Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

About thirty minutes later, ”flap... flap,” Gina touched down on the hill behind Dion’s mansion. The hill was a massive circular cliff, maybe reaching a kilometer in diameter, with a lush forest at the bottom that served as the heart of the dark woods. Five cliff-high obelisks surrounded the edges of the circle, and one massive obelisk stood right at the edge of the abyss, towering above the rest. Those obelisks were clearly visible from where Dion landed.

Dion jumped down first, then reached up to help Luna down. Once the two golems hopped off, ”poof,” Gina shrank back down and floated over to perch on Dion’s head.

”Why did we land up here?” Luna asked.

”I didn’t want to startle the villagers and our friends. Let’s head down,” Dion said.

But as he moved to step forward, Luna stopped him with a palm against his chest. She smiled.

”Did you forget where we are?” Luna asked, gesturing for Dion to turn around.

”Oh... right,” Dion answered, looking back.

He saw two tombstones resting on the edge of the cliff, with the massive obelisk standing behind them like a giant tree watching over the graves.

”You should stay here for a bit. You haven’t visited since we got back, right?” Luna asked with a warm smile.

”Hmm... you’re right. Okay, please tell the others to stay on guard. You go down too, Gina,” Dion replied, picking the little dragon off his head.

”Kyuuu,”

Gina floated right into Luna’s arms. Then, Luna and the two golems walked down the hill to head toward Dion’s mansion below. Once Luna was out of sight, Dion turned around. He smiled and walked up to the two tombstones, crouching down to brush aside the tall weeds covering the front of the stones so he could read the engravings. On the left, it read Derian, and on the right, Diana.

”How are you, Mom... Dad... I’m home,” Dion said softly with a smile.

He sat cross-legged in front of the graves and began pulling up the weeds and wild grass to clean the area. His face looked a bit melancholy yet completely at peace. Every now and then, he paused to enjoy the warm, comforting breeze. The atmosphere was completely silent, exactly the way Dion wanted it.

He remembered attending his father’s funeral back on Earth, back when he lived as Marcus. His father was a retired Navy veteran who still received full honors at his burial. He had attended that funeral with his younger sister, Nora. Then, he remembered his time as Dion, burying his parents on this hill behind his mansion, and reminisced on his journey since then.

”I’m not going anywhere else now. I’m going to stay in our domain and develop it. I just want to live a quiet, peaceful life in our home... but our home sure is crowded now, hahaha,” Dion said to the two tombstones in front of him, vigorously pulling out the weeds.

***

Meanwhile, down below, Mei and Sheila had just been briefed by Luna regarding everything that had happened in the capital of Thetor.

”I see. So the capital is in an uproar because a monster is heading there, and moving in our direction,” Sheila said.

”That’s what we heard. Right, Gina?” Luna asked the little dragon in her arms.

”Kyuuu,” Gina answered, raising her paws.

”Hmm... do we need to prepare ourselves?” Mei asked.

”Ah... I don’t think so. But thanks to this incident, our shopping trip was ruined. And even if we went back there, we definitely wouldn’t be served since they’re all still evacuated in the military barracks,” Luna answered casually.

”You ended up as an evacuee?” Sheila asked.

”Yeah... why?” Luna asked.

”Did those bastard merchants and nobles make it inside the shelter? You know exactly what I mean,” Sheila asked.

A sudden silence fell over them. Luna nodded her head, and naturally, both Mei and Sheila understood exactly what that meant. ”Blam,” Sheila punched her palm, her jaw clenched tight.

”That’s crossing the line. Those illegal slaves were definitely left behind in their cages, or purposely let loose as a distraction for the safety of those degenerate merchants and nobles,” Sheila growled.

”But what can we do? We can’t exactly go all the way over there just to save them and bring them here,” Mei said, thinking it over.

”What else can we expect? This is the system our kingdoms run on, all the kingdoms are the same. They don’t care about what happens behind the scenes as it rots them from the inside,” Luna said.

