“…then, I grab the bloodstained sword, push it through its chest and ask ‘is this yours?’. Anyway that was the last time I saw him, I wonder what he’s doing nowadays.” Everyone around the storyteller laughed.

It was a usual day in the Golden Blood tavern. Almost all the tables were filled with warriors, adventurers, magicians and other powerful figures and every last one of them was drinking mug after mug filled with alcohol.

“Sir Anwir, your beer.” Ruby was in her waitress uniform, bringing the one who had gathered all attention another serving.

“Ah, thanks honey!” He laughed and took a sip of his mug. He looked like someone who had been through a lot, a huge scar was covering the left side of his face, his right hand showed signs of being badly burnt and his red hair was wild with traces of dirt in it.

Ruby could tell with one glance that he was a real warrior. Comparing him to her bosses…

“Hey Jamie, stop staring at her breasts! She’s a customer not your next one nightstand!”

“Sure, if you stop secretly drinking that whiskey! Do you honestly think Ruby can’t see that?”

Ruby sighed. Ever since she forbid them from drinking any alcohol, the two of them had made an effort to do it in secret with no success whatsoever. A week had passed since the big festival Dorian had put together especially for his new girlfriend Kristina and ever since that day, they seemed to care even less if Ruby caught them drinking.

Why is it that you cannot be just a bit more like Sir Anwir…? He is a real hero, not just the owner of a cheap bar…

“Hey, our bar might be a lot, but one thing it definitely isn’t, is cheap.” Dorian had appeared out of nowhere next to Ruby and seemed to have read her thoughts again.

He turned to Sir Anwir and asked with a smile: “Not to interrupt your storytelling sir, but can you really pay for all this?” He made a gesture to show him just how many mugs he really had.

Even Ruby had to admit, it was a bit excessive how much he had drunk in just a few hours.

“What do you want bartender? I can pay, as if I’d have money problems! Are you trying to insult me?!” As he got more aggressive, Dorian’s smile faded.

“I just wanted to remind you, after all you also need to pay what you owe us from the last time. Enjoy your evening.” Dorian left the table, attending to another customer.

“…So… Anyway Sir Anwir, going out on another mission tomorrow?” One of his listeners broke the awkward silence Dorian had left behind.

The warrior laughed. “Ha-ha! You bet your ass I will! I’ll kill that troll that was seen last week in the forest nearby!”

The crowd murmured hearing this statement. A small woman spoke up. “Are you sure you want to go up against a troll? I heard a big one can be as tall as three grown men on top of each other… Not even mentioning their seemingly invincible skin.”

“Tsk, don’t make me laugh, I would beat that son of a whore within seconds.” He sounded insulted.

“Really?! Wow, that’s so impressive! I-if it’s not too much to ask for, would you mind me tagging along tomorrow? Perhaps I could learn something from such a skilled fighter and if you are as good as you claim to be, I shouldn’t be of any hindrance, right?” Ruby had gathered the courage to set her new plan in motion.

“Uhm… Of course you can, that isn’t any problem for the great Sir Anwir!” He laughed with confidence and Ruby smiled.

While what I said was the truth, the other reason why I want to join this man is to put pressure on Jamie and Dorian. If they see me looking for a replacement, surely they’ll come to their senses and finally help me. This will work, I have a good feeling about this!

Triumphantly she looked over to the tavern owners, awaiting their shocked reactions. But the two chosen heroes weren’t paying any attention to her at all, Jamie was flirting with a cute girl and Dorian was mindlessly cleaning up glasses.

Ruby loudly cleared her throat to gather her bosses’ attention, without success. “HEY DORIAN, JAMIE!” Finally the two of them turned towards her. “I’ll be taking the day off tomorrow, I will accompany Sir Anwir on his quest to kill that troll in the forest.”

“Huh? Oh sure, do whatever you want to do.” Jamie said, turning his attention back to the girl.

“Mhh… Alright, I’ll ask Diane to cover your shift. It shouldn’t be a problem.” Dorian also seemed to not care about Ruby putting herself in danger.

