…/Evening - Proxy

The pain is dying down thanks to Dr. Crow’s work. He patched me up and everything. Though, I can’t say I’m a fan of the part where he had to stitch my chest… But hey, at least I’m feeling better. Healing a wound like this with Zell or Richard’s abilities wouldn’t cut it this time, especially because I ran myself right into the dirt. All I can do now is sit back and relax.

A break was long overdue for all of us. We took the morning off, sleeping and all that. Thought I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep after all the action, but a few minutes was all it took before I was knocked out. Everyone woke up by dawn and started to get a large campsite going. I’m off cooking duty for obvious reasons. The camp isn’t super lively like I want it to be. Makes sense though; we had some casualties and had to bury them. I dunno how to feel about it since this is my first time having to see a dead ally…

“Are you hungry?” Richard, holding two meat skewers, asks me.

“Nah, I’m all good.”

He sits next to me, watching the others alongside me. “Is your wound settling down?”

“Kinda, it’s still annoying, but nothing a bit of rest won’t fix. What about you?”

“I managed to heal some of the damage, but I still needed to get looked at by Dr. Crow.”

“Let me guess, he scared you half to death with a bad joke?”

“Yeah…”

Hearing how his fight with Cade went, I kinda feel bad for leaving him to fend him off on his own… However, maybe that’s just the part of me that still sees him as someone weaker than me; a person I need to protect. But look at him, getting hurt, taking on people by himself…

I pat him on the back. “...You’re so much stronger now, buddy.”

“Huh? Where is this coming from?”

“Oh, I’m just getting all nostalgic. Seeing you like this brings a tear to my eye.”

“...Did you hit your head, or am I missing something?”

“Well, this noggin’ took a few blows in my life, so you’re not far off.”

Richard chortles before dawning a sad look. “I felt bad for him, for Cade, I mean.”

“Me too.”

“...When my mom died and my dad left without a trace, all I ever had was my brother, and even then, I don’t see or hear from him often. If I hadn’t met you, I don't think I could bear any of it…”

“I think…I get that… Before coming to this world, I never thought about the things, rather, people, in my life. Maybe I am the way I am because of Birch, Lauren, you, and everyone else here. Maybe if it weren’t for all of you, I’d be a completely different person; someone like Jed.”

“Huh?”

“He’s a creepy SOB with a fake as-shit smile, yet, I feel like we’re somewhat identical.”

“How?”

“When I fought him, I sensed he liked dishing out pain, hurting people… When I fight, I don’t think about the pain, rather the excitement I get from battle, and when we first got here, it was no different...”

Not like I don’t like fighting anymore, I still do. But just fighting for excitement is a slippery slope in this place. People like Jed don’t enjoy the fighting; they love the pain, the killing. That’s not what I want out of a fight, not at all… If I hadn’t realized this, maybe my reason for fighting could’ve warped into something perverse.

“...I’m not worried,” Richard reassures me. “I don’t completely understand your joy for fighting, but I know you’re not someone who likes hurting people. I know you're someone who’d put his own life on the line for others; like you did for me, Cade, Marie, Nunnalé and so many others! So don’t compare yourself to Jed, or anyone like him!”

…Yeah, it’s pointless to compare myself to that bastard. He’s just a miserable piece of shit who isn’t capable of caring about one. But me, I am…

I suck up as much air as possible, then, rising from the ground, I release a loud, boisterous, mocking laugh at the night sky. “Of course! No one can ever come close to me! I, Proxy, am not just one; I am THE greatest punk of NewPort Island! My greatness knows no bounds! Man, I almost forgot how awesome I am! Mwahahaha!”

That’s right, I know who I am. Nothing to worry about as long as I remember that, and everything I learned here. Plus…I know I can rely on everyone to steer me clear.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re great,” Zeal says, munching on his food. “...now shut up!”

“Oi! Don’t make me shove my foot up your ass!”

“I’d like to see you try, brat.”

“Any time, any place, anywhere, you mosh pit reject!”

“How about right no–”

His brother tugs at his ear, dragging him back to his seat. “Sorry for my brother, everyone.”

Richard puts his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry for him as well, everyone.”

Zeal is annoying as hell, but he reminds me of the punks back home. Feels good to sling insults back and forth between someone… I’ll just give him a mild ass beating for it now.

