"Hey, look at that guy sitting behind you. Let's invite him to our team; he looks very strong," an adventurer said to his friend, pointing toward another boy who was sitting at another table.

"Yeah, we should invite him. He’s definitely very strong, but I've never seen him in a team before. I think he doesn’t like to be in a party—look at those muscles and that great sword! I bet that thing can kill a bear," the other adventurer said. "But do you think he would join us?"

"You go ask him. I'm not going! If he gets pissed, I think one hit from him and I’ll be hospitalized for a year."

"Yeah, you’re not wrong about that. From the way he’s sitting there, I think he’s definitely pissed about something. Let’s not take our chances."

They both nodded awkwardly in agreement.

"Look, look! Someone is approaching him. Who is that? I’ve never seen him in the guild hall before."

"Yeah, you’re right. I’ve never seen him either."

"This noob is going to get destroyed on his first day because no one ever approaches that guy."

"Should we warn him?"

"Nah, what’s the fun in that?" they both agreed.

"..."

"One more day of lone adventuring. That's not new, Barren, and you know that," I tried to calm myself down.

Oh, those guys over there are looking toward me frequently. Should I go to their table and ask if I can join their team? But what if they say no? I’ll have to come back here, and that would be awkward, I thought to myself.

"Hi, are you in a party?" someone asked me from behind, putting a hand on my shoulder.

That frightened me a little because this never happens.

"NO."

What am I doing? He asked me so politely, but I just said no as an answer. What if he gets mad and decides not to ask me to join? Negative thoughts started to rush into my mind.

It was a boy. I think he’s my age, but because of my physique, I looked way older than him. The boy had bright red hair, not too long, neatly combed, and he was carrying a sword that matched him well. He was tall and good-looking, but not as tall as I am. Still, it matched his physique.

Hearing my tone of voice, at first, his expression changed a little, but then a huge smile came to his face, and he said, "Would you mind if I sit in front of you?"

Hearing that made me tear up a little. Is this it? Am I finally going to get a friend and go on an adventure with someone?

"NO, I DON'T MIND."

What am I saying? Why am I being so rude to him? I started cursing myself in my mind. Why am I like this?

"Oh, that’s great!" he said as he took the chair in front of me and sat down a little awkwardly.

"Hi, I’m Eddy Hines. I just came to the city and didn’t have a partner to go adventuring with. So, can I join you?"

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The boy asked awkwardly but with a smile on his face, as if to show that my rude attitude didn’t bother him.

This is my chance! My heart raced just thinking about the proposal, and I told myself, Barren, don’t mess this opportunity up. Say it as politely as you can.

"I A... M.. BAR..." My voice started stuttering as I tried to introduce myself. Don’t do this to me right now!

"What? I didn’t catch that. Can you say that one more time?" Eddy asked me, quite curious.

"Am I interfering with anything,

"NO"

If I don’t do something quick, he will think I don’t want to join him and leave me once again alone. You stupid meathead, don’t mess this up, I pondered to myself.

"I was saying, I am Barren Blackthorn," I said in a very husky voice. Well, that came out ruder than I expected. Oh, I know—I’ll just politely say, nice to meet you, and offer a handshake. That will make this less awkward.

Following my thoughts, I extended my hand toward him and said, "Nice to meet you," in a very deep voice. I also tried to smile as I proposed the handshake.

But that didn’t go as planned. He got spooked by my gesture, and then, when he realized, he sent his hand toward me very fearfully. I could see the fright in his facial expression and noticed his hand trembling in fear of what might happen next.

Nice to meet you too. Sorry if I caught you at a bad time.". I’ll take my leave now."

"NO!"

"You are not interfering in anything," I said awkwardly, knowing why he said that. But if he didn’t want to join me anymore, that would be fine, I thought to myself, as a clear, sad expression came to my face.

"Let’s team up. That would make me very happy," I said in a very low voice, tilting my head down.

"You know what? Let’s join forces, partner," Eddy said as he shook my hand with a bright smile.

That really made me happy—how he called me partner. In my mind, I started dancing and singing; I was in bliss.

"This looks sweet on you, Barren," Eddy said, smiling at me.

Did my facial expression change? I pulled back my hand awkwardly.

Then we talked about some details: which quest we would take and how we would share the reward.

I said we were talking, but most of the talking was done by Eddy. I just listened and occasionally said a few things.

We decided to go for a bronze quest this time because Eddy had just joined the guild today and got his card.

When I showed him my card, Eddy’s eyes started glowing with excitement.

"Dude, you’re a silver-ranked adventurer! You must be very powerful then. And you can use light magic—that will be very helpful!"

Then we talked some more and decided to take a quest to either exterminate or chase away a bear in the forest because the bear was terrorizing nearby towns.

"As for the reward, let’s split it 70–30. What do you say, Barren?"

Wait, he’s going to take 70%? That’s not fair. But the thought of adventuring with a partner made me forget that matter. I was about to say I was okay with that, but Eddy interjected.

"Don’t say no! You’ll do most of the heavy lifting in this quest. I’m new and won’t be much help to you. You have to take 70%!"

This guy... he’s giving me 70% of the reward! He’s an angel. I would have been fine with the other way around because of the word he said: "partner."

I think my expression changed once again because Eddy said, "Man, this does suit you a lot."

"It’s decided then," he said, cutting me off once again. But I didn’t mind because my mind was in bliss, just replaying the word partner.

"...."

"You know what? Because we’re going to be friends from now on, let me tell you the truth."

One more critical hit. The word friend pierced straight through my heart. In my mind, I started singing and dancing, and now some cats joined me in my singing and dancing too.

"I’m sorry. I thought of you as an arrogant and rude person when I came to talk to you.

"But I think that arrogant and tough-guy look was just a mask. Now that I’ve talked to you, I can see the real you behind that mask."

"...."

"And that’s how Eddy and I met three years ago," Barren said, looking toward me.

The room was filled with a nostalgic warmth, as Barren's reflective tone carried a mix of gratitude and fondness for Eddy.

"Wait, wait! I never thought of you as an introverted guy, Barren," I said, looking at him confusedly.

"Yeah, they changed me as a person," Barren said, pointing toward Eddy and Simon.

"And Viola too. I can’t imagine my life without them in it."

"Then what happened?" I asked curiously. "How did you meet Kathleen?"

"Oh, you mean Viola," Eddy said as he started to tell the rest of the story.

The atmosphere in the room was calm yet charged with curiosity, the air heavy emotions and the weight of past memories.

To Be Continued....