Nobina awoke to the warm sunlight covering her face. As she began to stretch, she remembered she hadn’t written in her diary for the longest time. Part of her knew she should head to work immediately considering how busy things were, but another part was telling her to not keep putting off writing even a little bit.

“It can wait till tonight,” she told herself.

Standing up, she greeted Pausers, who was happily hopping around on the bed as soon as she left.

“Sometimes I wish I could bring you around more Pausers. You bring me such joy… despite all the sad stuff that happens around me.”

Pausers gave a squeak, causing Nobina to chuckle. At that moment, she noticed her Gaze bag glow, revealing another note when she opened it. Reading it, she shook her head.

“I understand why you’d believe Pausers should have a choice in what to do with that cigarette. I know that one of you gave me it with the intent to give it to Pausers. However, another one of you told me it was a bad idea… If you are torn, then isn’t it my choice to decide if Pausers gets it?”

Nobina felt she was starting to understand the Gaze more and more each time it did something. The biggest thing is that the Gaze wasn’t a single entity. It was multiple entities that were enacting their will through this bag. She wasn’t sure who exactly were the entities and how many entities were watching her, but all she knew was they all had their own thoughts on what was right or what she needed.

“Still… I do wonder…”

She received this bag from Nonomo and had kept it at his request. So far it had been helpful, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it had some grand purpose. The bag did silly things like give her a cigarette to give to a bunny because it’d make them look edgy. Was that a part of some master plan or was she over thinking things and the entities were merely trolling her.

Not wanting to think more about it, she got her two bags and began heading to the guild.

At the guild, things were already hot as Nobina could hear Mimiki expressing herself all the way in the employee section of the guild. Sarah, who was at the receptionist’s desk, merely shook her head, giving a disappointed look.

Nobina made her way to the back, where she saw Mimiki and Darrias.

“You can’t tell me that it was a mistake,” said Mimiki, digging her finger into Darrias. “Someone lost their life, yet you think its fine because they weren’t your responsibility.”

“You know as well as I know that there’s only so much a C-rank adventurer can do,” he replied back firmly. “I almost lost my own life to a Goblin Assassin. Do you think I expected either of those Goblin Paths on this quest?”

Mimiki went silent, unable to come up with a response. At that moment, the two noticed Nobina.

“Sorry Nobina,” said Darrias. “This must be particularly hard on you considering your position in this.”

“Yeah,” said Mimiki. “Are you alright? Seeing… death for the first time… it isn’t easy. It’s never easy honestly.”

Nobina shook her head.

“I’m… alright. I just… want us to move on so we can prepare for the serious things to come.”

At those words, Mimiki shook her head, showing her own personal frustration.

“Eric deserves a piece of my mind as well, but that can be handled later. Do you want to join me in discussing my opinions regarding the Emergency Quest?”

Nobina was about to answer, but Sarah’s call to Guild Master Eric brought all their attention to the front of the guild. The three of them headed to the front, where they noticed a single individual in fancy attire. Their long brown hair and stern look made them look a bit intimidating, but Nobina didn’t want to be quick to judge. She wasn’t familiar with them, but the click in Mimiki’s tongue told Nobina it couldn’t have been someone they wanted to see.

“Of course they show up,” sighed Mimiki. “This is something that affects the whole town after all.”

“Who is she?” asked Nobina, her gaze being kept on the new individual.

“Council Member Hally,” said Mimiki. “She’s basically the liaison between the town council and the guild. As you know, the guild isn’t the ultimate authority of the town. Rather, we have a council that handles most non-adventurer matters. Our jurisdiction might be far reaching, but ultimately any serious issues concerning the town is within their purview.”

As Mimiki finished up, Council Member Hally approached Sarah, who gave her a pleasant smile.

“To what…” said Sarah before being cut off.

“Guild Master Eric. Immediately,” said Hally, showing a no-nonsense attitude.

“Understood. Mimiki. Please escort the council member to Guild Master Eric’s office.”

Hearing that name, Hally scoffed, prompting Mimiki to click her tongue yet again. Nobina sighed, realizing the two likely had something between them.

“Gosh dang it,” sighed Nobina.

Mimiki approached the council member, giving a rare bow.

“It is a privilege to meet you once again Council Member Hally,” said Mimiki in a rare, humble tone. Despite that, Nobina could tell how forced it was.

“I trust you to my care,” said Hally, clearly not serious about what she just said.

Before the two headed to the back, Hally turned to Nobina and smiled.

“Ah. You must be Nobina. It is a pleasure,” said Hally, giving a bow. This time, her tone reflected her sincerity, catching Nobina off guard.

“You… know me?” asked Nobina.

“But of course. Guild Master Eric always informs us of new employees. When I found out you have what is likely a respectable academy path, Path of the Writer, which I’m sure is quite rare, I knew I’d be honored to meet you. And considering your look and demeanor… you are truly someone worth making a friend with.”

Nobina didn’t how know to react to all the praise she was receiving, becoming beet red. However, Mimiki’s cough brought her back to reality.