I plop back to the ground after that whole thing dies out.

“Proxy, there was something I needed to tell you?”

“Is it bad?”

“No, n-no. It’s just…well… You know the place Quincy wants to visit on our march towards Borghulda?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re close to it. Quincy told me.”

“Shit, really? Then we can take a quick look over there.”

“But then we’d have to put off our march just to do that. We would probably be gone for a bit before coming back.”

“Oh, then maybe we can explain it to Marie and Alex. They’d understand.”

“I know, but I don’t want to be selfish and put things on hold just to figure out the secret to the book so we can go home. Fighting the bandits, beating them, that’s more important right now, and I can’t let my absence stop that.”

“Okay, then we’ll all go when we’re feeling better!”

“We could, but I know you want to see this through to the end… I thought about going there with him, but…I don’t think that’s right. If I just leave you guys so I can hunt for information about the book and how to use it to go back home, then I’d feel selfish; like I’d let all of you do the work while I further my aims.”

“No one would mind, not even me.”

“Maybe, but I would. I can’t just leave because I feel like it. This fight, the one for the people of the outside and everyone here, I want to see it all to the end, no matter what. Even if I suck with Source, I still want to see all this through.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,. It’s not like the manor will go anywhere. Also, Quincy is going to check whether it’s real or not. And besides, I’d be worried about you if I left you alone too long; you’re prone to act recklessly.”

“Mm-hmm, pot calling the kettle black. You did some crazy shit, too, man.”

“Well…yeah, no, you got me.”

Richard holds out a fist. “Let’s take this all the way to the end.”

“Yeah, straight to victory, buddy!”

We bumped fists harder than we needed to. I’m glad, not just because he’s stronger than he was before, but that I can have a dependable and trustworthy friend like him and earn every part of that.

“Oh, by the way… Richard, when Nunnalé came to your rescue, did she carry you bridal style?”

He instantly freezes up like a deer in headlights before becoming roadkill. “Wha-wah-umm–”

“Huh? Wait~ Did she?”

“No, no, not at all! Wh-where the hell did that come from!?”

“I’m just asking~”

“Well, she didn’t, okay!?”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Then why are you blushing?”

“It’s genetic!”

“Oh, okay. So, if I ask Nunnalé, she’ll tell me she didn’t?”

“C-come on, let’s–”

“Hey, Nunnalé, did you–”

“It never happened! She didn’t carry me like that!”

“Oh, ho, ho, ho~ You hear that, guys? Then how did Nunnalé carry you?”

Everyone in earshot looks towards Richard, ready to bust a gut at the answer he gives. Richard is digging his ire towards me, using every ounce of anger in his body.

“Wait, what I meant was that she didn’t carry me. Yeah, that’s it!”

“But Master Richard, since you were injured, I had no other choice but to carry you.”

“Nunnalé!”

A wave of laughter follows shortly after. People are keeling over, rolling the ground, or just holding back their guts like they’d fall out.

“Would you like for me to demonstrate how I carried you, master?”

“H-hell no!”

“Come on, don’t get all embarrassed,” Ocean says, walking up behind us. The crowd goes silent. “Being carried bridal style is fine. Didn’t ya feel good in her strong arms?” Yet again, an uproar of laughter erupts from everyone again. The old man’s sides were practically in orbit. “Hey, girlie, show us how you carried him?”

Nunnalé, out of ignorance of the situation, does just that. As expected, she did it bridal style. However, there was a small problem… She came over and picked me up!

“Like this.”

“Hey, you moron! Don’t pick me up! Hey!”

“Didn’t you want to see, Proxy?” Marie gleefully says, snickering behind her hand.

“You! You told her to do this!”

“Maybe.”

Witch! She’s a witch! Worse than the actual loli witch! I’ll get her for this, I swear!

“Every one of you bastards is so dead! Especially you, old man!”

“Can’t take ya…seriously when you’re bein’...carried like that!”

Forget the orbit, his entire stomach is in space. His laugh is going to haunt my nightmares from here on out. I can feel it. Richard is holding his stomach like it’ll fall out but isn’t holding back whatever amusement he feels. Karma truly is a vicious mistress… Well, I guess being the butt of a joke isn’t so bad, especially now… Yeah right!

