Chapter 34: Day of Recovery

“Oh, my! That’s lovely on you!” Stella complimented, as Clara turned around to present the blue-jeweled, silver-chained pendant that the older woman had thought would compliment her well.

“R-really?” In turn, the younger girl was much more timid, and was currently being smothered and spoiled by praises from the Witch.

In an ironic twist of fate, Tobias had decided to invite Stella to their little celebration. She accepted, and in turn, also invited the rest of her party with them.

And now, their party of four was added by five more members, bringing their total count to nine. It was a fairly large group, but it wasn’t anything that was too attention catching. Maybe the average passerby would look at them with some wonder for a few moments, before turning away.

It should be noted that in this group, there was six males, and three females. And as such, the females somehow stole the lead, and they were all now browsing around the marketplace, as those girls took their sweet time trying out different accessories and jewelry.

“This is...” Jacques began awkwardly, eyeing Stella’s new simple, golden necklace, which was adorned with small fragments of white diamond-like gems. “Silence, please. This is a sight to behold, gentlemen.”

“What do you mean?” Bastille huffed, with some minor annoyance. The sun was shining up above, and it was a warm day to him. Staring at his coat, then towards the women, he gave a light glare towards Tobias. “If you didn’t invite her, then we would have gotten those drinks already.”

“Sorry.” Tobias apologized, but let out a shake of his head. “But Stella’s been really nice to me. It would be rude of me if I didn’t at least invite her here.”

“And you didn’t think of asking us about it?” Bastille retorted.

“Hey now, if it makes you feel better, Stella also didn’t ask us if we wanted to come or not.” Someone said, and Bastille turned to face him. Purple hair was uncommon, and his blue eyes contrasted nicely with his hair. But... aside from those features, he was as normal a young male as can be.

“So uh... could you introduce yourselves at least?” Jacques idly asked from the side, and gave a cough of awkwardness. “It would be really nice to have a name attached to your faces, after all.”

“Sure.” The purple haired, blue-eyed person nodded. “I’m Percival, and I might not look like it, but I’m the Party’s Archer.” He finished, with a small bow.

Bastille idly stared at him. That name sounded... familiar. Fleeting, and forever distant, but somehow it just made him remember... something. Where did he hear that name before...?

“I’m Leo.” The orange haired, orange-eyed person next to him said. “I’m the Party’s Warrior.”

Bastille blinked. Matching colored hair and eyes were... actually decently rare in this Kingdom. Or so he noticed, actually. These things were easy to notice considering that where he came from, everyone had the same features.

But he nodded nonetheless, and with a shrug, dismissed that train of thought.

Now then, if Percival gave the Sorcerer a nostalgic, fleeting memory that he would chase on, forever escaping his grasp, then Leo was the opposite.

Leo solidly reminded him of a lion, through and through. His name, his orange mane-like hair, and his relaxed, almost prowling posture as if he owned this part of the city definitely made him deserve his name, if nothing else.

And finally, the last person stepped forwards, and gave a friendly wave. His white hair, green eyes, and pale, almost sickly skin made the Sorcerer idly wonder how he managed to survive getting attacked by the same people who also attacked them. “And I am Harper. I am the Party’s Priest. Pleased to meet you.”

At first glance, aside from this guy’s sickly appearance, Bastille was about to label him as normal. But no... The moment he heard Harper’s voice, he retracted those thoughts as quickly as possible.

There was something... friendly, yet twisted in the way he spoke. It was a complicated thing, and he shouldn’t probably judge the guy for the way he spoke. But it just put him on literal edge, because there was something about it which was off. Something that was supposed to be almost normal, but failed just short of it...

He shook his head, and purged those thoughts away. Maybe once again, just like with Tobias, he was being paranoid and judgmental.

So then, moving on.

He idly noted that all of them were roughly a year or two older than the general age group of his own party, which is around sixteen years of age; Tobias was fifteen, Clara and Bastille were both sixteen, while Jacques was already seventeen.

