Armei went up to the main deck to take a breather. The voyage had just begun. Jarvarax and Remina were both talking about the new cleric, which prompted Armei to leave and “get some fresh air”. In the end, Armei still couldn’t accept her.

Kalaman Kampus was a hero, and one of the most powerful men of this generation. That, Armei knows for sure. As a half-elf, her life has been long, and she’s seen warriors come and go. And among the warriors she’s met, Kalaman was in a league of his own. Even Jarvarax, Remina, and herself weren’t qualified to stand by his side all that much.

So, what place did that cleric even have here?

None.

As it stood, she could never stand alongside him. She didn’t deserve to. It would be much better for both that cleric and the party to part ways. She would be much better off in a team closer to her skill level so that she wouldn’t get left behind in the dust.

The wind was frigid. Having lived most of her life in the sandy cities of eastern Veil, she wasn’t very used to the cold, or ship rides in general. She shivered briefly, before taking a deep breath and regaining her composure.

Maybe it was because she had just focused herself, but she could hear a faint sound of groaning behind her. Turning around, she saw a familiar figure slumped over the railing way back of the ship, atop the poop deck. A pure white dress, contrasted by her long hair that was black as charcoal ... Nentonia Brava the Cleric looked like she had just vomited out all her insides into the sea.

It didn’t take much observation to know that this was her first time riding a ship. She held onto the railings for dear life, and had her head hung low as she sat on her knees, her back bobbing up and down with her exhausted, heavy breaths.

Her inexperience was clear as day. The place they were headed—the newfound continent of Feralter—was a highly dangerous place, filled to the brim with unknowns. A greenhorn like her wouldn’t last a day.

The ship had already sailed, but something had to be done about her.

With forceful steps, Armei approached Nentonia. Nentonia raised her head upon noticing her approach, her eyes, a nauseating yellow, gazing right through hers.

Nentonia forcefully smiled, trying to hide her queasy expression. It wasn’t very convincing, considering how green her face was already. “Ah, greetings. Pardon my unsightliness. Urgh ... I didn’t think a ship would shake this much, so it caught me by surprise. I’ll be fine in a few minutes or so, don’t worry. Um ... Mei, was it?”

“It’s Armei,” she replied, irritated.

“Oh, so Mei was a nickname. My apologies. It’s just that, uh, the bard ... Remina? That’s what she called you, so I assumed—”

“Listen,” Armei interrupted her. “I don’t know what you did to have Kalaman accept you, but I won’t beat around the bush. You’re only going to slow us down.”

Nentonia stared at her with a neutral expression, as if she already knew what she was going to say. Or was it that she just didn’t care?

“I figured,” she replied with a nervous chuckle. “I don’t know why Kalaman asked me to join him either, so I’m just as confused as you are.”

“He asked you?”

Nentonia looked at her, tilting her head. “That’s correct.”

“Why?”

“You know him more than I do. I was actually hoping to ask you about it.”

None of this made sense. What was it that Kalaman saw in her? Why would he seek her out and bring her here?

Could it be that he...?

No, that couldn’t be it. It wasn’t like him at all. He wouldn’t concern himself with matters like that. Not him. Armei knew that better than anyone else.

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“...This ship will stop at Tisah,” Armei continued, ignoring those thoughts. “As soon as we arrive, leave. No need to say goodbye, just leave, then and there, without letting Kalaman know.”

Nentonia stood up and stared directly at Armei with that unreadable vacant smile of hers. “Sure.”

A straightforward response that Armei wasn’t at all expecting. She expected her to give more of a resistance. But this brought a troubling and dangerous possibility concerning her true intentions.

“Sure, you say?”

The cleric nodded without saying anything else. The sun was rising behind her, and her face was blanketed by her own shadow, her eyes seemingly glowing in that slight darkness. What on earth was going on inside that head of hers?

“...What do you want?” Armei asked. “What exactly are you after, Brava?”

“I want to become an adventurer, that’s all. I was invited to a party, so I joined. If you want me to leave, then I’ll just find another party.”

