The man who was filled with so much vigour earlier, laid on the floor with multiple bruises.

Tibaut sighed as he looked at him and crouched on the ground to look into his eyes.

“Whew, he's just unconscious.” He said as relief washed over. “Dammit, I've gotten too used to Elizabeth and Tina. I didn't expect him to go down like that after a few punches.”

The woman from the tent walked over, and thankfully for Tibaut’s heart rate herself, she was wearing something, though he only got a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye. She got a good look at the man on the floor.

“What a worthless bastard, am I right kid?”

“Are you just gonna leave him like that?” Tibaut asked, concern present on his face.

He tried to turn his head away when he saw what she had on. "Woah, uh, sorry."

She was wearing her panties with a coat. He could instantly tell there was nothing under the coat and even the slightest of breezes would show off at least one of her mounds of chest fat.

“No need to be shy, you've already seen me nude.” She commented.

Tibaut cleared his throat with pink cheeks. “As I was saying, aren't you gonna cover him up or something?”

He was still nude lying on the floor, and Tibaut could hardly imagine the bites and stings over him if he was left like this all night.

“Why don't you do it, if you're so concerned.”

“No.” He firmly answered. “Anyway isn't this guy your boyfriend? You're oddly calm about me knocking him out.”

“Tch, this guy knew what you were capable of and decided to attack you. It's not my fault he's a dumbass. Besides he’s not my boyfriend, just a guy I end up hanging out with sometimes.”

“(Jeez, I think I go into a depression if I heard someone say that about me.)”

“Hell, you can even take his place if you'd like.”

“...No thanks.”

She began chuckling and walked closer to him. “Oh, what was that little pause there, boy? Hehe, you thought about it, didn't you?”

She wrapped her arm around Tibaut’s shoulder and leaned on him. He felt his legs become jelly but forced himself to stay up. Her bare skin would rub against his arm and although not unique, it never failed to leave him stunned.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“uhwhyuharedoingthist-” His words came out and slurred and a jumbled mess.

She patted him on the back. “Just say yes, after all, when we reach that cultist base or dungeon or whatever it is, you might not get a chance to do this.”

Being reminded why he was in the first place sobered Tibaut up. He gently pushed the woman off.

“Trust me, there'll be other chances after we're finished with them. Those bastards aren't going to get a single one of us”

“So you do want it.”

“Wha- no I-”

She placed her finger against his lip. “I'm just teasing ya, kid. Besides I may find this guy annoying but I won't just find another guy without breaking things off first. (I just can't help but tease guys like him, he's so cute when he fights off temptation. He kinda reminds me of my protégé when he was younger. Plus there's an added layer of fun knowing he could easily make me stop. I honestly wouldn't mind a piece of him.) My name's Ruby.” She smiled and brought her hand out for a shake.

Tibaut could sense the malevolence behind her but shook her hand regardless.

“Nice to meet you, Ruby. I'm Tib-”

“Kid, the entire camp already knows your name. Anyway, I'll be bringing this dufus back into his tent, surely you wouldn't leave me by my lonesome to lug this guy back there.”

“I suppose I can give you a hand.”

Even in this weakened state Tibaut almost certainly had enough strength to lift the man by himself, however, the thought of this big, hairy and somewhat sweaty man hoisted on his shoulder, made it easy for him to keep his mouth shut.

They each grabbed two of his limbs and lifted him back to the torn tent. She placed pieces of fabric on him.

“Alright, see ya tomorrow wonder boy.” She walked off and Tibaut breathed a sigh of relief. Which left him open to her surprise attack.

*smooch*

“HUH!?!”

He looked beside him to see her laughing. “You deserve a treat for dealing with his bullshit. I hope you won't harbour any hard feelings for him (heh, he's almost as red as his hair.)”

Tibaut quickly walked off to ensure no more of those and went back to the carriage.

“God damn, can't I encounter pure maidens or something!? Stuff like that isn't good for my heart." He cursed internally. "But man, I should've guessed the guys here weren't going to be normal. In a group that includes that Furor guy and Elizabeth, I should have expected as much. I just hope the others won't strain my heart or try to fight me.”

That Ruby woman soon became his internal focus. (“Huh, she kinda reminds me of Vanessa before I became friends with her. Though, I don't think she was as bad as Ruby back then. If I were to give a comparison, it was like I tasted the brand name version of something after eating the budget version. Though, I do remember she said that whole stuff was an act but still, I never imagined I'd meet the real deal.”)

After reaching the carriage, Tibaut decided to call it a night and go to bed.

----------------------------------------

The next morning soon came and they were on the road though with a change Tibaut didn't expect.

“Why?” Tibaut asked.

“Consider it team building,” Elizabeth responded.

“But… does it have to be that one?”

“Listen, I know he's the unreasonable one here but we still need him for our assault. I'm not asking you to become his friend, I just want you to ensure, when the time comes you can work together.”