“So why am I the one on foot?” I asked.

“Three people won’t fit in the saddle,” said Hilde.

“I’m sorry, Leon.” Violetta, who sat in front of Hilde, fidgeted. “I’ll get down.”

“Wait! You stay on. I can’t let a young lady walk, much less a client.” I treaded down the sand dune while guiding Sabre by her reins. “Ada, can’t you switch with me for a bit? The cavern might be an hour away by horse, but walking is a different story.”

Sabre had allowed other riders on her because I was holding her reins. That meant we traveled at my pace, which wasn’t exactly fast.

Hilde tilted her head to the side without changing expression. “Why don’t you run then?”

“I’ll collapse before we get there!”

“What a whiny guy.”

“Anyone would complain if you ask them to sprint in a desert!”

“If I may ask something,” said Violetta. “Ada is also a girl, so why do you treat us so differently?”

“Because you are different. You don’t know how strong Ada is. She has way more speed and stamina than I do.”

Violetta looked at me with pity. “I-Is that so.”

I dug my own grave with that one.

“Anyway. Ada and I can save our energy if we switch midway. We’ll need it when exploring the cavern. We’ll also get there sooner.”

“I refuse,” said Hilde.

“Come on, not even for a little bit?”

“I can’t let you poke Violetta. She’s a child.”

I instantly realized what Hilde was referring to. “That was a special case! That happened because of what you were wearing!”

Or not wearing, to be more accurate.

“Poke?” Violetta raised an eyebrow and placed an index finger on her chin. “I ride with Father a lot, but I’ve never experienced anything like that.”

It’d be scary if you did.

“A few days ago,” said Hilde, “this guy’s pen-”

“Stop!!!” I waved my hands around in panic. “I’ll walk! The whole way! I love walking! Walking is the best!”

***

We eventually arrived at our destination. Hilde alighted from Sabre and helped Violetta down. The cavern entrance was about the same size as Harena’s stone gate. I peeked inside and saw a path leading deeper underground.

“Wait here, Sabre.” I stroked her blond forelock.

We didn’t know what kind of terrain waited for us inside. An ecus wouldn’t be able to climb up ledges or squeeze into small gaps.

She gently rubbed her nose on my cheek, acknowledging my request.

Keeping a hand on the wall, I stepped inside. My footsteps clacked on the stone ground, echoing in the darkness. To my relief, the interior felt much cooler than the desert outside.

“Lux.”

A small orb of light appeared a few inches above my palm.

Violetta’s eyes sparkled. “Wow! You can use magic!”

“Yeah.” I puffed out my chest. “I’m not confident with a sword, but my spells aren’t too shabby.” I made a few more orbs and threw them deeper into the cave to light the path.

“All this time I thought you were just Ada’s errand boy. You’re amazing Leon!”

“Uh, thanks, I guess?”

I used just enough mana for the light orbs, so the path was still quite dark. The stale air felt unpleasant, and an eerie silence wrapped around us, making me hesitate to go deeper. Without batting an eyelid, Hilde passed us and tried to lead the way.

I grabbed her hand to stop her. “I’ll take the lead. Please take care of Violetta. You’ll be able to react faster than me if something happens.”

And I didn’t wanna get lost in a place like this.

Hilde nodded and let me take the front.

“I’ll map the path we’re taking,” said Violetta while taking out a small ink stone and paper.

That wasn’t necessary. Though a bit dim, my lux orbs would last for a few hours, so we could use them to find our way back. But Violetta seemed eager to help. It couldn’t hurt to have a backup plan.

“I’m counting on you,” I said with a smile.

Violetta nodded with a determined look, pressing the sheet of paper on her modest breast.

We continued down the cavern in a single line with Violetta in the middle. There didn’t seem to be any other paths. People wouldn’t get lost in here. I couldn’t help but imagine a morbid end for Violetta’s attendants. I kept quiet about it to avoid worrying her.

Violetta screamed and grabbed onto my back, her fingers digging into my ragged shirt.

“What is it!?” I turned around with her still clinging to me.

“A bug..!”

I held out my palm to illuminate the area. What I saw made my jaw drop.

Hilde was chewing on something. A segmented tail stuck out of her lips.

“What’re you eating!?”

“The bug.”

“Don’t eat things off the ground! Wait, that’s not it. Don’t eat a random bug! It might be poisonous.”

