Christian watched from the sidelines as Arthur talked to James, moving from patient to patient as he did what little he could to help them.

She certainly was strange, and stranger still when you considered how different she was to everyone else in the Tutorial. Even he had higher than average physical stats, and he was a doctor! Looking at her, anybody could tell that she just, didn’t. Sure, maybe she did some yoga, or went on a run a couple of times a week, but she wasn’t dedicated like everyone else he met.

Still, he was sure that she had some way of sensing the monster assault. Even if she didn’t believe him and thought it was just a panic attack. He had a feeling that by the end of the month, James would.

And yet, Christian couldn’t help but feel bad about it. It was clear that out of anybody, James would dislike being the center of attention the most. He was sure that she was somebody who benefited from order, routine. All the things that this new world lacked. And he believed her when she said she had severe social anxiety, something that would only be exacerbated by constantly being the center of attention. Even now, he could feel his aura reaching out to her, trying to soothe her.

And thus, he felt guilty about his involvement. Arthur took his opinion seriously, and when he told Arthur that James could predict the attacks, the only reason he believed it was because Christian said it. He fully supported Arthur in assigning her bodyguards, had even suggested it when he had a quick chat with Arthur after the monster attack.

Even if James wanted to drown in this new world, it was no longer an option. Even if she didn’t and her weak physical stats forced her to, they couldn’t make it an option. The second she went down, their own ability to survive tanked right back to where it used to. And he couldn’t, wouldn’t, allow that to happen.

He knew she hadn’t seen them yet, but even now there were funeral pyres burning. They had lost 32 men in this onslaught. And everyone else was dealing with it. They were soldiers. They either dealt with it away from the group, or they would live through it and deal with it then. But he was a doctor, and his job was to save lives. There weren’t even any that he knew personally in this casualty count, though he did have an excel sheet on his computer with everyone’s name and even the stats of those people who were willing to share.

So no, he wouldn’t let her drown, even as circumstances piled against her. She was too valuable. If his theory were right, they could reduce the casualty count substantially. It’s like triage, he could tag everyone orange, or he could tag her red and everyone else green. He was a doctor. First do no harm. But in the case that wasn’t possible, he would have to settle for doing the least harm. For the greater good.

Arthur left and James started eating. He would give her some time to herself before coming over again. He should probably make introductions to Louis and Jean Paul. He had brought them up to Arthur specifically after all. They were both in the healing area after the attack, really just staying there because he refused to believe anyone could get better after three days.

His reasons to choose them were three-fold. First, they had both gained Skills, none of which were intimidation based. Jean Paul even had a Class. This made them stronger than the current average person in the clearing, and he was sure that Louis would gain a class soon too. Secondly, they had been injured and lost friends already, so they would be properly motivated to guard her as well as understand why she was so important now. They would also want to make sure she stayed. They had to make sure she stayed.

And last, but certainly not least, the both of them being in the healing area when the attack started meant that they had seen it all. So they knew, just as much as he did when he had convinced Arthur of that fact, that she could sense the attack.

She might not be seeing it now, but the news would spread. Soon she’d be the center of stolen glances, subtly pointed fingers. People’s ability to pass gossip around in a group was faster than the speed of sound, it felt like. They would catch on quick and connect the commotion before the attack to the young woman. Being followed by Jean Paul and Louis would only cement her place at the top of the ladder. And that would make her want to leave, curl up in a ball behind her door and stay there. They couldn’t let her leave them.

He had to admit that even he had been caught off-guard by her scream. Given, he had spent time in the emergency room during his residency, but he was middle-aged. Those memories were blunted by time. Seeing that she had finished her meal, Christian quickly wrapped it up with his last patient and headed over.

“All done?” He gave what he hoped was an easy-going smile. James didn’t seem to notice the strain underneath it anyway. Glancing up from her empty plate, almost looking like a bird in her demeanor, he felt her eyes focus on him. “How are you holding up?”

“Christian, you got to stop him. I can’t have bodyguards! You can’t honestly believe I can do anything?”

Your Skill Calming Aura has improved to level 2!

“… I mean, that’s essentially forcing people to hang out with me. And guard me. You’re really supporting putting them in danger?” Zoning back into the conversation he really shouldn’t have left given what he knew of her, Christian cut her off.

“James.” Seeing that he now had her attention, he moved on. “I’m sure Arthur has expressed this already. We’d be putting more people in danger if we didn’t protect you. And I’m sure that Jean Paul and Louis could train you in self-defense if it’s really bothering you.

“I’ll also try to keep the attention off of you. Besides, I’m a doctor, shouldn’t I also be advocating for your safety?”