“Are you ok, Mako?”

“I’m fine. Thank you for worrying about me.”

I didn’t have time to ask her yesterday about her condition so I’m worried about her. If she says she’s fine then I’ll believe her but I’ll keep my eye out. I understand how taxing it is to use such strong magic so I want to make sure she’s safe.

“If you’re not feeling well, tell me, ok.”

“Hehe, I’ll depend on you when the time comes.”

Mako grabs my arm and rests her head on my shoulder. She smelled very nice but I wonder if this is something friends do?

“Mako, are we friends?”

“Hmm, yes, but I want to be more than friends.”

“Best friends?”

“Hahaha, I’ll let you figure it out.”

I don’t understand what Mako means but I’m happy knowing that we are friends. Now I am 100% sure I have at least two friends.

“You’re not going to join them, Jude?”

“No, I don’t have any family left.”

Mako, Fifi, Jill, and I were all currently waiting outside a room with specialized communication devices or so that is what Carl told us. He told us to only use these devices to contact the outside world because there’s the danger of our phones being hacked. He threatens us with jail time if we even dared to use them. William agreed on our behalf because it was the only way for us to use these special devices.

“Oh, I’m sorry for asking.”

“No, it’s fine. I want all of you to know more about me. What about you?”

“Only my father is alive but he’s in prison. I don’t like talking to him.”

“I’m sorry for bringing up bad memories.”

“It’s fine, the life I’m living right now is better than what I could wish for.”

I wonder how it’s going in there. Ten minutes have already passed and no one has come out yet. I hope that all of their families are fine. I don’t want to see Lisa, Gorou, or Karla sad.

Mako was talking with Jill and she was asking her whether she was going to contact her family. Mako probably didn’t know that Jill’s family lived in Ostempal. What Gorou said about Jill was true, she didn’t tell Mako the truth and bottled everything up inside. Every question Mako asked about her family, she only gave vague details about them because she didn’t want to make Mako worried. I think Mako noticed Jill’s feelings since she started talking about a different topic.

“AAAAHHHHHHH!!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”

Someone began to scream before bursting out into laughter, that was Karla’s voice. I get up from my chair and rush into the room. The room was separated into multiple smaller rooms so I head towards the one where her voice was coming from. I open the door and I could see her bashing her head into the wall.

“Stop it, Karla!”

“AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

I grab her from behind and stop her from bashing her head against the wall. Her nails dig into my arm and she bites my hand but I don’t let go. She’s mentally unstable right now and I don’t know what she’ll do if I let her free. She might even try to kill herself.

“Calm down, Karla. What happened, talk to me.”

“Let me go! LET ME GO! Everyone’s dead! My parents, my friends, my husband, and even my daughter! They’re all dead, I should die along with them! There’s nothing left for me in this world!”

She headbutts me and I could feel the blood dripping out of my nose. This outburst was just like the one yesterday but worse. Her teeth dug into my hand again but I held her tight.

“You don’t have to die. Dying won’t make things any better than it is now. What would Mary, Goldie, and your husband think of you when they find out you killed yourself? Would that make them happy, would that make anyone happy? Can you face them in the afterlife like this?”

“Everyone I love is dead. I don’t care if I die. Just kill me!”

Everyone was starting to gather by the doorway. Even Gorou and Lisa who were talking with their families had gathered. I need to stop Karla so the two of them can get back to connecting with their families but how can I stop her. Trying to use Mary or her name wasn’t working anymore.

I look to others for help and Mako comes walking towards us. She was about to say something but she wasn’t interrupted by someone else.

“How dare…”

“Do you think you’re the only one suffering!!!”

Jill comes on over and slaps Karla. The slap echoes through the room and Karla fell silent.

“All of us have lost friends and families! Do you think you’re the only one who’s going through pain right now!? We all lost someone but we aren’t crying our eyes out like you are! We’re trying our best to live our lives for all of those who have lost theirs. How do you think those who died felt? They did their best to survive in this messed up world but in the end, their lives were taken away from them. You’re an insult to all of those who struggled to live!”

Jill said everything in one go so she was out of breath. Hearing her speech, Karla could do nothing but cry. Her body became limp and she huddled on the ground crying to herself. Karla wasn’t the only one crying, during her speech the tears started spilling out of Jill. This was the first time I’ve ever heard her speak so loud.

Gorou, Lisa, and Mako all gather around Jill to comfort her while I carry Karla away. I don’t want to see Jill crying but I also don’t want to see Karla crying either. Since the others were taking care of Jill, I’ll take care of Karla. I carry her to the girls' room and lay her down on her bed. She continues to cry and I watch over her until she falls asleep.

