Meetings in the adventurer’s guild’s cafeteria had become standard at this point. The place was more like a bar than a cafeteria, but the food was good, and it was a relatively safe place to talk, so it had become one of their two designated meeting places. There was another reason they never met in any of the town’s other locations.

Danjo wasn’t aware of the issue, but Fate and Prota didn’t feel comfortable seeing the slaves around the village after knowing what they were. Since John had no preference on where they met, a decision had been made.

“Come on,” John whined. “Let’s just go kill Draco. It’ll be easy. That guy sucks at fighting.”

“I told you already, that’s suicide. The Wynton family is more than just a few people, you do realize that, right?”

“They already tried to kill me once. This is, uh… self defense?”

“I would fight them if I could!” Fate exclaimed. There was no one else in the room. “It’s a matter of fighting against an entire noble family. Not only do they have a number of high ranking casters and augmenters, but they also have the support of the royal family! There’s a reason they get away with everything they do!”

John sighed. “You’re a coward.”

“There’s a thin line between bravery and stupidity. You’re heavily over on the side of stupidity. We’ve been over this. John, come on. Even if you think you can do it, will your sister be able to handle the repercussions?”

John leaned back, defeated. “Fine.”

Fate leaned in, lowering his voice. “Trust me. You’re not the only one who doesn’t like him. He tried to kill us multiple times. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”

~~~

Somewhere else, Draco himself was having a meeting, the topic of which was drastically different than that of Fate’s conversation, yet similar in a sense. The whole setup was odd. For starters, it was just him. Neither of his attendants were in the room, although they were outside in case of emergency.

Secondly, he hadn’t been the one to initiate the meeting.

It’d been the mysterious man in front of him.

The two were sitting in chairs across from each other, with only a single lit candle lighting the room. The man across from Draco was wearing a large cloak, making him entirely indistinguishable. Now that Draco thought about it, it might not have been a man at all.

“What did you want?” Draco said in an annoyed tone. “You said you had a way to deal with those insects.”

The man didn’t say anything. Instead, gloved hands came out, holding pen and paper, and he began to write.

[Are you confident that you can deal with them?]

“Of course,” Draco scoffed. “They’re commoners. What can they do?”

[Then we will provide you with the opportunity.]

“We?”

[Do not ask questions you do not need the answers to.]

“...fine. What is this proposed plan of yours?”

[One month. In that time, the party you despise will be entering a dungeon, a particularly dangerous one. We require you to create a disturbance. The size does not matter.]

“What? How exactly do you know all this?

[Again, do not ask unnecessary questions.]

“And what do you propose I do, then?”

[As long as you can separate and disturb their group, we will do the rest.]

Draco looked at the writing on the paper with doubtful eyes.

“How do I know I can trust you?”

[The dungeon. You can go there or not. However, when they go in, you will be permitted to enter as well. That will be proof that we have done our work. Besides, neither of us have anything to lose here. We both stand to benefit from this.]

Draco looked at the paper. It was a solid condition. Dungeons were reserved in advance, and guards were placed to prevent people from going in without permission. If Draco would be granted permission to enter without needing to sneak his way in, then it would work.

“You have yourself a deal.”

The hooded figure withdrew the pen and paper and left without a sound, leaving Draco to laugh to himself in the dimly lit room.

~~~

Fate’s group needed a month. There were a lot of things to do at this point.

John wasn’t sure what Fate and Danjo had done in the dungeon, but it seemed that Danjo had gone through some kind of trial. In terms of character growth, it made sense, but he wasn’t sure what exactly had prompted such growth. He’d only seen the end result, which was at the end of the fight with the remaining two mercenaries.

No one had questioned their deaths. It seemed that Draco wouldn’t bring it up, probably because it would seem too suspicious, and Albert had dismissed it since he trusted Fate’s group in the first place.

Regardless of past events, training and preparation was definitely in order.

Danjo had taken the materials they’d farmed in order to craft better materials. He’d taken John’s idea of some kind of suit of armour to heart, and had drafted prototype after prototype. It seemed that he had ideas for other kinds of tools as well.

It seemed that he could be left alone, so Fate had gone to train as well. However, because he wanted to work on his unique sword ability, [God Slaying Sword]. Kit was a caster, and no matter how adept she was at hand to hand combat, this was something he’d need to work on by himself.