Ruby angrily stared at them with disbelieve. Did they not care about what happened to her at all? She could run to her death for all they knew!

“Unbelievable…” She muttered and excused herself at the table she was serving, telling them that she would go to bed early to prepare for the fight tomorrow. Some people laughed at her and asked if she were a sheltered noble or something of the sorts, while those who knew her by now wished her a good night. Both she just brushed it off with a smile, after working at a place like this for a while she had come to find comfort in those silly things.

* * * * *

“So, why did you call me over, you sounded kind of serious?” Jamie sunk down on a chair in Dorian’s bedroom.

“Come on, you are smart enough to figure it out yourself, aren’t you?” Despite Dorian being the one calling for this meeting, he was simultaneously filling out some papers.

“Hey, you are the strategist, I don’t have to think about stuff like this.” Dorian looked up and stared at him. “…It’s about Anwir, isn’t it?”

“See, you can if you want to. Ruby joining him in his little adventure tomorrow isn’t my problem, I already made preparations for that. Her intention behind this action of hers is what really worries me.”

Jamie thought about it for a bit and reached a conclusion. “She is trying to pressure us. Not a bad move, she’s a smart girl, but sadly it won’t work on us. There are two things we work towards: a peaceful life as well as our ‘plan’ and saving this corrupt country isn’t beneficial to either of those goals.” He leaned back in his chair staring at the sealing, pitying Ruby.

“Exactly, still I don’t think we can hold her off forever. She is a wild card, her unpredictability could be a problem.” Dorian laid down his pen. “We both have changed quite a bit since coming here. I hate to admit it but that goddess kind of succeeded with her plan of changing us.”

“Heh, you can say that again… Still it’s not that bad, right?” Jamie smiled thinking about the face of the god called Bianca.

“Anyway, we need to be careful with treating Ruby, so try to not provoke her too much. But there is another reason why I wanted to talk to you.” Dorian got out of his chair and walked up to Jamie.

“I am worried about the church army’s movement. Each day they are getting closer to the front lines and if they join the battle, who knows what the people of this town will do.” Dorian sounded worried.

No wonder, the church had a huge influence on people from all around the world, it served as a sort of neutral communication device between countries and if they gave an order, everyone would follow it.

“If they order people to join the front lines, then even this place will be roughened up. While a lot of unconventional people live here, they still believe in the church’s absolute power. But what do you think can we do against this?” Jamie had also stood up and began nervously walking around the room.

“What do you think I just wrote down my friend?” Dorian smirked.

“You don’t mean…”

“Yes, we’ll meet him once again, the current pope of the church.”

Hearing his friend’s confident words, Jamie began to laugh. “The last time we didn’t exactly part ways on friendly terms, did we?”

“No, but not on hostile ones either. It’s a gamble.” Dorian explained.

“Then he’s no different from Ruby. How interesting, things are starting to get complicated.” Jamie and Dorian laughed, excited and terrified of what the future might bring them.

* * * * *

“Excuse me Sir Anwir, we have been walking for hours now and still we haven’t found a single trace of the troll. Are you certain that we are on the right track?” Ruby asked the fully armoured adventurer walking in front of her.

Sir Anwir audibly let his tongue snap. “Listen sweetie, I don’t need any annoying questions from a no one who is only here because I was kind enough to let you. Be quiet or I’ll leave you here.” He didn’t sound like he was joking while making that threat.

What an asshole… But I have dealt with enough selfish people like him on parties organized by my family, people who get angry as soon as someone questions their absolute dominance. The best thing to do in such a situation is flatter him.

“I am sorry if I may come off as pushy, it’s just that one doesn’t get the chance to speak to such an amazing person as THE Richard Anwir. I mean you singlehandedly defeated one of the last dragons alive, you were the one to unravel the mystery behind the lost kingdom and it was none other than you who banished the sea monster of lake Jimson. Being in the presence of such a legend is an honour.” Ruby put up her best act to sound enchanted, requoting all the stories she remembered him talking about the evening before.