…/Proxy

Man…I am so pooped. Tonight turned into a small party with everyone ribbing me for…that. Ocean’s cackling echoing in my head doesn’t help either. Seriously, that old man is a mystery to me. One minute, he’s trying to kill me, the next, he’s helping us. Wish I could ask, but maybe he already left, so… Hm? Off in the corner of the camp, he’s just sitting there, watching us. He had no problem being all buddy-buddy with us, but now he seems so…distant. He’s carefully examining his sword with a serious expression painted on his face.

“Hey, the party is over there,” I open with.

“Huh, oh, yeah… Well, I kinda feel like I’m overstayin’ my welcome.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, it’s for the best.”

“Why? You helped us today.”

“Well, we didn’t exactly meet on good terms.”

“Maybe, but it’s not like you threatened my friends or anything. I still remember how you saved Vella’s life when she got sniped. And from what I heard and seen, you saved a lot of people today. So, thank you, Ocean. Not just for that, but for helping me understand myself a bit better…”

He pulls back his head while scratching the back of it.”Aw, shucks, now you’re just makin’ me feel all embarrassed… I just have trouble not mindin’ my own business, that’s all.”

“Either way, thanks…”

“No problem…” He gets from the ground, slinging his sword strap over his shoulders. “Well, see ya around.”

“Wait!”

“What? Don’t tell me ya–”

“Why do you fight?” He’s taken aback by my questions, seemingly gasping for a quick breath. “If you don’t mind, I just want to know. Someone like you, I have to know why.”

Is it for power, money, fame, or just to fight, or does he want revenge? What could a person like him be fighting for?

“...I have a dream,” he answers, staring upward to avoid eye contact. “I fight because I have a dream I want to fulfill.”

“What’s that dream?”

“Promise you won’t laugh?” he asks, surprisingly sheepish.

“Y-yeah…”

“Well… Someday, before I kick the bucket…” A joyful, almost youthful smile etches itself on his face. His eyes are brimming with a light that almost seems childlike. “...I want to split the sea in half!” That’s it, that’s his reason…? It’s so… “I know, I know, it sounds stupid, right?”

“That’s awesome.”

“What?”

“That’s so awesome!”

“It is?”

“Of course, it sounds ridiculous, but if you could do it, that would be awesome!”

His reason is so simple, yet it feels bigger than life itself. Who wouldn’t call that awesome?

“It isn’t ‘if’, it’s ‘when’ I do it! And when I do, you better be ready to hear my name for generations to come, kid.”

“Sure thing. I’ll be waiting when the day comes. Hell, I’ll even cook you the best damn dinner in your life.”

“I’ll hold you to it, kid.”

He takes his leave with his sword slung over his back. I’ll probably be seeing him again real soon… Having the book almost guarantees it. Maybe I should’ve asked whether this still makes us enemies, but I don’t care. If he ever wants to fight, I won’t say no. But I hope he doesn’t have to be an enemy.

…/Marie

Not another bite. I can’t… Seriously, I just can’t. Skipping several meals tends to build a heavy appetite. But I think…I may have bitten more than I can handle. I’ll have to catch up on exercise tomorrow to offset this.

“Hm?” Nunnalé is sitting on top of the bus, staring at the sky. Everyone is already asleep by now, so why isn’t she? “Hey, what’re you doing up there?”

“I am guarding the bus,” she answers with a curt response.

“That’s great and all, but you should head to sleep.”

“I do not need sleep… I will stay…” A loud and telling yawn interrupts Nunnalé mid-sentence. “...up.”

“Right. How long have you been up?”

“50 hours.”

“Okay, you’re going to sleep now. Come down here.”

“But…”

“Come on.” She jumps off the bus to the ground. “You can sleep with me tonight.”

“Why must I?”

“Well…just because. What, you don’t want to?”

“I did not say that I did not, however–”

“Great, let’s go!”

I pull her along to my tent as she stares at me, baffled.

“Marie…are you…well?”

“Hm? Yeah, I am.”

“I see. Then let us be off.”

“Wait, is that it?”

“Yes, that is all.”

“Nunnalé, you can speak your mind if you want.”

“...I am… I…did not wish to bother you with illogical ramblings.”

“About what?”

