Now that they knew that they would be receiving reinforcements as soon as possible the students’ morale quickly rose, and they returned to collecting and processing the corpses of the monster that were spread around the courtyard.

Even Kyle pitched in despite Sonia and Yuliah trying to tell him to rest much to their irritation, but Kyle had countered that he needed some way to take his mind off the nightmares that he’d had while unconscious. Eventually the two had grudgingly agreed to let him help out once Yuliah had managed to confirm that he hadn’t suffered any further injuries than the ones that they already knew about.

Not long after this Alistair returned and after checking in with Yuliah also began helping out the students and occasionally glanced over to Kyle with a conflicted look on his face. He was a little confused as to why this relatively unassuming young man was receiving so much attention from various deities, sure he had a Class that Alistair had never seen before or even heard of but other than that he just wasn’t that impressive. Alistair had seen plenty of people who had a similar amount of talent over the years and even then, not all of them had lived up to the expectations that people had thrust upon them because of their talents. In fact, other than his strange Class the only things that were really all that interesting about the young man was his ability to use Mental Energy which while relatively rare wasn’t that unusual and his companion which as far as Alistair was aware was completely unique.

He was impressed with how the boy had done fighting against the Psionbats but that was about it. It really was a bit of a mystery and he sighed as he realised that he probably wouldn’t be finding out anything more than he already knew any time soon.

Meanwhile Hal and Sonia were working away steadily to try and strip as many of the metallic feathers from the carcass of the Thunderbird. Hal who was very interested in these feathers because of their strange properties that allowed them to be very strong and flexible as well as light enough that the Thunderbird could fly. Admittedly the Thunderbird was also using magic to help it stay in the air but the feathers were still extraordinarily light as well as razor sharp which was why they were the only two working on the Thunderbird’s corpse as Hal had requested that he work with someone that he knew well and would do exactly as he asked as well as having enough Dexterity to pluck the feathers from its corpse while wearing armoured gloves to avoid tearing their hands to shreds on the sharp edges of the feathers. However, these weren’t the only reasons that he had requested Sonia’s help specifically, he had also done so at her request as she didn’t particularly want to be anywhere near Kyle until she had calmed down a little as she was understandably upset with what had happened but didn’t want to take any of her anger out on Kyle as she fully understood that it wasn’t his fault that the Psionbats had been so much more powerful than him that they had beaten him.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to talk to him?” Hal asked as he noticed Sonia glance over at their friend who was now lugging the corpses of three Psionbats over to where some of the other students were starting to process the corpses.

“I think that I need a little bit more time to sort out my feelings,” Sonia admitted as she continued to pluck feathers from the Thunderbird’s corpse. “I know that he did his best but that doesn’t change the fact that not long after he told me he would be careful he was almost killed by a group of monsters.”

“Well in his defence I wasn’t doing much better and Yuliah did point out that Psionbats like to feast on Mental Energy, so…” Hal pointed out before trailing off when Sonia turned to glare at him.

“I know that!” She snapped. “But it was still horrible for me to have to stand there singing while he fought until one of them nearly killed him.”

“Of course, it was,” Hal agreed. “And I would like to point out that I was right there and I couldn’t do anything because I wasn’t in much better shape myself, imagine my horror when I saw the look on my best friends face when that thing wrapped itself around his head and started to drain his mind dry!”

By the time Hal had finished what he had to say he was shouting and everyone nearby, including Kyle were staring at him in surprise and his face turned crimson as he realised that he was snow the centre of attention.

“Anyway,” he continued after coughing slightly in embarrassment. “If it was hard for us imagine how Kyle feels about it, he was the one that told you that he was going to be fine then nearly ended up as food for a monster after all.”

“That’s true,” Sonia replied, once she had recovered from her surprise. In all her time knowing him she could count the number of times that Hal had lost control of his emotions like that, but she supposed that if there was a time for him to do so then it would be now and started to get back to work then froze when she heard footsteps behind her.

“Uh guys, is everything okay over here?” Kyle asked quietly as he walked up behind them. Naturally he had heard what Hal had just said and he hoped that now that they had got that out of their systems, they would be willing to talk to him.

“Yes, everything is fine,” Sonia replied shortly as she turned back to the corpse of the Thunderbird and began ripping feathers from its flesh feverishly.

“See the thing is, that you don’t sound or look fine right now,” Kyle replied quietly. “I know that I messed up, but you know as well as I do that there wasn’t really anything else that I could do.”

“There were plenty of other things that you could’ve done!” Sonia snapped. “I asked you not to get yourself into the sort of situation where you could be badly hurt and guess what that’s exactly what you did!”

“Sonia that’s exactly what I want to do for a living!” Kyle responded as irritation flashing across his face. “That’s what Adventurers do remember? I was very clear in our previous conversation that was what I was planning on doing with my life right?”

“Yes,” Sonia muttered, refusing to look him in the eye. This was why she had been trying to avoid Kyle until she had sorted her emotions out.

