“Did I perhaps interrupt your fun?” I asked with a tinge of anger.

While I was out there in Great Hiana getting jumped by bandits, hopping from transport wagon to transport wagon, barely making it to Melgam, then suffering out at sea for a considerable time, these assholes were having fun in a comfy cottage? Well, to give credit where credit is due, the fare from Melgam to Sibirus was quite enjoyable thanks to the Captain teaching me chess. And Lee gave me quite the generous welcome, despite the fact I was meant to be a prisoner, but even still, what the hell are they doing?

“I’ll repeat this once more,” said Sullivan, “what exactly are you doing here? You should be back home by now, wallowing in your shame as you got kicked out of this very party who greeted you with open arms!”

He seemed quite taken aback by my nonchalant entrance, choosing to immediately start interrogating me. Isn’t saying that in this situation kind of making you a hypocrite? I don’t feel that welcomed, in all honesty.

“I apologized, you didn’t have to leave me on a bench.” I stated calmly, “At least have the decency to rent a room for the night, my back is killing me!”

I thought making light of the situation with some jokes would ease the tension, but everyone just looked at me with fearful eyes as Miss Dola spoke up with an unsure tone.

“U-Uhm, seriously though, didn’t Sully tell you to go back home? Why come back now of all times, did the rewards entice you that much?”

This question struck me as odd. I was never confronted by ‘Sully’ and peacefully told to go home, nor did I ever plan on returning with my tail tucked between my legs. I said I’d follow this trip through to the end, and I am nothing if not a man of my word!

“If you consider ‘abandoning me on a bench without saying a word and leaving on your own’ then sure, he did.” I remarked, “Instead of just rushing through things the way you did, Sullivan, you could’ve taken your own advice and tried to keep this party together as best as you could.”

“I did, idiot!” he hissed, “If I kept you on the team any longer, then everyone would just crumble before we even made it here! I simply let you go back home to rethink the way you treat your temper, and not try to get rich with commissions above your league from here on!”

The rest of the party just gave Sullivan a disappointed look that screamed “You lied to us, and did such a horrible thing to him?” I quite enjoyed the spectacle, and he seemed quite embarrassed himself, but I’ll never get back home if I keep dawdling on trivial matters like this.

“Listen, man,” I started my monologue, “I really wish things were that simple. To tell you the truth, I really did want to just give up and go home. I have a very young daughter at home waiting for me with her mother, and every day it pains me to not be with them. But things aren’t that simple. I’m not doing this for the money, I was commissioned (or rather drafted) on this trip forcefully by the ITA, and I had no other choice but to take it, otherwise I’d be branded as a deserter due to the sheer importance of this commission.”

“What?” Sullivan calmed down as he uttered, “You were forced?”

“Never mind that!” Miss Lionheart and Miss Dola shouted out, “You’ve a wife!? AND A KID?!?”

Oh, did I forget to mention that? Well, Cecily isn’t my wife (yet), but I was sure I mentioned Nelly. Maybe I forgot to say it in my introduction due to the argument… Wait, did I even introduce myself at all?

“I’m sorry,” Linus smiled warmly, “could this lady friend of yours be that young girl you introduced me to at the party over at Melgam?”

“Indeed, Cecily and my lover are one and the same,” I complimented his memory, “but we are yet to be married, as we are too young to be thinking of that just yet!”

“But… A KID?!” Miss Dola raised her voice once again, “How are you not young enough to have a kid?! Aren’t you like, 14??”

“16, to be precise, but who’s counting, am I right?” I raised my hands as I shrugged, making a smug face all the while.

They all seemed intrigued-no, rather, surprised at that fact, regardless of how scary the situation was just moments prior. The room went from being heated to bustling with joyful question after joyful question. Linus sided with me, commending my determination to not give up even with Sullivan’s actions. He vouched for me as well, claiming I was quite the pleasant person to be around, surmising that the only reason I was rowdy during the party’s first meeting was because I was anxious about leaving my family behind.

Miss Lionheart and Miss Dola listened to the old man’s words rather intently, in the end apologizing to me for them being difficult and jumping to conclusions. Sullivan clicked his tongue once more at the exchange, he didn’t really seem happy with being chewed out by Old Man Linus, but he’s the only one at fault here, so I digress.

What followed shortly after was the questioning of Lune Grimheart about his family’s details:

“How’d you two meet?” Miss Lionheart asked.

“W-We met in an alleyway. Her brother tried m-mugging me.” I whimpered.

They raised their eyebrows at my answer, leading to Sullivan breaking out into a fit of laughter. He started mocking my choice in women even more, asking why I’d ever go out with a girl with such a dangerous person close to her.

“Take that back!” I grit my teeth, “Carter was a great man, our first meeting was nothing more than him trying to put food on their plates. He sacrificed his life to save both mine and our daughter’s life from a burning building. Now try calling him ‘dangerous’ one more time…”

Again, an awkwardness that was incomparable to any other hit them head on, making the room go eerily quiet once more. Sullivan blushed out of embarrassment once more, quietly murmuring I’m sorry for your loss through his teeth. The other party members quickly followed suit and expressed their condolences. I made sure to thank them and calm down, as I didn’t want to strain our relationship any further. In fact, I’d say we’re finally getting to know each other really well, so I’d rather refrain from lashing out.

