There was a knock at the door. "Lady Rhea? Count Gloucester has arrived."
Rhea sighed and stood up. "Lorenz? We should meet with him."
"Of course," Lorenz agreed.
As they went to leave, Rhea realized something. "How will we explain your increase in age to him?"
"I will explain it to him," Zelda offered.
Rhea gave her a concerned look. "I do not know if you were informed of this, but non-humans are far less accepted here than in Hyrule."
"I am aware," Zelda said. "I will leave out any details of your ancestry."
Rhea thought about it, and ultimately decided to offer Zelda a measure of trust. "Very well. The rest of you may leave. We can continue with the story tomorrow."
With that, she, Lorenz, Zelda, Link, and Leonie went to speak to Count Gloucester. When Count Gloucester saw Lorenz, he stared at him. "Lorenz? Is that really you? You look...older."
"It is me, Father," Lorenz said.
After a brief inspection, the Count nodded. "I would know my son anywhere, even if he somehow aged years in two weeks. But how?"
"I can explain that," Zelda offered.
Rhea nodded. "Count Gloucester, allow me to introduce Princess Zelda and Sir Link of the Kingdom of Hyrule. They were the ones who found the missing students and returned them to us."
Count Gloucester looked at the two Hylians, then back at Lorenz. When Lorenz nodded, he turned back to the Hylians. "Then I am in your debt, Your Grace."
"On the contrary, we are deeply indebted to Lorenz and his peers," Zelda said. "They helped save the Kingdom of Hyrule from a disaster that would have meant its total destruction."
"Really?" Count Gloucester asked.
"Princess Zelda is telling the truth, though she perhaps overstates my individual contributions," Lorenz said.
"No, you contributed plenty, Lorenz. There's no need to be humble," Leonie assured him.
"What sort of disaster did my son aid in warding off?" he asked.
"That is a long story, but to shorten it, a dark god threatened to rise and consume the land of Hyrule," Zelda told him.
"We were summoned to Hyrule, and three years into the past, to aid Princess Zelda and Sir Link in destroying it," Lorenz added.
"...Everything in me is telling me to dismiss what you are saying as the ravings of the mad," Count Gloucester admitted.
"I understand," Zelda said. "Your land is less used to direct acts of the divine."
"Princess Zelda speaks the truth, Father," Lorenz told him.
Seeing that Count Gloucester still wasn't convinced, Link offered a suggestion. "Maybe we could demonstrate the Teleportation Rune."
"How would you do that? There is no Sheikah shrine here," Rhea protested.
"Purah and I actually developed a new rune for the Sheikah Slate recently," Zelda informed her. "It allows us to create a Teleportation Gate for the Sheikah Slate. May we place one here to demonstrate?"
Rhea hesitated. This was most irregular. Still, she had to admit, she was curious. "On one condition. When you travel to Hyrule and back, I wish to go with you. Count Gloucester is my guest, after all, and I would be a poor host if I did not personally ensure his safety."
"Certainly," Zelda said. Taking the Slate from Link, she tapped the screen a few times and a blue circle with runes inside appeared on the floor. "Stand in the circle."
Count Gloucester wasn't sure what to do, but seeing Lorenz, Leonie, and the two Hylians step into the circle, he did so himself. Rhea followed suit, and Zelda tapped the Sheikah Slate screen again.
The six of them instantly found themselves in the middle of a town. Rhea found herself disoriented, and Count Gloucester seemed even more so.
"Ah, yes. The first time is always disorienting, is it not?" Lorenz asked.
"Princess Zelda! Sir Link!" a man with a strange hat and a moustache greeted Zelda. "And Lorenz and Leonie, too! You're already back?"
"Not exactly, Hudson," Zelda informed him. "We actually stopped by Tarrey Town to prove to Lorenz's father that Lorenz did indeed aid in destroying a dark god."
"You mean he didn't know?" Hudson asked.
"Lorenz's father is from a land of minimal divine interaction," Zelda informed him.
"Well, Mister Gloucester, that's not what Hyrule is like at all," Hudson said. "There was a dark god menacing Hyrule, and Lorenz did help kill it. He also helped revitalize Hyrule's infrastructure."
"It's Count Gloucester," Count Gloucester corrected him. Looking around, he saw several Zora, Gorons, and Rito among the people of Tarrey Town. "Are those...maybe I am the one who is going mad."
"No, you aren't," Lorenz assured him. "Hyrule is simply a strange and magical place."
"We wouldn't have it any other way," Hudson said. He looked at Rhea. "You're related to Flayn, aren't you?"
"I am her great-aunt," Rhea told him.
"You should be very proud of her," Hudson said. "She saved a lot of people in these past three years."
"I am very proud of her," Rhea said. It was true.
"We should probably get going," Leonie said. "We wouldn't want anyone to miss us."
The six of them then teleported back to Garreg Mach. Count Gloucester was clearly still stunned. "A device that can transport people great distances. Fish people, bird people, and I do not even know how to describe those orange giants. My son, helping to kill a dark god. Am I dreaming?"
"I think we have much to talk about." Lorenz took his father's hand and led him off.
Rhea had a hard time believing it as well, but for different reasons. She already knew about the inhuman peoples of Hyrule. But to see them living side-by-side with humans and people thinking nothing of them being there?
She hadn't thought such a thing would be possible. But maybe Hyrule was just special like that.