"Okay, but I just got the Queen, so that should count double or triple at least," Volcatia said.

"C'mon, how can you know that?" Carl protested while looking down at her, one hand stretched out towards the partially-destroyed castle. "You did that thing where it looked like you were holding the car and then it disappeared again. You're just putting it back into your inventory and using some skill, aren't you."

"What!" She glared up at him. "Are you accusing me of fucking cheating, Carl?"

"Then how do you explain all those times the cars just disappeared when you were holding 'em? There's just that big flash, and then they're gone, and there's a hole in the castle."

"I fucking told you! It's complicated shit!"

"Yeah, but what does that even mean?"

"I don't… I don't fucking know! I'm bad at explaining!"

"Try me."

"Urgh, fine! I put a car on my hand like this, and I've got my two fingers out like a guide, and then there's a lot of these fucking ions in a line from each one with a set charge, and I shoot all these electron things up one finger through the car down to my other finger, where I've got all these protons and less electrons, and it becomes this electromagnetic force shit, and the whole fucking thing feels like it's gonna explode, and then the car goes—See? I fucking told you!"

"Sounds…almost…like a railgun?"

"I'm gonna regret this, but what the fuck's a railgun?"

"Really? You've never heard of… Well, it's, uh… It's a type of gun powered by electricity and magnetism. Ugh, hard to remember all the way back to those physics classes… Wait, you're using your fingers as the rails? Sounds like that's gotta be a bug—though also it's crazy they went that far on the implementation. Don't think that should be long enough for the current to… And how can you even generate enough power for something like that anyway?"

"Uh… Um… I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about. If I use a lot of current though, it'll look like this."

"Whoa! How freaking far… You can shoot that out of your hand?!"

"Yeah?"

"Alright, well I guess the physics at least sort of make sense now. Maybe. That's pretty cool. Hold on, didn't you say you couldn't use magic?"

"I can't."

"How's that not magic?"

"I don't know. It's just not. Anyway, I'm calling triple for getting the queen."

"But how do you even know you got her?"

"Carl, trust me. I'm a main character, remember? Obviously if anyone's gonna be killing a queen, it'll be me. Hey, stop laughing!"

"You first."

"Fine. Let's call this contest a draw."

"A draw it is, oh great main character. How embarrassing to not even be able to beat a side character like me in a simple car throw—"

"Urgh, I definitely would've won if you weren't using your stupid Long Bomb skill to get over the barrier."

"Can't be mad just because the cars kept shredding themselves the first few times you tried throwing them too hard. I even said that was gonna be part of the challenge this morning."

"Can't believe you were right about that…"

"Might be a noob, but I'm not gonna just sit back like some kinda boring side character."

Volcatia started laughing again, and Carl chuckled a little.

This was another great day.

"That was really fun," he said. "You were right, I guess. Gotta start getting back to my roots a little more. Sometimes, at least."

She grinned.

Was every day going to be this great from now on?

It seemed hard to believe, but…

"I'm gonna put the rest of my cars back," Carl said.

"Yeah, good point. Don't wanna be carrying this shit around forever." She grabbed his shoulder again and stepped off the roof. "Good work not landing on your fucking head again," she said when they landed.

"Ugh…" Carl chuckled again with reluctance. "Gotta be the dumbest bug ever."

She'd been thinking about his obvious use of 'bug' to mean 'annoyance'.

Was it good?

Did she like it?

"Yeah, seems like a bug to me," she tried.

Mm.

Maybe.

She'd have to try it a few more times.

"Huh, I only had one left," Carl said as he put a car down on the street.

Volcatia checked her Inventory. "I don't have any left. Good time to stop."

"Pretty lucky. Whew, that was way more fun than I expected."

"Really was," she said while randomly looking around in case there was something else that seemed fun nearby. "Hey, Carl, is that your guy?" she asked, pointing.

"I'm gonna kill that fucking kid," Carl snarled. He immediately sprinted off.

Just when she imagined the day couldn't get more fun.

She caught up and remained a step behind him as they approached the brown-haired, pale man pulling a fully-clothed woman with her head wrapped in a scarf into a narrow street by a pink leash.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Hey!" Carl shouted.

The young man turned just in time for Carl's hand to catch him under the throat and slam him against the wall of a nearby building.

"Remember me?" Carl growled.

Volcatia stood off to the side, a grimace forming on her face.

Her Leg Sense was informing her of something unpleasant.

They'd never really met before, but her knowledge was unmistakable.

Why did it have to be this fucking elf?

Fuck.

"Let Tomas go!" the elf cried pitifully, pulling at Carl's arm.

Carl glared down at her. "Fuck off," he said.

Volcatia walked forward with a sigh. "Delsanra," she called.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

The brown-haired elf she'd never really met turned back to her and tilted her head in confusion.

Volcatia put her hands around the elf's shoulders and tugged her backwards, wrapping her arms around the taller woman's stomach when the she tried to rush back to her captor's aid.

Her surroundings became suddenly uncomfortable.

She wanted to be somewhere else.

She didn't want to do this for real.

"No! Let me go!" Delsanra shouted as she squirmed, trying to break free. "I need to help Tomas!"

