“Um… there’s no way we can’t go back, right?”
At Haruka’s hesitant question, Martina took a deep breath and bowed deeply.
“I’m so sorry… At the moment, there’s no way to return you to your original world, Haruka.”
“Wh-what do you mean there’s no way? That has to be a lie! Tell me it’s a lie!”
Haruka froze for a moment at Martina’s words before jumping up from the sofa, leaning forward, and gripping Martina’s shoulders tightly. She spoke desperately, her expression contorted in anguish.
“Summoning me suddenly and then saying I can’t go back—it’s cruel! Please, send me back. I want to go home. There’s really a way to do it, right? Please, tell me there is…!”
Martina, overwhelmed by Haruka’s intensity, froze. But when she saw tears streaming from Haruka’s eyes, she snapped back to herself and bowed her head again.
“I’m truly sorry… There really isn’t a way to send you back right now.”
“That can’t be… it can’t…”
Haruka, having lost all her energy, sank back onto the sofa and covered her face with her hands, crying silently.
Seeing Haruka like this, Martina felt tears welling up in her own eyes and bit her lip, forcing herself to hold them back.
(I’ve completely upended this woman’s life—Haruka’s life—without meaning to…)
Even if it wasn’t intentional, the fact remained that Martina was responsible for Haruka’s situation, and the weight of that truth made her chest ache.
But she knew she couldn’t allow herself to cry. She resolved to endure it with all her strength.
“I’m so, so sorry… Summoning you without permission, pulling you away from your everyday life, and now not being able to send you back… it’s unforgivable.”
Martina apologized again, her voice trembling as she held back tears. Haruka, noticing the slight quaver in Martina’s tone, looked up sharply.
She stared at Martina for a while, then lowered her gaze and spoke in a quiet voice.
“I’m sorry… Could you leave me alone for a bit? My head’s spinning right now. I’m sorry for lashing out at you, Martina.”
“Not at all!”
Martina raised her head at Haruka’s apology, shaking it vigorously.
“I’m the one at fault here… I’ll do everything I can to find a way to return you to your world. For now, please rest here in this room.”
At those words, Haruka nodded faintly, her gaze still downcast. Martina stood, carrying the heavy burden of her regret, and turned to leave. As she exited the guest room, she exchanged glances with Roland, Nadia, Sylvan, and Sophian, who had gathered at the entrance, and together, they left the room.
After leaving Haruka’s room, Martina walked in silence for a while before forcing a smile and turning to face the others.
“Let’s discuss what we’ll do next, shall we?”
The four nodded immediately and followed her into a nearby empty meeting room. Once everyone was seated, it was Sophian who broke the silence.
“Honestly, I didn’t see this coming… We succeeded in summoning the Saint, but now she’s crying and saying she wants to go home.”
“I deeply regret not considering how the Saint would feel about being summoned,” Martina murmured, her voice heavy with remorse.
Sylvan frowned and interjected, “Even if we had predicted this situation beforehand, not summoning her wouldn’t have been an option, would it? We have no other means to combat the miasma pools.”
Sylvan’s practical observation filled the room with a heavy silence. He continued.
“Besides, anticipating this situation was impossible. Everyone thought of the Saint as something extraordinary. The Saint’s image, based on the various documents we’ve studied, was vague at best. I’d imagined her as a goddess-like figure, radiating divine light and flying through the air to eliminate the miasma pools.”
Hearing Sylvan’s words, Martina, who had been brooding since speaking with the Saint, let out a faint, genuine smile.
“Sylvan, that’s… a surprisingly adorable image,” she remarked without thinking.
Sylvan’s face turned bright red at her comment.
“Wh-what? Anyone would think that!”
As Sylvan spluttered, Nadia smiled slyly and chimed in.
“Oh, I’ve never imagined a goddess flying through the air. That sounds like something out of a child’s storybook. But I did assume the Saint would willingly work to eliminate the miasma pools for us.”
“Ngh…”
Sylvan’s face turned even redder as Nadia’s comment landed. Roland nodded in agreement, and even Sophian shared his own mental image of the Saint, contrasting it with the reality of Haruka.
“I thought the same. Never imagined the Saint would be, well, so… human. I was worrying about what we’d do if she disrupted the order we planned for clearing the miasma pools—completely pointless, looking back.”
“And finding out that her world is similar to ours, rather than some divine realm… that was quite a surprise,” Sophian added.
The group fell silent, their gazes turning to Martina. Sitting beside her, Roland leaned forward slightly and spoke gently.
“So, Martina, you don’t need to bear this alone. It’s on all of us, isn’t it?”
“Roland… everyone…”
Tears that Martina had been holding back began to spill over. Roland reached out and gently rested his hand on her head. Nadia, sitting on Martina’s other side, pulled her close with a reproachful look at Roland.
“Don’t make Martina cry, Roland. There, there, Martina. It’s all right. You’ll ruin your pretty face if you cry like that.”
“Ugh… Nadia…”
Nadia took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away Martina’s tears. Roland, looking a little miffed, muttered, “Hey, come on, this isn’t my fault.”
The group’s efforts to cheer her up were clear. Martina, feeling the warmth of their support, couldn’t help but cry harder.
“Thank you, Nadia… Roland, Sylvan, Sophian… thank you all so much.”
As Martina expressed her gratitude through tears, the group smiled at her kindly. Once her tears finally subsided, Martina blushed slightly in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry you had to see me like that…”
(I’m not a child anymore, and yet I cried like one… how embarrassing.)
Feeling mortified, she shrank into herself slightly. Roland reached over and patted her on the back.
“Don’t worry about it. This was our fault too.”
“Exactly. I’m sorry for leaving the conversation with the Saint entirely to you,” Nadia added.
“Martina has a habit of taking on too much alone. You need to learn to rely on us more,” Sylvan said.
“Let’s figure out what to do next, together,” Sophian concluded.
Hearing their words, Martina smiled naturally.
“Yes. Thank you so much.”