John had no intent to train, as usual. Kit nagged him about it, but at this point, it was more for the sake of nagging than it was to actually make him train. Prota, on the other hand, was fully prepared.

“Hm? You want to know how to fight without hesitation?”

Kit turned to Prota in surprise. For the first time, Prota had spoken up without Kit saying anything.

“What kind of request is that?”

Prota just looked down. She didn’t know how to explain it.

Her past. That feeling of her body rebelling against her every time she fought, a split second of hesitation in her casting that was potentially lethal. Ever since John had brought it up, she’d been feeling it more and more. Even when she’d fought against him during the hundred or so resets, it’d been there.

She’d just never noticed it. But there was surely a way to get rid of it.

“Hm… Well, if you’re not going to explain it, then the easiest way is probably just for me to watch you fight. Unfortunately, it’s not like I can fight against you right now.”

“...?”

“You know, even being in my human form right now is pretty risky. There’s a reason I stay in my fox form when I’m around Fate, you know. Mystics… we’re not supposed to really be around mortals like this.”

Prota slowly nodded her head, but Kit’s explanation didn’t really help. It wasn’t that it didn’t make sense, but it was more that it brought up a dozen more questions.

However, this clearly wasn’t the time to be asking about Kit’s past.

“Anyways, it’s strange. From what I could see, you’re rather competent at fighting using your instinct. Most people hesitate because of a lack of training. There’s a bit of a lag between processing a thought and performing an action, but you seem to be able to fight without thinking about every move. So what could you mean…?”

Kit paced back and forth while rubbing her chin, her tail swishing back and forth. Her ears would twitch once in a while, making her overall figure rather distracting.

“Oh!” Kit suddenly exclaimed, snapping her fingers. “Maybe it’s a past trauma thing…?”

Prota’s eyes widened. She quickly tried to hide it, but it was too late. Kit had noticed her reaction.

“Ah. So I was right.”

Kit sighed as she sat down on the ground. “Look, I’m not gonna pry or anything. Everyone has their own pasts. Just like how you don’t ask about mine, I won’t ask about yours.”

She glanced at John with an annoyed expression. “I don’t get how he’s still sleeping. For the first time, I wish he was awake… no matter. What is it? A fraction of a second, maybe even less? There’s a sort of flinch, right before you attack, right?”

Prota nodded.

“Seriously, for a cub like you to be worrying about something like that… what kind of monster are you? No, what standards is your brother holding you to for this to be an issue?”

“...”

“What? No way. Is something like this already a problem?”

Prota nodded slightly. Kit sighed and rubbed her chin, deep in thought, but eventually shook her head.

“Unfortunately, it’s not something I can help with.”

Prota’s heart sank. No way. Even Kit couldn’t train her beyond this? She was back to square one. John wouldn’t help her. Hell, he’d been the one to tell her that there was no need to worry. But there was a need to worry. She could feel it. This was affecting her capability to achieve her goals.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not a matter of strength.” Kit put her hand on her chest. “It’s a matter of the heart. I don’t know what you went through, but this is something you have to overcome. It doesn’t matter how weak or strong you are. All that matters is that you overcome yourself.”

Overcome herself? What did that mean?

Prota didn’t get it. What was she supposed to do? She thought she had strengthened her will already. Was she not strong enough?

It doesn’t matter how weak or strong you are.

What was that supposed to mean?

“My first recommendation would be for you to take a break,” she heard Kit say.

A break?

“Your growth is incredible. To be honest, it’s on par with some of the Mythics I grew up with. I guess that’s to be expected of someone who has the abilities of a dragon. Prota. You’re pushing yourself to your limits, but sometimes you need to take a break. People need rest in order to grow.”

Kit looked over at John, who was still sleeping. “Some people seem to only rest.”

“My point is, you should try taking a break. You might be pushing yourself too hard. And besides, isn’t it best to spend some time with your brother without fighting all the time? What’s gonna happen if one of you disappears?”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Kit got up and brushed her robes off.

“You wanted some kind of training, right? Then here’s my training: don’t do anything and take a break. You’ve done more than enough.”

She looked back at Prota with a mysterious smile and transformed back into a fox, scampering off back to Fate. She watched as Kit left, then turned to look at John with her usual blank expression.

She didn’t understand. Take a break? What did that mean?

