Exhausted, Gale thumped down on the porch. The jacket he’d taken from the slavers drifted on the wind beside him, quilted cotton flying like a flag. He fell backward, splaying himself over the wood. “I’m… dead…”

Kino dropped down beside him, equally boneless. “So… tired…”

“What are you boys giving up for? It’s not even dinnertime yet!” Arthur said, stomping by, a bag of feed slung over his shoulders.

“Uncle,” Gale cried, then sat up. “No, wait—”

Arthur stopped, then shook his head at Gale. A smile crawled over his face. “Don’t worry, kiddo. I won’t turn down free labor.”

“Free labor?” Kino said, sitting up.

Gale sighed. “I had a feeling… You were never going to come with us, were you?”

Tossing the feed to the ground, Arthur walked over to them. He rolled his shoulders out, letting out a relieved sigh. “You kiddos don’t understand the way of the world. That’s all.”

“What does that mean?” Gale asked, frowning. Don’t understand the way of the world? Come on! What’s so hard to understand about some dude farming in a medieval village?

Arthur shook his head. He passed by the boys into the farmhouse. “You’ll find out tonight.”

“Wh—what?” Gale asked.

A fresh shirt and pair of trousers smacked into his face. A second later, Kino let out a muffled cry as a similar pair struck him. “Wash up. Annette’s gonna be back any second now, and I don’t need you boys to chase her off with your stench.”

“Pie! Wait. We never fetched water,” Kino said, ears drooping as he suddenly realized.

“I filled it up,” Arthur said, passing out of the house. He paused to pick up the bag of feed and vanished around the corner.

Gale looked at the clothes in his hands and sighed. ‘I filled it up.’ Casually. Like it was nothing to him. And it probably was.

I knew we could never beat him from the start, but I hoped he’d… see our resolve, or something. I guess that’s only for fairytales.

Clenching his fist around the clothes, Gale glared at the sky. There’s more fish in the sea. More Legendary Heroes out there. It’s time to move on and find someone who’s willing to help!

“Well. Tomorrow, anyways,” Gale muttered, standing.

Kino flashed by, a blur of white and brown. “First bath is mine!”

“Sure, whatever… Wait, hold on!” Gale sprinted after Kino, his eyes wide. Arthur had to fetch water. There’s only one batch of water. If Kino gets first bath, I’ve got to deal with dirty ermine-fur water!

“Haha, slowpoke!” Kino grinned, tossing off his clothes. He dove into the bath, splashing down.

“Better not splash all the water out,” Gale grumbled, backing around the corner.

The sun crawled across the sky. Gale took his turn in the water and climbed out smelling only a little like wet ermine. Ruffling the water out of his hair, he wandered back to the porch. “Kinooo!”

Arthur stood on the porch, leaning against the fence. As Gale approached, he nodded, gesturing Gale over to stand beside him.

Gale hesitated, then obliged, leaning against the porch. He dangled his hat in one hand, letting his hair dry in the sun. They stood in silence, watching the sun set.

“I’ve gotta apologize, kid. I’ve been testing you,” Arthur grumbled, straightening up.

“Oh?” Gale asked, glancing at him.

“The chicken blood was to see how proud you were. If this was some kind of ego-kick, possessing some kid’s body and making up a story for kicks. To make sure you didn’t think you were better than everyone else, for being a Dark class. For being a Blood Mage.”

“Who’d think that? Blood Mage is a shitty class. I’m constantly almost killing myself. Hell, I’d only last a few days without potions to replenish my mana and HP. I’d have picked regular mage if I could,” Gale said, shaking his head.

“You don’t get it, do you, kid?” Arthur asked, glancing at Gale. He shook his head. “You’ve got the mana pool of a mage two, three times your level, and the disparity’s only going to get worse the stronger you get. Most mages only have twenty MP at level one. How much did you have?”

“Er… with this body, a hundred and fifty-five,” Gale admitted.

“So more like five, six times what it should be. And you think that’s a shitty class?” Arthur shook his head.

“I had no idea,” Gale said, staring at his hands. Am I really that powerful? It doesn’t feel like it.

Arthur turned and propped his elbows on the porch fence, leaning. The wood creaked under his weight. “It takes a while to adjust. You’ll get used to it. Nothing you can do but wait for the world to start making sense.”

Gale hesitated. He turned as well, glancing at Arthur from the corner of his eye. “Was that it? Your tests.”

“The other test… was the bee. I knew the queen was over there, but I hadn’t had the time to go move her. If you two started killing bees, with no consideration for the lives of others, treated it as a game quest and wiped out the hive… then I wouldn’t have been able to let you live.”

