“W-What are you talking about?” Celia shot back. “Why would I start a rumor like that?”

The Adventurer walked back to his box and took a seat.

“Where did you live before you were adopted?”

“A different town, obviously.”

“What was its name?”

Celia grimaced and looked away. “Was…So you already knew.”

“Hannah and I came here because this is the closest town to the Demon King’s territory. However, on our way there, we passed through the ruins of a different town. The damage was old, but certainly not ancient. It was probably attacked around five years ago.”

The Adventurer paused, but Celia refused to meet his gaze.

“You also came to this town five years ago. It’s not difficult to guess why.”

Celia shook her head, but her mouth remained shut.

“Your town was another casualty of the Demon King.”

“ENOUGH!” Celia shouted. She raised her head and an orb of fire burst into existence above her outstretched palm.

“Considering your aptitude for magic, your parents probably fought against him. Didn’t they?”

“SHUT UP!”

Celia hurled a fireball towards the Adventurer, but it he swatted it away like a fly.

“There’s no point in getting mad at me. I’m just telling you the truth. You, your family, your town, they all lost to the Demon King. I did too, of course. So, we’re all losers here. It must feel better though, to pretend like that isn’t the case. Instead of a victim that Pontius picked up, you’re a charmer who enticed him. You weren’t thrust into an unwanted apprenticeship, you’re manipulating this town for your own benefit.”

The Adventurer watched Celia warily, but no fireballs came. The chief’s aide fell to her knees and lowered her head to the ground. Celia raised her arms to cover her face, but her shivering and muffled sobs left no doubt that she was crying.

“T-Then what should I do?” Celia asked without raising her head.

“How would I know?” The Adventurer sighed. He stood up and walked to the edge of the alley. “Like I said, we’re both losers. I just don’t like it when people pretend that everything’s fine.”

Celia lifted her head, but the Adventurer walked away before she could reply.

- - -

Pontius strode out of his bedroom with a wide yawn. The chief raised a hand to block the morning sun and then set about brewing some tea. He filled a kettle, cast a heating spell, waited, poured some tea and then sat down with a satisfied sigh. It was only after doing all of that, that he noticed someone sleeping at the other end of the table. The young woman was snoring softly with her head cradled in her elbow. Pontius frowned, then he rubbed his eyes and looked again. She was still there. This was something he hadn’t seen before.

“Um, Celia?” He called out in a half whisper. “Are you all right?”

Celia stirred and let out a groan in response.

“Huh? Really, are you ok?”

“Never again…” She mumbled.

Pontius stood up and rushed over to her. “What’s wrong?”

“Never…drinking…again.”

“Ah.” Pontius let out a sigh of relief.

“Head splitting open.”

“Well, suffer through it. Next time you’ll think twice about drinking beyond your limit.”

“So angry…”

“At yourself?”

“At Leo.”

“Leo? Oh right, that adventurer cum nuisance.”

“I thought about it all night, but he’s just a hypocrite.”

Celia straightened her back and clenched her fists. “Saying we’re both just losers, like that’s all there is to it! He’s the one who’s hiding away in that bar! He’s the one who’s pretending that everything’s ok!”

Pontius listened while Celia recounted the events of the previous night. He cut in to ask for details twice, once when she was assaulted and again when her rumor came up. Celia reluctantly swallowed her pride and answered every question.

“Stupid girl.” After she finished, Pontius admonished her with a scowl. “Lowering your own reputation like that…”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s my fault as well. I was aware of that rumor, but I should have been more aggressive about correcting it. If I’d known this would lead to you being attacked…”

A fireball that burned several times brighter than Celia’s appeared in the chief’s hands. Pontius shook his head and the spell was cancelled.

“Anyways, we’ll deal with them later. First, I want to hear what you plan to do about this adventurer. Are we still going to send him away?”

“Ultimately, I still want Leo to pick up his reward in the capital. However, there are a few things we need to do before he’ll listen to us.”

Celia looked Pontius in the eyes. “Honestly, this will be difficult. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s even possible…but I want you to help me try.”

Pontius’s scowl blossomed into a wide smile.

“Of course, my daughter. Whatever you need.”

“Thank you.”

Celia stood up and walked towards her room. Clutching her head, she turned around with a sheepish grin.

“First though, I need to rest in an actual bed.”

Celia shut her door, leaving Pontius alone to ponder her sudden change in attitude. From his perspective, Celia had already improved so much from the terrified little girl he’d adopted. Then again, maybe his satisfaction had lead him to ignore the issues that were eating away at her. Despite her hangover, Celia seemed much more relaxed and happy than usual. After her mask was torn off, deep down she must have felt relieved.

