There was a moment of silence before Sera grabbed me and picked me up off the floor by the collar of my shirt. The abrupt motion was too much for me and I was exhausted to the point where my feet weren’t supporting me, but somehow she lifted me high enough to have me staring her in the eyes anyways.

Sera looked furious and terrified at the same time. She opened her mouth wide, as if to yell at me, then snapped it shut into a conflicted grimace. She stared into my eyes before sighing.

“I can’t imagine the amount of stress you’re going through, Lena. But for future reference, consult me before doing something like that. Dealing with Otherworlders requires a certain amount of protocol,” she said, pausing to take a deep breath. “I’m glad you didn’t get hurt, but you put yourself in a very dangerous gamble there and I can’t be dying from a heart attack at my age, Lena.”

I could vaguely tell that she was joking, but I was too on the verge of passing out to be certain. She shifted her grip so she could support me without seeming like she was shaking me down, and gently dragged me to the nearest wall to sit me up against it.

“Lena, hun. Are you okay?”

Raine’s familiar voice was a comforting sound to my ears. She approached me slowly, but before I could gather my wits for long enough to respond, she was already hugging me.

“If that really was an Otherworlder, that was incredibly stupid of you,” she said, stroking my shoulders. “But thank you anyways.”

In the brief moment of calm, I felt almost good enough to crack a joke about how casual he was about the gash in his arm, but it died in my throat before I could think of what to say.

I let out a low groan instead.

Sera blinked rapidly as she stared at the glowing blue panel floating in front of me.

Tutorial: Giving Quests

As a Party member of the [HERO] you may be occasionally called upon to give quests in place of the [Guide].

[NPC] Quest: Begin the Main Story

The [HERO] has just learned of the terrible truth that he has slain another living being with his own hands. But that’s not quite true, is it?

Objective: Tell the [HERO] about the truth behind the [CORRUPTED Goblins] that he slew.

Rewards: ???

[Accept]

“What does that mean?” Sera asked. “What’s the Guide talking about?”

The guard perked up slightly at the comment but said nothing. Sera seemed to notice his interest, but paid him no mind.

“Excuse me?” Raine asked. “I still have no idea what y’all are talking about. Could somebody please give me any sort of explanation?”

“Sorry ma’am, it’s confidential,” Sera said, with a sigh. “The only reason Lena here knows about it is because she’s a Follower. That’s also confidential, but I’m only letting you know since you seem to be acquainted.”

Raine gasped and looked at me for confirmation.

I nodded.

She didn’t hesitate in grabbing me and pulling me close to her.

“Oh, sweet baby,” she said as she stroked my back. “Oh, sweet baby.”

She repeated it a few more times before Sera coughed into her hands. “I hate to break this up, but we do have business to get to,” she said, pointing at the panel with her thumb. “Ms. Raine. I know you must be very distraught at the moment, but we are in a potentially time sensitive situation here. Would it be possible for my associate to escort you to a safe place?”

“Hopefully without any biting this time,” the guard said, cracking a smile.

Sera chuckled at the joke, though I had to wonder how much of it was an act to try and put Raine at ease. And me for that matter.

Raine flushed in response. “I do apologize for that,” she said. “Is your arm alright, hun?”

“I assure you, I’m fine, ma’am,” the guard said, with an easy smile, hiding the still bleeding arm behind his back. “I’m more concerned for your safety. Would you allow me to escort you out?”

Raine glanced at me and down the hallway that Ryuji had disappeared into.

“What about my brother? And my sister for that matter?” she asked, hugging me closer. “I can’t leave these two here with a monster like that.”

“Lena is a Follower. I’m afraid she’ll need to stay here,” Sera said, placing a gentle hand on Raine’s shoulder. Raine’s grip tightened around me, as if she were afraid Sera would try to pry her off. “I promise you she’ll be safe, Ms. Raine. The Mediators have her safety as our top priority. I just need her help understanding a few things about the Otherworlder that are unfortunately, a bit too confidential for civilian ears. As for your brother…” Sera looked down the hallway where the holding cells stood. “Why did you say he was in here again?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Public disorder offence,” Raine said. “It was his first time in Redstone and he got a bit too frisky with the city booze. Lot stronger than the stuff we make back home.”

“I see,” Sera said, thinking for a few seconds before nodding to herself. “Well, we’re not supposed to abuse our temporary authority like this, but if it’ll give you more peace of mind, we’ll spare you the bail. Just don’t tell anyone, okay?”

Sera winked and gave her a smile that felt a lot cheerier than the situation called for. The blue panel hovering over my face was a grim reminder of what was to come.

Raine had apparently less problems with accepting Sera’s good mood at face value. She didn’t smile, but I thought I saw the corner of her lip twitch upwards slightly.

“Well, I suppose that’ll help,” Raine said, looking at me. “You’ll be alright.”

“Yeah,” I said, making my own attempts at a smile. I didn’t feel like it was as good as Sera’s but apparently it was good enough for Raine. She squeezed me one last time before letting me go and standing up.

“You make sure to come talk to me once you’re done with this business, alright?” she said. “I’ll be waiting outside with Thrum.”

I nodded, keeping my smile as steady as I possibly could. Sera gave me a nod of approval before she motioned towards the door with her eyes. At first, I thought it was a signal meant for me, but the guard quickly walked down the halls. Only a few seconds later, he brought a very confused and haggard looking Goblin boy out with him.