“You’re too reckless, Jude. One of these days you’re going to be taken advantage of by a dangerous person.”

“Haha, maybe but I’ll have you there to protect me.”

Fifi heals my injuries and the burning pain was replaced with a cool soothing sensation. I’m amazed at Fifi’s healing powers. Looking at my hand which was bitten, the flesh was regenerating at an incredible pace. After healing me, I had Fifi heal Karla since her head was bruised from her bashing it into the wall.

“Alright, I’m done.”

“Fifi, do you think there’s any way to help Karla?”

I needed Fifi’s advice because she’s lived for a long time, so she must have some experience in healing people’s mental problems. I don’t want Karla to stay depressed, at this rate, I won’t be able to fulfill my promise to Mary.

“Just give her time to figure things out. It’s only been a day since she lost her family so she has to process how she’s going to live from now on.”

“Is that all I can do?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, let’s get going then. I need to check up on Jill.”

I can’t do anything for Karla so I won’t worry about it. I’ll give her the time to think things through and help her when she needs my help. I’ll be her support when she needs it.

Fifi and I head out of the room and everyone was there. Jill was still somewhat sniffling but she had stopped crying. Mako and Lisa were comforting her while Gorou was on the side staring at her.

“Are you fine, Jill?”

“Yeah, is Professor Jane ok?”

“Yeah, she just fell asleep.”

“Please tell her I’m sorry when she wakes up.”

Jill felt guilty about slapping Karla but I won’t blame her. Both of them lost their families so they’re both going through a lot right now.

“I will. Ok, let’s get back so Gorou and Lisa can finish talking with their families.”

All of us head on over back to the room with the special phones and everyone was able to finish up their conversations. Gorou had finished first and I could see that things hadn’t gone well on his end. I was going to talk to him but Tarin talks to him first and they walk off. Josh, James, and Tarin were all guarding us and from my observation, Tarin was the most suspicious.

I was going to follow them in case Tarin was going to try something but Gorou told me that it was fine. Time passes and Lisa exited the room, there was a look of worry on her face. Mako and Jill began talking to her and it seems like Lisa wasn’t able to contact Tom. Her family was safe and sound because they had evacuated to a secured city. Lisa tried contacting Tom and other friends in Japon but she couldn’t reach any of them.

Eventually, Gorou comes back with Tarin. This time Tarin takes Lisa to go talk with and I was about to follow them but Gorou assures me that she’ll be fine. I’m curious about what Tarin talked to Gorou and Lisa but I didn’t want to be too nosy.

“Gorou, were you able to contact your father?”

“No, but I know he’s fine. That old man is quite tough after all.”

It seems like both Gorou and Lisa weren’t able to contact anyone in Japon. Was there a reason for this? I didn’t know the answer but something was making contact between the two countries impossible. While I was thinking to myself, Tarin and Lisa come back.

Since everyone was done, we decided to head back to the lounge room we used yesterday. Gareth and William were waiting for us inside while Josh, James, and Tarin stood outside as guards.

“The two of us are leaving tomorrow so we would like to hear your answers by the end of today. Have any of you decided yet?”

“I want to join.”

The first person to immediately answer was Jill and I expected Gorou to answer next but I could see him hesitate. Ever since he talked with Tarin, it seemed like Gorou was uneasy about something and so was Lisa.

“I also want to join.”

Gorou was able to calm himself down and declare his answer. The only people left were Mako, Lisa, and me. The two of them were in serious thought but I already had my answer.

“I want to join but on three conditions.”

“As long as it isn’t anything outrageous then we’ll try to fulfill them.”

I take a deep breath before reciting over what Fifi and I had discussed. We didn’t have time to talk last night but this morning we had a thorough discussion about what to do in the future.

“First, I want you to find a safe place Karla can live in. Second, I want you to never mention anything about Fifi to your people. Third, if your organization ever betrays us then don’t expect me to play nice. I’ll use whatever means I can to destroy your organization.”

“We can easily fulfill the first and second condition, but the third condition isn’t as easy to fulfill. You don’t know it but FUUI isn’t one cohesive organization. It’s made up of 26 smaller units working under the government. If you were to join us you’ll be under the supervision of Unit K and I can guarantee safety within it but not from the other units. Are you fine with that?”

“Yes.”

As long as they don’t betray us then I don’t mind working for them. The only reasoning I’m joining FUUI is because of Fifi and the people I want to protect. Initially, I didn’t want to join but Fifi wanted me to join because I could become stronger. From her explanation, if there are more cities like Ostempal then the chances of meeting stronger monsters and better treasures increase.