Gale backed away, eyes wide. “S…seriously? For killing bees?”

Arthur’s eyes narrowed. He gazed into the distance, at something far away, or maybe… long ago. “There’s times when you have to burn the weed to the root, rather than wait and see if it chokes the field.”

Frowning, Gale watched Arthur. Slowly, he edged away.

“If only… I’d…” Arthur's face twisted. He frowned, then straightened with a dismissive wave of his hand. “The past is the past. Point is, kid, you passed. I’m not going to get in your way. Go. Have your adventure. Take your body back.”

“I was going to do that anyways,” Gale said.

Arthur looked at Gale. After a second, he snorted. “Ha! That’s the right attitude, kid.”

“It’s not kid. It’s Gale.”

“Right, right.” Arthur chuckled and shook his head.

Gale shook his head. “Well, since I passed your tests… can I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Tomatoes?” he asked, nodding toward the greenhouse.

Arthur frowned. His expression turned serious. “When I came to this world… I uncovered a dark truth. A truth that has haunted me since the day I arrived.” He clenched his fist, furious. Veins stood out on his arms.

Damn, he’s serious! Gale thought, stepping back.

“This world… has no tomatoes! And since it has no tomatoes… it is incapable of producing ketchup!”

Taken aback, Gale blinked. “Eh… what?”

Arthur swept his hand out, striking at the air. “No ketchup! Can you imagine? I’ve gone all these years without a single drop of that life-giving elixir to grace my tongue. Decades with dry burgers and sorry sausages! Since I’ve retired as an adventurer, I’ve dedicated my life to the most essential labor—that of bringing tomatoes, and hence ketchup, into this world! If it requires carnivorous plants, devilish plants, monster plants… none of that matters. I will chase that distant red fruit to the ends of the earth, until I at last produce tomatoes… and ketchup!”

“Right,” Gale said, nodding. Alright, that does it. He’s nuts.

Arthur’s eyes flashed. “Do you think I’m insane?”

Sweat rolled down Gale’s forehead. “No, no, of course not…”

“Every man has his passion. Mine is ketchup. Is there anything wrong with that?” Arthur demanded.

“Nope!” Gale replied, shaking his head. The truly legendary Hero of Light can say whatever he wants! I'm not going to call this man nuts to his face!

“Gaaaale. What is it?” Kino asked, leaning his head out the door. All his hair hung from one side of his head to the other, falling in big, fluffy clumps.

“Nothing. Is Annette here with the pie yet?” Gale asked.

Kino’s eyes widened. “Pie!” He bounced out of sight and across the house.

“You’ve got an interesting friend there,” Arthur commented.

Gale shook his head. “You’re telling me. He’s a handful.”

Arthur looked Gale in the eye. A smile quirked his lips. “He’s a true friend. Treasure him.”

“Uh… yeah? I guess?” Gale said, confused. Of course I’ll take care of Kino.

“Arthur! I was worried, when you didn’t come back with your sword yesterday…” Dyer said, leading a horse. He stood there, bracing himself on his knees for a moment.

Gale stared.

Dyer looked up. He met Gale’s eyes, and his widened. Still short of breath, he stumbled toward them, fumbling for his sword. “You! Monster! Arthur, get back!”

“He’s no monster. He’s a Legendary Hero, like me,” Arthur rumbled, frowning at Dyer.

Halfway through drawing his sword, Dyer froze. “He’s… huh?”

“A Legendary Hero. You heard the man,” Gale said, crossing his arms. He cocked his head back and looked down on Dyer, an impressive feat from his tiny frame.

Dyer ground his teeth. Fury burned in his cheeks. He jabbed a finger at Arthur. “He’s the one who hurt Euna!”

“He’s a Blood Mage, level one. They can’t learn ice spells until high levels, if at all. Now Euna, I recall, is quite proficient with ice…” Arthur mused aloud, rubbing his chin.

Scowling, Dyer threw his hand out. “He cast a reversal spell on her magic! That’s filthy blood magic, no question.”

“Putting the blood magic aside, isn’t that the definition of self-defense?” Arthur replied.

“Yeah. Self-defense. Look it up,” Gale added, tipping his head back further.

“I can’t accept this,” Dyer growled.

Arthur sighed. He shook his head. “Look, kiddo, I get it, trust me, but you can’t hate all monsters forever. It isn’t any fairer than your parents getting killed for being human.”

“I’m not a kid,” Dyer said, face darkening.

Gale said nothing, but internally, sympathy welled up toward Dyer.

“No pie yet,” Kino reported, popping out of the door again.