“I…do not know what I feel. When I direct my focus onto you, it is as if my shoulders have lost an innumerable amount of weight.”

“I think that’s called relief, Nunnalé.”

“Relief?”

“I’m sorry I made you worried, but that won’t happen again. Is that all you needed to say?”

She quietly nods. We continue to my tent. It’s small, but enough for the two of us. Been a while since I’ve slept outside. I barely slept inside the bus when I was withdrawn into myself. It’ll be a good change of pace.

I lie down on the mat inside, but Nunnalé is sitting on her knees near the exit, staring at me with her stoic eyes.

“You know you can sleep on the mat with me, right?”

“My presence would interrupt your sleep, would it not?”

“No. It would be comforting right now.”

“Why so?”

“I’m still having some trouble being with myself right now.”

“And that is why you wish for me to be here?”

“Kinda, but I really want you to get some sleep. You need it. A girl is at her best when she’s well-rested.”

“I see, then excuse me.” She crawls over to the mat, still sitting but next to me. “Is this fine?”

I can’t help but laugh at how awkward she is. “Yeah, it is.”

“Did I do something amusing?”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

I sit up to face her. It’s been a while since I got to speak with her. I might want to do it now. It’s not like we haven’t spoken; I was out of myself for a bit in Laguna, but it wasn’t a proper conversation.

“Marie…I must apologize.”

“For what?”

“I was unable to aid you when you were at your least mentally functional.”

“Oh, that’s… It’s fine.”

“The emotions and feelings you harbor are unknown to me, and I had very little understanding of you… But I cannot help but believe I could have done something of note to assist you.” Her small hands tremble a bit, and her stoic expression changes with apprehension. “You are not my master, and yet, I care for you.”

Wow, just wow. I never thought she cared for me all that much. She’s always concerned with Richard. I never considered that she would even think of other people like that… In the end of the day, whatever she is, she’s still a young girl. I wrap my hands around her and bring her close to me.

“Marie?”

“You do more than enough. You protected me when you didn’t have to, and you even saved me when I tried to hurt all of you… I should be the one saying sorry.”

It’s a tender moment. The wind doesn’t make a peep as I keep holding her close. At first, the way she spoke, her blind obedience towards Richard, and the lack of expression on her face or eyes always creeped me out. But I did my best to be somewhat amicable with her. After a while, those things bothered me less when I saw how awkward she can be at times, somewhat dense even, but more importantly, how willing she was to protect Richard, Proxy, and even me… Moreover, she’s like a little sister to me.

“Is this an entrapment technique?”

“No, it’s called a hug, silly. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable…”

“I am perfectly comfortable. This feels…nice?”

“...My mom used to hug me like this whenever she needed to help put me to sleep.”

“How come?”

“I used to believe that one day, someone from the outside would come and kill me in my sleep. But my mom always said, ‘Nobody will harm you as long as I draw breath, sunshine.’ ”

She kept true to her word, till the very end.

“...Are you still scared?” Nunnalé asks with gentle curiosity.

“Kind of, but I got used to that feeling when I was alone, as a bandit; I even thought I’d have it coming. But I’ve stopped worrying about it since Alexander, and everyone else came into my life. Now, I want to keep going forward and make up for the things I’ve done. By ending the Fire Wraiths, once and for all.”

We’re so close, the end is in sight. Everyone worked so hard to get to this point, and I need to rise above and beyond to help pull this to the end. After that…

“This goes beyond my mission parameters, my sole purpose for existence as a doll. However… I wish to protect you, my master, Proxy, and…everyone. I do not know why I wish for this. A doll should not be allowed to wish for anything. We are simply tools for whoever commands us. However, I am compelled to. So, when I gain my master’s permission, may this be an acceptable request?”

I gasped, stunned by her heartfelt request. Words are failing to come out of my mouth, and even then, they can’t express the level of gratitude I feel towards her. I was trying to come off like an adult for once in my life, but she just outright shut me down… A tear trickles down my face. I don’t feel miserable, but happy; elated that she would want to protect someone like me.

“Yes,” I answer.

“Then I shall protect you, my master, and everyone else until we defeat our enemies.”

“Thank you, so much.”

I won’t let your kindness go to waste, Nunnalé, or anyone’s efforts.