Although… maybe taking a break wasn’t too bad of an idea either. She laid down beside John and curled up next to him, falling asleep as well.

~~~

“Oh, Kit. Is everything ok?”

Fate sheathed his sword as Kit ran up to him, jumping onto his shoulders.

“Yes. They’re doing fine.”

“Phew… that’s good to hear.”

Since Kit could communicate with Fate without having to turn into her human form, there was no need for her to risk it. She wrapped herself comfortably around his shoulders and closed her eyes.

“How’re you holding up?”

“I can now use up to ten percent of my ability comfortably.”

“Ten?!”

Fate took his mask off and wiped his face with a towel.

“I can’t afford to fall behind right now. They’re all working hard out there. Danjo especially.”

“Well, there’s-”

“Let’s not talk about him.”

Fate let his sword drop to his side as he sat down on a rock, pulling a flask of water out of his cloak, staring at it for a bit before taking a large drink of water.

“That sword technique of yours… I don’t need to tell you that it’s something no one has ever seen before, right? The ability to ‘cut through anything.’ The [God Slaying Sword].”

“Really? I thought all heroes gained a unique ability.”

Kit moved around a little, trying to get comfortable.

“The history of this continent and the demon continent is long and confusing. To be honest, even I don’t understand it fully, but history continues to repeat itself. The demon king and his devils invade this continent, and a hero is summoned to protect it. However, that hero is always different. They’ve been strong, but the ability to cut through ‘anything’ is something that’s never been seen before. To have an ability that can directly interfere with mana… that’s entirely you.”

Fate looked at his sword. It was a special sword, one he’d helped craft himself. Was he falling behind? No. He just needed to do what he could.

“...thank you, Kit.”

“What’s this for?”

Fate burst out into laughter, causing Kit to fall off his shoulders. She looked up at him with a somewhat confused look, but if he was laughing, then it couldn’t have been a bad thing.

“Right. I needed a refresher. Sometimes… there are more important things than just being strong. What’s the point in friends if you can’t appreciate them?”

“What are you talking about?”

Fate shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. By the way, if you’re here, does that mean Prota is finished with her training?”

“Ah, that girl… I told her to take a break.”

“Take a break?”

“She’s got too much on her plate. It might be good if she takes a little bit of a rest.”

Fate got up and stretched, putting his mask back on. He bent over and picked his sword up, cleaning the blade before resheathing it.

“Where are you going?”

Fate slung the sword over his back and started heading back toward his residence.

“Maybe I’ll take a bit of a break too.”

~~~

“Mm… what the-”

John’s eyes snapped open as he felt something unfamiliar beside him. He was about to jump up and hit it until he realized it was just Prota. He got up slowly so that she wouldn’t wake up. Standing up, he looked at her for a little bit.

She reminded him of a cat.

He rolled his stiff neck around, looking up at the orange sky as the sun set in the distance. He’d been taking a break for too long.

“What, are you finally going to do something?” Zero said, popping out.

“Hey. I’ve been doing things.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Well, I’d like to fight. You know, just a little. I get bored, just sitting around on the sidelines, you know?”

“What if there’s no need for you to get involved?”

“Then I won’t. Well, except for that Draco guy. I’m getting involved with him regardless.”

“For a guy who doesn’t care much about [Characters], you sure do get riled up by them…”

“Did you see his face? It’s just so fucking punchable! If I was reading this shitshow of a story as a [Reader], I’d still want to fuck with him! I’d complain in the comments or something! Actually, I’d complain in the comments regardless! This [Story] fucking sucks.”

John closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

“Well, yeah. I guess it wouldn’t be right to interfere just yet. Right?”

Zero closed his eyes and nodded as well.

[Growth]. [Characters] needed to grow. It was simply part of the [Plot]. A story where a [Character] does not grow tends to be a poor story. So, while it was theoretically possible for John to step in and do everything on his own, there was, in a sense, an invisible barrier preventing him from doing so.

Well, that invisible barrier would be paper thin had it not been for one extra variable.

“We both know you know. There’s nothing stopping you from taking this into your own hands.”

“That sounds like a lot of work. I said I want to have fun, not carry the weight of the world on my shoulders.”

“Please. You’re efficient, not a bum. And besides, what you’re doing right now is a lot more work than what you’d have to do on your own.”