“Now I know that it must’ve been traumatising to watch what happened to me and believe me when I say that I didn’t enjoy it either,” Kyle continued. “But better someone like me who’s been training for this most of his life than one of the innocent people inside the school.”

“I know,” Sonia all but whispered as tears started running down her face. She knew that what he was saying was completely correct and that she couldn’t expect him to always stay safe while he fought monsters.

Kyle had been very aware that some people could feel that he had failed them earlier but after talking to Yuliah and some of the other students and being told time and time again that they didn’t think that he failed him but that he had in fact done the complete opposite. Some had even pointed out that he had been the one to stand up and volunteer first which had led to the other students volunteering to help out which meant that Yuliah hadn’t been forced to use all of her MP defeating the monsters that were attacking them as well as protecting the people inside the school which might have meant that she wouldn’t have had enough MP to cast House of the Goddess when the Thunderbird arrived which would’ve been really bad if Alistair hadn’t turned up.

“I was just so worried about you!” Sonia burst out suddenly. “You were my first real friend in Farholt and one of the closest things that I have to family and I had to watch that monster latch on to you and draining your brain dry!”

“I understand that,” Kyle said more gently as he placed a hand on her shaking shoulders. “And I’m touched that you think of me as family. But I’m fine right, now aren’t I?”

“For now,” she sobbed spinning around and hugging him tight forcing Fi to take to the air with a squawk of surprise. “But what about later? What happens if I find out one day that you were killed in the line of duty?”

“That could happen,” Kyle admitted. “Adventurers die in the line of duty all the time and I could very well be one of them one day. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to change my mind about becoming an Adventurer.”

“I know,” she replied quietly.

Kyle awkwardly patted her on the back as she cried into his chest. It wasn’t like he didn’t understand where she was coming from, he had actually thought about what would happen if he died fighting monsters and it wasn’t pleasant. His parents, especially his father would blame themselves for not training him better and he would never get to see his baby sister grow up. When he died Fi would return to wherever she had been before being summoned as his companion and that was if she was lucky enough not to be killed alongside him.

“Sonia, I might not be able to promise you that I will always come back safe from whatever job I take on as an Adventurer,” Kyle told her. “All I can promise you that I will always do my best to do so.”

The two stood there just holding each other for a while with Kyle slowly getting more and more uncomfortable as he felt the gazes of those nearby burning into his back and then glared at Hal when his friend started chuckling at the situation that Kyle had found himself in.

‘Something funny?” Kyle asked his friend irritably.

“It’s just that half of the guys here are jealous of you right now,” Hal guffawed. “But I know that you two are more like brother and sister than anything else!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kyle sighed. “I know how this looks but you can’t expect me to just ignore her when she’s like this.”

“And that’s exactly what I mean,” Hal chuckled. “To me you look like a big brother embracing his sister but everyone else seems to be looking at it quite differently.”

“Well it’s none of my business how other people see it,” Kyle grumbled.

Chuckling Hal returned to plucking feathers from the Thunderbird, leaving the other two standing there embracing each other much to Kyle’s irritation. With a sigh he tried to gently push Sonia away so that he could look her in the eye.

“Sonia,” he said gently once he had managed to pry her away from his chest. “We should get back to work now.”

“Okay,” she sniffled. “If you could go and get something to put these feathers in that would be great.”

“Sure,” Kyle nodded before walking away leaving Sonia staring after him for a few seconds.

“He’s tougher than he looks,” Hal noted. “He was completely outmatched by all the monsters that he fought after we got back here, we both were but we still fought them and even then, we still managed to hold them off and help everyone defeat them.”

“Yeah,” Sonia sniffed. “You both did really well, didn’t you?”

“I’m glad you feel that way,” Hal chuckled. “So, what you’re saying is that you are, in fact proud of us, right?”

“Of course, I am,” she replied. “Why wouldn’t I be.”

“Well then make sure you tell him that when he gets back Sonia,” Hal replied nudging her with his elbow as they worked. “Because he might not have acted like it before, but he needs to hear that from you right now.”

“Okay, I can do that,” Sonia agreed. Now that she was starting to calm down a bit, she started to realise that hugging him like must’ve been embarrassing for Kyle and that she had been acting a bit selfish earlier.

“That’s my girl,” Hal chuckled glancing sideways at his friend whose skin darkened in a blush at his comment making him grin even wider. It really was impressive how far she had come since he had first met her all those years ago and he couldn’t help but to stop and feel proud of her for a few moments before turning back to his work.

“Thanks Hal,” she said eventually. “Maybe I was wrong, maybe you’re my family as well.”

“If that’s how you feel then I’m honoured,” Hal replied. “And I’m sure that my parents would be proud to have a daughter like you as well.”

