Adventurer's Guild Café: I Was Wrongfully Exiled by the Saint, So I Will Enjoy My Second Life with My Fluffy Friends - V 2.2 Chapter 6.2

When I blinked my eyes open, I found myself wrapped in darkness.
The only sound was the gentle murmur of flowing water.
It seemed I must have dozed off for a little while.

“…Lulu?”

The Lulu who had been right beside me earlier was now gone.
Without the flame on her forehead, the world had fallen into pitch black.
Even so, my night vision was good enough to see around me.

Looking about, I spotted the Pipi and the others nestled in the leaves nearby, fast asleep.
They must have been hungry, yet they hadn’t left my side even for a moment.

Several days had passed since that encounter with Father and the others.
Since then, my memories had been hazy.

“Thank you for taking care of my daughter all this time.”

I remembered watching, in a numb state, as Father said that with a smiling face to the people at the guild.
Resisting would be useless.
It would only get me hurt.
Bound by that fear, all I could do was obey.

“Kuu-chan, just go back to the dorm and lock the door. We’ll handle the rest.”

I vaguely recalled Ruri saying that to me, her face drawn tight with worry.
I had stayed in my dorm room after that, staring blankly into space.

I didn’t know what had happened at the guild afterward.
I didn’t know if everyone there had believed Father’s story.
I might have heard someone come to my door… but I’d been too afraid to open it.

Would I really be taken back to the Kingdom of Aluda?
Would I really be dragged back to the House of Leiria…?

And tonight, at last, I couldn’t bear the fear any longer.
I slipped out of my dorm room.
I had no destination in mind, yet somehow, I found myself here at the little stream.

Hugging my chilled body, I stared blankly at the water.
How long had I been sitting here?

“…Lulu…”

If I really did have to return to the Kingdom of Aluda… what would happen to Lulu and the others?

We’d promised to always be together.
But I could never take Lulu or the others to such a cruel place…

I pulled the three Mokomotts, who had been sleeping beside me, into my arms.

“Pii…?”

All three of them sleepily opened their eyes and gazed up at me with anxious looks.

“I’m sorry… I’m really, really sorry…”

Lowering my head, I gently stroked their warm, soft wings—

“Kuna, there you are!”

“…?”

I heard a familiar voice.
Looking toward it, I saw a small flame swaying in the dark—it was Lulu.
Behind her was Gier, and the moment he spotted me, he ran straight over.

“Kuna, are you okay!?”

“Gier…?”

How on earth did he know I was here?

Before I could ask, Lulu hopped up into my lap.

“Ruu!”

“…Maybe—Lulu, did you go get him for me?”

“Ruu!”

She nodded firmly.

“I heard you’d left your room, so I went out looking right away. I thought you might be here, and sure enough, Lulu came straight to get me.”

“Just like back then,” Gier added between breaths—he must have rushed here as fast as he could.

“I’m sorry, Gier… I…”

The others were probably searching for me too.
But I just couldn’t make my legs move.
The thought of Father and the others being there made even the adventurer’s guild—filled with so many precious memories—feel terrifying.

“I… I just can’t anymore…”

The words caught in my throat, but before I could sink further, Gier shook his head.

“Kuna, we’re leaving here. Right now.”

“…Eh?”

“We’re leaving this town.”

Seeing me still dazed, he spoke again, impatience creeping into his voice.

“Kuna, do you remember? From the moment you came back to the guild, pale as a ghost—everyone’s been moving to protect you. Not one of them believes any of that nonsense.”

I could barely remember anything after my family appeared.
But as I hesitated, Gier locked eyes with me and said, clear and unwavering:

“Do you think we’d ever abandon you, Kuna?”

“!”

“What was all this time you’ve spent building for, then? Do you honestly think Ruri, Dan, Simon, and the rest of the guild would abandon you? Do you not trust them?”

“…No, that’s not—it’s not like that!”

The moment I shot back, it was like a balloon popping—my vision suddenly cleared.

“Ah… I…?”

For the first time in days, the haze clouding my mind began to lift.
I blinked rapidly, and Gier let out a small sigh of relief.

“You remember how, after you brought your family into the guild, Ruri told you to go straight back to the dorm?”

“Y-yes.”

“Ellen and Kurona took you back to your room. And for the next three days, you didn’t leave it once.”

“Three days…?”

No wonder I felt so weak.
I probably hadn’t eaten anything that whole time…

“Right now, your family’s been coming to the guild every day, demanding they hand you over.”

“!”

A cold shiver ran down my spine.
But Gier only gave a small, confident smile.

“You think adventurers would lose to some people who aren’t even dangerous monsters?”

They’d been protecting me this whole time—every single one of them.
Overcome with emotion, I squeezed my hands into tight fists.

“Your little sister is… quite something, isn’t she?”

“I-I’m really sorry…”

Gier chuckled. He must have realized that Agnès had caused some trouble again.

“Don’t worry. Nobody believes a word those people say.”

When I thought about it calmly, it made sense.
They believed in me. They wanted to help me.

I understood that. I trusted them.

“Your destination is already arranged. You’ll be placed under the protection of House Lucia. Ingrid Lucia herself made that decision.”

“Miss Ingrid did?”

“When I explained the situation to her, she acted immediately.”

Gier nodded.

“Sorry it took so long. Everyone’s waiting for you. Let’s run, Kuna. You’re allowed to run. You can deal with all the complicated stuff later.”

He held out his hand to me.
But I couldn’t take it.
The tears I’d been holding back finally spilled over.

“I… I…”

Even though I understood, my body trembled with fear.
Even if I trusted everyone, I couldn’t move.

No matter where I ran, they would find me.
It would never end.
For fifteen years since I was born, that fear had seeped into me—so deeply that it had become part of my very soul, eating away at me.

“They told me to come back…”

“…”

“I… can’t disobey them…”

If I resisted, they’d hurt me. They’d do something terrifying.
Even now, they had chased me here.
No matter where I ran, they would come after me again.

The instinctive fear ingrained in my body… I was losing to it.

“In the end… nothing has changed for me. I went into dungeons and tried my best, but deep down, I’m still weak. I haven’t become strong at all…”

As I trembled, teeth clenched, Gier’s hand suddenly came around my back.

And then, gently, he pulled me into an embrace.

“…!”

“If you want to cry, then cry as much as you want.”

A large hand stroked my head, covering even my ears.
My whole body was wrapped in Gier’s warmth.

And then—hic, hic—tears welled up, overflowing.
Unable to hold back anymore, I clung to him and wailed aloud.

It was strange. I was so scared that the tears wouldn’t stop… and yet, somehow, it felt like the fear was flowing out along with them.