He caught sight of Dyer and squeaked. Before Gale could blink, a giant ermine grabbed him and leaped from the porch railing to the roof. Kino bared his teeth down at Dyer, letting out a threatening shriek. “Stay back, nasty human!”

Caught in Kino’s paw, Gale wriggled his way free and patted Kino’s shoulder. “He isn’t going to hurt us. Probably.”

Dyer grunted, still glaring at the pair of them.

Arthur reached up and thumped the porch ceiling. “No giant ermines on the roof.”

Kino hesitated. He glared down at Dyer and coiled his body in front of Gale. “He’s dangerous. He attacked us out of nowhere."

"I attacked you because you were monsters in a human city! Anyone would do it,” Dyer argued.

Kino bared his teeth and hissed.

Arthur knocked on the ceiling again. “Down.”

Again, Kino hesitated, but only a moment this time. He grabbed Gale and jumped down, transforming as he landed. He backed away, still scowling.

“I brought pie!” Annette called, rounding the corner.

“Annette! Get back!” Dyer shouted, reaching toward her, eyes wide.

Kino flinched back. No longer scowling, he slapped his ears against his head and glanced around, searching for his hat.

Gale sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Not this again.”

Annette stared. She stumbled back.

Dyer rushed over, throwing himself between her and the boys. “I’ll protect you.”

“From who? Those kids?” Annette asked. She slapped Dyer lightly on the back of the head. “Come on, step aside. Or do you not want pie?”

“A…annette?” Dyer asked, confused.

She stepped around him primly, lifting her skirts. Walking up to the porch, she paused, then reached out and petted Kino’s head. Kino flinched, looking up at her with uncertain eyes.

Annette grinned and fiddled with his ears. “So soft. What strange hair, too. But pretty.”

“You…” Dyer frowned. He stepped closer, unwilling to let Annette stray too far from him.

“She’s in no danger,” Arthur said.

“If Arthur trusts the boys, I trust them,” Annette added firmly. She glanced at Gale, then beamed at him as well.

Gale smiled back. He tipped his head and shoved his hat on, hiding his eyes and ears again. “So… how about that pie?”

“Right here!” She lifted her arm to reveal a basket. A sweet, buttery smell emanated from under the cloth covering.

Despite himself, Gale licked his lips.

Kino fairly vibrated. His eyes locked onto the pie. “Pie, pie, pie…”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on… Dyer?” Gale asked, turning back.

Standing at the base of the stairs, Dyer hesitated. He clenched his fists and glanced back, then stared at Gale resolutely. “Fine. I’ll come. But only for the pie.”

“Annette’s pies are heavenly,” Arthur said, nodding.

As they walked inside, Gale brushed by Annette. He flicked his eyes toward her. Quietly, he said, “You don’t have to force yourself.”

She glanced at him, then shook her head. “No. I have to learn, and be stronger. If I want to stay by Arthur’s side, then everything that he accepts… I must understand why he accepts it, even if I can’t accept it myself.”

Gale raised his eyebrows. Huh. She’s tougher than she looks.

They settled around the table. Annette bustled around, setting out pie and plates. Dyer glowered at Kino and Gale from across the table, a scowl on his face. Even as the pie landed on the plate in front of him, he still glared at the monster boys.

Ignoring him, Gale took a bite. Sweetness burst out on his tongue—too much sweetness. Intense sweetness, that burned into his mouth. He spat it out and wiped his tongue desperately. Get the sweetness off me! Too much!

“Eh? Are you okay?” Annette asked.

“Oh, that’s right. Elves are sensitive to salt and sugar. That’s why they mostly eat unseasoned food,” Arthur rumbled, a smile on his face.

Gale glared at him. “You could’ve said something!”

Arthur shrugged. “I forgot.”

Kino leaned toward Gale, his eyes locked on the pie. “Gale… can I…”

Gale shoved it at Kino. “Take it.”

Annette smiled at him. “Next time, I’ll make one with less sugar.”

“No, no, it’s my tongue, not you,” Gale said, shaking his head. “If I had my human body—”

Dyer slammed a hand down on the table. “Your what?”

Gale leaned back, biting his tongue. Dammit. I fucked up.

Arthur gave Dyer a patient look. “He’s a Legendary Hero. Calm down.”

“Legendary Hero means nothing! You know that, Arthur! What does he mean, human body? Is he keeping a slave body? Arthur! You might suffer this Blood Mage to live, but I won’t!” Dyer stood, reaching for his sword.

Kino hissed, all the hair on his head standing on end. Gale edged backward, putting more table between him and Dyer. He glanced sideways at Arthur, nervous.

“He isn’t keeping a slave body. Sit back down and listen to me,” Arthur said quietly, still sitting at the table, arms crossed.

