Chapter 81

Episode 81

"Sniff, I know everyone must have been flustered. Thank you."

In the end, Noah rode in our carriage. That was only after we'd sat through a long stretch of Cassandra's and Mavis's not-quite-threats that they wouldn't let it slide if anything happened to her.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Sniff, yes. My nose keeps running, but I've calmed down."

Sniffling through a nose gone bright red from crying, Noah began to speak.

"You two may have already noticed, but I'm a little different from the other Guides. What I lost beyond the gate was none other than an animal. Or rather, I should correct myself. Not lost. What I *thought* I'd lost."

While everyone else had spoken about the precious people who'd gone through the gate, Noah hadn't said a word. Was that because what had gone through the gate wasn't a person?

"Some people ask why I'd…