to go out to begin with.”

“Ziel, I can give you rides now too.”

“...Right. Thanks. I’ll think about it.”

“He’s being humble.”

“Watch, Eunice. In three years, Ziel will be speaking entirely in formal language to Klaha, and Klaha will say things like, ‘Just follow me without a word...’ I’d bet all of Ziel’s assets on it.”

“Mine?”

“It doesn’t hurt my wallet if I bet other people’s money.”

“Maybe I should start sucking up to Klaha now.”

“That won’t happen,” Klaha said with a wry smile to Lililia and Eunice.
Lililia laughed teasingly, and Eunice looked a bit bashful.
Only Ziel crossed his arms and fell deep in thought. Klaha wished he would have a little more self-confidence.

“Well, if neither of you have a destination in mind, then I have a recommendation,” Lililia said.

“Oh? Where?”

“My office. I’ll let you do a workplace experience there. Every little thing, from start to finish.”

“Let’s go with somewhere else. That narrows the list.”

“Right now, I’ll even throw in direct instruction in sacred magic!”

“—Eh,”

“Gotcha...”

As soon as she reacted, Klaha thought, I walked right into that.
“The church is a lovely place~” Lililia beckoned with ominous movements. Klaha had no idea how she was doing it. Even if she mimicked her, she doubted it would come out like that.

“T-Then maybe I should reel someone in too. How about tea in my research room in the Grand Library? A-And of course? I could give you direct instruction in magic too, maybe?”

“Really?”

“—Alright!”

“Don’t be fooled, Klaha-san. Eunice-kun is acting all cutesy to try and seduce you.”

“I’m not acting!”

“Maybe he’s always been cute.”

“Ehehe.”

From both sides, incredibly tempting offers were flying in.

To be honest, Klaha felt that she had become incredibly strong over the few months from spring to summer. She wouldn’t go so far as to say, “What was the point of my adventurer life until now?”—but fragmented things had started to come together, and she’d experienced the realization of “So this is what it means to fight” more than once or twice.

And the kinds of things she experienced while learning swordsmanship—she felt like those same things could probably happen while learning magic or holy magic as well.

However,

“I really appreciate the offer, but it’s not something I can decide on my own.”

“Ziel-kun would be happy as long as he can be with me, so don’t worry about it.”

“Eh, is it okay to say that...?”

“It’s fine. It’s just stating a fact.”

“Then I’ll say it too. Don’t worry about it. You’d be happy if you were with me.”

“These two are something else...”

“He’s praising us.”

“You can be praised for this? Then maybe I should keep saying things like this.”

“They’re really something... in a bad way...”

“We’re being praised in a bad way.”

“So you can be praised in a bad way too.”

Well, still—Ziel said,

“Putting those two aside, really, Klaha, just prioritize what works best for you. No matter where you are, you can still keep up your daily training. Whether it’s with Lililia or Eunice, I’m sure there are things I can learn too. At this point—it might sound arrogant to say it, but—there’s no clear ‘do this and you’ll get stronger’ path anymore. So I’ve got no choice but to feel things out as I go.”

“You don’t have that thing? Like going to some hidden area and getting powered up?”

“If that worked, don’t you think I’d be way stronger already?”

“You’re actually pretty convincing when you say that, Ziel...”

Ziel said that he had no idea how to even get to places like that.

Klaha agreed with that. In the first place, this southern jungle was already considered one of the hidden regions of the continent. And Ziel, who hadn’t even seemed to struggle here, probably wouldn’t be able to dramatically hone his skills in any hidden area she could take him to. If that’s the case, then maybe being near people like Lililia or Eunice—who stood at the same level but had taken different paths—could help him grow in new, cross-disciplinary ways—

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.

The snowfield at the far northern edge, the one Ziel still hadn’t returned to.

What kind of place could that be?
What was waiting there—

“So in the end, it comes down to what kind of future Klaha envisions for herself.”

She looked up with a start.

She’d been lost in thought. But Ziel hadn’t noticed, and continued in the same tone as before.

“I can’t do much besides swinging a sword—”

“I can only do holy magic. No clue about jobs or anything.”

“I’m just magic and cuteness.”

“—but you’ve got a lot of options, Klaha. Even as an adventurer, there are all kinds of paths. You can think about which areas you want to explore more actively, and how you want to go about it. Do you want to do it solo or in a team? Will it be combat-focused or exploration-focused? Maybe you want to write adventure records or go treasure hunting—stuff like that.”

Ziel added that he’d studied up a little.

At that moment, Klaha remembered something. From before she joined the “Next Summit.” Back when she was still forming parties with other beginners, someone her age had told her about it.

Apparently, it was something they did in school.

A time when students sit down face-to-face with their teachers and talk about what they want to do in the future—something like that.

“What do you want to become in the future, Klaha?”

Career counseling.

And to be even more honest—

Klaha had too many things she wanted to do. She couldn’t immediately say, “This is it.”

Outside the window, the lingering glow of summer’s end shone down.

The sky was still blue. The clouds still white. The summer insects still chirping noisily since morning as if to say the season wasn’t over yet.

The brightly colored bird, whose voice and form had only recently been discovered and still had no name, perched on a forest branch and peered through the window from far away. Behind it, a small squirrel hidden in the hollow of a tree stared hungrily at a tiny fruit on the tip of the branch, waiting eagerly for the bird to fly away.

Meanwhile, in the corner of a river flowing toward the sea, a giant snake flicked its tail. Startled by the sound, a huge lizard flipped over, exposing its belly. Its leg caught on the root of some grass. The pulled-up dirt slid into the river. A fish jumped. Water splashed. In two seconds, the sound would reach the tree hollow.

But it would not reach the window of that distant research lab.

The towering tree at the heart of the jungle had seen all of it.