Despite everything, the army was in a good mood.

Objectively, Robert understood that they had plenty to celebrate. Despite two battles in two days, one of which was an ambush, they hadn’t suffered any casualties. No injuries even. Not even a scratch.

The monsters of the north each had bounties attached to them. Between the many doomhawks they’d shot down and the titan killed by Sir Polluck, their army had already earned quite a few crowns. It was amazing considering they weren’t even a week into the campaign. He understood now why the acolytes risked their lives in the north rather than getting conventional work in Quest. The reward was certainly worth the risk. Especially when it came with certain perks.

It was difficult to maintain a bad attitude when everyone around him would rather celebrate. Lourianne’s creature was an excellent cook. He had been wary of eating anything prepared by the thing but after hearing dozens of compliments, and watching one man cry into his bowl, he couldn’t stop himself from tasting it. He was glad he did. The simple soup was the best thing that had ever touched his tongue. He was ashamed to say not even his mother’s cooking could compare.

At least he had the composure not to go for seconds.

The others had no such restraint. They filled their bellies before stumbling off to their tents. It was their last night of relaxation, or as much as could be had in the north. While the armies were together, the knights wouldn’t tolerate the less experienced hunters protecting them but once they struck out on their own, they would have to pull their own weight.

“If you’re just gonna scowl all night, might as well go to sleep. You’re ruining my drink.”

Robert looked over his shoulder. It took a few moments for him to recognize the man standing a couple of steps away. He looked very different from how Robert thought of him. In his mind, when he thought of Arthur, he recalled a loud voice and wild hair. The soft-spoken, serious, neatly groomed man was a stranger. If he hadn’t met the new Arthur once in Lourianne’s home, he didn’t think he would have recognized him at all.

Along with a bowl of soup, he held a brown bottle. He brought it to his lips, taking two large gulps before dropping it. “By the deep, I can’t wait till this is over. It’s cold as a sea hag’s heart in this place. Can you believe these crazy bastards choose to live in this crap all year long? Their whole lives? I thought Graywatch was full of lunatics but Victory takes the crown.”

“…what do you want?” Robert was both confused and unnerved by the man’s sudden friendliness.

“Didn’t I tell you? Your nasty face is ruining my drink.”

“Drink somewhere else.”

“The fire’s over here.”

Robert shook his head. He might have cleaned up but the pirate-son was still the same rude bastard on the inside. He shook his head and turned away. After marching two days straight, he was too cold and tired for a fight. But before he could escape, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

Robert scowled over his shoulder. “I was leaving.”

“You should grow a spine, hero. Come here. Drink with me.”

He briefly tried resisting being pulled closer to the fire but gave up rather quickly, settling for a frown as he let himself be dragged forward. The fact that he was being dragged toward the succubus still serving delicious food also factored into his lack of willpower. Once they were in line, Arthur’s grip loosened. “So, hero,” the pirate-son drawled. “We’ve got a problem.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, this isn’t the place for problems.”

“Exactly. Got plenty of problems surrounding us. The last thing the captain needs to worry about is dissent amongst the crew. So, go on. Tell this big brother. What exactly is your problem with the lady handing out the gold?”

“…it’s nothing someone like you can understand.”

“I believe that. Where I come from, we give goodwill to goodwill and don’t dive into shark-infested waters. You’re damn right I have no idea why you’ve got a hate hard-on for a woman that’s done you kindness several times and can snap you in half with her little finger.”

“Kindness!” he shouted. Several gazes turned to them and Robert lowered his voice. “How has that woman done me any kindness?”

“I can name plenty of things but I’m more interested in what she did that was so wrong.”

Robert scoffed. “What did she do that was so wrong? She ate my friend.” He might have been cloistered away with the others when the titan attacked but he had been watching the fight. There was no way he could miss the appearance of the mount gifted to him by his mentor. The one eaten by a purple slime.

He hadn’t put it together until he saw the winged creature diving toward the titan. Then it him like a fire arrow to the face. Something he had the displeasure of experiencing, though the spell had lacked heat in his training.

“Really? Saints’ blessed asses, I didn’t know the captain could eat people. The elf…eh. Definitely those creatures she keeps. Guess they’ve finally corrupted her. Who was it then? Some poor lad, I bet. I can only see her eating women in one way, heh.”

“It was my mount.”

Arthur looked at him in disbelief. “Your mount.”

“Yes. Thorgood.”

“…you’re challenging that monster for a horse?”

“He was a roc!” Robert spat out. “Gifted to me by my mentor. My friend. And she ate him.”

The pirate-son took another swig of his bottle. “You summer boys really think different. To think you’d challenge a captain because of a pet. Fuck. If Lou came to Graywatch, she could stab someone’s mother and they’d forgive her.” He shook his head. “Why’d she do it anyway? Lou’s not the type to kill someone’s pet for no reason.”

“That’s exactly what happened.”

“Really? You didn’t do anything wrong?”

Robert frowned. “I guess…I’m the one who attacked first.”

“Ha!”

“No! It’s not—" He had to check his volume, taking a deep breath to calm his rising temper. “She was in the form of that purple slime. I thought she was a manabeast that had raided a den of the creatures we were after. And we didn’t start with an attack. We tried to scare her off. At any time, she could have turned into a human and told us to back off. Instead, she eats Thor and attacks us.”

Arthur hummed. Before he could respond, they reached the front of the line. Robert stiffened as he stood before the smiling succubus. He was surprised to see Arthur was just as uncomfortable.

The creature took no notice as she grabbed their bowls and filled them. “Don’t stay up too long boys,” she said in her alluring voice. “We have a long day tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” Arthur said quickly, dragging Robert away before he could blurt out his inner thoughts. There was silence as the two of them enjoyed their meal before Arthur continued their conversation from earlier. “Eating your friend was wrong. But you got to look at it from her point of view. She was alone with a bunch of treasure and five bandits swooped down on her. She had the right to defend herself.”

“She wouldn’t have needed to defend herself if she just spoke to us.”

“I wouldn’t want to speak with people trying to rob me either. Besides, she warned you.”

“What do you know?” Robert asked. “You weren’t even there. She didn’t give any warning.”

“Hey, hero. Didn’t your daddy tell you never to fight a eat a fish you don’t recognize? And the hunters teach their own not to fight unknown manabeasts. She didn’t want to expose herself, which is understandable. Maybe she didn’t say anything because she expected you to have the sense not to fight her. How did she know you were idiots?”

Robert shook his head. “If she wanted to warn us off, she could have done so without killing Thor.” He knew that for sure after witnessing her fighting the titan.

“Maybe after you attacked her, you pissed her off. Lou has a fickle temper.”

“Why are you defending her?” Robert asked, exasperated.

“I’m doing my part to educate the future Harvest Hero.” Arthur drained the last of his bottle, sighing as he licked away the last drops.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m lying. The captain is worried about you. Thinks you’re going to be a problem. You don’t want to be a problem. A lot of men go missing in the north.”

Robert stiffened, looking at the man beside him with new eyes. His gaze flicked around his surroundings, taking in the many witnesses. It was a bluff. Not that he didn’t like his chances against the other man but there’d be consequences. “Is that a threat?”

“Of course not. If she wanted you gone, you’d be gone. We’re talking because she doesn’t want to hurt you. See? Kindness aplenty.”

“I don’t need anything from her.”

Arthur sighed. “You really need to open your eyes to the world, hero. Hopefully you learn to see things a little more clearly on this trip.” He walked away, carelessly tossing aside the empty bottle. “Lest you don’t return from it.”