“Claira!”

“Ursu… wah?!”

As soon as she stepped into the room, a female warrior rushed to embrace Claira. Caught by surprise, Claira was unable to finish her greeting.

Watching from nearby, the only thought that crossed my mind was, “Who?”

Well, I knew who the woman was — Ursula Utgarza. I had been informed beforehand that one of the Golden Generation was coming, and given Claira’s previous statement, there was no doubt that this woman was Ursula.

However, the reason I didn’t recognize Ursula at first glance was because the Ursula standing before me now was drastically different from the Ursula I remembered.

The Ursula I knew had eyes as blue as a lake, hair the color of honey, and a face sprinkled with freckles over her tanned skin. She preferred not to wear restrictive women’s clothing and usually appeared in men’s attire.

She was shorter than the petite Claira, with a height about a head shorter. She used the word “boku” to refer to herself and had her hair cut short like a boy’s. At a glance, one might mistake her for a boy.

Contrary to Sidney Skyship, who was often mistaken for a girl, it was a running joke that newcomers to the Golden Generation would confuse Sidney and Ursula’s genders.

That was Ursula five years ago.

In contrast, the present Ursula had grown taller. She, who was once shorter than Claira, now stood noticeably taller.

Not only her height had changed. Her once short hair had grown to shoulder length. Her skin was now pale and smooth. Her almond-shaped eyes embodied the sharpness of a warrior and the beauty of a woman.

Her refined facial features bore no traces of freckles. Her limbs were long and slender, and the Green Forest warrior’s traditional attire suited her surprisingly well. Even through her clothing, her feminine curves were evident, and Claira’s face was nearly buried in Ursula’s chest as she hugged her. No one would mistake this Ursula for a man now.

— But is this woman really Ursula? She’s practically a different person.

As I was seriously confused, Ursula seemed to notice my gaze. Her eyes turned to me, and they widened in surprise.

I wondered what had startled her, but before I could figure it out, the monotonous voice of Dialt Berch stopped her.

“Refrain, Utgarza.”

“…My apologies, Lord Commander.”

Ursula reluctantly pulled away from Claira, but the moment she responded to Dialt’s voice, it was unmistakable that a sharp light seemed to flash in her eyes.

According to Claira, Ursula belongs to the First Warrior Division. Naturally, Dialt, as the flag bearer of the first division, is her direct superior, but respect or trust could not be seen in Ursula’s eyes. On the contrary, the feelings there were the exact opposite of respect and trust.

— Somehow, I had the impression that Ursula knew why Claira decided to leave the island. Otherwise, Ursula wouldn’t have this attitude towards her superior officer.

I pondered this far and found myself puzzled.

To me, who believed that the accompanying Green Woods Warrior must be under the influence of the Berch family, the choice of Ursula was extremely inexplicable. It’s hard to imagine that Dialt wouldn’t have noticed what I did. I wonder what he’s thinking.

I silently observed Dialt’s condition, but naturally, or rather unsurprisingly, the true intentions were not spoken from the mouth of the flag bearer in front of me. What was conveyed were just obvious decisions.

“Ursula Utgarza. Tenth warrior of the First Division and familiar with the inner workings of the Demon Island. As mentioned earlier, I request you to accompany this one.”

The emotionless face of Dialt, who briefly declared, was unreadable. The expression as impenetrable as a noh mask somewhat reminded me of my father.

No matter what question I posed to this face, it would probably only bounce off the skin of his stern countenance. With that in mind, I simply nodded in agreement and did not utter any more words.

Watching this, Dialt turned his gaze to Ursula and briefly inquired.

“Utgarza is also good, yes?”

“Understood.”

“Good. That’s all for now, but I received a message from Gilmore, the head of the Berch family, that you should consider this place as your lodging while you remain on this island. You are free to use this guesthouse. If there’s anything you need, let the servants prepare it.”

Having finished speaking, Dialt stood up quietly, gave me – or rather, us – a glance, and left the room.

Listening to the fading footsteps, I suddenly thought.

In the end, Dialt didn’t say a single word to her sister, did he?

Afterwards, the three of us, me, Claira, and Ursula, who remained in the room, silently exchanged glances.

I kept quiet thinking it would be inconsiderate to interfere with the reunion of friends, while Claira seemed hesitant to speak without me. As for Ursula, she seemed unsure what to say, looking at the two of us.

If things went on like this, we wouldn’t make any progress. It was pointless for the three of us to remain holed up in this fortress of silence, so I scratched my cheek and opened my mouth.

“It’s been five years, or is it five and a half now? It’s been a while, Ursula.”

Upon hearing my greeting, Ursula nodded with a somewhat relieved expression.

“It’s been a while, Sora. So, sorry to rush things, but could you tell me the detailed story? I’ve heard a general idea from the flag general, and I’ve made some assumptions, but I want to hear the details from the person involved.”

The words that came from Ursula’s mouth were a bit too crude for a woman of her age, but for me, it had the effect of dispelling the discomfort that had been continuing since earlier.

Yeah, this is it. This was how Ursula spoke five years ago.

Seeing me instinctively clapping my hands, Ursula frowned curiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, your appearance has completely changed. I was wondering if this person really is Ursula, but I felt like I found a trace of you from five years ago in your words just now.”

When I honestly conveyed my inner thoughts, Ursula blinked in surprise as if she had heard something unexpected. After a while, a wry smile spread across her cherry blossom-colored lips.

“One or two changes in appearance are natural after five years, right? Besides, you’ve changed quite a bit yourself, haven’t you? When I saw you next to Claira, I was surprised at how much you’ve changed.”

“Hmm, is that so? Well, I’m aware that I’ve become uglier.”

As I stroked my smooth face, Ursula shook her head saying “that’s not it.”

“It’s not about your looks, you just seem to be living so vibrantly now. You always seemed to be looking down five years ago. If she could see you now, Ayaka would be pleased.”

The first to react to Ursula’s blunt words was Claira, who had been quietly listening to our conversation until then.

“U-Ursula, that’s…!”

Flustered, Claira quickly looked back and forth between Ursula and me. She must have thought that I would be upset by the mention of my ex-fiancée.

Come to think of it, Claira had never mentioned Ayaka until today. She might have been trying to be considerate of me in her own way.

Honestly, it was an unnecessary consideration. I’m not going to lose my composure just because I hear Ayaka’s name now.

However, it’s true that it’s not a fun topic to hear, so I decided to move the conversation along quickly.

“Let’s say we’ve both changed. As for the circumstances of this time–“

I stop speaking there, looking around. Dialt had said I was free to use this detached room as I please, but of course, I have no intention of doing so.

As I mentioned earlier, there’s a risk of eavesdropping, and there’s also the fear that those who heard about my visit might show up.

I agreed to the condition of having Ursula as a companion and obtained permission from Mitsurugi. It would be best to quickly pass through the dangerous Demon Gate.

“Since it’s here, let’s talk while heading towards the Demon Gate.”

At those words, both Ursula and Claira nodded at the same time.