The trek back to the capital seemed even longer after that. People kept harassing Rukelion about his love life and he was getting seriously annoyed.
He didn't HAVE a love life. Or at least…not a solid one. He still didn't know where they stood since they had barely started trying anything before he left. It had tortured him the entire time he had been gone.
Worst of all, they had to report back to headquarters immediately. He couldn't run straight to Daisy when they approached the outskirts of town like he wanted to. She was so close! And yet she had never felt further away from him.
Rukelion tried his best to hide his impatience as he met with General Pace and the captains of the squads who had been sent to Zel. They delivered a message from General Howl about how the war had ended that he read quickly before requesting additional reports to see whether or not they corroborated what he had read.