It seemed to work, because an overconfident smile formed on Sir Anwir’s face. “Well yeah, I guess I am pretty much a hero. Did you know that I also fought on the front lines in the civil war of Acrias, before I decided to move to Prian? After the war was won and we had replaced the tyrant king, I just felt like I was missing a challenge and with King Morgan the second dead, I thought that surely a new civil war would break out. But then the power struggle inside the Morgan family were resolved because that coward James Morgan ‘didn’t want to risk a bloodbath’, what a pathetic excuse for a man.” He spit on the ground while mentioning the name of Ruby’s father.

Ruby stopped for a second. An intense rage had formed inside her, while she didn’t particular think highly of her father, he was still her father. Even if he had always favoured Ruby’s sister Sayori over her, even if he left the two of them alone with their abusive mother, even if he was her uncle’s bootlicker, she still loved him because he was her father. It took all her strength to calm herself down but she managed to do it.

…If I am completely honest, he’s probably not wrong in calling him a coward… And he is an amazing hero, character defects aside, so he probably knows what he is talking about…

Meanwhile Sir Anwir had completely missed Ruby’s inner rage and had continued bragging about all his accomplishments. “Oh and not to forget, I also killed the basilisk tormenting the people of Wolfsdawn.”

“Wow! That is so impressive!” Ruby said, not listening to a word he had said.

“Heh, it sure is! Well compared to them, this troll won’t be a problem.” He smiled confidently and picked up the pace.

Wow, he actually is really impressive. Sure he might be an idiot but I can’t deny his strength. If I were to join him in his adventures, we could surely defeat the Demon Lord. With his power and abilities and my intelligence, we could become unstoppable! I know I only followed him here out of spite, but perhaps he really is the better choice. For almost two weeks I have been living in this town and I haven’t gotten a step closer to my goal, all the while good people are dying fighting the Demon Lord’s army. I mean it’s not like I dislike Jamie and Dorian, but maybe-

“DUCK!” Sir Anwir suddenly screamed as a huge rock barely missed their heads.

“What the… where did that come from?!” Ruby searched for the attacker but the forest was too thick to see anything.

“Tsk, finally decided to show yourself, have you?” Sir Anwir slowly pulled out his sword and got into a fighting stance.

“Go show yourself to me you rat.” He whispered and as a response another bolder came flying at him. He barely dodged it with a quick sidestep, Ruby however wasn’t as lucky.

She had tried to jump out of the rock’s way, but she hadn’t been fast enough and thus her leg got hit, sending her down to the ground.

Ruby screamed out in agony, tears forming in her eyes.

“SHOW YOURSELF!!” The warrior screamed and his wish got granted. The trees in front of him cracked down from the immense stature of the monster appearing in front of him. The creature had dark green skin soiled with blood and piercing yellow eyes, putting fear in his enemies.

For a brief moment, nothing could be heard except for Ruby’s silent sobbing, as the adventurer and the beast had a stare off. Then the Troll let out a bloodcurdling roar loud enough for Ruby to temporarily lose her ability to hear.

She helplessly looked at the one supposed to protect her but with one glance she could tell he was outmatched. The troll towering over him and suddenly Sir Anwir looked like even a blow of the monster could kill him.

“Hah, is that all you got?” He tried to keep his calm and not show any signs of weakness, however Ruby could see him shivering in fear.

His enemy grunted and immediately Ruby’s “hero” dropped his weapon. He sunk down to his knees, with an impression of absolute terror on his face.

“Sir Anwir, quick, grab your weapon!” Ruby shouted as she shot an arrow towards the monster.

The arrow hit its target’s eye and the beast cried out in pain and anger. That brief time frame was enough for Sir Anwir to quickly get up from the ground.

Ruby had managed to not only buy time for him, but also given him hope that they could beat the troll together.

Ruby began to instruct him on how to defeat the creature. “Now, get your sword and hit its legs while it can’t see! Then we can-” She stopped in disbelieve. Sir Anwir had ran past her, leaving her alone in the forest with a furious killer machine.