“As this is likely an important manner, we should make haste,” said Mimiki, giving a glance to Nobina.

“Then by all means,” smiled Hally, showing a slightly annoyed expression. “Let us meet with the guild master.”

With that, the two headed to the guild master’s office. There, Eric was studying documents laid out all over his desk. When his gaze fell upon both Mimiki and Hally, he offered as big of a smile as he could.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you Hally,” smiled Eric.

“Save it,” said Hally, now dropping her formal demeanor. “Please tell me you’re joking with how you’re handling the matter.”

Eric merely tilted his head, acting confused.

“Don’t think I’m not aware of the fact you’re sending adventurers out to cull a nest,” said Hally, irritated by his attitude. “You know our town’s situation and how much pressure this will put on the town guards. Not to mention we haven’t forgotten the prior incident with the multi-nest attack. Are you even taking that into account?”

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

“Please,” said Eric, dropping his own smile for a more neutral expression. “I’m well aware of the risk of initiating a culling operation while the other two nest status are unknown. However, here are the facts. If we are attacked by multiple nests, then defending the town will put us in the worst position. Attacking the nest itself has been planned, but town defense is another issue. Our best case, whether it’s one or multiple active nests, is to cull it as soon as possible.”

“That’s my issue,” said Mimiki, showing unrestrained anger. “I know these adventurers and you cannot limit the culling squad. A Goblin Assassin and Goblin Archer are two threats that could easily decimate the attack groups if in larger numbers. We need to send as many as we can to deal with the nest.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot agree to that,” said Hally. “If we experience another attack, what will the guild do? Send you or Eric out to deal with the second nest? What if all three nests attack? We should be preparing for the worst case, not assuming that this is merely a one-nest problem.”

“We already have a scout group checking both nest,” replied Eric. “Once we find out more information in two days, we can adjust our strategy.”

“But Eric,” said Mimiki. “If we wait too long, the South Invasion, which is going to happen within a few days no matter what we do, will cause the goblins to leave the nest. It’ll be significantly harder to deal with the invasion once they all pour out.”

As all of them continued to think, Nobina’s bag gave a rather bright glow. While Nobina, Mimiki, and Eric knew about it, Hally looked confused.

“What is that?” asked Hally, looking at Nobina’s Gaze Bag.

“This is Nobina’s special tool,” said Eric, trying to cover for Nobina. “It creates random objects that can either be helpful or useless.”

Hally looked suspiciously at Eric but then turned to Nobina with a reassuring look.

“Well… Let’s see what we got then, shall we?” smiled Hally.

Nobina looked at Eric, who merely nodded silently. With that, Nobina saw a large amount of barb wiring. She went into her special bag to grab her gloves, which she used to pull the barb wire out of her bag. Looking at it, everyone except Nobina was confused about what they were seeing.

“What… is that?” asked Eric.

“This is barb wire. It’s commonly used for defense or security by impeding infantry or living beings in general. Imagine trying to run through a strong, sturdy wire that can easily cut you? Very effective at slowing things down.”

“Amazing,” said Hally. “So this bag produced something we can instantly use for the town defense. Why weren’t we made aware we had such a tool?”

As she said that, another bundle of barb wire appeared, which Nobina pulled out.

“Well… you see... This bag can produce stuff immediately useful like this, but not all the time. It’s very conditional and needs further research. Anyways, according to the information tag on the barb wire… wow, this is 1300 feet of barb wire each. So, we got 2600 feet of this stuff…”

Nobina was instantly thankful for everything she was receiving right now. Considering the circumstances, they needed everything they could get to push things in their favor.

As she said that, two more bundles appeared, as well as instructions on how to use them called “Barbed Wire Setup for Dummies and Idiots, Volume 1 of 1.”

“Alright,” said Nobina. “I don’t know if we’ll need four bundles of this stuff, but thanks for the book.”

“Who are you talking to,” said Hally, even more confused.

“Myself,” smiled Nobina innocently.

Hally stared at her for a bit before sighing.

“Well… Anyway. The town defense remains a priority. However, it seems like the guild is aware of how serious the matter is. I shall report everything I’ve discuss and seen here today with the rest of the council. For now, the council trusts you in this matter. However, please do not send too many adventurers on a raid if you do proceed. We must remember the safety of the civilians is a priority.”

“Of course,” bowed Eric.

“Wait,” spoke Nobina, now displaying her own confusion. “You’re just… leaving it to us?”

“Ultimately that would have been the case regardless of how this meeting went. We are merely here to advise, not control the guild Nobina,” smiled Hally. “After all, we merely wish for the best for the town and to minimize the damages. After all, this is merely an unfortunate disaster that couldn’t have been avoided.”

Hearing those words made Nobina sad. She merely wanted a peaceful life, yet it seemed fate had something else in store for her and the town.

With that, Hally asked to be escorted out, which Mimiki assisted with.

“We’ll talk later Mimiki,” said Eric, with Mimiki merely nodding.

As the two found themselves alone, Eric asked Nobina to sit down.