“Pleased to meet you too, everyone.” Jacques gave a light bow as a sign of respect. “I am Jacques, and I am the Party Leader, and Swordsman.”

Tobias only looked at Bastille. Oh, so he understood the pecking order, after all? Bastille gave a shrug, and gave a well-practiced bow of his own, just for the flair. While he did like the part where he pushed his glasses up, he felt that it got boring real quick.

First impressions mattered, after all. And right now, he wanted to start on friendly terms with these strange cast of people.

“I am Bastille, and I serve as my Party’s Sorcerer. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

A quick sidewards glance revealed that Tobias idly tilt his head with some minor confusion and amazement. Almost as if he didn’t believe that Bastille had a refined side to him. But then again... Tobias had only seen his crude, sarcastic side most of the time.

But that’s just what Bastille would prefer. Tobias had his own brand of stoic, yet sarcastic humor after all. It was fun joking with the guy whenever he was in a good (enough) mood.

“I am...” Tobias stopped, and then looked towards the ground. Bastille could tell that he was wondering if he should use his actual name, or if he should use his friend’s name. So he clicked his tongue to catch his attention, and gave him a subtle message with his eyes in the form of a glare.

‘Use your name, for fuck’s sake.’

“... Tobias. I am the Party’s Soldier.” He finally said, thankfully catching the intent behind his glare. He tried to give a bow of his own afterwards.

It was... surprisingly well executed in Bastille’s opinion, and he could idly see Jacques give a half-impressed grin. When their gazes met, a mutual thought formed in their heads; not bad for a villager who came from a village in the middle of nowhere.

Then again, those were Tobias’ exact words, not his.

“Soldier...?” Leo echoed those words, then his eyes widened. “Wait wait wait, Soldier? You’re the guy who reached Bronze in a month? That guy?” Tobias nodded at his words, without any pride, as usual. He only saw it as fact, and didn’t even brag about it.

“He used to be called Druid.” Bastille idly commented from the side, and then everyone turned to face him.

Jacques and Leo were confused for a few moments, before their faces turned into one of amusement. Percival and Harper only looked at each other with confusion, and they didn’t seem to be the types to listen out for rumors.

“Wait... the guy who cleared out all of the missing pet quests? That guy was you?!” Leo said, then burst into laughter. Jacques only gave a wry grin, but also seemed to sympathize with Tobias.

And the guy in question currently being laughed at – only furrowed his eyebrows, and let out a sigh, before staring at Bastille with some measure of disappointment.

Well, that reaction was new.

Usually, Tobias would only stare blankly at him, as if silently asking why he even tried to rile the guy up and silently reminding him how futile it was. But now, it looked like the guy was finally opening up, even to his teasing. Bastille gave a small hum, before he grinned.

“Wait, no, sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh at you.” Leo apologized, then walked up and gave Tobias a pat on the shoulder. “I just found it funny how you went from finding missing pets, to clearing a lot of Magical Dungeons with your Party like... overnight, or something.”

“It did happen overnight.” Tobias pointed out, and Leo stared at him blankly. “I was just minding my own business finding missing pets, then these guys right here walked up and invited me to their party. Then we complete a quest, then the next thing they do is drag me to a Magical Dungeon.”

Tobias blinked after he said those words. Leo blinked. Jacques blinked. Percival tilted his head to the side. Harper frowned.

Bastille froze, and very slowly turned to Tobias.

... Did he actually rant for once?

“Am I... supposed to be wincing that you got dragged like that, or am I supposed to be jealous that you got invited like that?” Harper asked uncertainly, looking at the guy with some mixture of confusion, and some jealousy.

Because... getting invited to a Party and actually sticking with them is kinda rare, actually. The process of finding a party which one felt like they belonged to was probably a time-consuming task, and was definitely risky as well.

Anything could go wrong in any recruitment/party joining process.

And Tobias might not have realized it at the time, but he was part of the lucky ones. And he was accidentally flexing, like that.

