“I’ll take you up on that.”

Claire stepped in front of me once more. The man twitched and twisted as he tried to avoid eye contact, all his confidence and bravado lost in an instant.

“I know how strong you are, Claire. What's the point-”

“Yeah, and you’re picking a fight with a rookie. Same thing, right?” She waved him into silence. “Go back to your hole.”

“He beat a slime queen.” The man didn’t back down as he glanced at me. "Come on, Claire. This is a good deal for him. He'll meet some of the strongest people I know-"

“He’s a Supporter, you moron. He would have had a party with him.” Claire growled as the man tried to defend himself. “And if you’re gonna make some smart comment about him hiding at the back, just be quiet. Supporters act as rearguards. Or are you saying a Thief like you would beat a slime queen in a fair fight?”

The man gave me a glare before he turned back to his drink. He seemed the type to hold a grudge, even though I hadn’t been the one to put him down. I wouldn't have accepted his offer either way, but the way Claire had smashed him aside had been blunt. She had good intentions could tell but she had made the situation worse. At worst he would have mocked me a little more and now he would be out for my blood.

“Come on. I’ve got some people who want to meet you.” Claire grabbed my arm and pulled me further into the room. She waved at the boy to follow before she walked us to a table at the back of the hall. No one made any motions to stop us as every single one of the patrons took an intense interest in their drinks.

This woman’s dangerous…

The table she made her way towards had three people sat around it. They watched our approach without comment, though I did note they were relatively happy despite what had occurred. Their outfits were on a similar level to Claire’s, a step above the crowd around me but lower in quality than the guard uniforms I had seen. The differences in their gear to mine showed just how bizarre my outfit was.

“Hey, who’s our new friend?” The first guy wore a jacket made of chain-mail that reached to his knees. below which I could see a pair of tough leather trousers. His clothes under were padded for protection, though they favoured speed over defence. 

The second member of the group was a girl who wore a long robe. A hood lay at the back which would offer protection from the sun but not much else. Compared to her friends, the outfit she wore was more suited to a librarian than a warrior. Her cloak was clean and well kept, a stark difference to the outfit worn by the last member of the group. She looked like a scholar with her hooded cape and the staff sheathed on her back. 

The trio smiled at me as Claire directed me to a spare seat. After I had sat down I noted that Robbie had followed us, his little face locked in a grimace as he gave the group a look.

“You shouldn’t have mentioned the slime queen.” The last man chuckled at me and took a sip of his drink. His outfit consisted of dull brown leather, similar to mine but far less ostentatious. The dull brown material was scuffed and dented in multiple places, an obvious sign of battle wear that had yet to be repaired. As I was about to respond,  the robed woman flicked his forehead. He clutched his forehead in agony as Claire shook her head at the pair.

“Don’t be rude. Names first.” Claire turned to me. “As you know, my names Claire. My friends can introduce themselves.

“Bryan.” The man dressed in a set of chain-mail answered first.  “Don’t worry, we aren’t as aggressive as Claire.”

“Susan.” The robed girl nodded at me before she turned back to her drink. 

“John.” The rude man prised his fingers from his face as he answered me. A red welt marked the centre of his forehead, an obvious hint to the strength behind Susan’s blow. “Nice to meet you.”

I nodded at the group, though I didn’t answer in kind. It was awkward to admit it, but I didn’t know my own name. The goddess had said it would be lost during the transfer, along with most of my memories of our old home. The party stared at me for several seconds before Claire patted my arm.

“It’s fine, we don’t need to know your name.”

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“What about Rook?” John offered.

“What do you mean, ‘Rook’?” Claire glanced at him. She seemed ready to jump to my defence before John cut her off.

“Well, he's a rookie, right? Why not just shorten it to Rook?” John held up a hand as Claire got ready to attack him once more. “It’ll do until he tells us his name. It’s only a temporary solution, right?”

“That’s fine with me.” I nodded towards the man. Despite first impressions, he was a nice guy. He had saved me from a long, awkward conversation where I would’ve had to come up with a fake name by myself.

“So, you didn’t beat the slime queen?” Robbie piped up.

I turned to face the boy. He had been silent up until that point but his patience had finally worn out. It was a surprise such a young boy would be able to hold back for so long.

“Not directly, no.” I struggled to describe what had happened. “I did land the last hit, though.”

