By the time we started heading back down the shrine path, even Saki had finally lost some of her energy, but not all of it. Just enough that she was no longer bouncing around.
'Hina,' she whined, dragging out her words, 'my legs hurt.'
Hina, who had been carrying the camera and the weight of our nonsense, did not even turn around.
'Good.'
'That's mean.'
'What am I supposed to do? I can't exactly carry you.'
Saki puffed out her cheeks, but she was too tired to argue properly, which was how I knew the night had worn her down.
The walk back felt different from the climb up.
Maybe it was because everyone was tired. Maybe it was because the air was much cooler than it was before. Or maybe it was the photo that pulled everyone into the same frame for a moment.
Kasumi walked near the middle of the group, glancing around with a smile. Hina kept one hand on the strap of her bag and the other near Saki, probably in case Saki tripped. Eri stayed beside me in unusual silence.
And Marie was still ahead of us, but not enough to feel apart anymore.
Once we reached the bottom, we bowed toward the shrine and made our way back to Kyoto Station.
On the train ride back, Saki was resting her head against Hina's shoulder, snoring away. Eri and Kasumi leaned on each other as they rested.
It was strangely refreshing seeing them like this, so different from the chaos of the morning.
Marie stared at the window, watching the lights fly by as the train zoomed past the city.
The train was nearly empty, and a couple of people were sleeping in the distance. The train shook gently as it moved along the track.
When we arrived at Kyoto Station, I reached over and lightly shook Eri and Kasumi awake.
'Are we there already?' Kasumi asked, rubbing at her eyes.
'Yeah.'
Eri looked like she was one breath away from collapsing.
'Are you okay?' I asked.
'This lord is… yawn… fine.'
She tried to get up, but immediately lost her balance, and swayed.
I caught her hand before she could stumble any further.
'Let me help you.'
She said nothing after that. She just let me guide her.
Once we were out of the station, it was time to part ways with Marie.
She held out my jacket.
'Here, darling.'
I looked at it, then at her.
'You can return it another time. It will be cold on your way back.'
'But—'
'Just keep it and give it back to me later.'
'…'
Her hand lingered for a second before slowly drawing back. She pulled the jacket close, then slipped it on again.
After that, she looked at all of us.
'Thank you, everyone, for today.'
'Stay safe,' Kasumi said softly.
We said our goodbye and headed back to the hotel.
Saki was muttering complaints the whole way, and Hina still had enough strength to tell her to shut up.
'Remember to wake up early for the breakfast buffet,' Hina said.
Saki perked up.
'Food?'
'Yes. So wake up early.'
'Fine.' Saki yawned.
Kasumi let out a tired laugh and hugged her bag a little closer.
'I liked today,' she said softly. 'The shrine was really beautiful.'
Eri, still leaning against me as we walked, lifted her head just enough to speak.
'This lord also found today acceptable.'
'Acceptable?' I said.
She nodded with great dignity despite looking seconds away from passing out.
'Yes. The food was decent, the shrine was decent, and my servant performed adequately.'
'That sounds like high praise from you.'
'It is.'
Kasumi smiled. Hina sighed, and Saki looked like she wanted to say something stupid.
We rode the elevator up, and by the time we reached our floor, Eri was barely still awake.
'Goodnight, Di-ran. Goodnight, Eri.' They said as they unlocked the door beside us.
'Goodnight,' I said.
Swiping the key card, I opened our room door, and the moment Eri got inside, she collapsed face-first onto her bed.
'Can you shower, or do you need me to cast a clean spell on you?'
She turned herself over and lifted her head to look at me.
'This lord can shower.'
'You want to go first?'
Her head fell back onto the bed.
'My servant can go first.'
'Okay.'
I took a quick shower and stepped back out a few minutes later.
Eri had not moved at all.
'Are you sure you can shower?
'…'
I quietly walked over and saw that her eyes were closed, her breathing slow and even.
I sighed and carefully cast the spell as gently as I could.
Clean!
A soft glow passed over her and faded.
'Goodnight, Eri.'
I took off her glasses, set them aside, and turned off the lights, leaving only the doorway and bathroom lights on.
Not because I was scared of the dark or anything.
I sat down on my bed and grabbed my phone from the bedside table to check if there were any messages.
There were quite a few messages in the holiday group chat, so I opened it up. The first thing I saw was a post by Kasumi. It showed a picture of Saki lying face down in her bed.
I glanced over at Eri, who looked dangerously close to the same fate, and smiled.
Below that, Hina had already sent the plan for tomorrow. Wake up early to have the hotel breakfast buffet and then catch the bus to Nijo Castle.
Scrolling a bit further down, Kasumi and Hina sent all the photos they took today.
Scenic photos, food photos, Saki photobombing and our group photo.
I tapped it open.
Saki was in the middle of dragging Hina down with her. Kasumi looked startled. Eri was making some ridiculous face, and Marie looked like she still had not fully remembered how to smile.
I laughed and then saved it, setting it as my profile picture.
*Ding*
I opened the messaging app again and it was Kasumi. She took a photo of their hotel room, with Saki lying down and Hina sitting down in bed with earphones in her ears.
I gave it a thumbs up and typed that Eri was asleep.
I tried to take a photo, but the room was too dark, so the result came out grainy.
[Kasumi: I hope Eri is alright.]
[Dylan: She is just tired.]
I leaned back against the headboard and stared at the ceiling.
Looking back at the day, it was eventful. The morning was noisy with Saki full of energy and Eri with her 'lord' roleplay. On the train, Saki ate while staring out the window, and the rest of us weren't much different. Then, once we arrived at Kyoto, we had our shrine visit which was still filled with chaos that was only natural at this point.
I pulled out a photo of my old party and set it beside the new group photo.
The faces were different. The world was different.
And yet the feeling in both photos was strangely similar.
That was what unsettled me the most. Was moving forward the same thing as leaving them behind?
I didn't know.
I placed the photo back into the inventory and just as I was about to put my phone on charge, I got a message from Marie.
One was on the group chat.
[Marie: I enjoyed today. Thank you.]
Then there was one private message she sent to me.
[Marie: Thank you for tonight, Dylan.]
She sent a photo of my jacket.
[Marie: I will get it clean before I return it.]
Just as I was about to text her back, she already sent another.
[Marie: Rest well, Dylan.]
I removed my previous text and wrote a new one.
[Dylan: Goodnight, Marie.]
Then I sent a quick goodnight to the group, put my phone on charge, and lay back in bed.
Tomorrow was waiting, but for once, I didn't mind.