For a moment, I was about to leave Joey and go somewhere else when Joey suddenly shouted out as if he remembered something.

'Yes!　If you're planning on going to the White Wolf Forest, you might want to be careful.
Is something strange happening in the woods?
No, not really. The animals have always been quiet.

　Then what is it, I was dumbfounded and listened to the rest of Joey's statement.

It's a very good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends.
'I see. Since the brave man is showing interest, that means that maybe there's something to it. Okay, I'll keep that in mind.
Oh. Show your face at least one more time before you leave.

　After thanking Joey, I started walking again and toured the various parts of the village with Garnett.

　However, there's nothing else worth mentioning other than the proximity to the White Wolf Forest, and I can't do anything clever like sightseeing, so I just introduce my hometown to Garnett while soaking up the nostalgia.

　Whenever we meet, the person we meet is always surprised by Garnett's presence, and each time we explain that she is a girl named "Alma" and that we are extremely close to each other.

　So, after going around the village for a while, we were about to take a break on a small hill at the outskirts of the village, when Garnett spoke to me in a reserved manner.

'...... Hey, white wolf,'
Call it what it is. That would confuse me again.
We're all alone in this house. Shouldn't you get to your house instead of wandering around?
Hmmm, yeah.

　I check the sky as I sit on a handy rock.

　The sun is tilting to the west, but it looks like it's still some time before sunset.

'We'll just have to kill a little more time before we go.
So that's funny!

　Garnett shouted hoarsely and came around in front of me as I sat on a rock.

　The expression on his face is not anger, but confusion.
　It was as if he sensed something unacceptable about the current situation.

'Fifteen years!　All this time, from the time I was born until now, we didn't even know if each other was alive or dead!　If you've got more time to devote to ...... other guys like this, wouldn't you want to spend more time talking about it?
...... That's right, we have a lot of stories to tell. But it's bad enough to get in the way.
What do you want?

　He points to the center of the village, which can be seen from the hill, to Garnett, who is increasingly confused.

'The big building in front of the square is the village chief's house. It's early in the evening, and you see a lot of smoke coming out of the windows and chimneys?

　On the other hand, no smoke from the other houses was still coming from the cooking process.

　The only house that was still smoking was the village chief's house, my parents' house.

They're probably gathering all the relatives they can gather today to prepare a feast in a hurry. I'm sure that's what she's thinking about because I can't do a good job of dealing with her even if I'm at home, but I don't want her to help me with the preparations because she's a ...... mother.

　It was assumed that if Mom's personality was the same as it was in the past, but I was sufficiently convinced of that even from that brief conversation.

　Without a doubt, Mom has not changed at all from fifteen years ago.

　When I was still a child, I couldn't compare it to fifteen years, but I remember doing the same thing today to welcome my immediate family members who had suddenly returned for the first time in about five years.

　I'm sure I was made to help with the preparations for the welcome back then.

...... Well, I've met a lot of guys, but I rarely saw your relatives.
Right?

　This is not a large village.
　The fact that I went around such a place and didn't see my blood relatives means that they were all gathered in a place I hadn't stopped in yet.

And maybe they were concerned that if they spent too much time with their relatives, they wouldn't have time to see their old friends.　If we were planning to stay in the village for any length of time, I'm sure we'd have taken you home to talk to you like we usually do.

　We've made everyone in the White Wolf Shoppe wait longer than we had planned, so we're going to stay in the village for the time being.

　I'm sure Mom must have figured that out through our conversations, and she chose to balance the celebration of her family's first reunion in fifteen years with a reunion with her old friends.

'At any rate, that mother didn't say 'come home now', she said 'go greet everyone in the village'. I could tell right away that she had a good idea.
"If you ask me, he seemed like a crazy compassionate person ...... and I should have known something was up when we broke up so easily.

　I can't help but chuckle as Garnett begins to contemplate with a big serious face.

'But then, you should have said so.
'You think you can surprise me with a secret preparation?　My mom wasn't very good at hiding things, but she liked this kind of thing.
'Hahaha!　I see guys like that all the time.

　Garnett shook his head in a convincing manner, and then muttered in a very small voice.

....... I'm sure that normal parents and children can understand each other so well ......
Hey, Garnett. What's going on now? ......
It's nothing. But just to be sure, I'd like you to refer to me as 'Alma Argentia' to my parents and brothers, too.
...... Yeah, it's the same as ever, right?

　Even when I met my mom again earlier, I didn't call this guy 'Garnet'.

　The reason is simple and clear: I accidentally ran into my mom before we could discuss whether to introduce this guy as "Garnet" or "Alma".

　I was going to let him tell me his name at his own discretion if necessary, but the flow of conversation had led us to part ways once and then meet up at night, so I had to postpone the issue of that area as well.

　After that, we decided to let the residents of the village pass on 'Alma' and that's how we got to this point.

I'm not sure if it's possible to get out of the silver wing just yet, though it feels awkward to be tricked. I want to keep the risk of exposure low.
Don't worry, I'll explain it to them later and they'll understand.

　Garnett wants to take down her mother's avenger, the mithril trafficking organization "Agat Ram".

　The Silver Wing Knights are a knightly order that is responsible for criminal investigation and maintaining security.
　The best way to accomplish the purpose is to belong to the Silver Wing, but that Order has maintained a tradition of limiting its members to men only.

　That's why this guy uses the names of 'a boy named Garnet and a girl twin named Alma' differently when necessary.

　And right now, he decided that he still needed to treat his mothers by the name of 'Alma' as well.

...... Okay. Let's look around the village a bit more and then we'll go to the house.
Oh, oh.

　Garnett's nerves seemed to be returning, and even his voice had hardened in tone.

　Then he spent the rest of the time until the sun went down to greet the rest of the people, and then went to the village chief's house once again.

　A lively voice can be heard even through the door. The dazzling light leaking from the windows.
　The presence of people indoors cannot be contained by ten or so people.

　When I looked at Garnett standing next to me and whispered, "See, I knew it," Garnett nodded, her face tense with tension and red from the tension.

　--The actuality is that you have to open the door someday, but in the end you kept putting it off for fifteen years, now is the time to put your hand on the door and put your strength into it without hesitation.

　The reassurance of having someone important next to me strongly pushes me back.