“No. I’m not a child, Arthur. Explain right now, or I’ll take this monster’s head.” Dyer leveled his sword at Gale.

Gale frowned. Under the table, he clenched a fork in his hand, ready to press the tines into his flesh if Dyer made another move.

Arthur stared at Dyer silently, arms still crossed. He waited.

Dyer scowled, then lowered the sword. Reluctantly, he sheathed it.

Arthur nodded at Gale.

Gale loosened his hold on the fork, but didn’t put it down yet. He cleared his throat. “When I crossed into this world, the Demon King attacked me immediately. I used my blessing from the Goddess to become a Blood Mage and survive the attack, but the Demon King stole my body. That’s it. No slaves, no nothing.”

“Then this child—what about this child?”

“As if you care what happens to monsters,” Gale muttered.

Dyer reached for his sword again.

Gale rolled his eyes. “He gave up his body willingly as he laid dying. I’m not possessing anyone forcibly.”

Arthur nodded. “There you have it.”

“And you believe that? You believe that the Demon King ran by, stole this boy’s body, and ran off?” Dyer asked incredulously.

“It sounds ridiculous, but it’s what he did. Something about Holy weapon immunity,” Gale defended himself, shrugging.

“The kid bears us no ill will. He isn’t lying about being a Legendary Hero, nor about the Demon King. I sensed him nearby a few days ago, myself.”

Dyer jumped up again. “You sensed him, and did nothing? Told no one?”

Arthur shrugged. “I’m an old man. Retired. What am I going to do? Besides, even if I kill one, a new one will pop up. He didn’t attack us, so I won’t attack him. That’s all.”

“I—I could have…”

“Could have rushed off to your death. Don’t delude yourself, Dyer,” Arthur grumbled, eyes narrowed.

Dyer scowled. “It’s better than doing nothing!”

“Is it?” Arthur asked. “Is it better if I attack the Demon King? What if I don’t win? I’m an old man. My skills are rusty. If I don’t take him down in the first battle, what do you think will happen to my farm? To the people I love? To this town I’ve spent all these years protecting?”

“What about all the people he’ll kill, because you didn’t even try? What about the tragedies you could stop before they happened if you succeeded?” Dyer argued.

“Those are on my head. I’ve made my choice. Don’t make me go through it again, I’ve just had to convince this bonehead,” he said, pointing at Gale.

Gale laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

“But—”

“I’m an old man. Leave me alone,” Arthur said. The tone of his voice made it clear his opinion was final.

Dyer’s face crumbled. He thumped back down, slumping in his chair. “My… my family… you… could you have…?”

“If I was there. If only. Not just you, Dyer. You have no idea how many tragedies I came across on my journey that we could have prevented, if only…” Arthur’s eyes grew dim, and his face aged, the wrinkles suddenly much more pronounced.

Silence. Annette sat bolt upright in the corner, her expression stiff and awkward. Kino quietly chewed his pie, darting glances around the other three. Dyer slumped, Arthur stared into the distance, and Gale fiddled with the fork under the table, not sure what to do.

At last, Arthur let out a long sigh and sat up. “That’s neither here nor there. Let’s enjoy the pie while it’s hot, and—”

Smoke wafted up from the air in the middle of the table. A thick stench of sulfur filled the air, and the smoke turned into flames, flames that burned black letters into the air.

Dyer jumped up yet again, grabbing his sword. “An attack?”

“Annette. Cellar, now,” Arthur barked, tense.

Annette jumped up and fled into the hallway. Wood creaked, hinges squealed, and the sound of her footsteps faded, growing even more muffled as the wood hatch slammed shut behind her.

Gale stared, flabbergasted. “What’s going on?”

“Arthur? Explain this! First monsters, now demons?” Dyer demanded.

“Demons?” Gale asked, blinking. Are… there good demons? Or…?

The fiery letters began to spell out a message. [Arthur. Little time. Higher ups breathing down neck. Two high demons lvl 20+ enroute to house NOW. Ambush on town while you’re busy. Cannot stop. No time. Repeat, NO TIME.

“What does that say?” Dyer demanded warily.

“You… can’t read?” Gale asked, confused. I understood Kino, the feral child, but… well, I guess it is a medieval era…

“He can’t read English,” Arthur replied, standing.

“English…? Wait, then—” There’s a demon who’s a Legendary Hero?

Gale paused a moment, looking at his own hands. There’s a Legendary Hero who’s a Blood Mage possessing a monster right here. It’s not that ridiculous

“What did it say!” Dyer repeated, eyes wide, chest heaving.

