Chapter 993: [993] : What Was Left Behind

Shin let the conversation wash over him and turned his attention inward.

’If I’m being honest with myself, I still don’t have a real direction.’

He’d been going through the motions for a while now. The logic had seemed simple enough at first—get stronger, become the most powerful person in the world, done. But he’d already crossed that line. By a wide margin. And the moment he’d realized it, the horizon had just... disappeared.

Without something to reach for, a person goes hollow fast. He knew that better than most.

’I was completely adrift before Lucy. Just drifting through this world with no anchor, looking for something to hold my attention. And then she showed up and dragged me straight into someone else’s family drama.’

Somehow, that had been exactly what he needed.

He’d learned something useful from all of it: the fastest way to feel alive was to step into other people’s messes. Their problems had texture. Their stakes were real. And somewhere inside all of that chaos was usually something worth fighting for.

He had a shape for his plan now. Use this kingdom as a foundation. Build from there. Eventually, unify the whole world—and then hand it off to someone who actually wanted to rule it.

Before any of that, though, he needed to deal with the dragon situation. And his seal. That was going to matter eventually.

But that was future-Shin’s problem.

Right now, his present problem was the woman standing next to him, who had somehow gone quiet in a way that felt more loaded than her anger had been.

He looked at Alice and said, "Look—we’re fine. You think I can’t see past all the pushback? We’re good. Just accept it."

Alice’s face went slightly pink before she got control of it.

"I know I’ve been difficult," she said. "But if you actually revive my mother, I’ll— I’ll try harder. That’s all I’m saying."

"You’re already my husband, technically. I’m not completely unreasonable."

Shin decided not to press his luck on that.

Before either of them could continue, Lucy spoke up.

"Sister—if you’re going back, what happens to the guild?"

Alice turned toward the hall and raised her voice.

"Everyone. Come out. I need to say something to all of you."

Within a minute, the whole guild had gathered—tall and short, men and women, veterans and newer faces, all of them filtering in from back rooms and upper floors. Most of them already had the look of people who knew what was coming.

The shortest member of the group spoke up before Alice could.

"Vice Master, you don’t have to explain. We already heard most of it."

Alice went still.

She looked at him—this particular member, who had always been easy to overlook until you understood what he could do. His ability was called Clairvoyance: mostly useless in a straight fight, but in the right circumstances, it let him read an opponent’s full capability before the first blow was thrown. In quiet moments, it doubled as something else entirely.

She had not thought about that.

She looked around at all of them, and something tightened in her throat.

She had never been an easy person to work with. She knew that. She didn’t soften things, didn’t make small talk, kept most of them at a comfortable arm’s length because it was simpler that way. She had told herself it was professionalism.

But these people had stayed. Through all of it.

"Since you already know," she said, and her voice had gone quieter than she intended, "I won’t make you sit through a long speech."

"This isn’t something I wanted. But there’s someone out there who can bring my mother back—and I can’t walk away from that. Whatever comes next, I have to see it through."

"I’m sorry. That’s all I’ve got."

The old Guild Master stepped forward through the crowd and pulled her into a hug without ceremony.

"Child," he said, and the word landed the way only old people can make it land—simple and without any performance. "You’ve been carrying this for too long. I’ve watched you carry it."

"The fact that she can come back at all... that’s not something we ever expected to hear. We’re all glad for you."

He pulled back and looked at her.

"You were never easy to be around, I’ll be honest. Not much warmth, not a lot of patience. You know that about yourself better than anyone."

"But you’re a princess who chose to live here with us for years and pretend you were just another adventurer. That means something to every person in this room, whether they’ve said it or not."

From behind him, voices started up.

"Congratulations, Vice Master. You finally got there. It only took forever."

"I bet she went easy on him, though. Come on, admit it."

"Hey, big guy—nice work, actually. Making our Vice Master back down? Nobody saw that coming."

Shin rubbed the back of his neck.

It’s a quick trip. They’re acting like she’s disappearing off the face of the earth.

"You’re all being a bit dramatic about this," he said. "Your Vice Master is going home for the day. That’s it. She’ll be back."

Alice turned to him.

"It’s not that simple. The moment I step through that gate, I’m a princess again—not a Vice Master. My mother won’t see it any other way. And my father will have opinions."

"Once that happens, coming back here on my own terms becomes complicated."

Shin smiled at her.

"Leave your father to me. I’ll handle him."

"Your mother is a different conversation—Lucy’s probably the better one to start that. But if she pushes back, I’ll go in myself." He shrugged. "I saved her daughters. She owes me at least a few minutes of her time."

"And if she still says no after all of that—then you just leave anyway. That part’s easy. Everything after is my problem."

He said it like it was nothing. Like he’d run the math already and found it trivial.

Alice stared at him.

She had braced herself for resistance, for conditions, for him to use this moment as leverage the way anyone with an ounce of self-interest would have. And instead he’d just... removed every obstacle she’d been preparing to argue against.

"You actually mean that," she said.

"You’re already asking whether I mean things I say," he replied. "That’s a good sign."

She blinked.

Then, before she could catch herself, she said, "And you don’t mind me staying on as Vice Master? After everything?"

"Why would I mind? That’s your call to make. Your guild, your people." He folded his arms. "Though if you ever get reckless with it, I’m stepping in. That part’s non-negotiable."

She looked at him for a moment, then turned back to the guild.

"All right," she said, and there was something lighter in her voice that hadn’t been there before. "Don’t bother with the goodbyes. I’ll be back."

A beat.

"I’m the Vice Master of this guild. That doesn’t stop being true just because I got married."

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