Tomas himself was kicking and struggling, trying to free himself from Carl's ten million Strength.

He was a Char though, so it was impossible.

He was weak.

"Mina told me what you tried to do," Carl said, shifting his glare back to the man he was holding aloft. "Are you fucking serious, kid? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Please let me go," Delsanra whined as she thrashed. "Please! I need to help master!"

This wasn't the worst of it though.

Fuck, maybe today wasn't such a great day.

Volcatia sighed, already imagining how it would end up.

Again.

She didn't want to check.

She'd just let it happen this time.

Tomas's face was turning purple from lack of air.

He was human, after all.

Volcatia was once again very aware of the fact that she wasn't.

And then Carl let him down. His chest heaving, his jaw set, his eyes narrowed, he released his grip and stepped back.

Tomas fell to the ground and lay there, gasping for breath.

Carl shook, his face red with rage.

But there was something in his eye.

Volcatia recognized the look.

Throwing cars at people from a distance and crushing them or watching them be killed by the dungeon's traps weren't direct methods of killing people.

He wanted to do it.

His fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly.

He moved forward slightly, but then he drew back the same amount.

Whatever else he was, Carl wasn't someone who could kill another person like this.

Volcatia could though.

She'd done it plenty of times.

She raised her hand to the back of Delsanra's neck and shocked her.

The elf went limp in her arms, and she laid her carefully on the ground.

"Carl," she said, walking forward. "I'll deal with him."

Carl took in another deep breath and again moved towards the prone man, but she held him back with one hand.

"Carl," she said more firmly. "I'm gonna take you back to check on Mina." She sparked from her other hand, and Tomas stopped moving. "Leave this to me."

She needed Tomas alive anyway, she'd realized.

For now.

Volcatia moved them back to the main floor of the workshop.

Carl brought up a clenched fist in front of his face, then let out a sigh and dropped it, turning his head away. "Sorry, I guess I really am too noob for this."

"I'll come back later," she said before moving back to stand between Tomas and Delsanra.

Maybe she'd bring him back a trophy.

If she could.

She crouched down and picked up Tomas, throwing him over her shoulder like a sack of grain. Then she carefully picked up Delsanra, cradling her larger body awkwardly with her other arm.

She moved again, this time to somewhere else entirely.

A quiet, peaceful forest.

A place of parting.

She remained standing in place while tossing her burdens down.

Volcatia decided to be faster, and then she was.

She was the fastest.

An instant passed.

She stopped watching.

She moved again.

Closer this time.

Sylmare lay stretched out in a small clearing between a group of trees, staring at the sky. His right leg was crossed over his raised left knee, foot waving absently in the air, and his arms were crossed behind his head like a pillow.

A habit and posture Volcatia copied to this day.

Memories flooded back.

Good memories, all of them.

The smell of the forest.

The smell of Sylmare's long, dark green hair.

The sound of wind rustling the leaves.

The sound of Sylmare's quiet laughter.

The feel of…

She felt something blocking her throat.

She'd just leave them here and go after calling out.

She already knew how things would end if she stayed.

The warm feeling of the ageless elf's embrace while she spoke, haltingly, of her regrets.

The wetness of tears shed while the bitter elf spoke of a…

Sylmare sat up suddenly and turned around.

Volcatia's breath caught.

Fuck.

The elf man's green eyes widened.

No.

No, no, no.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

He wasn't supposed to—

"Catia?" Sylmare's soft voice carried across the too-short distance between them.

She shouldn't have moved so close.

The elf stood quickly and took a few steps forward before he stopped.

"Hey," Volcatia said with an awkward smile. "Long time, huh?"

"Delsanra?" Sylmare brought his pale hands to his mouth.

"Yeah, I, uh…found your sister." Volcatia shrugged Tomas off her shoulder and let him fall to the ground so she could hold the collar-wearing elf across her arms.

Sylmare darted forward, halting a step away. Tears leaked from his eyes as he dropped to his knees, his shaking hands moving towards his sister. Elven words escaped from his mouth as he stroked his fingers along the other elf's face.

Volcatia knelt down and offered the unconscious woman to her brother.

The two hundred thirty eight year-old elf took his sister into his arms and buried his head in the other woman's shoulder as he wailed.

This wasn't exactly how it had happened the time she'd watched, but it was close enough.

First came joy.

Next would be dismay.

Then anger.

Volcatia didn't want to see the rest of it.

She'd had only good memories from those few months spent in this forest a couple years ago.

Until the very end.

There was no need to revisit that.

She quietly took her feet again as Sylmare rocked back and forth, now holding his sister's head to his fur-clad chest.

After another thought, she shocked Tomas again in the precise way she knew would prevent him from waking up for a longer amount of time.

She took one last look at the dark green-haired elf.

Volcatia…

She hesitated for a moment.

Just a moment.

Long enough to remember.

Sylmare looked up. "You better not fucking leave now, Catia," he said, his voice echoing with the odd effect that his language spell brought with it. He looked down and sniffled. "Please," he whispered. "Don't leave yet. Please don't leave me alone again now."

Volcatia sighed.

Fine.

She'd stay a little longer.

Just a little.