In simple terms, Ostempal and other places like it are dungeons. The more we explore, the more we will find. We weren’t able to come across it but Fifi said that deeper in Ostempal there should have been a region where the monsters are stronger and the treasures are rarer. She described these areas as being near the dungeon’s core and just like a living being, that is where the mana is being created to sustain the dungeon. If the dungeon core destroyed then the dungeon would collapse and I would gain enormous amounts of experience and even treasures.

None of this means anything to me but as long as it made Fifi happy, I was willing to join FUUI. Thinking over it, joining FUUI wasn’t such a bad deal for me. I would be able to make Fifi happy, I can find a place for Karla to safely live, and I can protect my friends who decide to join William.

“I’ll join too.”

Mako was the next person to answer. I now have another person to protect. The only person left who hasn’t answer William was Lisa and it seems like she was struggling to decide.

“You don’t need to rush yourself, Lisa. You still have until the end of the day to answer.”

“No, I already have my answer. I won’t be joining.”

“I see, that’s regretful but the choice is yours. We’ll have James and them escort you to wherever you want to go, that’s the least we can do.”

“Thanks, William.”

Lisa's answer wasn’t what I had expected. I would have thought that she would have decided to join FUUI to save people but I won’t criticize her decision. It’s better if she doesn’t endanger her life by joining FUUI.

“Alright, take the day off and we’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

William and Gareth left the room to go talk to Josh about their preparations for tomorrow. Mako and Jill begin to talk with Lisa and it seems like Lisa didn’t join FUUI because she wanted to go to Japon to look for Tom.

“Are you going to be fine by yourself?”

“Don’t worry, Jill. I’m a tough girl, you know. Besides, I have magic now, whatever monster comes at me, I’ll kick their butts.”

Lisa was trying to show off her bravado but I can tell she’s putting up a front. She must be so worried about Tom. I want to protect her but I can’t, I’m only one person after all. I have to protect Fifi, Mako, Gorou, Jill, and Karla, but there’s one thing I can do.

“Can everyone please gather around?”

“What is it, Rudy?”

“This isn’t much but I want to teach everyone how to use healing magic.”

I haven’t tried it myself but from Fifi’s explanation, healing magic worked on a different principle than elemental magic. To use healing magic, you needed to have an affinity for it so I wanted to test if anyone in this room could use it.

Fifi begins to instruct us on how to use healing magic but her instructions were still as vague as usual.

“You make your mana go *swosh then it comes out and then you cover that spot you want to heal. Then it goes bubbly before it begins to heal.”

Even with her vague instructions, Lisa, Gorou, and I were able to use healing magic. Jill couldn’t use it and Mako was still recovering from her mana exhaustion so she couldn't join us. My experiment was successful. Now, even if Lisa is injured she could heal herself, and Gorou is finally able to use magic.

I had a feeling that Gorou wasn’t suited to elemental magic so I had a question constantly floating through my head. What if Gorou was able to try out a different kind of magic system that didn’t use elements? This experiment confirms my hypothesis.

“I-I can use magic!”

“Congratulations, Gorou.”

“Congrats, Gogo.”

“Yeah, you can use magic now, Gogo.”

“Now we have to experiment if you can use other magic.”

We began celebrating for Gorou but eventually, we began to celebrate in general. Today was our last day of being with Lisa so we wanted to make it memorable. We took out all the food and drinks in the pantry and began playing board games to pass the time. Josh, James, Tarin, William, and Gareth even joined us after hearing the commotion.

“Aaah, why don’t we have alcohol?”

“We’re not supposed to drink on base, Josh.”

“I know, I know, but this is a perfect time. We can all let loose and play to our heart’s content.”

Josh and James were bickering over the lack of alcohol.

“Come on Gareth! Why are you always so quiet? You can’t let William lead all the time.”

“N-no, it’s fine. I don’t really like being in the spotlight.”

I don't know where it came from but Josh had brought in a karaoke machine. Lisa was pressuring Gareth to sing all by himself and her silver tongue persuaded him.

“I wanna be the very best…”

“Hahaha, go Gareth!!! You’re amazing!”

“Good song!!!”

“Like no one ever was!”

Before we knew it, everyone was singing along with Gareth. Although I don’t remember the lyrics completely, I still knew how this song went. We sang and played games throughout the entire day. Everyone was having a fun time.

The party didn’t end until very late in the night. The next morning we were going to go our separate ways from Lisa. I can’t protect her if she leaves by herself but I don’t think anything can defeat her. All I can do is hope that she has a safe journey in her search for Tom.