Hilde shook her head. “It wasn’t on the ground but on the wall. And it’s safe to eat. Violetta got scared, so I decided to get rid of it.”

As expected, she completely missed the point.

Violetta shivered behind me while peeking at Hilde. “T-T-T-Thank-”

“Don’t force yourself,” I said. “Even I’m a little freaked out.”

Hilde stared at us and blinked a few times, unsure why we reacted that way.

After I got Violetta to calm down, we continued down the path and reached a large cavern. I tossed several lux orbs around so we could see better. Two large holes, each the size of a small house, decorated the far wall of the cavern.

“What’s that smell?” I asked.

Hilde drew her blades. “Dead bodies.”

I tensed. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Stay close to me, Violetta.”

I walked further in while channeling Violetta’s fear, ready to cast glacies at any time. There was something heaped in a small pile in the corner of the cavern. The smell got stronger as I got closer. My morbid imagination proved to be accurate. The light on my palm revealed a mound of corpses.

I recognized the crest on their shields and uniforms. “Arthas soldiers? What are they doing here?”

Hilde approached with Violetta close behind her. “...Are the attendants…”

Learning from her mistake earlier, Hilde didn’t finish her question.

“I can’t tell. I’ll move the bodies to check those underneath.” I began pulling down the corpses on top. “I wonder how long they’ve been here?”

Aside from crushed limbs, the bodies all had a large puncture wound somewhere on their torso. Their skin had an odd blue tint. I checked the chest wounds and found a viscous blue liquid inside. The cavern was colder than the surface, but it wasn’t chilly enough to keep corpses from rotting. The bodies didn’t look fresh, but neither did they smell completely foul. That blue ooze might be keeping them from rotting.

Some kind of monster was probably responsible for this massacre. I decided to hurry up before whatever attacked them came after us. I got to the middle of the flesh stack, but all I found were Arthas soldiers.

A bubbling mass of hunger appeared from one of the holes in the far wall.

“Hilde! Something’s coming!”

She took a fighting stance, her dual blades extended. A gigantic scorpion with two tails crawled out of the hole, which was just large enough to let it through. It rushed towards us at an incredible speed.

Weave.

“Granting dreams of peace. Cage without release.”

Target.

The scorpion’s head.

Execute.

“Glacies!”

Nothing happened.

“Glacies!!!”

A miscast. It wasn’t the first time I failed at executing a spell, but that almost never happened after I got the hang of the basic processes. Why now?

Hilde noticed something was wrong. She moved away from Violetta and focused on the enemy.

“Get over here, Violetta!” I shouted.

Hilde ran to the monster scorpion and rolled forward to avoid its right claw. She crouched underneath the beast and thrust her sword to its thorax. A loud knock mixed with Violetta’s fearful cry. The blade didn’t even scratch the creature’s shell.

Violetta stumbled on her way to me. I dashed forward and caught her.

“I’m sorry!” Violetta shut her eyes, her body trembling.

“Open your eyes and look forward! We’re running!” I grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the fight. “Hilde, aim for the joints!”

“Already doing that!”

Her dagger bounced off the creature’s leg joint. She flipped backward twice to dodge the scorpion’s tails. The stingers embedded themselves into the stone ground, leaving the tail open to attack. Hilde struck the joint carrying the stinger but did no damage.

She needed a weapon effective against armor, but I wasn’t confident at conjuring anything other than a sword, the only melee weapon I trained with. Not only that, none of us were in the right emotional state for metal magic. Hilde had been more cornered when I channeled her determination in the slave traders’ carriage. Being chained up had incited her anger, which in turn reinforced her will. That said, I couldn’t wait around until she got desperate. One blow from the giant scorpion could kill her.

I looked around, desperate to find anything that could help. The pile of corpses came into view. Soldiers normally carried weapons, but I didn’t remember seeing any while unraveling the bodies earlier. That meant they dropped them before they were lumped together, probably where the scorpion killed them.

“Lux!” I poured mana into the ball of light floating above my palm.

The orb became brighter as it increased in size. When it threatened to spill out of my hand, I threw the orb into the air, illuminating the entire chamber. I searched the area for any useful weapons. There were shields, swords, and pieces of armor strewn about in different spots of the cavern.

“There!” I ran to a poleaxe on the ground while pulling Violetta along. I let go of her hand and held her shoulders. “I have to help Hilde.”