”The nobles in every kingdom are despicable. They work with illegal slave traders and pillage villages. They don’t view human life as valuable at all... and the crown just turns a blind eye. It’s sickening,” Sheila said.

”Let it go, Sheila. Don’t lose your temper. Right now, we should be preparing ourselves in case that monster shows up. With me, you, and Luna here, I’m confident we can hold it off, and even kill it,” Mei said, placing a hand on Sheila’s shoulder.

”Huh... fine,” Sheila replied angrily, crossing her muscular arms over her chest.

”Should we go up and ask Dion about it?” Luna asked.

”He’s praying at his parents’ graves, right? Just leave him be, we can definitely handle this problem,” Mei answered.

”She’s right. We can’t rely too much on Dion’s power. We need to help him build up our domain,” Sheila replied.

”You’re right... To be honest, I was terrified back in the capital when everyone was panicking. If Dion used his powers like yesterday and made another crater to blast the monster... it would be absolutely terrifying,” Luna said, looking pale.

”Well... I’m with you on that. But... if that calamity-class monster really does show up... the problem is Dion won’t just sit still. He’s way more of a hero than we are, even though we’re the ones with SS-rank classes who are called heroes,” Mei said.

The three of them fell silent. The atmosphere grew quiet again, with the only sound being the footsteps of the golems working around them. Suddenly, Sheila grabbed both Luna’s and Mei’s shoulders at the same time, making them turn to look at her in the middle.

”Bottom line is, from now on, don’t let Dion fight alone. If possible, he shouldn’t have to use his powers at all. Agreed?” Sheila asked with a wide smile, glancing between Mei and Luna.

Mei and Luna looked at each other, then they smiled and nodded at Sheila.

”You’re right, Sheila. It’s time we lighten Dion’s burden and build up our domain. If we have to, let’s just let him sleep all day,” Mei said.

”Okay... I agree. Tomorrow, we’ll take care of everything and let him rest. We’re going to make him retire, period,” Luna added enthusiastically.

”Kyuuu,”

They all turned to look at Gina in Luna’s arms, who raised both her paws with a cheerful face.

”We have Gina too, hahaha,” Sheila said, laughing loudly with her hands on her hips.

Luna and Mei joined in the laughter. Finally, the stiff and cold silence warmed up, returning to its usual cheerful state. After that, the three of them began preparing to face the coming disaster, even though the disaster was actually being cuddled in their arms.

***

That afternoon, at the Adventurer Guild in Millfrost City, a city that was always blanketed in snow as it sat on the edge of the snowy mountains north of the Thetor Kingdom’s capital, and was only a two-hour journey by foot if you cut through the forest, since carriages had to take a long detour. Cleo, bundled up in thick winter clothes, was standing in front of the receptionist, browsing through the quest files on the desk, when suddenly,

”Blam,”

”There’s a commotion at the city gates!”

An adventurer shouted, alerting everyone in the guild to the situation. Hearing that, Cleo turned and walked toward the exit with the others. Sure enough, as she walked up to the city gates, she saw a massive crowd of people dressed like slaves, forcing their way inside with faces pale with terror. Cleo, who was still a distance away, grabbed a man next to her who was walking deeper into the city, having just passed by from the gates.

”What’s going on?” Cleo asked.

”Those slaves escaped from the capital of Thetor! They’re saying a calamity dragon was spotted from the capital and landed right over there,” the man Cleo grabbed answered.

”W-what did you say? Gemmeth attacking the Thetor Kingdom?” Cleo asked, her face turning pale.

The man Cleo held pulled away as she stood frozen in shock. Then, ”Cleo!” Cleo turned to see Rene and his party running toward her. Once they reached her,

”What’s wrong, Cleo?” Rene asked, his voice laced with curiosity and anxiety.

”The calamity dragon... Gemmeth... was spotted at the capital of Thetor and will likely attack the capital,” Cleo said.

”W-what? The capital of Thetor... my home?” Rene asked, trembling.