“Raine?” he asked, rubbing his head. He did a double take when he noticed me. “Newbie? What brings you round these parts?”

“If we could save the pleasantries for later, it would be appreciated,” Sera said, with a smile.

Thrum didn’t seem happy about that, nor did Raine, but neither of them protested when the guard politely motioned for the door and led them outside.

Once they were gone, Sera turned to me and jerked her thumb to the panel.

“So. What’s this thing talking about?”

I looked where she was pointing, directly at the text that translated into my mind as [CORRUPTED Goblins]. I shook my head.

“I have a pretty good guess, but I don’t know for sure…” I blinked in surprise as the text flickered, changing from CORRUPTED to DEMON in a split second. Sera seemed to notice my surprise and turned to look at the panel. “Okay, now it’s a better guess.”

Sera stayed quiet as I explained how Ryuji had slain a group of demons in the village and in the forest that seemed to appear as Goblins to everybody else but me. Saying it out loud, I grew increasingly aware of how crazy I sounded when I claimed that I only saw them as masses of shadowy Aether, when the entirety of my village would have testified otherwise, but Sera didn’t seem to think so. She nodded along with my story seriously.

After I finished, Sera stayed silent for a few long seconds before holding her face in her hands and letting out a slow low hiss.

“Shit, I knew something didn’t add up,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The bodies,” Sera said, shaking her head angrily. “My supports couldn’t find any. The graves your village dug for them were empty. They saw traces of ash, so they assumed the bodies had just burned up from the Otherworlder’s magic. I should’ve known. Was the trader he killed a demon too?”

“No,” I said, surprised at how much Sera already knew. She never told me that she’d sent people to my village, nor had she mentioned knowing about Medric. “But he’s alive. Ryuji healed him afterwards.”

Sera lowered her hands and gave me a blank stare. “Of course he did. Fuck me for being considerate, I guess. Should’ve just followed protocol and interviewed you properly in the first place.” She sighed, and shook her head. “Sorry. Not your fault. Just a little frustrated at the moment.”

She inhaled slowly, letting the breath pass through her teeth. She let it out, just as slowly and fixed me with a stare.

“Okay, Lena. It’s become clear to me that I’ve been operating on some false assumptions here. Nothing I can do to fix that, but what I can do is to make sure I don’t make the same mistake here. If I’m going to complete this task that the Guide has given us, I’m going to need your full…” Sera’s speech slowed down to a halt as she read the updated text in the panel floating in front of me.

[Lena]’s Quest: Begin the Main Story

The [HERO] has just learned of the terrible truth that he has slain another living being with his own hands. But that’s not quite true, is it?

Objective: Tell the [HERO] about the truth behind the [DEMON Goblins] that he slew.

Conditions: [Lena] must complete this quest without the assistance of any other party members and/or NPCs. No individuals not including [Lena] or the [HERO] may be present during the completion of the Quest.

Rewards: ???

[Accept]

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sera asked.

“It does that,” I replied, on behalf of the panels. Though I knew they could technically respond to her on their own, I doubted Sera would appreciate the vague way that they communicated. She seemed on the verge of having an aneurysm from frustration. Though my own stress response of choice was to have several mental breakdowns, rather than getting angry, I could still understand how she felt.

Sera gave me a sympathetic grimace. “Looks like you’re going to have to do this on your own,” Sera said.

It was depressing to think that I wasn’t very surprised at this turn of events. “Got any tips for me?” I asked.

Sera smiled at me and extended a hand towards me. I took it, and wondered if I imagined the slight tremor of her touch.

“Too much to tell you right now,” she said, with an easy grin that looked too casual and too contrasted with the furious grimace she had on her face a few seconds ago. “There is an unbreakable rule when it comes to talking with Otherworlders though.”

She pulled me up and brought me to my feet. Though she had to catch me when I wobbled, I was still surprised I could stand as well as I could.

“Don’t talk about the Guide,” she said.

“Why?” I asked.

“I’ll explain it all to you soon, I promise. For now, let’s just say there’s a reason barely anybody knows about the Guide’s existence.” Sera said, pulling me in for another hug. I wondered if these were just as practiced as her fake smiles. It felt too good not to be. “Just keep that in mind. As long as you don’t break that rule, you’ll do fine.”

“Really?” I asked, a bit indignantly. If she didn’t sound so genuine, I would’ve assumed she was mocking me. “What makes you think that?”

“We’re still alive,” Sera said, gesturing to the hallway. “Despite that. You’ve been doing good so far, Lena. I’m proud of you.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I was a bit too tired to care, but a small part of me couldn’t help but blush at the genuine praise.

“Thanks,” I said.

Sera patted me on the shoulder.

“Ready to save everyone’s lives again?” she asked.

I stared at her. With the panel floating right in front of my face, I could only vaguely see her smile through the translucent blue. I sighed.

“No,” I said.

“But you’ll do it anyways.”

“Yeah.”

I turned around, already missing the comfort of Sera’s hand on my shoulder, and started to walk down the hallway to where Ryuji was. The panel floated along with me, slightly obscuring my view, but not enough for me to be afraid of bumping into anything.

I gave it one last glance before I sighed and pushed my finger against the panel.

This time, rather than passing through it harmlessly, I felt my finger push up against something solid. The [Accept] text flashed a dull gold before the panel disappeared entirely.

I sighed again, and continued walking.