A touch of his hand against the blade was all it took for the raging flames to cease, fading as easily as a child would snuff out a birthday candle.

Whoever owned that imposing voice was, the presence of such an individual made itself to be the sole reason Jake Parker remained alive and in one piece.

For a brief moment, there wasn't even a word.

“This scene in front of my city gates… Would either of you two mind explaining what in the world is going on?!”

And that's when everyone saw it happen.

“Captain Tadar...! It's a Dark Elf...! Don't get too close to him...!"

Lafias' words were thrown out like garbage by the brief sign of denial coming from that man's head, who in the end just looked at his inferior with traces of irritation.

“A Dark Elf, you say? So tell me, Lafias... What part of this boy reminds you of a damn Dark Elf?!”

The change in his tone of voice was so sudden that it made the knight both shudder and immediately kneel, begging for mercy from the much more powerful figure whose gaze was filled with rage.

“Sir... But the skin tone...”

“Not another word, Lafias.” Like thunder, it interrupted the knight. "That's not nearly enough to identify one of those bastards, besides I think I made myself clear enough when I told you to pay closer attention, didn't I?"

His fingers touched deceptively gently, lifting Lafias's chin, forcing the man to look at the dark-skinned figure.

“See what I mean? No pointy ears, no sharp eyes and having a Dark Elf that tall would be something almost akin to an aberration, don't you think? And I haven't even mentioned the most important feature... Would you dare say what that is?"

With no other option, he forced out the words he thought were the right ones.

“The hair… being white…?”

A trap — something he only realized when it was too late.

“Ah, so you're telling me that you decided to attack even though you are acutely aware of the characteristics that define a Dark Elf?”

The panic taking over Lafias's entire body was so intense that it made itself visible. Every single one of the soldier's defined muscles moved beneath the armor in spasm, which, as absurd as it sounded, caused the entire metal plate structure to subtly change shape.

“I can't believe my men are going blind, Lafias.” He spoke, in tones as cold as the worst winter blizzard. "I don't expect having to friendly kick out each one of you due to some incompetence or even take worse action... I really hope that won't be the case."

The hand touching the armor's shoulder made the red-haired man's entire body freeze. A little pressure, and soon the massive structure of that region of rigid plates was crushed like a soda can.

“Stand up, Lafias… And I dare you to appear in front of me again in that damaged armor. I’ll let you get away with just the repair costs this time.”

He wouldn't dare say a word. To open his mouth would be to end up dead.

Slowly, the demoralized Lafias rose to his feet. From the ground, he picked up his sword, admiring the blade for a second, before directing that same sharp glare at Jake, before finally walking away.

"How many millions would I make in a bet by stating he didn't like me very much?"

Throughout the process, the otherworldly boy just watched, expressionless, as the new figure imposed some respect. Slowly, he exhaled, looking tired.

“I am very sorry for what happened. Lafias will be appropriately disciplined for what he has done to you.”

The man in light armor, full of gold trimmings and features, turned towards Jake for the first time on that occasion.

“I've been watching from the top of the wall. It frustrates me to know that one of my best knights doesn't know how to differentiate a Dark Elf from a human that is a little more atypical than usual. For that, I offer my humble apologies.”

He was a jovial-looking man, certainly in his thirties. His hair was blond in the exact same tone as Enille's, the difference being that it was more wavy and masculine-styled. His face was exceedingly polished for a man of medieval times, not bearing a trace of beard or mustache anywhere.

He wasn't too tall or too short, being shorter than Jake by about half a hand, which wasn't much of a difference. In his trained body, he wore, in addition to the armor, a white cape that fluttered in the slightest wind.

The ocean blue eyes were confident and piercing, if a little too rigid and stressed, where the impression one got was that any attempt at charisma was just a facade. That was not a natural expression.

The most defining characteristic of that man, however, was the overwhelming pressure that came from his presence.

He held out his right hand to the teen, at the same time letting a slight smile creep across his expression, revealing teeth as white as polished pearls.

“My name is Tadar of Siora, Leader of the Third Division of Knights of Calendas. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

... ... ...

"... Father...!"

Keesh's surprise at his colleague's punishment allowed Enille's escape from her captive status in his arms. In a hurry, the blonde haired girl ran to where the two were.

Debating whether to follow her or not, Keesh bit his lip and chose not to try to recapture the girl. He knew that the big man himself would deal with his daughter in the most appropriate way — besides the fact that he would possibly also find himself subject to punishment.

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Enille's swift arrival interrupted the greeting, eliciting an expression of slight bitterness from the cloaked and armored man.

“Father, please! Don't do anything to Jake...!" She pleaded. "He's not a bad person, so..."

“Shut up.” Tadar demanded, in a final tone. “Can't you see I'm talking to the young man here, Enille? Be more polite and learn not to interrupt adult conversations!”

“But… Father… I just…”

“No 'buts'! I don't want to hear a word from you until I get home tonight! We will have a very long and painful conversation about the choices you've been making and especially your attitudes!"

Enille's mood wilted into tears of pure sadness. Intimidated by her father's stern attitude, the girl could only lower her head and pray hard that he wouldn't decide to take a more extreme attitude than just yelling, especially being in front of Jake.

“Look at you… You're still crying like a small child! You're 15, Enille, you're an adult! By now, you should at least be married and acting like a good wife, considering your utter uselessness for anything else!”