Having gotten this off of their chests the two friends fell into a companionable silence and kept working only stopping to help Kyle and Fi load the feathers that they had plucked into the special sacks that he had brought to hold the feathers. Because it wasn’t unusual for monster parts to be dangerous to transport in normal sacks made of hemp it wasn’t unusual for people to use sacks made of the silk of a spider-like monsters known as Iron Silk spiders which weren’t particularly dangerous and could be domesticated by someone with the Monster Taming Skill which could only be used on monsters considerably weaker than the user. Iron Silk Spiders were about the size of the palm of the average human and their bites were relatively harmless, being bitten enough times could kill someone but such incidents were uncommon due to most people who came into contact with them having the Poison Resistance Skill.

Yuliah smiled as she watched the students go to work, it was good to see that they weren’t letting the events of the day prevent them from working just then she noticed movement in the sky and looked up to see two familiar figures floating down to them.

“Hello everyone, how are things going here?” Zerah asked as she and Figz landed in the middle of the courtyard.

“Surprisingly well considering everything,” Yuliah replied as Figz took to the air once again and started flying back in the same direction that he had come from waving at the students as he passed over their heads. “There are a few badly injured people inside, but we’ve all done the best that we can do to treat them and keep them and the other civilians inside safe.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like anyone out here is injured past a bruise or two so I’m guessing that I’m needed more inside,” Zerah agreed after looking around at the working students to make sure that she didn’t need to see to any injuries as Kyle and the others rushed over to make sure that she was alright. “It’s good to see that you all made it here in one piece.”

“Never mind that!” Hal exclaimed. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she replied. “It wasn’t an easy fight, but I managed to get out alright with the help of Galdon and Figz.”

“Alright that’s enough of that,” Yuliah interrupted before they could ask any further questions. “Zerah is needed inside right now, I give you permission to follow her and continue the conversation if you wish, actually I recall that one of your friends is badly injured and might appreciate a visit from you if he’s awake.”

“Actually, that’s a good idea,” Kyle agreed. “I know that I’d like to see how Damian’s doing.”

“Well that sounds like a good idea, especially if you would be willing to help out with what you can,” Zerah agreed.

“Of course,” Kyle chuckled. “I wouldn’t want to just be in your way.”

Hal and Sonia quickly agreed and followed Zerah and Kyle into the school, while Ulrich and Gloria who didn’t know Damian that well decided to stay outside and take over plucking the Thunderbird’s feathers under the watchful eye of Yuliah.

The inside of the main building was filled to the brim with people who had chosen the school as a place to shelter from the attacking monsters and Kyle nodded to several acquaintances as they passed to one of the larger classrooms under the direction of a volunteer. Inside the room was filled with the injured and various volunteers who were rushing back and forth under the direction of the few people who actually had classes related to healing.

Spotting someone that she recognised as one of the best healers in Greenhearth Zerah and the others walked up to her.

“Petra, what’s the situation?” Zerah asked in a business-like manner as the tall blonde elvish woman turned to her.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here Zerah,” Petra said in relief. “I’ve managed to triage all of the injured, but we just don’t have enough skilled healers to get to everyone. We’ve unfortunately had three deaths so far.”

“Alright can you take me where I’m most needed and then get someone to take these three to a young man called Damian,” Zerah requested. “I believe he has a badly injured leg if that helps.”

“Ah, yes I recall that young man, he’s been very brave, as I expect of one of your students,” Petra recalled. “He’s not in the group that requires immediate attention, although he is rapidly approaching that point due to blood loss.”

“Wait isn’t his leg is almost completely ruined,” interrupted Hal. “How is not someone who requires immediate attention?”

“He requested that we treat some of the more wounded children before him,” Petra explained gently. “However, I can tell you that a friend of his, a young woman with blonde hair has been keeping a close eye on him.”

“That must be Claire,” Kyle noted as a relieved look passed over his face. The last time he had seen her she had been unconscious, so it was a relief to hear that she was up and about and even making herself helpful.

“Yes, I believe that was her name,” Petra agreed. “Ah here she is now in fact.”

Sure, enough Kyle turned around only to be enveloped in a hug for the second time that day.

“Oh my gosh it’s good to see that you’re all okay,” Claire said excitedly as she started tugging Kyle away from where he had been standing, much to his bewilderment, Fi’s discomfort and the amusement of the others. “Follow me everyone, Damian is over here.”

Petra and Zerah watched the four kids walk away for a few seconds before turning back to their work.

“Well that was interesting,” Petra noted. While the elvish woman was used to dealing with Adventurers, she didn’t really have anything to do with the students at the school and it was quite odd to her to see how surprisingly cheerful all of the students that were helping her out were. Which she of course appreciated as it helped to keep the spirits of everyone else higher than they would otherwise be.

“Yes, they are an interesting group,” Zerah agreed. “Of course, that goes for all of my students so it’s just not that surprising to me anymore. Now, not to rush you or anything but I believe there are some people who need our help?”

“Ah, yes, sorry,” Petra apologised as her ears turned red in embarrassment. “Please follow me.”