“Leo, huh.” Pontius mused aloud. “I’ll have to put some effort into thanking him.”

The aging chief hadn’t missed how Celia referred to him by his name instead of his job. There were so few adventurers willing to work near the Demon King’s territory that it hardly mattered what he called them. A different ‘adventurer’ would come by every month or so and then leave just as quickly. Though, most of them wouldn’t dare challenge the king. Rather than remember each one, the pair would usually just refer to them by their job. Pontius decided to take it as a sign that Celia acknowledged him as an individual.

“Yup, I’ll just have to put some effort in.” He repeated with a strained smile. “So that he leaves before it becomes anything more than acknowledgement.”

- - -

The next morning, Leo stumbled through the streets with an empty bottle in hand. Nearby pedestrians covered their ears to shield themselves from his loud humming. After two weeks, no one was willing to make a scene and embarrass themselves. Everyone grumbled under their breath and carried on. It was in this manner that Leo approached his new favorite place—The Lion’s Tail Pub.

“Ah, good morning Leo!” A gruff voice called out to him before he could enter.

Leo swung his head to see Pontius leaning beside the pub’s door. The chief stood up and cracked his joints, suggesting that he’d been waiting there for a while.

“Hey Pontius, I’m just stopping by to refuel. Care to join me?”

Pontius stepped in front of the door.

“Actually, I was going to ask you to join me. It’s rather urgent.”

“Sure, whatever, after I stop in for a drink.”

Leo stepped up to face Pontius, but the chief didn’t budge.

“Are you going to move or not?”

“No.”

Leo stepped back so that he could bend over and laugh. “Hahaha, what? Is this some kind of intervention?”

Pontius nodded and Leo stopped laughing. Leo lunged forward and grabbed Pontius by the shoulders. He carefully applied enough force to lift the chief up without hurting him, but then he noticed a hand resting on his gut.

*Bam*

In a flash, Leo was knocked backwards onto the street. He jumped back up without any trouble. Meanwhile, Pontius stepped forward and started a long chant. The air grew heavy and objects in Leo’s vision began to sway as a sudden heat wave struck the area. This heat gathered around Pontius and began to take a solid form. Red-hot flames crackled and popped above the cobblestone street, but they stayed together in a cohesive shape. The shape in question vaguely resembled a human. This stick-figure-esque creature faced Leo and released a low growl.

“Ooh, that’s a decent fire elemental.”

“Why thank you.” Pontius replied diplomatically.

The fire elemental jumped forward and Leo stepped up to meet it. With a swipe of his hand, the elemental was sliced in two. With another growl, it quickly reformed and grabbed Leo’s arms. A swift kick sent the elemental flying, but Pontius stepped in and shot out a fireball. Leo was pushed into the nearest wall, but once again he stood up immediately. Neither his skin nor his clothes showed any signs of burns.

“This is a little heavy for an intervention.” Leo complained while dusting himself off.

“You seem to be taking it well.”

Leo nodded. “You can guess how I survived a fight with the Demon King. Even he had trouble hurting me. So, honestly, I’m not sure what this is supposed to accomplish.”

“If you don’t run away, I’ll show you.”

Leo dug in his heels and raised his arms. He glared at Pontius, who directed his fire elemental forward. The burning man leapt to grapple Leo. Before he could untangle himself from the flames, a second elemental slammed into him from behind. The fire merged and spread across Leo’s body like shackles. At the same time, a circle of flames suddenly burst into existence around him. The wall of heat flew up until the flames connected in a dome. Before it closed him in, Leo turned to see Celia step out from around a corner.

“A lot of people don’t know this…” Pontius started. “If you place a candle in a sealed box, the flame will eventually die.”

A series of grunts and scraping noises answered him. Leo was still putting up a struggle under the combined strength of the elementals.

“This is because fire is greedy. It can consume the very air we breathe.”

As Leo approached the edge of the wall, a burst of heat flung him back.

“After watching you wrestle with a fire elemental, I won’t presume that my magic can harm you. However, I can put you to sleep.”

A strangled yell rang out from within the dome. Pontius and Celia froze. For several minutes, their eyes did not stray from the fiery prison. Finally, the only sound they could hear was the crackling of fire. The pair released a sigh of relief. Leo was lying in the center of the charred street, unconscious, but otherwise unharmed.

“Seriously, what kind of monster is this Demon King?” Pontius said, shaking his head. “If he can make a monster like this hide with his tail between his legs.”