“Really?” His eyes lit up once more as he leant on the table beside me. “Did you really do that?”

“If he said he did, then he did.” Claire smiled at the boy. “He looks trustworthy to me, and I’m never wrong.”

"Seriously, Claire. You're like this with every new member who wanders in alone." John shook his head and chuckled. "Don't worry about her, Rook. She just likes helping people."

John's words explained the outer reason for her assistance, but there had to be something more to it. As he mentioned Claire's actions, Bryan frowned slightly and glanced at Claire. Whilst the person in question didn't react, I could tell from how Bryan acted that this may be a touchy subject.

Robbie stared at Claire for several seconds before he smiled again. She was good with children, another talent to add to the list. After Robbie's mood had lightened, she grabbed a nearby chair and pushed him into it before she dropped a bowl onto the table.

“What do you want?” She asked. “You can order anything.”

“Pudding, please.” Robbie grinned.

“Stew it is.” She nodded and set off towards the far end of the hall. This place served multiple duties. A reception, pub, meeting hall and a canteen for the members of the Guild. I had no understanding of this worlds currency yet, but such a set up usually led to inflated prices or poor quality. After a short sulk, Robbie perked up once more as he turned to me.

“Do you get given the slime queen core?” He looked me over as he searched for some sign of a bag. “Can you show it to me?”

“I did. I can’t bring it out yet, though.”

Claire returned with a large pot before Robbie could ask any more questions. She placed it down and used a ladle to serve some onto the boy's bowl before she turned to me.

“Want some?” She waved the ladle towards me. Her offer shocked me into stunned silence. I’d just met these people and she wanted to give me a free meal? Claire took my hesitation as agreement as she poured another portion on a bowl and passed it to me.

“I’d like some too.” John remarked. Claire raised an eyebrow at him as she pushed the pot to the centre of the table.

“Get your own, then.” She said as she started on her own meal. The others took turns to grab their own portions before the table went silent. I hesitated for a few moments as I looked at the meal. Instead of a stew, it was a watery broth, brown and murky. Several chunks of meat floated in its surface like tiny islands, interspersed with vegetables that looked like bright red potatoes.

I took up a spoon and dragged it along the surface. The liquid had a weird, oily glimmer as it rocked back and forth. A small portion slipped onto the spoon which I lifted to my mouth. As unappetising as it looked, it would be rude to refuse the meal now.

It wasn’t that bad, really. It didn’t exactly taste of anything, but that could be seen as a positive. Faint meaty hints tantalized my tongue as it slipped down. The meat was chewy, but at least it tasted quite nice. I had half expected the food to be horrible, so this was the first nice surprise I had been given since I arrived in my new world. As I finished my meal, a horrible thought took over.

I didn’t have any money.

Claire smiled as she took out bowls back. She tossed the bowls inside the pot and passed it over to Bryan.

“Take them back, we can’t leave a mess.”

Bryan sighed as he pushed himself up before Claire turned back to me. She glanced at the door before she spoke to me once more.

“Want to tag along with us until your party comes back?”

Her offer caught me by surprise. Why would she go this far to help a stranger? It wasn’t as though I was a worthy addition to their little group. Her friends didn’t say anything as they waited for my response.

Why are they being so friendly? Their intentions do seem pure... but why do I have a bad feeling about this.

Various hazy memories rose in my mind. The transfer had locked most of our past away but they still existed, deep in my mind. Using the situation as a crutch, I forced my brain to breakthrough. I wasn't successful entirely, but I did pull out one fact.

Wait... someone killed me? Someone I trusted stabbed me in the back, and it wasn't the first time. I can't remember what happened before, but everyone I've ever trusted... has betrayed me. 

My heart sank into my chest as the truth was revealed. People always cared about themselves first and others second, it was human nature. If you didn't follow that creed, those that did would just take advantage of you. The only thing I had ever learned to trust was cold, hard facts.

They might not be planning anything... or they might be. If the goddess had truly removed all of my memories, I would have agreed with their suggestion in a heartbeat... 

That made it clear why I had an instinctive mistrust towards overly friendly people, but recalling the reason didn't remove my inclinations entirely. I could always speak to them later if I changed my mind. If they really were friendly, they wouldn't take one refusal to heart. I looked up at the group with a slight smile as I attempted to soften the blow a little.

“I appreciate the offer, but I'll have to decline for now. I have something I need to do first.”