56. Epilogue

The next year followed with Arganan continuing to live in Selphia. Ventuswill remained in the Selphia castle, giving her counsel during times when Frey, Arganan and Arthur required assistance. The town's popularity grew, partially due to a boost in tourism thanks to the efforts of the three, but also because of the new trade routes that they, in collaboration with Calista and Zael, created between Lazulis and Selphia. As far as Arganan knew about Therius, the white knight was back in the Empire's mainland, reforming knights to serve their true purpose of knighthood.

Despite Arganan's position, he still opted to continue living at the Clinic. Arthur remained in his room above Porcoline's restaurant, keeping his office there, and Frey still lived in her castle. Their current living arrangements suited them well enough, and that was all they needed, since they were only a couple of steps away from each other in a small town like Selphia. Arganan didn't work at the florist shop any more, due to taking on his ambassadorial position full-time, but he did make sure to drop by when he could and say hi to Amber and Illuminata.

Frey and Vishnal got married, and eventually announced that they were expecting a child. Arganan feared that Frey would ask him to be the godfather, but thankfully, they had decided to ask Illuminata to be the official godmother, and for Arthur to be the godfather. Frey told Arganan that he would, however, be considered an 'uncle' to her and Vishnal's child, and Arganan accepted that fate. He'd been an uncle before. Not a great one, admittedly, but this time around, he vowed to do better.

Calista and Zael also eventually announced that they would have children soon; twins, in fact. Arganan was surprised that he'd become a great-uncle so soon. Illuminata teased him relentlessly about it, but Pico and Dolce did even more. Arganan then realized he'd basically be an uncle to three children; Calista and Zael's twins, and Frey and Vishnal's child.

Well, there was no choice but to embrace that, right? At least it wasn't like he was alone anymore. There were people, both from Selphia and Lazulis, that cared for him, and the fact that they trusted him to help them with their own children was…touching. Arganan wasn't sure how it would go, dealing with all those children when the time came, but he looked forward to being a part of their family, in a way.

It was now the time of the Spring Harvest Festival, and Arganan stood with Frey, watching the people gathered. It was funny, how things drastically changed so much, but Arganan was grateful for it. Grateful for the chance to be alive and here in this moment.

"The crowd's a lot larger than last year." He heard Frey sigh. "I'm glad we managed to organize everything in time."

"I agree." He looked towards her softly, offering her a smile. "I'm sure it'll be fun, though, watching everyone try to show off their vegetables and flowers." Arganan had decided to not participate, but he would watch. He always found the Harvest Festivals amusing when it came to the 'appealing' part of the competition.

"Maybe I'll win this year." Frey mused. She paused, before looking up at him. "Do you know if your niece will be arriving soon?"

"I received a letter from her yesterday, saying that she might be late in attending." Arganan noted. "Business with the Gurak, apparently."

"I see. Well…" Frey paused, looking towards the crowd gathered in the town square, then up at him one more time. "You know, I'm glad that you're here. I don't know if I could have handled all the tourists so well without you."

"I'm sure you and Arthur would be fine. But I am glad to be here, too." He managed. Before either of them could speak again, that was when he heard a too-familiar voice speak up.

"Uncle? Princess?"

He turned his head to see none other than Calista approach, smiling. She looked vibrant, and so full of energy. Only a few years ago, she looked so different, losing hope and on the point of despair. But now she was happy. She had a family, continued ruling Lazulis and leading it to prosperity, and Arganan was proud of how well she was doing as the new Countess.

"Calista." Arganan offered his niece a smile. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too." Calista smiled but then paused, looking around. "Where's Lady Ventuswill?"

"She's watching from inside the castle, as usual." A sheepish chuckle left Frey. "I know the roof can open up so she can go through it now without breaking it, but we all figured that it's best that Venti has her privacy while watching the festivities."

"That's understandable." The Countess of Lazulis nodded.

Arganan looked around, trying to catch sight of Calista's husband. "Are your children, and Zael, with you?"

"Yes. They'll be joining us soon. They're just getting settled in at the Bell Hotel before they come over to the town square. Therius couldn't make it due to business back in the Empire's mainland, but he wished you well." Calista smiled, scanning the crowd, before looking towards Arganan and Frey. "Both of you did an amazing job organizing the festival so far."

"Thanks." Frey chuckled. "Though, to be honest, I don' think we could have gone through most of the planning without Arthur's assistance. He really knows his numbers."

"And Illuminata's help, too." Arganan noted. He'd noticed that Illuminata's wild, creative ideas and Arthur's general business management skills as a merchant seemed to mesh well, and he was happy for the couple working so closely together. "A lot of the side festivities wouldn't have happened if she didn't give some good ideas."

"I'm thankful that everyone is here." Calista remarked.

"Everyone!" Volkanon could be heard calling. "If I could please have your attention! The Harvest Festival's Contest will now begin!"

"Oh, that's my cue!" Frey offered Arganan a grin. "Wish me luck."

Arganan bid her good luck as the Princess went to go participate with the contestants. He could already see Doug and Dylas eyeing each other, probably wishing each other good luck and the promise to beat each other in the contest. Amber had a flower ready to present, and Clorica was trying not to fall asleep while holding onto her vegetable of choice. Nancy and Jones stood together, watching Dolce and Pico run through their appeal speech. Arganan even noticed Leon and Arthur watching from the sidelines, completely amused as Illuminata held up her vegetable and proclaimed loudly that she would beat everyone today.

Who would have thought, Arganan pondered, that things could get so much better?

He didn't think things would ever get better, after his near-death and initial exile. But now…

He looked down at his right hand, where the Outsider's mark was. It hadn't hurt him much now, compared to when he first used it. Maybe it was a sign that things were finally at peace.

Things were better now. Arganan wouldn't have it any other way.

As far as he was concerned, the time he had now was a new next chapter in his life, and one he intended to embrace to its fullest.

Author note:

Thank you to everyone that has read and supported this fanfic. This was probably one of my biggest multichapter fanfics to ever exist, and a HUGE project to cover the entirety of Rune Factory 4's main story within it. Originally I was going to end it after Arc 1, but your support and kind reviews motivated me to continue this to the point of covering the main game of Rune Factory 4. I'm really proud that I made it to the end of this fic, and it wouldn't have been possible without your support.

Thank you, again, for reading this fic. It means so much to me that you enjoy reading it, and I had a lot of fun writing this fic, from covering subplots to developing characters and topping it off with a happy ending. I hope you enjoy reading future works of mine as well, and I look forward to writing more fics, whether they be crossovers like this one or something different.

And one more thing: Since it's the Christmas season now that I'm posting this—Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating, and Happy Holidays to all of you! I know that this year has been difficult and/or unusual for many of us, but I want to wish you all well going into the New Year. I hope that you have a safe time during these holidays, and see all of you in a future fic!