They spend their lives together. Not like Lina and Gourry, however.
No, they never married and had children. They never built a home by the lake, raised chickens and taught their children magic and swordplay.
No they leave that life to their friends.
They spend their lives together reading, study and searching.
He felt horrible for the first five years, knowing just how much she was giving up and how little she'd ever get in return.
But the guilt slowly faded as their search continued.
She embraced his journey, making it her own.
So they traveled, town to temple, library to bookstores, and backwoods farms to castles.
He considered giving up when Phil passed. Attending his funeral had only refueled the guilt, but she hadn't stayed when he attempted to leave her behind. No, she had found him easily enough, and acted as if nothing had changed.
That was two years ago, two long years of false leads and fruitless research.
And then they heard a rumor.
It was far to good to be true.
They spent days traveling without rest.
And it, as so many before it, proved to be a false lead.
They left the same night, knowing there was no point in staying. They were all liars and false prophets.
It was then he decided it had been enough.
He clasped her hand as they sun fell and their steps faltered.
"Let's go see Lina." He said carefully, ignoring the shock as he tangled their fingers together.
"What? I thought we were going to the wood of-" She started.
"No," He cut in. "Let's go see Lina and see how many more children they have. Maybe we can even get a meal out of it."
"But we may miss our meeting with the sage of-" she tried again.
"I'm done, Amelia." He tightened his hold on her hand and pulled her flush against him. "We're done."
She flushed a bright pink and for the first time in years, Zel wondered what else their lives could be. No chasing false leads, no endless reading of ancient text, maybe instead long weekends in bed with a cup of coffee. Maybe instead of the endless traveling they could discover the secrets of each other.
Maybe not like Lina and Gourry, no, but maybe something just for them.