“I have a mole inside the fortress. According to him, there’s high demons on their way to me. A bunch of low demons are going to raid the town while I’m busy fighting the high demons.” Arthur sighed and pushed his hair back.

Gale frowned. Arthur has a mole in the demons’ fortress? Ah… I guess it makes sense! He doesn’t want to fight, but he can’t let the town get destroyed. There is a fortress nearby—I saw it on my map. If there’s a Legendary Hero in the fortress who doesn’t want to kill humans the same way Arthur doesn’t want to fight, he can feed Arthur warnings and use Arthur as a mutually assured destruction against the fortress, so neither he nor Arthur has to fight.

But it seems like that didn’t work this time!

Arthur turned to Dyer. “I can’t go to town. If the high demons follow me there, they’ll destroy the town with their attacks. You have to rally the town guard. I’ll be there as soon as I can, but… I’m an old man.”

“I’ll go, too,” Gale offered. This is my first encounter. My first chance for EXP! If I miss out now, when am I going to get another opportunity like this? If I can’t recruit the Legendary Heroes, I’ll have to rely on myself! Ultimately, if I can’t recruit anyone, I’ll have to beat the final boss alone. I can’t hold back or hesitate when the chance to grow stronger arrives!

If I can’t fight the demons, if they’re too high level, I won’t hesitate to flee. But if I flee before I ever see them, I’ll never have the chance to grow stronger.

“Then, me too!” Kino added, hopping up onto his chair to strike a pose.

Arthur glanced at them, then nodded. “Be safe.”

With that, he stomped off down the hallway toward his bedroom. Metal clanked as he lifted the greatsword off his wall. Returning to the kitchen, he paused, then stomped. One of the drawers popped open. He pulled it out, completely out of the cabinet, and threw it on the countertop. The force jarred the false bottom open. He reached in and tossed a sheathed dagger to Gale. “Better than nothing.”

“Thanks!” Gale said, catching the blade. He drew it. Pale steel glimmered, reflecting the red leather sheath. Gale admired it, understanding nothing. It’s got to be a good blade if Arthur kept it, right? I’ll treasure it.

“Remember. Always keep blades in the kitchen. You never know when dinner’s gonna bite back.” With that, he headed for the door.

“Arthur! You can’t be serious. I can’t fight alongside monsters!” Dyer shouted, throwing out his hand.

Arthur paused. Without looking back, he snorted and rubbed the back of his head. “Kid, if you keep thinking that way, you’re never going to be much of an adventurer.”

With that, he stepped out of the house, sword propped on his shoulder.

Dyer glanced at Kino and Gale. A thousand emotions flashed across his face, to ultimately settle on a scowl. “Just to be clear, I don’t trust either of you.”

“Just to be clear, you attacked us first,” Gale replied.

Gale and Dyer glared at one another.

Kino popped up between them, breaking their vicious stare battle. “I can get there faster if I transform. I… can probably carry both of you?”

“I have a horse,” Dyer said.

“Thanks, Kino,” Gale replied.

The three of them ran to the front of the house. Gale and Dyer took off at the same time, both pushing themselves to their limit. Dyer quickly overcame Gale’s speed with his long legs and glanced back, smirking. Rushing outside, he sprinted off toward his horse.

Gale rolled his eyes. He burst out onto the porch. “Kino!”

One step behind him, Kino jumped out. “Ready!”

His body lengthened. Fur sprouted. His limbs changed, hands and feet turning to paws, arms and legs going stubby. He scooped up Gale and raced off, bouncing down the road.

A few seconds later, Dyer raced after them on his horse. Gale glanced back and smirked. I won the race, after all!

Dyer frowned and kicked his horse, pushing it to catch up with Kino.

Behind them, lightning struck out of the clear sky. Gale glanced back, craning over his shoulder.

Arthur stood there on the hill, framed by the setting sun. Two figures stood before him, a thin girl and a man even larger than Arthur. A pair of short, stubby straight horns jutted out of the girl’s forehead, while huge, curling ram’s horns swirled back from the man’s. Black marks crawled over both their faces. The girl’s markings drooped from the center of her eyes, teardrop-like, while the man’s carved through both sides of his eyelids in two spikes that bit into his mid forehead.

The girl lifted a thin hand toward Arthur. Lightning flickered between her fingers. The man rushed at Arthur, muscles bulging.

Kino leaped, jostling Gale. He whipped around and grabbed on to Kino’s fur, barely holding himself atop the ermine.

“Sorry!” Kino shouted.

“Don’t worry. Faster, Kino!” Gale said, squinting against the wind. He didn’t look back again, not even when thunder roared out, so close he could feel the force of the bolt. Arthur can do it. He’s the Hero of Light, after all.