Then again... Maybe it was they who were lucky with Tobias? Because he’s a literal monster murdering machine...? Bastille shrugged.

Jacques walked to them, before standing in front of Tobias. “That would be easy to say that because we survived and cleared a Magical Dungeon.” He said. “In hindsight, that sounds pretty amazing and all, but imagine what Tobias must have been thinking at the time. A party that he doesn’t even know that well invites him to a Magical Dungeon, where everything could go wrong quickly and everyone dies. And his only quest that wasn’t a mundane task that he completed was wolf hunting...” Then Jacques blinked, before he hummed to himself. “Actually on second thought, I’m not sure what he was feeling at the time, really.”

The Sorcerer blinked at his words. While Jacques was usually methodical and cold with his words, it seemed like this time, even he wasn’t sure how to phrase his defense correctly. And an idle glance towards Tobias revealed that he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts again, so... it wasn’t as if he needed the defense, really.

His verbal target became confused. Because really; Jacques derailed off topic incredibly quickly and suddenly.

“Huh.” Leo blinked. Then he turned to look at Tobias, before looking at Jacques. Then he gave a feral grin. “So, I guess it’s safe to assume that you boosted him, then?”

Boosted? Tobias? The combination was so alien, and almost inapplicable to their party Soldier.

And when Bastille finally pieced together the words, his eyes narrowed towards the orange-haired guy. That term – was he really implying that Tobias was useless?

He was about to speak up, but Jacques was faster.

“No. I would say that he earned his spot. In fact, I would say that he is overqualified to begin with.” Jacques retorted back, stepping forwards with his own, cold, calculated expression.

Leo didn’t step back at the sudden invasion of his personal space, and only stood his ground, his grin sharpening. “Oh, really? I’ve heard about you, Jacques. You, and your noble heritage, and your noble ideals. I know you’re stronger than you look, and your ideals would be exactly what a booster would have. But the thing is, we ain’t some nobles who sit down over a cup of tea while discussing peace and shit. We’re adventurers, and unless you got the strength to prove it, words ain’t mean anything.”

Bastille noted that for a person who looked like he was ready to settle disputes with his fists rather than words, he knew a lot, and he sure did talk a lot.

Then Leo turned towards Tobias. “Hey, you. Are you simply gonna stand there or are you gonna prove me wrong? Or maybe you really are boosted like I thought, and you’re just gonna let this guy fight your battles for you and shit.”

Tobias slowly turned to him, idly glancing about to look at their faces, before looking back at Leo with a... an indifferent expression, really. But Bastille could tell that he was just very slightly confused at what happened.

... While Bastille would have liked to tell him to get a grip, he figured out that getting a new ability is kinda attention-grabbing, really. So he only sighed, and opened his mouth to talk –

But once again, Jacques beat him to it. “Are you... challenging him?” Their Leader asked, with pursed lips and narrowed eyes.

And for a moment, those narrowed eyes of him seemed to slightly glow white.

That only meant he was serious, then.

“What do you think?” Leo snapped back, with an impatient stomp. “Or do I have to put it in a language you can understand?” And with those words, he reached into the pocket of his trousers, before he retrieved an item that made Bastille confused; a white, linen glove.

And then without any rhyme or reason why, he threw the glove towards Tobias’ direction.

“A Duel Declaration, huh.” Jacques muttered to himself lowly, as he stared at the fallen glove, before he stared back at the one who threw it. “When is it going to happen? What are the conditions?”

“Right now, in this place, no weapons.” Leo answered his questions effortlessly, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “I issued it to your boosted friend right there, but I guess I won’t mind if you’ll fight in his stead.” And then, he gave out a deep, low chuckle. “It’s what Nobility strives to be, right?”

Bastille had an idea what Leo was talking about. Time and time again, he heard Jacques mutter a certain phrase whenever something like this happened; Noblesse Oblige.

And when Jacques was about to speak, Tobias suddenly stepped forwards, and placed his hand on Jacques’ shoulder. The Soldier bore a silently annoyed expression – which would have been mistaken for indifference, if one didn’t know him well enough. The blonde Swordsman only looked back with a resigned expression, before he sighed.