“Cecily and I really bonded over our shared interest in books.” I said, trying to lighten the mood, “She read romantic comedies, whilst I read Action Adventures, even still we’d spend hours in the library just talking about the books we’ve read and exchanging recommendations.”

I felt a smile well up from inside of me, making the party members more at ease as well. I guess they’re finally seeing the real me as well.

“Alright, next question!” Miss Dola continued the interrogation, “Is she cute?”

“Of course!” I didn’t skip a beat in answering, “She’s quite petite, a bit shorter than you, Miss Dola! But her hair is long, with a bright red hue to it! She always wears this adorable robe on her because she thinks it makes her look cool and mysterious, but in my opinion it just accentuates her cuteness!”

“Are they big or small?” Miss Lionheart asked offhandedly with a bored expression.

“Pardon?” I had her repeat, as I didn’t quite understand what she meant by these words.

“Her breasts, I mean.” she said, “Are they on the bigger or smaller side?”

My face quickly got red upon thinking about it. Certainly, they’re on the smaller side, to the point they’re quite flat, but doesn’t that just make her extra cute? I can’t imagine a Cecily with b-bigger b-breasts…!

“U-Uhh, s-she’s small…” I murmured while fiddling with the edges of my coat.

They certainly seemed to have enjoyed that reaction quite a bit, teasing me for my naivety in the field of male-female relations. I feel like I might’ve opened a dangerous can of worms with this answer. Maybe I should’ve lied after all. But no, Linus already met Cecily, he’d give it away immediately! Aargh!

“I think this leads us beautifully into the next question!” Miss Lionheart clapped her hands together as she asked, “How could you even get it up when your girl has such a childlike body?”

“Get it up?” I asked once more, not quite understanding the jargon she’s using.

The entire party (including even Linus) collectively facepalmed as Miss Lionheart sighed and pointed to my crotch. She then asked how I even made a baby if I wasn’t introduced with such terms.

“Whuh-?! You’re not talking about that thing, right?” I asked shyly, “That thing Aaron taught me way back, the thing guys and girls do in bed…! In other w-words…S-S-Se…-!”

“Yes! I’m talking about that, damn it!” she hit the table with her fist, making the teacups wobble at the sheer force of the impact, “If you’re saying you haven’t done it yet, then how did you even have a baby, damn it?!”

“Oh, Nelly’s adopted.” I shot back with a smile, “Carter named her in his last moments.”

Everything seemed to have suddenly started making sense, with everyone going Oooooh, now I get it! They complimented Nelly’s name, calling it cute and such, as well as asking for a picture.

“Come on guys,” Sullivan said as he sipped his tea, “why would anyone carry around a picture of their daughter?”

“Because she’s too cute!” I exclaimed as I proudly pulled the somewhat burned picture of Nelly out of my pockets.

They all n’awwed and wooowed after taking a long hard look at the infinite source of serotonin that Nelly’s likeness holds. I felt quite proud, in a way! They questioned the scorch marks on the edges, to which I explained I got kidnapped by some bandits on my way here (they shot daggers at Sullivan for that one, but he apologized once more, so it’s okay).

All in all, this was the first time I looked at any of them with a smile on my face, and I’m sure they feel the same way. I asked how far they’ve gotten into the dungeon, hoping they made some good progress, to which I got a not-so-good reply.

“We made it to the entrance, but didn’t really know what to do from then on.” Miss Dola stuck her tongue out while looking away cheekily.

“Marina!” Sullivan reprimanded her, “I-It’s not that we didn’t know how to clear the entrance, we were just scoping out the scenery, looking for traps and such! Schnell’s handbook states dungeons are filled with traps, so we gotta be wary!”

“Ah, I see! Caution is well-advised!” I complimented their sources, “Schnell is the greatest adventurer to live in this world, so I’m sure you can’t go wrong with listening to his wisdom!”

He seemed to raise his eyebrows in surprise at my positive reaction, looking away as he giggled to himself. He murmured something about me not being as bad as he thought at first, which I took as both a compliment and an insult.

“Well then,” I said as I finished drinking my tea, “we’ll check it out tomorrow and hopefully find a clear way inside. Until then, I’d like to rest please, as the journey here has been quite tough on my body.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.” They all said as they got into their respective beds.

For the first time in a while, I had people-no, friends who I could say Goodnight to, and for the first time in a while, I had friends who would say Goodnight back. I have traveled quite a ways away from home, haven’t I? Making it from this comfy little village in the sticks of Secundis, to traveling around the entirety of Trivis Numerica. I made a brief visit to the Kingdom of Carmen, but I’ll have to revisit it sometime in the not-so-distant future to properly document it. Great Hiana was a blast, and I have a ton of friends there who I can’t wait to talk to once I get back! Yes, I see now: friends. The entire point of this Grand Journey of mine is to:

1) Travel the world, documenting as many things as I can

2) Meet as many like-minded individuals who are on the same wavelength as me, essentially giving me a network of friends all across the world!

Well, all that will come in the future, as for now, ZZZzzzzz…