Armei couldn’t tell if she was lying or not. Her expression did not betray whatever thoughts brewed underneath that ever so slight smile of hers.

A random adventurer joining the hero’s party, and agreeing to leave the moment the voyage ended without hesitation. There was the possibility that whatever her true goal was, it was attainable during this voyage. Armei wasn’t well versed in schemes—those things were Van Lendi’s forte—but she did know that Kalaman has had many enemies in the past, and more than half of them used other tactics when they realized that brute strength could not overcome him.

Nentonia Brava unnerved her.

“If you know what’s good for you, then you will leave at Tisah, for your sake and his.”

With those words, Armei walked away. Armei did not think that someone as weak as her could ever assassinate Kalaman, but just in case, she decided to keep an eye on her for now.

Well, assassin or not, she still had to leave this party. If she was too weak aid or kill Kalaman, then she was less than useless here.

Kicking her out like this would probably earn her Kalaman’s ire if he ever found out, but that didn’t matter to Armei. The only thing that mattered to her was if Kalaman got the support he needed.

That was all that mattered.

†

A month had passed. By this point, the voyage was already halfway. For the most part, things were sailing smoothly. There haven’t been any pirates or sea monsters yet, so that meant Armei and the rest didn’t have much to do except wander around or laze about. Sitting around in the room was making Armei’s body and mind numb, so ever now and then she’d go on “patrols” around the ship, though it was just an excuse to have something to do.

During one of these patrols, she came across Remina, who also liked to wander around the ship. She was the kind of person you’d describe as “restless”, so Armei expected this from her even before the voyage began.

“I keep tryin’ to talk to the crew, but man, they’re pretty unsociable,” Remina said as she tagged along with Armei. “Every reply’s just a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’, if they’d even reply at all!”

“It’s not really our job to socialize with them anyway. If they want to be left alone, I say let them be alone. Our job’s to protect, not to befriend, right?”

Remina stared at Armei for a while, then chuckled. “You’re pretty unsociable too, aren’t ya, Mei?”

“I socialize when I need to,” she sighed. “Really, diplomacy’s for you and Jarvarax to handle. All I can do is fight.”

After saying that, Armei heard Remina chuckle again.

“You know, you’ve changed a lot, haven’t ya? If it was you from before, you’d have blown your lid the moment I said that. Ah, those were fun days! You really mellowed out since then. I remember you always kept verbally harassin’ Kal for no reason.”

“Ugh ... stop reminding me,” Armei clutched her head in embarrassment and shame, though this only made Remina laugh even harder.

Those were days Armei didn’t look fondly back on. She had a pretty unhealthy attachment to Kalaman back then, though because she was unaware of her own feelings, she lashed out against him often. Ever since she came to terms with her emotions towards him, she’s calmed down.

“Oh! Speak of the devil!” Remina said.

In front of them, at the end of the hall, was Kalaman. For a brief second, Armei’s chest tightened. Even after all this time, it was hard to forget those emotions. But it was fine. Things were different now. These emotions were under her control now.

She wanted to walk forward and greet him. But the moment she was about to take that step, another figure appeared from around the corner.

Nentonia Brava stopped in front of Kalaman and engaged in conversation with him.

Armei was unable to hear what the two of them were talking about, but her sharp elven eyes were able to see their expressions. Nentonia, as usual, had that façade of a smile she usually wore.

And, even if only slightly, the edge of Kalaman’s mouth rose up to form a faint smile as he talked.

“Ah, Nen’s there too! Let’s go say hi!” Remina said.

“...No, I’m heading back.”

“What? But—”

“I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”

Armei turned around and walked away. She really did want to sleep. Just close her eyes and rest away this strange feeling.

Kalaman’s never smiled before. She’s never seen him smile, even a little.

No, that meant nothing. Kalaman’s the same as he was before. He wouldn’t...

“...”

Ever since the voyage began, it’s been hard to breath. There was a heavy weight inside her that had begun to fester, digging its claws deeper and holding tightly.

Why did he ask her to join the party?

Why her?

“...Damnit.”

What unnecessary thoughts.