Zero floated in front of John, forcing him to look him in the eyes.

“You care enough for her that you’re willing to put up with all this.”

“...I can stop at any time.”

“But you won’t.”

Zero sighed. “Spend some time with her.”

“...huh?”

Zero scratched his head. “You heard me. Spend some time with her. I know you enjoyed your little one day vacation with her. Go do some more. Show her games, read her a story, something, anything. Take a little vacation.”

John didn’t say anything.

“To be honest, for anyone else, that would be a vacation of sorts, but this is work for you, right? So if you’re talking about getting involved, then go spend time with your sister. Get off your ass and do something productive.”

With his sister. Even though he’d called Prota his sister himself, that word still felt so foreign.

“Have some fun.”

John sighed. “You’re a little bitch, you know that?”

“Mm, maybe all the information I’ve given you has made you delusional. You should go get your brain checked out.”

“By who? You? That would just be the blind leading the blind.”

“Good point.”

Zero vanished before John could say anything else. John thought that Zero was just trying to run away, but just before he could say something, he felt a tug on his hoodie.

“John?”

He turned back to see Prota. Her hair was all messy, with twigs and bits of grass mixed in, her cloak and dress and crumpled up.

“Let’s eat something.”

Take a break.

John closed his eyes and sighed. Maybe he did need to go get his brain checked out. Taking Prota’s hand, they started walking back to their inn.

“Yeah. Let’s go get something to eat.”

~~~

“Bren.”

“Yeah, boss?”

Albert was sitting at his desk, spinning a pen around his fingers. Despite the large size of his hands, he was quite dextrous with them.

“Have you ever thought about dying?”

“...why are you bringing that up now?”

“I don’t know.”

Albert put the pen down and looked out the window.

“I just… feel like I might be dying soon.”

Bren smiled awkwardly. He was normally a lot more mysterious around others, but Albert was a friend.

They’d been friends for many years.

“Come on. You’re a guildmaster. You sit inside and work at a desk. How are you going to die?”

“What if we have to fight, Bren? What if we have to get involved?”

“But your core-”

“That’s my point.”

Albert turned back and looked at Bren in the eyes.

“That boy, John, he came to see me earlier.”

“...I thought you didn’t like him.”

“I’m not very fond of him, yeah. He kicked my door open when he came to see me. He doesn’t respect me at all. But that’s not the point.”

Albert put his hands on his desk, leaning forwards.

“Bren. He was very serious when he came to see me. He told me that there’s probably a spy.”

“A spy?”

“He wasn’t joking. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him that serious. He told me that too many things had lined up to just be coincidences.”

“Like what?”

“When they went to first scout out the dungeon, there were extremely powerful enemies. Enemies that he thought had been planted. There was also the matter of their enemies knowing, to an extent, their abilities, as well as the case of those men coming to the town shortly after they’d come back.”

Albert shook his head. “I don’t know if it’s true, but at this point, we have to consider it to be a possibility.”

“What if he’s the spy? What if he’s just trying to stir up chaos?”

“I thought about that. It would be a good plan by the enemy, especially since he’s coreless. But… I don’t think he is.”

“What? Why not?”

“We haven’t been suspecting anyone. Why bring up a spy now? That would be riskier for him. Second, Fate was telling me that both he and his sister dislike the presence of the slaves around town, which wouldn’t make sense if he were part of their organization. Third, why would he give so many “guesses?” To just throw us off track?”

Bren shrugged. “He knew about souls.”

“Yeah, and he gave us information we didn’t even know about! Why would a spy do something like that?”

Albert shook his head. “He’s like the court jester. Seriously, I can’t tell what that fool is going to do next.”

“...you think of him as a wild card?”

“No, I think of him as a clown,” Albert grumbled. “All he does is fool around.”

“We strayed off the point, though,” Albert said quietly. He looked at the framed picture on his desk.

Him, Bren and Elfin. So young. So naive.

“You’re not getting a bigger picture frame for that?”

“...no point.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“It was, dammit!” Albert yelled, pounding his desk. “I could’ve died instead of them.”

“Would they have wanted that?”

Albert shook his head.

“Fine. Let’s leave it at that.”

He sat back down in his chair and took his axe off the wall. Reaching into his desk, he took out a smooth black stone and began to sharpen the weapon.