I’ve fought monsters, hunted criminals, and survived missions that would make most adventurers run. After years as a Platinum-ranked magic swordswoman, I thought there wasn’t much left that could truly surprise me. Then I found Nell. An eight-year-old girl, starving and terrified, rescued from a group of bandits. She barely trusted anyone enough to speak, yet somehow, she recognized me. She had an old picture of me. And a letter from her mother. Serena Arven—my former companion and the friend I walked away from thirteen years ago. There’s just one problem. I saw Serena’s body. I cried beside her. I attended her funeral. Serena died eleven years ago. So how can the little girl holding her letter be only eight?