Laush honestly didn’t mind the demotion. Being an Extra meant that she was being paid significantly less than what she would be making as a Grunt, but it was worth the decrease in risk. Besides, after only a few years of working as a Grunt, she had already accumulated enough wealth that she could live comfortably for the rest of her life. She did not feel any attachment to the job, so she was ready to retire at any point.

She knew that Tenna didn’t feel the same.

Her older brother had been ecstatic when he’d been promoted to the position of Leader during this mission, but she’d been terrified for him. As temporary as it ended up being, Laush had spent the entire time hating Tenna’s new position and how it brought him even closer to the Otherworlder, knowing how easily one of their kind could simply choose to end the life of another.

Tenna had seen her relieved reaction when they were demoted and he became irritated at her, thinking that she was celebrating his demise. In a sense, she supposed he was right.

Though she loved Tenna dearly, she wasn’t blind to his faults. He was not talented in the skills necessary to be a Mediator, and had only pushed through the training through sheer force of will. It was enough to place him within the ranks of the Grunts, but she had truly believed he would never be anything more.

She understood Tenna’s drive to be something more, but she also didn’t understand the extent of it. Whenever she remembered the Otherworlder that had casually burned down their town in a random rampage, she felt the same anger in her heart that he must have, but while she had neglected her anger, leaving it cold over the years, Tenna had fed the flames of his anger, letting it become his purpose.

She did not understand why. She would always remember their mother and father and hold them dear in her heart, but they were dead.

Why did Tenna act like risking his own life would bring them back? Did he not realise that he still had a sister to live for?

The thought hurt, but she knew Tenna must be hurting too. Perhaps he did care for her, but perhaps he was simply more noble than she was, to be willing to risk his life for the safety of strangers and future orphans. She had never asked, too afraid of the answer. She simply watched.

She did not want to be a Mediator. She wanted to retire, but she knew she could not leave her brother behind. She hoped that once her brother calmed down from his current bout of anger, she could find the opportunity to sit him down and discuss the possibility of an early retirement, using the demotion as an excuse.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Tenna meditating. She could tell he was furious. Right now his anger was directed at their former Leader, likely for whatever reason he could think of at the moment. Laush didn’t know whether Tenna was furious at her for giving him the position of Leader, only to have it taken away from him so easily, of if he was angry at her decisions to allow the civilian to interact with the Otherworlder as much as she did, or if he was just generally annoyed by their continued interactions.

He could be quite petty when he wanted to be.

But he was too obsessed with being the perfect Mediator to allow himself to take any sort of revenge. Mediators did not desire. They had no ego. He would do nothing, because he liked to pretend that he wanted to do nothing. Laush wondered if that would change when she would eventually convince him to retire. It was a possibility, though she did hope that he would still retain some of the habits that he’d learned as a Mediator.

The slight creaking of the tavern door drew Laush’s attention away from her thoughts, but she didn’t turn her head to look. She strained her ears to try and pick up clues on who it could have been, but she felt like the focus was wasted when Marten immediately spoke with no regard for discretion.

“Hey, you lot,” he said. “The new members are coming in. Let’s get a move on.”

“We were told that it would be happening later this evening,” Oren said.

“Yeah, I know,” Marten said. “I know it’s last minute notice, but I just learned about it a few minutes ago too. Save your bitching for after we go out. It’s fucking miserable out there.”

Laush stood up with the rest of the group, without further complaints, glad that Marten was being relatively civil with Oren. In the few interactions they’d had, it wasn’t difficult to see that the two hated each other, and while Oren’s reactions to Marten’s barbs were humorous at times, Laush wasn’t in the mood for humour at the moment, and was grateful that Marten’s mannerisms had somewhat softened since last night.

None of the Mediators hesitated in stepping out into the storm, and though Laush did flinch slightly at the initial feeling of the cold rain enveloping her immediately, she held back the audible yelp of shock that she wanted to let out.