“H-Hilde?”

Without waiting for a proper answer, I grabbed the poleaxe and lifted it. It was heavier than I thought. Even the staff was metal.

I glanced at our client “Stay here.”

“O-Okay.”

I tapped into her fear again and gave ice magic another try. “Glacies!”

Nothing.

I gave up on attacking the scorpion and focused on giving Hilde the weapon. Even if she wasn’t adept at using it, it would still be better than her tiny blades against that monster. I carried the poleaxe on my shoulder and dashed towards the battle.

Hilde’s short sword had broken. All she could do was dodge the scorpion’s attacks. The scorpion rushed forward and tried to grab her with its right pincer. Like a master acrobat, she flipped sideways and landed on the claw. She ran up the creature’s arm and thrust her dagger, aiming for an eye.

The scorpion moved its arm, causing Hilde to lose balance. Her strike missed and bounced off its head. A stinger came hurtling from above, forcing Hilde to jump off the creature to avoid getting impaled. The other stinger chased after her. She leapt backward to avoid it, but the stinger still tore off a piece of her skirt. Hilde dashed away from the creature, probably to come up with a new strategy. That was my chance.

Straining my legs, I ran to intercept her. “Hilde! Take this!”

She opened both hands in front of her, ready to catch the weapon. I gathered strength in my arms and threw the poleaxe.

Hilde tripped on the staff and tumbled to the ground. My throw had fallen short.

She jumped to her feet. “Are you trying to get us killed!?”

“Sorry!”

Fortunately, the creature took its time to approach. I didn’t know whether it was being wary or toying with us. Hilde picked up the poleaxe with one hand and checked the head, which had a curved blade on one side and a hammer on the other.

“Get away.” Hilde gripped the staff with both hands and placed it on her shoulder. “You’re a burden.”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I ran away from the scorpion while keeping my eyes peeled for another weapon in case the poleaxe broke.

Seeing nothing useful nearby, I checked on Hilde. Two stingers descended on her at the same time. She narrowly avoided them by stepping forward. The tails fell right behind her, the gust they created ruffling her silver hair and torn skirt. The stingers stabbed into the stone ground, momentarily stopping the scorpion’s movements.

Hilde lowered her stance and drew the poleaxe all the way back until the head touched the ground behind her. With a ferocious battle cry, she swung the hammer overhead and into the scorpion’s face.

The monster released an ear-piercing shriek. The metal hammer bounced off but left a deep crack in the carapace. Clearly in pain, the creature shuffled backward and pulled out its stingers from the ground. Holding the poleaxe in one hand, Hilde wrapped her free arm and legs onto the retreating tail. The creature unwittingly carried her over its defenseless body.

Hilde twisted her body to get on top of the tail. With a flick of her wrist, she moved her grip to the tail of the staff and secured it with her other hand. The scorpion tried to shake her off, but it was too late. Leaping off the tail with a shout, Hilde swung the poleaxe downward, her extended grip adding tremendous power to the blow.

I sensed an enormous mass of hunger. It didn’t belong to the injured scorpion.

“Shit!” I didn’t have time to watch Hilde’s attack connect. I quickly turned my head and saw a larger scorpion appear from the other hole, probably woken by its kin’s scream.

The thing Hilde was fighting had crawled out of its hole without trouble earlier, but this one had to squeeze itself through a hole the same size.

Directly in its line of sight was Violetta.

I dashed to Violetta and tackled her to the ground. The creature’s claw zipped right above us. Ignoring her trembling, I grabbed Violetta’s arm and dragged her to her feet. We ran underneath the creature and continued until we got behind it.

I peeked behind me and saw a giant claw barreling towards us. This thing could turn quicker than I thought. And it was learning. The swing swept low, preventing us from ducking its pincer like earlier. Violetta was in its path.

My body moved on its own. I pulled Violetta with everything I had, throwing her in front of me. Then the world spun around. My face scraped the hard ground, cutting open my lips. But I was still alive. The claw only grazed me.

The creature approached Violetta, its tail rearing up. I realized that the blow earlier knocked me forward, taking me past her. I forced my quivering body to move. Breathing felt ridiculously difficult. My ribs were probably cracked or broken. I tried to push myself up with my right hand. That was when I noticed. My elbow was bent the wrong way.

“Gaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!”

The gut-wrenching pain robbed my concentration. I couldn’t even use my own fear to weave any spells. But if I didn’t do anything, Violetta would die.

Who cared? I certainly didn’t. I was only fighting for Hilde. Even this mission was to get money for my journey with her. If I focused on running away, escape might be possible.

Even so.

I stood in front of the terrified Violetta and glared at the monster. What was I doing? I didn’t understand why, but I was protecting her. And I would die. From the corner of my eye, I saw Hilde running in my direction. She had probably defeated the other scorpion. But she was too far and too late. I wondered if I was only imagining the desperation on her face. I wished I wasn’t.

The pair of stingers rose up and came down like a guillotine. I shut my eyes and got swallowed by the darkness.

A hair-raising screech forced my eyes open.

A familiar back appeared in front of me. The hem of his scruffy brown scarf caressed my cheek before falling to his back.

“Your bravery is awe-inspiring, Sir Leon. I shall handle the rest.”

The scorpion convulsed before the righteous thief. A brown liquid coated its head.

“Poison?” I muttered.

“Indeed.” Felix showed me a black ball and gave it a shake. “I shall elaborate later!”

He threw the ball at the creature’s head. The scorpion used its tails to block it. The ball shattered and smeared brown liquid on the carapace, but it didn’t have any effect. It seemed the head was its only weak point, specifically the eyes and mouth.

Felix dashed to the right and led the creature away from me and Violetta. He moved like lightning, nimbly dodging its tails and claws. The scorpion rotated to chase after Felix as he circled around. Then he vanished. The scorpion stopped, unsure where the enemy went.

Felix appeared behind it and thrust two curved daggers into the base of the scorpion’s tails. Unlike Hilde’s slashes that aimed to crack the joints, Felix jammed his blades into the paper-thin gaps between the creature’s armor. With a blood-curdling cry, its two tails spasmed and then fell limp on the ground. The daggers were probably coated with the same poison used for the balls.

Felix went down on one knee. “Now Miss Ada!”

Hilde came from behind him and stepped on his shoulder. In that instant, Felix forcefully stood up, launching Hilde high into the air. Holding the poleaxe by the tail, she flipped forward once and swung the poleaxe downward. The hammer smashed the creature’s head, causing its brain and blood to splatter onto Hilde’s dress as she landed on its back. The scorpion’s body twitched several times before crashing to the ground.

Their teamwork amazed me, but it also lit a flicker of jealousy in my heart. Why couldn’t I have been the one to help her?

Oh right, I had a broken arm.

I fell to my knees, unable to resist the pain of my injuries.

“Leon!” Violetta panicked, her hands flapping about. She tried to hold my body up.

“Guh!” I coughed violently. “Please… don’t. Ribs… cracked.”

“Sir Leon!” Felix rushed to my side. He pulled out a small vial and pressed it against my lips. “Here, drink this.”

Distracted by the pain, I didn’t give it much thought and gulped down the bitter liquid. “What is this?”

“Poison.”

I choked on the remainder in my throat.

“Rest easy. It’s a paralysis poison. It numbs a person’s body to stop them from moving. In this case, it will take away the pain of your injuries.”

“T-That so.”

The pain gradually disappeared. I lost feeling in my limbs as Felix gently laid me down on my back. Hilde walked up to me and ran her eyes over my battered body. Without saying a word, she turned away and approached Violetta, who crumpled to the ground crying. I was honestly impressed Violetta didn’t break down until now considering the danger she had faced.

“Excuse me.” Felix removed my shirt. “I shall treat your wounds.”

“Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it. I’m merely doing what anyone would.” He prepared a splint using a scabbard lying on the ground.

The paralysis potion I drank seemed to be taking effect. I could breathe easier, and my broken arm didn’t bother me as much.

“Where did you get the poison you used against that thing?”

“I made it.” He flashed a proud smile. “I fed a dodo poctus needles and used its droppings for the base toxin. Then I added screaming lily sap and fliphog saliva to increase the potency and turn it into a potion. The clay balls I had on hand. Those are useful in combat, so I always keep some in my bag.”

“...Weren’t those the items specified in the announcement board requests?”