The person she thought could maybe even replace Jamie and Dorian abandoned a wounded comrade behind as soon as things got difficult. He was a fraud.

“How could you! WHAT ABOUT ALL OF YOUR TALES!? WERE THOSE ALL LIES!? HONOURLESS COWARD!!” Ruby screamed in despair, but it was too late. She was at the mercy of the monster in front of her. It was all over.

She closed her eyes and a rumbling went through her body, the troll must have hit her. However despite this conclusion, she felt no pain at all, she didn’t even notice an impact on her body- It felt more like a small earthquake.

“Huh?” Ruby opened her eyes again and saw two figures standing in front of her. The one had messy black hair and wore a white lab-coat, modelled after Dorian’s black one, the other looked just like a nobleman out of a typical fantasy story, with short brown hair.

“Torgga? Scan?” Ruby’s voice was weak after all the screaming she did, but there was no doubt in her mind about who her saviours were.

She looked around, searching for her opponent, however all she saw was a huge crater in place of where the troll had been standing a moment ago. In said crater was a small metal box, emitting a strange violet light.

“Miss, please stay calm, were here to help you, there’s no need to worry princess.” Torgga got on his knees as he spoke. Around the three of them, one of his barrier’s had been placed, explaining the lack of sound coming from the explosion.

“Dude, calm down with your fancy talk. Even if she’s a princess or whatever, she still works at Jamie’s and Dorian’s place. Geez, whenever you switch into these clothes you become a whole other person…” Scan’s annoyed voice comforted Ruby, somehow she knew that everything would work out.

“Alright, I think that’s it. WHOOHOOOO!!! It worked! Prototype A-12 was a success!” Scan was delighted for some reason. Torgga gave him sceptical look.

“What worked? Wait, do you mean that small metal box took out a troll?! T-That’s amazing! Why aren’t you mass producing it for the war, we could turn the tide with such an invention!” Now Ruby was as excited as Scan. If such a small device had such power, it would change everything, and even a common farmer could carry it around and help out in the war.

Hearing that, Torgga quickly overplayed his scepticism. “Heh, my thoughts exactly, why aren’t you mass producing them my friend?”

“Are you serious? You were the one who said ‘Eh, no please don’t do it! It’s not save yet, boohoo!’ and now you ar-” Scan was interrupted by Torgga’s hand slapped over his mouth.

Torgga smiled with a pained expression. “Nonsense! It works now doesn’t it? Once we get back I’ll finance a mass production for you.”

Hearing the word finance, Scan stopped his protesting and Torgga pulled his hand away.

“Now, I think you can lower this barrier, I need to pick prototype A-12 up ag-”

BOOM!

He was interrupted by an explosion, twice as big as the first one. The pressure nearly broke Torgga’s barrier and he needed to concentrate to keep it up against the immense force hitting them.

After it was done and they all had calmed down from the shock, Scan spoke up. “Soooo, about that finance, how much are you willing to pay?”

Instead of answering him, Torgga just glared at him with intense rage.

After walking in silence for ten minutes, Ruby being supported on both sides, Torgga on her right broke the silence. “If I see him again he’s dead…” He sounded dead serious.

As if he were provoking something by that statement, rain began falling down on them. Torgga quickly created a barrier above them, protecting them from getting soaked.

“Relax, it was highly likely for things to turn out this way and you know it.” Scan was tinkering around with his broken box, only half listening to Torgga’s mumbling. “I mean just think about the last time he was in town, he barely managed to make a scratch on that Demon, but after its dead he claimed that it was all thanks to him… WHY WON’T YOU WORK?!” Frustrated, he threw the metal cube on the ground, leaving it behind in the forest.

“Yeah, I guess you are right… But just because we knew he was a coward doesn’t mean he isn’t responsible… Damn, if only we had been faster…” Torgga gave Scan a judging look.

“Don’t look at me like that! I needed to find the A-12 okay? Also her princess wasn’t even supposed to leave this early anyways, it would have been much easier to tail her if she had been on schedule…” Scan defended himself.

“That reminds me, why did you follow me and Anwir?” Ruby suddenly asked.