In the corner of her eye, she noticed Tenna’s gaze shifting ever so slightly to her, before pointing back in front of him. Had he noticed her flinching? Was he disappointed in her? He was in one of his moods, so it was possible, she supposed.

He would cool down eventually.

It was a steady march to the Mayor’s house, where Marten had set up his base. Laush marched in the standard tempo of a Mediator’s march, mirrored by her colleagues around her, with the exception of Marten, who simply jogged forward while swearing under his breath.

By the time the rest of the group had arrived at the Mayor’s house, Marten was already inside, having taken off his shirt and wringing out the water onto the wood floor.

“Bossman said he’d be done pretty soon,” Marten said, holding up his shirt and flapping it up and down, completely unbothered by his own partial nakedness. “Feel free to do whatever until then. I’ll give you all the heads up when he contacts me.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

As Laush did as she was told, finding a lone sofa to rest on, Sera spoke up.

“Marten,” she said. “Would it not be appropriate to invite the civilian Follower to join us? We’ve told her that she would be meeting the new Leader and Second once they arrive.”

“I told her this morning that she should take her time, but I wouldn’t mind,” Marten said, wringing out his shirt once more as he talked. “Has she made a decision yet?”

“I’m not sure,” Sera replied.

“Not sure?” Marten asked, with a raised eyebrow. “Wanna go and ask her then?”

Sera grimaced, another break in the mask of what Laush thought was the perfect Mediator. She knew Tenna thought the same. Sera was years younger than they were, and she was in the organisation for less time, but she was skilled enough to be a Leader nonetheless.

While Laush had nothing but admiration for the younger girl’s talent, she knew that Sera’s quick rise had been a point of jealousy for Tenna. He likely thought of her as a role model to catch up to, or a rival, depending on how cocky he was feeling. Her recent mistakes had probably been a sore spot for him. In his eyes, she probably wasn’t allowed to make mistakes.

“Actually, I was hoping I could discuss that with you,” Sera said. “I wanted to request that if Lena does choose to remain as a part of the mission, that my interactions with her would be kept to a minimum.”

“And why would you be asking me that?” Marten asked.

“In lieu of a Leader or a Second, command should go to the most senior member,” Sera said. “That would be you, sir.”

Marten shrugged. “Probably true, but the new Leader’s coming in a few hours at most. Why don’t you save it for after he comes?”

Laush knew that Marten was smart enough to know that Sera was only asking because she didn’t want to speak with the civilian Follower. She also knew that Sera was also smart enough to know that as well. In effect, he was telling Sera to do it herself, or don’t bother asking.

Sera grimaced. “Understood.”

Tenna scoffed. Nobody paid him any mind.

The rest of the wait played out predictably. Everyone remained still and kept to themselves, except for Marten, who rummaged around the house, snacking on whatever he could find, all with his gut exposed, his shirt hanging off the back of a chair.

It took a few hours before Marten put his shirt back on. He made a displeased grimace, no doubt a reaction to how damp the shirt still was, but didn’t complain.

“Alright,” he said, with a clap of his hands. “Bossman says he’s about ready. Let’s go meet our new team leads, shall we?”

Laush stood up, the movement mirrored by everyone else in the room. Wordlessly, they marched down the stairs to the basement, where the spell formula from last night’s communication remained. Though they took their places around it, Laush knew that they wouldn’t be using it again, which was a relief, since she was still feeling the effects from the last night’s mana depletion.

The Founder of the Mediators simply outclassed them by so much that, as long as he knew where to send them, an impossible act like teleporting two adults was barely a chore for him. She wondered idly if Tenna saw him as a role model like he did with Sera, but she dismissed the idea as being silly. There was no way a Human could compare himself to an Elf. She doubted her brother was that bold.

Before Laush could let her thoughts wander too much, the space in front of her distorted and warped, and she closed her eyes to prevent her from getting motion sickness at the incomprehensible sight of the teleportation spell before her. She waited a few seconds to ensure that the spell was over and opened her eyes again, even if there hadn’t been any audible sounds of any new arrivals.