“Indeed. I saw the Nepa Cavern missing person request right after arriving at Harena. I decided to take the request because I’ve fought stone scorpions before. I had to escape back then because nothing I did could harm these hardy creatures. Since then, I studied ways to defeat them, including the poison I used. I didn’t have any ready, so I had to make it from scratch. I posted those requests to get as much help as possible in gathering the ingredients, but in the end, no one came to my assistance.”

The thieving tutor request had reminded me of Felix, but I was surprised to find out all the requests on the board were his. Based on those ingredients, the poison itself wasn’t encantus. Despite his strange ability to appear out of thin air, Felix probably didn’t have cor.

“It took me a while to prepare everything.” Felix wrapped a bandage on my arm, setting it on the splint. “If I had arrived earlier, you wouldn’t have been injured like this. A thousand apologies.”

“No, Felix. You saved my life. And Violetta’s. Thank you.”

“That is nothing compared to the courage you displayed. Protecting a maiden despite these wounds.” Tears rolled down his cheeks as he held my left hand. “I am so moved!”

Things were getting a little weird, but I could sense he meant it in a normal way. Probably.

Felix checked on my ribs by pressing on my sides. “I tried to speak with the client for this request, but she refused to see me.”

“Violetta did?”

“That’s…” Violetta walked to my side and crouched down. “I did decline someone before you and Ada took my request.” She glanced at Felix then looked back at me. “I mean, the message said he introduced himself as a thief. I didn’t want to associate with criminals.”

This guy.

“Felix, why would you introduce yourself as a thief to a client?”

“What do you mean?” Felix furrowed his brows, perplexed. “It is true.”

“Thieves don’t admit to being thieves, you know?”

“Tarnation!!! Again, you have opened my mind to the truth, Sir Leon! A thousand thanks!”

I sighed. “No big deal. And my name isn’t Leon. My companion isn’t called Ada, either. I made that all up. My real name is Karius, and she’s, well, Hilde for now.”

Violetta’s jaw dropped. “Eh?”

Felix brandished a wide grin. “I knew it!”

He knew I was lying? This guy was shrewder than he seemed.

Felix shook my limp hand. “You truly are a master of deception, Sir Karius! I, Felix of the Ferris clan, was completely fooled! I would be honored if you could teach me your devious ways!”

Maybe not.

“I’m nothing like that!”

“Yes you are.” Hilde’s face appeared above me and turned aside. “Violetta, there’s no sign of your attendants here. No weapons, no clothes, nothing.”

“Maybe they’re further in,” I said.

“There is no further.” Hilde pointed to the far wall with her thumb. “The holes are dead ends. Probably nests.”

I was surprised she could check that much in such a short time, but then again, she was Hilde.

“Then they never made it to the cavern. They might’ve gotten lost on the surface.”

Violetta’s expression brightened up. “Thank the gods… I was so worried that those monsters…” Her eyes glistened with tears, but she was smiling. “Thank you, Hilde.” She softly embraced my neck. “And thank you, Karius, for going so far to save me. Thank you.”

Her tears rolled to my cheek, but I couldn’t feel them because of the paralysis.

“As expected of Master. You captured the heart of a maiden with your courage and lies!”

“I’m not your master! And that praise doesn’t even make sense!”

Hilde’s face appeared above me. “Violetta, you’re being tricked by this guy. It’s fine right now because he can’t move, but don’t get so close to him normally.”

Oh? Was this jealousy?

Violetta gently released my neck and turned to Hilde. “What do you mean?”

“Sometimes he casually touches my body here and there.”

She knew about that!!??

“No, wait, I was just checking our-” A powerful dizziness attacked me. “Wha…”

“I forgot to mention,” said Felix, “the poison you drank will put you to sleep for about a day. Rest easy, I shall fulfill my duty as your disciple in deception and carry you back to Harena.”

“You’re… not my… dis...” My eyelids slid down.

“I’ve finished treatment. Looks like he fell asleep.”

I couldn’t see or feel a thing, but it seemed my ears still worked. My clothes rustled.

“Wait,” said Hilde’s voice. “I’ll carry him.”

“But as a gentleman, I can’t allow a lady-”

“I’m stronger than you. And he’s my responsibility. He’s… my companion.”

“Understood. A thousand apologies for my meddling.”

More rustling followed. After a few moments, the faint sound of breathing took its place. While I struggled to engrave her words into my fading consciousness, a familiar sour-sweet scent ferried me to the land of dreams.