Torgga and Scan looked at each other and just like Torgga and Jamie before, they seemed to have a conversation only known to them.

Finally, Scan spoke up. “Sigh, I guess we’ll tell you. It was Dorian and Jamie who send us, surprise! They knew that Anwir wasn’t the most trustworthy person and thus they hired me and Torgga to help out, you know, just in case.”

“Just in case what?” Suddenly Ruby sounded very scary.

Torgga answered in Scan’s stead. “Uhm, you know… In case something went wrong or Anwir abandoned you, in that case we should come rescue you.”

“Oh yeah? So without Anwir or you guys I wouldn’t be able to handle myself, is that it?”

Torgga swallowed audibly. “N-no, it’s just-”

Before he could go dig his grave any deeper, he was interrupted by Scan, unfazed by the furious yet calm Ruby. “They were right, weren’t they? Without us, you would have probably died out there. Listen girl, I don’t know who you think you are, a princess or a warrior but whatever you want to be, you failed today.”

Ruby looked like she wanted to protest, but Scan just kept going. “As a princess you have warriors and armies under your command, all dependent on your wise decision making, and as a warrior with a bow, you need to have an open field to lure your enemy in to kill it from a distance. Now tell me, did you do any wise decision making today? Or perhaps you were a skilled warrior? No, you stumbled close range into the enemy’s territory and lost. Maybe come down from your high ross before being angry with the ones ordering your rescue.”

Despite her wanting to counter his words, Ruby had nothing more to say. She knew that he was right, it was very unusual for her to forget such basic fundamentals of fighting. She got so caught up in wanting to make Jamie and Dorian jealous, that she stopped paying attention to everything else.

A weak smile formed on her face, as she remembered what her grandfather used to say to her: “A few mistakes may be acceptable in the long run, however in the present the details are the most crucial parts of a plan.”

Maybe I should get them a present or something, after all if they went through the trouble of inviting Torgga and Scan over. Maybe these two really do care about me after all…

* * * * *

“…then, I saw the most heart breaking thing. Our dearest, most beloved Ruby being captured by that, by that absolute cruel beast. Up till that moment, I had the monster down to its knees, practically begging for mercy, me on the other hand, I hadn’t even broken a sweat. But with Ruby captured I had no other choice but basically surrendering to it, it even took away my weapon… However despite my willingness to negotiate, the bastard just laughed as he… as he… he killed Ruby in front of my eyes… Without my sword, all I could do was flee to get reinforcements, that young girls dead shall not be in vain, WHO IS WITH ME?!” Sir Anwir had the whole room riled up, as he declared his intent for revenge. Only a few reoccurring customers and citizens were unfazed by his tear-jerking story. Two of them being Jamie and Dorian of course.

“Tavern owner, won’t you go follow me into battle, after all it is your responsibility to take care of your employees.” Sir Anwir sounded terribly tragic, but Dorian stayed unfazed.

It was obvious to him that all this served, was to shift the blame, and the hate, for Ruby’s supposed ‘death’ from Anwir to him, not a bad plan at all.

“Yeah, they should go with us and fight on the front rows, that’s the least they owe her!” Someone shouted and the crowd mumbled in agreement. While Anwir might have been a liar, he knew how to win a crowd.

Hearing this, Jamie rolled up his sleeves ready to give out a beating, but Dorian stopped him and with a smile on his face declared. “No, we will do nothing of the sorts.”

Hell broke loose. People were shouting at him and someone even threw a glass in his direction (that missed due to the person being drunk). Dorian didn’t move a muscle during all this, Jamie however mourned the loss of the shattered glass.

“That’s it, they’ll pay for this.” He muttered, cracking his knuckles.

But before he could punch anyone’s teeth in, the entrance door of the tavern flew open and in came Ruby, still being supported by Torgga and Scan because of her broken leg.

A huge grin formed on Jamie’s face, replacing his rage. “Haha! Perfect timing! LISTEN UP EVERYONE! There’s Ruby and in fact she is not dead. Now tell me Asswir, how do you explain this?”