The intensity of his berating only increased with each word, magnifying itself in the face of an astonished little girl who only felt herself dwindle in comparison. Standing before Tadar at that moment brought her nothing but pain.

“I heard from the top of the wall how those two little friends of yours died. Let this be a lesson to you! Joining the Adventurers' Guild behind my back... That's no place to go to play! Consider yourself lucky to have survived in one piece, because the gods were still too kind to allow that to happen...!”

At the end of his patience, Tadar pointed to the large gate on his right.

“Keesh! Come here immediately!” He called the knight, who did not take long to comply with the order. “I want you to take Enille to the house and watch all entrances and exits. Under no circumstances allow her to leave her room before I arrive.”

The green haired knight wouldn't be crazy to disobey a direct command, and even though his heart told him that posture was too much, the younger man couldn't bring himself to express his real thoughts.

“I hope you think well, Enille. Make sure you reflect hard on today, you breathing mistake!”

Each of the words coming from her father's mouth destroyed Enille a bit more inside, and that was confirmed in the lack of resistance expressed by her when Keesh once again wrapped his arms around her body. After all that, the adventurer's attitude didn't resemble anything other than an immobile and abandoned rag doll.

“Let us go, Miss Enille...”

With slow, miserable steps, the knight escorted his superior's daughter back into the city, in a very different form from the one she had so much entertained in her head on the way before arriving.

“Hunf... I personally have no idea what to do with that girl anymore... Once again, I beg your pardon for having to witness such a shameful moment for my person..."

Jake had no reason to get involved, let alone the will to. Observing, however, gave him all the knowledge he needed to fill in the last missing pieces of his interpretation of the situation.

“Where have I seen this trope happen? Oh, right... It's not a trope.”

Fortunately, and for the seventeen years in which he was able to develop a sentimental appreciation for his parents, the Parker boy always had a family that tried to support him in every way.

“But in the end, I think even my dad thought I could be better than that. He just didn't wanna have to bring himself to say it. I always knew I didn't make him as proud as I could have.”

He had nothing more than his extremely positive personal experience as a somewhat average son, but always knew that many others in his home world lived in conditions similar to those suffered by Enille.

“Normally this would be classified as abuse. But in this world? It's probably just the 'normal' way for a parent to treat their offspring.”

Anyway, it wasn't up to him to define parameters of rules for coexistence in a reality that wasn't even his. The boy wasn't even interested in that in the first place.

“I sincerely hope Enille hasn't caused you too much trouble on the way. Please let me know if anything she did bothered you or if you ended up in danger because of her childish actions..."

The man with blond hair like his daughter's had already noticed the elephant in the room — or rather, the wolf on the shoulders — who was making itself a little out of place in the conversation. He chose not to question right away, though.

"And speaking of danger..." Tadar brought a hand to his chin. “What about that fur piece you carry? Is it a Fenkhl skin?”

Fenkhl — an excessively awkward name for an ice wolf.

“Please don’t tell me that an encounter with such a creature was that girl’s fault…”

“Huh. He seems overly concerned about Enille's weakness. Obsessed, even.”

Everything — every bit of the story — had to be about how weak or useless his daughter was. It was as if the possibility of another topic between the two couldn't possibly exist.

“Not to mention he guides a conversation about himself and regretting his daughter's existence so well that it doesn't even take me to respond in any way to get him to keep talking.”

Until that moment, the boy from another world had not said a single word.

“It was no problem at all.”

The first few words in that outsider's deep voice seemed to briefly snap Tadar out of his line. Surprised, the knight in his white cloak seemed to admire the fact that Jake could speak.

“Oh...! Please don't force yourself to be humble in front of me...! If Enille caused you any trouble, please let me know...! She will be disciplined for sure.”

Again, the aspect of obsession with his daughter's mistakes jumped out as a first thing in speech.

“No… It's not that. He doesn't care if Enille caused trouble or not. That is not the focus of this man.”

Jake took a deep breath, which made his back hurt a little.

“I repeat myself. Accompanying Enille to her hometown was no problem at all.”

Seeing the way it had caused his enormous confidence to die like a wilted flower ratified the newest theory.

"I see... Well, if you claim that's the case, I don't think there's going to be any chance I can convince you, right?"

“He doesn't really care about Enille's failure or success… At least not on the level he wants to make it appear. In the end, this man just wants to feel that he is right about his assumptions and ideas. He wants to be validated in his claims.”

It was pure narcissism at work.

The dark-skinned boy shook his head in brief denial.

“I appreciate the concern you have for me, but it is unnecessary.”

The perfect moment for his hunger to betray him... while serving as a pass beyond the walls of Calendas.

“Forgive me for pointing this out, but your stomach would say the opposite of that!” Tadar laughed briefly. "Tell me, boy... You don't have any money on you at the moment, do you?"

For answer, Jake touched the wolfskin, bringing even more attention to it.

“I might try to get some money from this. I just need a place where I can sell it.”

“Well, that can be arranged. Follow me. I know a good place in town where we can talk a little better about your circumstances. I admit that I took a liking to your person, as well as find you to be peculiar... I'd like to hear a little more about you.”

Tadar led the way to the entrance to the city, raising his fist to signal a permit of entrance.

"Come along. After some lunch, I'll tell you where you can try your luck selling this.”

Getting into the city turned out to be a little simpler than he'd imagined, but something about Tadar's attitude foreshadowed what the rest of this conversation would be about.

"All this time and he hasn't bothered to actually ask my name."