Point Of View: Christopher Roosevelt

"If it isn't the mighty supreme mage." The speaker was a thin man with curly hair resembling an afro. His skin had an orange hue, his eyes and hair were dark. He was dressed in light leather armor. To his right stood a bald, muscular man with a scar above his left eyebrow, and to his left, a man with straight, short hair. They were quite stylish.

At some point, I'm going to get an afro hairstyle. It looks really cool to me.

"You walk around in that cape, but you know what? If the real supreme mage were here, he'd be surrounded by soldiers. Kid, you're just drawing attention." The man continued while Perucia was breaking a crate near the city exit leading to the outer warehouses. She crouched down, rummaging through the wood as if looking for something.

I took a deep breath. This wasn’t the time to care about whatever weird thing that girl was doing. I saw Sete hiding behind me. Well, I was responsible for these kids, right? Being robbed is a terrifying experience. I had been through it once or twice in Brazil.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep a serious tone. Magnus watched silently in my mind. I was comforted by the fact that he didn’t seem worried. The maniac mage knew his stuff.

"Oh, you think you can walk around acting all high and mighty? You still don’t understand your situation, kid?" The bald man moved toward Perucia, who was standing up with a small piece of wood in her hand. She assumed a stance, the kind swordsmen use in anime, pointing her wooden sword at the thug. The bald man drew a knife.

"What do you think you're gonna do with that stick, brat?"

I felt Magnus grabbing a bucket of popcorn inside my head. Then I heard Perucia whisper as she moved forward.

"First Form: Last Autumn Leaf."

Perucia seemed to teleport behind the man. His arm was broken, his knee buckled, his mouth drooled.

"AAAGH, YOU MISERABLE BITCH!" He screamed as he clutched his arm. My jaw dropped as I heard Magnus’s commentary in my head. The girl was a martial artist? I remembered the voice in my head when I arrived in this world: swords and magic.

"If Perucia had a real sword, she would have cut off your arm." The makeshift sword in the little girl's hand was broken too. It hadn't withstood the impact... Actually, it's more accurate to say it hadn’t withstood Perucia’s strength. Sete also had his jaw dropped behind me. The bandits had blank stares when the other two drew their daggers and rushed toward me.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Die, bastard!" The man with the cool afro said as he stabbed his knife into my neck. The straight-haired bandit tried to attack Sete, who jumped back. I closed my eyes, thinking I would die stabbed. I heard the sound of metal breaking in two. The afro-haired man’s eyes were wide when I heard Magnus’s voice.

'Allow me to explain. This cape is a magical item made by the most powerful mage. Even though it isn't activated by magic—since you are a magicless worm—it won’t be torn by a simple knife. If it were, then it would be fake.'

A wicked smile appeared on my face. I drew my own dagger and stabbed the bandit in the stomach.

> God’s Note: Who here remembers Abimael’s cape tearing?

"It’s not a fatal strike, but if you don’t treat it, you’ll die." I watched him stagger back as Perucia moved toward the straight-haired man, who was trying to hit Sete. She was holding the dagger that belonged to the bald guy with the broken arm. The man looked at his two companions.

"Look, it was just a joke. I’ll have to report this to the city guard."

I rolled my eyes, smiled, and started walking towards them.

"I get it. It’s all fine then, I’ll just have to cut out your tongues." I saw the man’s eyes widen. He began backing away and looked at Sete. He was going to try to take a hostage. But Perucia skillfully placed herself between them.

"Relax, man. It’s just a joke. But let’s keep this between us, alright? You don’t want to die, do you? And I don’t want trouble." I looked at him, smiling. "Besides, after your friends recover, you’ll have to work for me for having offended this Supreme Mage that stands before you."

'You’re a great actor, but you just got lucky that they were weak and that Perucia is a little monster.' Magnus left a comment in my head. I remembered that not long ago, he had called me unlucky.

"Of course, we’ll make it up to you for this offense." The other two criminals were sneaking away while I was dealing with the last bandit.

"You two as well. You have two days to recover. You’d better not leave the city." I looked at the last one and signaled for him to move aside.

"So, you’re a swordswoman?" I was delighted. I went looking for copper and found gold. This girl could be our guard. I would definitely buy her a sword. Anxiety rose through my body, mixed with a satisfaction that made me smile from ear to ear.

"Perucia’s papa taught her how to fight. Papa said to hit men who advance on me."

I thought about it for a bit. I think he meant one thing, and she understood another.

"I’m going to buy you a sword, and you’re going to be our guard." I was very happy. Magnus felt it.

'Are you really going to hide behind a twelve-year-old girl?' His mental message made one of my eyebrows rise.

'Actually, she'll be turning forty-one next month.' I let out a small chuckle, which was interrupted by Perucia’s voice.

"I already told you that ladies don’t work."

Oh, there was that? The girl was lazy.

"No, this isn’t work. I’m your ticket to the Elven country, remember? You just have to prevent bad people from stealing your ticket. Doesn’t that make sense to you?"

Her gaze looked completely suspicious. I saw her eyes narrow. And then came the response:

"Alright, I guess I can see it that way. But Perucia wants a sword."