“Nobina,” said Eric, his voice turning serious.

“Yes?” she asked, giving an innocent smile.

“We need to talk about your Gaze and your Path.”

Hearing that, Nobina gave him a serious look.

“I’ve been debating whether to discuss this matter with you or not, but as your bag’s capabilities have become more and more apparent, I feel its best we discuss my thoughts and plans moving forward.”

Nobina couldn’t help being concerned about what he was about to say, but she continued to listen.

“I had my suspicions Nobina, but I believe the recent events that are happening might be because of you and your Path.”

A look of disbelief appeared on her face.

“Are you telling me I triggered this disaster because of my Path?”

“Not necessarily,” he responded back. “Are you aware of the story of the heroes?”

She nodded her head.

“Yeah. This adventuring book told me a brief intro on it.”

Nobina began recalling the story of the heroes. How one day, the demons suddenly started amassing power and began their assault on the world. In response, the gods summoned heroes to counteract the rising demon threat. The result was a massive war that took hundreds of years to resolve. The end result was today’s peace, where the demons no longer sought to expand, and everyone sought world unity.

“Good. So. When you arrived here and we had your Path checked, it was confirmed your Path meant you’d had the potential to significantly influence the world. What exactly you will do to influence it is still unknown. However, considering the rise of the goblin threat, I believe the world is reacting to your presence and actions so far.”

Nobina had trouble fathoming the idea that her mere presence was leading to the current mess they were in. Not to mention, that meant that the death of Manist was now sounding like her fault.

“I refuse to believe this,” she said adamantly. “Exactly what am I doing to trigger this, Eric? Writing? Having dreams? Enjoying myself? Tell me. I’d LOVE to hear what I’m doing wrong.”

The last words out of her mouth came out loudly, prompting Eric to give a bit of a surprise look.

“Like I said, I have no idea what exactly you’re doing to trigger all these events, but I know you have to be playing a role due to your Path. Do you think this invasion happens if you’re not here?”

Nobina couldn’t deny it, but he didn’t answer her question.

“There’s no way I would know that. However, what do you want me to do Eric? Just… go away? Leave forever?”

Eric remained silent, which infuriated Nobina.

As she said that, a paper flew out of the bag, landing between the two. It displayed a hooded figure flipping off Eric, prompting Eric to be confused while Nobina facepalmed.

“Oh great,” she sighed. “You know what Eric. If my presence here is really a detriment to the town, I’ll leave.”

Nobina stood up to leave, but Eric stood up as well.

“Nobina… I’m sorry. I cannot allow you to leave. Given the situation… I must act in the capacity of a guild master.”

She took a step back, fear entering her face.

“Are you…”

“No,” he said. “I merely cannot let you leave my presence anymore. I still don’t know what your purpose is or if you’re really causing the current chain of events, but getting rid of you might just doom the world. For now, I shall watch over you as my priority. Got it?”

Nobina felt hurt that she was being treated as a potential liability, but she was more concerned about Eric and what he was going to do.

“But… What about your duties as a guild master? What about everything that’s happening?” asked Nobina.

“We will resolve our current issues first, but once they are resolved… we will discuss what the plan is moving forward? Got it?” said Eric, his voice remaining as serious as ever.

Nobina could only nod in response. She had thought things were going well, but now she realized how much things have spiraled out of control. Not only that, but now Eric was telling her she could be significantly influencing the world and now had to be watched due to the danger she presented.

“Nobina,” said Eric. “I know… that I might be coming off as someone who wants to control you, but you must understand that I’m doing this with good intentions.”

“Yeah,” she said, her voice gone of any clear joy. “I just… wanted to be a writer… Is that too much to ask?”

Eric, giving her a sad look, shook his head.

“Apparently… it is.”

As he said that, the Gaze bag reacted immediately. Screams came from it, saying they’d kill Eric to free her if she wished. He remained calm, though his words towards Nobina reflected how he was feeling.

“Whatever this Gaze is, I can tell it’s very protective of you Nobina. Please rest assure, you’ll be safe under my watch, nor will I do anything to earn the Gaze’s ire. Now… do you have any questions.”

“Plenty,” she snapped. “I have so many questions and yet I’m sure you can’t answer them all… I just need to think.”

In Nobina’s mind, things weren’t going as she wanted. It was as if her role as a puppet was now being made clear. All she wanted to do was accomplish a simple dream, and now she was the catalyst for change in this world. Was she destined to never finish the book she wanted to write?

“I guess for now… I only want to know if you think it will be impossible to live a peaceful life.”

Eric offered a small smile.

“Like I said. For all we known these events might have happened whether you came to this world or not. For now, I suggest remaining hopeful that things will work out. That’s all anyone can hope for.”

“I guess… You’re right,” she sighed.

Despite everything, deep down Nobina had a feeling that she still had control over what path her life took. This was a trial she’d have to overcome. An obstacle that was holding her back. Writing a book for her wouldn’t be easy, but she’d find a way to do it. One way or another, she’d complete her dream. What happened after that… would be all up to fate.