“They sent you as the new Leader?” Marten asked, sounding genuinely offended at the idea. “Don’t they know the brat’s got a thing against Goblins?”

“I was chosen, in part, because of my race,” the Goblin said, unbothered by the poor reception. “The Board decided that the guilt that the Otherworlder feels can be a useful tool in his further development.”

Ignoring her new Leader, Laush felt her eyes being drawn towards the man standing behind the Goblin instead. He looked quite handsome, which wasn’t a surprise since many Mediators were attractive by default, and looked vaguely Astrantan, with hair, eyes, and skin. He also looked quite tall, though she wasn’t sure if that was only because she was comparing him to the Goblin he was standing behind. Laush wasn’t quite sure why it was so difficult to tell, but she supposed it didn’t matter.

The Second opened his mouth to speak.

He gave a few pleasantries and introduced himself to the group. Laush didn’t quite understand why she couldn’t tell what exactly he was saying, but she quickly decided that the new Second was trustworthy anyways. She liked him much more than Oren at least. It was a nice surprise to find a Mediator that at least pretended to be personable, even though they all knew it was probably a lie.

Or maybe not? This one was quite pleasant to be around. He seemed genuine.

“Leader Stoney,” Oren said suddenly, his flat voice uncharacteristically louder than it needed to be, echoing around the stone basement. “What is this?”

The Goblin raised a hairless eyebrow at him. “What do you mean by that, Oren?” he asked. “It’s rare for you to be this vague.”

Oren opened his mouth briefly, lost for words for the first time since Laush had met him.

And for the first time since Laush had met her, Sera lost her mind.

Laush felt her mouth gaping open, but she assumed a lack of decorum could be forgiven at the sight of a bright red needle of raw mana poking sticking directly into the Second’s eye.

“Demon!” Sera shouted, the glow of ambient mana still fading from her finger. “Run!”

Sera’s eyes darted around the room in the silent shock that filled it. Her eyes darted towards Laush’s, and in the brief moment of eye contact that they had, Laush could swear she saw a deep dread in Sera’s eyes. She wondered what Sera saw in hers.

“Traitor!” the Goblin shouted, before the rest of them could react. Faster than Laush’s eyes could register, he charged forward at Sera, with a knife drawn from somewhere she hadn’t noticed.

There was a dull thud, and Laush still found herself motionless as she stared in bewilderment at Oren looking down at the Goblin, like he was just as surprised as she was that he just kicked their new leader in the head.

A few rapid footsteps drew Laush’s attention to the side, where Sera was already sprinting out of the basement, only pausing at the top of the stairs to turn around for a split second.

“Oren!” she hissed, before disappearing from view.

As if awoken by her call, Oren ran up the stairs without further hesitation.

It was only after they heard the slam of a door that anyone reacted.

“What the fuck was that?!” Tenna shouted out in Timuran.

“I don’t know,” Laush shouted back in their mother tongue, finally unable to control her panic. “I’ve never seen anything like that happen before! What the fuck?”

“Why the fuck would they do that?! Oh shit. They fucking killed the Second. Why would they do that?!”

“I-”

Before she could say anything, she stopped. What did Tenna mean? Oren knocked out the Leader, but they hadn’t done anything to the Second. Laush looked back, scared at what she would find, but let out a sigh of relief when she saw the Second, unharmed. The sight of him was a relief and his calm aura reminded her that she could rely on him. He would know what to do.

“Sir Second?” she said. “What should we do?”

The Second smiled. Everything would be alright.

“Sir Second!” Tenna said. “With all due respect, I disagree! Our leader was attacked by a pair of traitors!”

Marten sighed and shook his head. “Look, kid,” he said. “If our Second says it’s alright, then it’s alright. What are you complaining about?”

The Second nodded, thanking Marten for his input.

Tenna nodded too. “Very well,” he said. “What are your orders, Sir Second?”

The Second nodded.