Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 440: Since Leaving the Party
After retiring from Black-Gold Wings, Aeris spent a period living quietly at the Van Dyne residence.
Most of her time was devoted to doting on her newborn twin siblings.
Her injured leg didn’t look unusual to other people, but it interfered with her walking, so she rarely went out.
As that secluded life continued, however, she suddenly realized that the deadline for her adventurer rank to be lowered was approaching.
An adventurer who completed no quests for more than two months would be demoted, and after five months of inactivity, the adventurer’s registration would be revoked.
Aeris had chosen to retire, yet the thought of losing the rank she had earned over years of effort left her unexpectedly uneasy. It represented both her pride and her memories of traveling with Tauro and the others.
When the demotion deadline drew near, she visited the Adventurers’ Guild in the Van Dyne territorial capital and accepted a simple medicinal-herb gathering quest.
After completing it, Aeris realized how long it had been since she had traveled beyond the city.
“This used to be completely ordinary for me…”
The realization caught her off guard. She had believed that her injury had forced her to abandon adventuring entirely, and she laughed quietly at her own wavering heart.
“I see. I still haven’t given up on the days when I adventured with Tauro and the others. I’ve never been good at letting go.”
Thereafter, whenever another demotion deadline approached, she accepted a similar herb-gathering quest.
Then Ragune came to visit, accompanied by three senior dragonfolk. One of them was a woman named Maria, who possessed the [True Saint] class.
Ragune had asked Maria whether Aeris’s leg might still be treatable. Since Tauro remained a target of the Assassins’ Guild remnants, the dragonfolk also believed Aeris could be attacked and offered to guard her.
The three gladly accepted the assignment and became unofficial protectors of House Van Dyne. Marquis Van Dyne immediately recognized that they were no ordinary warriors and welcomed them warmly.
Maria then began treating Aeris’s leg.
The early stages required repeated experimentation and were often accompanied by severe pain.
During that period, Ragune occasionally visited through [Dimensional Corridor] to check on Aeris. Hearing stories about the adventures Black-Gold Wings had experienced after her retirement gave Aeris comfort during the painful treatments.
The stories also strengthened her motivation. Aeris studied under the three dragonfolk—particularly Maria—who trained her, shared their knowledge, and helped her develop her abilities within the limits of her injured body.
The training could be harsh, but Aeris understood that each difficult experience contributed to her growth and embraced it accordingly.
One day, Ragune returned with an idea she had heard from Tauro about the structure of the body. Maria gained new insight from the explanation and applied the theory to Aeris’s treatment.
The result was a complete recovery.
Aeris had already resigned herself to the belief that even Maria could never fully cure the injury.
“Aeris, you can choose your own path again,” Maria told her.
A single tear rolled down Aeris’s cheek.
She was surprised by her own reaction. Until that moment, she had treated retirement and a return to noble life as unavoidable facts.
“Can I really choose what I want again…?”
The words sounded almost like a question directed at herself.
After spending so much time with her, Maria understood the feelings Aeris had tried to suppress.
“You now have a younger brother and sister. I know you still have duties as a noblewoman, but Marquis Van Dyne has no intention of binding you to the estate because of them.”
Maria had reached that conclusion through her own interactions with the marquis.
“Then perhaps I’d like to begin again as an adventurer—with you and the others, Maria.”
Aeris voiced that hope, but she didn’t say that she wished to return to Black-Gold Wings.
Ragune had told her that Tauro was finally expected to become the heir to House Graunewald. If he accepted those responsibilities, Black-Gold Wings might eventually disband.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? Just as Tauro prepares to fulfill his duties as a noble, I’m returning to adventuring. He he!”
Aeris laughed as she confessed the thought to Maria, who had become both her mentor and her friend.
From then on, Aeris and the three dragonfolk periodically accepted quests from the Adventurers’ Guild in the Van Dyne territorial capital. Aeris gradually became known in the region as the fighting young lady of House Van Dyne.
Her return to active adventuring caused potential marriage proposals to decline.
House Van Dyne was prestigious, but the birth of the twins meant that marrying Aeris offered little prospect of inheriting the house. Moreover, many nobles considered a spirited young woman who fought as an adventurer unsuitable as a conventional noble wife.
Prince Fleue had personally declined the proposed engagement, so Marquis Van Dyne allowed his daughter to live as she pleased. With the three dragonfolk guardians at her side, he could entrust her safety to them with confidence.
Then Aeris received an invitation to Tauro’s unveiling ceremony.
At the event, something occurred that even Ragune hadn’t anticipated: Tauro surrendered his claim as heir in favor of Haku, the younger adopted brother who had appeared so suddenly.
To Aeris, his decision was a declaration that he intended to remain an adventurer.
It felt almost like a revelation.
I can adventure with Tauro and the others again.
Black-Gold Wings had gained new members, and Aeris didn’t know whether there was still a place for her. Even so, she resolved to bow her head and express her true feelings.
On the night of the unveiling, after struggling through an awkward preamble, Aeris gathered her courage and asked Tauro to let her rejoin Black-Gold Wings.
Tauro welcomed her without hesitation.
A battle then erupted almost like an unexpected entrance examination, but fighting beside Tauro and Pella again after so long restored Aeris’s confidence.
Ragune wept with happiness at her return, while Ankh offered his own blunt words of welcome.
Zion, meeting Aeris for the first time, was thrilled to encounter the companion she had heard so much about from Ragune. She eagerly shook Aeris’s hand.
“Please take good care of Lord Tauro!”
Aeris could only smile at the unusually earnest request.