Leo looked at the exchange, and let out an impressed hum. He idly eyed Tobias from head to toe, and let out a grin. “Looking for a fight, are you? Looks like you’re not as much of a pussy as I thought.”

Bastille leaned into Tobias, and cupped his hand to his ear. “Hey, are you gonna be alright? It’s literally only been a day since you got stabbed in your stomach and all.”

“I’ll be fine, I think.” Tobias admitted, but he sounded like he wasn’t certain about his decision.

“You don’t need to fight.” Jacques said, before his words were met by a sharp shake of his head. “Reckless and independent, I see.”

“Is he going to be fine, though?” Bastille asked, glancing at the area where Tobias was literally stabbed by something fist-sized. What could have done so, now that he thought about it?

“I already said this, but I’m gonna be fine.” Tobias said.

“Tobias right now is capable of matching his opponent blow for blow, if nothing else...” Jacques said, before he shook his head. “Fine, then. As your Party Leader, I command you to win this duel.”

“What a tall order. I see that you still demand impossible things, Jacques.” Bastille commented. His comment was received and replied to by a small nod, instead of a glare. This guy... “But yeah. Now that you’ve taken this into your own hands, you better not back out now, Tobias.”

“Got it.” He nodded.

If he was still this adamant on sticking to his decision, then who was Bastille to worry about it? So he glanced towards Jacques, and they both let out a synchronized nod. The both of them released his shoulder shortly after.

Tobias stepped towards Leo, and he let out a neutral expression. But Bastille knew that underneath that indifferent gaze, he was carefully studying his opponent.

... But looking at the party a few meters away from them, it seemed like Bastille and Jacques weren’t the only ones who decided to try to stop their Party Member from going into this duel.

“Leo, it’s not too late to retract your words.” Percival said, as he firmly planted his hand on the hotheaded teen’s shoulder. But Leo only looked back at him and with a small glare, jerked his shoulder away.

“Not your business, Percival.” He warned, and then gave their Priest a subtle, but somehow softer glare. “Don’t you dare try to stop me, Harper.”

“There’s no stopping you right now, anyways.” The Priest shrugged, and Bastille blinked.

What... what kind of Priest condoned violence?

Then again, with his sickly appearance, he didn’t really seem like he could stop it, even if he wanted to, anyways.

But with those words, Tobias and Leo finally stood in front of each other, a meter or two away. It was an impossibly close distance, and any sort of step or lunge forwards would easily make them cross that nonexistent distance in a flash.

Fighters in this World were one hell of a breed, Bastille thought to himself.

“Last chance to admit you’re boosted. If you don’t, then we’re gonna beat down, regardless of anything.” Leo warned, and Tobias met his words with a confused blink.

And then Tobias let out a small amused grin of his own – which didn’t mirror his sheer, unrelenting fighting style. It was his trademark grin of complete indifference. “I’ll prove you wrong, then.”

Leo let a single bark reminiscent of laughter out at his words.

And after those words were said, nothing else followed.

They only adopted stances of their own; Tobias had his body slightly leaning forwards and hunched, while his arms covered his torso and half of his face.

On the other hand, Leo’s stance was much more relaxed, and his arms were only raised midway to his torso.

It was a tense start. But surprisingly, even with Leo’s hotblooded attitude, he didn’t blindly rush forwards instantly. He only studied Tobias with a careful gaze which only reminded Bastille of a lion’s gaze. On the other hand, Tobias studied his opponent with the gaze of a hunter.

It was like watching an Apex Predator fighting against the Strongest Hunter... Natural Savagery vs Calculated Strength... Who would prevail, really?

Bastille idly glanced towards Jacques, who only watched with a subdued, yet confident expression on his face. Was he really that confident on Tobias’ chances of winning...? Wasn’t the guy just stabbed through the stomach the night prior...?

But just as he looked towards the fight again, he only saw that one of them finally moved.