Ashamed, the crowd stopped their protesting. Silence befell the room as everyone awaited Sir Anwir’s response to this sudden turn of events.

“…Oh my god! It must be a miracle, she lives! Now that we know that our dear Ruby is alive, we can slay the troll! Pay her no mind, I am sure those two gentlemen by her sides will take care of her.” He tried to brush over Ruby’s return, but no one was buying his lies anymore. Glares hit him like daggers, as he walked up to the door with a forced smile on his face.

“Ruby! I am so glad you are alive. You understand what happened, right? I needed to do what I did, you are smart enough to understand that, aren’t you?” He was getting desperate.

The girl he had left behind to die stared at him with disgust and disbelieve. But Ruby wasn’t the one to speak up, instead Torgga answered for her.

“Get the fuck out.” His voice was calm and collected, however his eyes were conveying an insane amount of murderous intent towards the coward in front of him.

“…What?” Sir Anwir asked, confused by this new person he had never spoken to before.

Suddenly he found himself being pushed out in the mud with immense speed. It happened so fast, he couldn’t even comprehend that it was one of Torgga’s barriers, pushing him out the tavern.

The one who threw him out, menacingly walked up to him and talked with the voice of a ruthless killer. “If you value your worthless life, then you will leave and never come back. Have I made myself clear?”

Anwir looked like he was about to die from the shock alone. He clumsily pulled himself together and ran through the rain in a hurry.

With tears in his eyes he began screaming. “Mark my words! I will have revenge on that stupid town of yours! I’ll have re-”

His cursing was cut short, due to the slippery ground he had managed to land on the ground once again, this time face first. The viewers from the pub laughed at his graceless sight as he disappeared into the woods, covered in mud.

* * * * *

“Knock knock.” Jamie said, as he entered the room with two cups in his hand. “Want a cup of hot cacao?”

“Alcohol?” Ruby asked, never having heard of this beverage.

Jamie smiled. “No, don’t worry it’s something against the pain.” He said, as he hands her the cup, taking a sip from his own, just to make a surprised face and instantly swap the cups again.

“…Hey Jamie, what’s in your cup?” Ruby asked, knowing the answer all too well.

Caught, Jamie looked away, mumbling something to himself.

Trying to change the subject, Jamie began talking to the third person in the room. “How is her healing going?”

The mage who had ignored the two’s conversation up until now turned to him. “Her leg is broken, it’s nothing a good healer can’t fix, however I specialize in another field, healing isn’t my strong suit. I but a bandage on her leg but until you find a healer, she shouldn’t move it too much.”

“Alright, thanks a bunch. Here’s your payment.” He handed the mage a small pouch of money.

“…Hey Jamie, why did you and Dorian sent Torgga and Scan to rescue me?” Ruby suddenly asked in a serious voice.

“Could you leave us alone for a while? Thank you.” As soon as the healer had left, Jamie sighed.

“When Dorian and I first came into this world, we were two assholes, seeking out a good time. I guess in a way we still are, but things have changed. Sure, we ourselves have changed, but the thing that really changed is the people around us. In our own world, we didn’t have to worry about our friends suddenly dying, here however this is a daily occurrence. We came here alone, no friends, no family and in a way the staff working at this tavern we build ourselves is something like our new family and we protect our family. In that regards, you are like a little sister to us, even if we only know each other for a few weeks… Also, who else would nag us about killing the Demon Lord, right?” Jamie smiled, poking fun at her.

“…let me guess, this doesn’t mean you’ll finally give into my request, does it?”

“Sorry, but I think you’ll need to try harder or give up. We don’t want our family to die, but what would be the point if we died ourselves? I couldn’t do that to my little sister, could I?” With a smirk on his face he left her alone again.

But for some reason she couldn’t explain, Ruby didn’t feel lonely at all, in fact she felt very warm hearing him call her little sister.

Suddenly Jamie returned. “Ah sorry to bother you again but before I forget it: Try to get fit in about two days, because we’ll have a special guest over by then and need all the staff on duty. Get well soon!”