The next morning, I got up, dressed and prepared to take a long search at the mission board… 

!!

But, when I got there, he was already waiting. The first time always made me jump, but it being part of the routine helped with coping with that and my staff only bobbed up and down ever so slightly. 

Well, at least that was what I thought happened…

"Mornin’!"

Clyde, the guardian of the Taverinn stairs, greeted me with a cheeky grin.

"…I’m busy," I muttered, facing the floor and relying on my staff for my posture.

"Aye, aye. I get that, I get it… but uh—listen ‘ere fer a sec." Clyde put his hands on his hips.

"M-Mm?" I raised my gaze just a bit.

"I may have found somethin ye might just be interested in, but I’m in the process ‘f… well, knowin’ more bout it. When ye’re more free, do lemme know, a’right?"

I am busy trying to survive each day but…

"Well… why not just let me know now?" Only then I gazed up at him fully.

"I’d rather not spoil the surprise–(quick double winks)–too early. Just trust me. That’s all I can say."

"O-Okay?" I slowly turned back my attention to the mission board and resumed ruffling through the papers posted.

A surprise, huh…?

I sneaked a glance at him, as he turned tail and presumably returned to his post; but to my surprise, he was leaving through the main doors. 

This might actually be the first time I’ve seen him leave the Taverinn…

That’s… a pretty low bar for an expectation, actually. He probably does this a lot when I’m not around.

...

Why am I even bothering myself with that?! I have other more important things to worry about!

Just thinking about that, my left hand reached for a quest paper that involved exterminating Slimes at a neighboring village outside the main city. It was a Novice-ranked quest again, so of course the rewards would be decent… but the main subject of the matter never failed to bring up bad memories.

"It’s that time again, after all…" I nervously chuckled to myself as I double-checked the print on the quest paper I held.

Quest obtained, registered it with Ms. Chait, opened the doors and then hurriedly stepped outside…

"Oof," I interjected promptly, face-planting into someone’s hardened back.

"W-Whoa! Been a wee bit clumsy lately, eh?" A familiar accent from just a few minutes ago spoke to me.

I recovered and jumped backwards only to see Clyde, precariously body-blocking the entrance like any sane, normal person would do. 

"Why are you just… standing at the entrance anyway?" I refixed my frontal bangs as I muttered my question, hoping I didn’t come off as rude.

"Mmm. I’ve no idea actually–" He scratched his head. "Kinda forgot what I rushin’ te get te all ‘f a sudden. Eh–"

Dignifying that with only a deadpan stare, I just turned to face the path towards the Eastern Gate of Asparthens.

Let’s just keep to our own business… I'm not even gonna ask.

"W-Wait! Are ye about te head on a quest right now?"

My feet froze in its tracks. It was almost as if I was expecting that question a long time ago. No. Actually, it was the surprise of even hearing that beckoning question from him that I was shocked by.

"It’s… just a Slime extermination quest… I-I’ll be fine. I’ll… be on my way now…"

Please don’t go further and ask. I'll just be on my w–

"Oh? OH! Mind me taggin’ along’en?"

Ahk– I already prepared for that one, but how did I still feel it! Okay okay. Lily. We're not desperate. We're cool. We're chill. Now all you have to do is say ‘no’. N, O. 

You’ll get these things done like you always have! 

Nobody's going to be blamed but yourself if you screw this one up…

Reaching the first step of my resolve, my brain countered with the first memory of the feeling of my cloth armor being stained in gelatinous goop because I wasn’t careful and didn’t have anyone else to rely on. My body shook to my core from just that.

"I-if… you w-want to?" I muttered, very hesitantly.

Eeeeeh?! That’s still just relying on their judgement! What if he’s the one that says ‘no’?? I thought all the past pathetic attempts were enough to teach you the valuable lesson of just chucking at life’s hardship alone–

"Eh? If ye’re going at it like that, then—I guess I would like te. ‘Sides, I’ve got nothin’ better te do. None else te see today. I won’t be a nuisance, promise!"

I was shut up. But no matter how much I couldn’t admit it to myself… I was relieved that I was able to hear that from somebody. Even when it’s from someone I don’t even know.

+points for being aware that he was being a nuisance.

I do know I can’t say no so… maybe… 

Maybe, just this once.

"Well… L-Let’s go," I muttered.

I kept my head low and just started walking without waiting for him to add anything onto it. Footsteps that weren't mine followed close by and that’s all I heard.

_ _ _

According to the quest paper, the destination was a forest near this village called ‘Grais’. Additionally, it’d be expected to take at least a day on-foot. 

Jeez. All this walking for just a bunch of Slimes? Well… I took the quest anyway. 

So uh—’thanks, me…’

Despite my half-willing attitude, Clyde didn’t seem to mind being dragged along. If anything, he seemed so chipper and carefree about all this that I might be the one who got dragged along… but I digress.

At the first sight of sunset, we arrived at some ruins of crumbled marble dotted by a few birch trees. The marble was weathered, grayed-out and seemed to have probably dated before the [Order of Descent] in a settlement without any records or traces of civilizations passed. The map that I have didn't even take this place into account, so it mustn't have been any notable landmark. One could only guess what had happened here.

I made sure that our general vicinity had no hostiles before setting up at an open area with pillars and ruined walls of what I could assume was once an ancient building. If they cared, anyway.

Despite looking like he packed nothing but his weapon for this trip, his pants seemed to have held an impressive amount of items! That was made apparent when he whipped up his camp piece by piece from just one pocket. Perhaps he had the same tech as my magic bag. Surely this existing must mean others may have access to it as well. Regardless, he wasn’t as chatty for the entire trip as I expected him to be. 

He seemed rather contemplative.

After chopping whole logs as our makeshift benches, he started making a bonfire by striking a piece of flint against the edge of his greatsword on piles of branches collected from the same chopped trees. The sky had no stars that night and was, and always have been, moonless, so it was extra dark out in the open. I sat silently opposite to his log bench rummaging through my bag for something edible.

"Hey, Lily?" Clyde suddenly spoke.

"Y-Yes?" I responded without looking away from what I was doing.

"How… has it been going for you?"

Another thing that caught me off guard, but I could only guess why he was compelled to ask something like that.

"I’m…"

Actually. 

I… don’t know. 

I just take quests aimlessly because I don’t know anything else to do with my life. That or… I just haven’t found my reason for going through all this.

And… rent barely counts as a reason.

But I can’t own up to that much, so instead:

"Oh, i-it… hasn’t been bad. I’m chugging along just fine, so far."

A half-truth is a truth still. That’s what I’d rather refer to it as.

"Alone as a mage?"

Just then, the fire got itself going. With the silence after his question, all that was heard was a crackling from the newly born bonfire.

"…M-Mm." It took a while, but I nodded.

"Honestly, an amazin’ feat, y’know?" Without looking, he sheathed his knife-looking greatsword into the scabbard behind his back. "Dangerous an’ stupid, people may say. In my eyes, I think ye've done well te get far. But… what happens if ye’re overpowered by an enemy ye know ye can’t take."

"…I run," I replied almost immediately.

I casually pulled out a piece of day-old bread roll from my bag. 

Why—did I just admit that out-of-the-blue…? But… What else was I supposed to lead with anyway?

"I see." Clyde hopped backward to find his seat. "What if… ye can’t?"

It was one heavy question after the other. The latter of which is something I never thought about reflecting on before. The possibility just never occurred to me because I never pick fights that I know I can’t mess around with. As such, I didn’t even realize I took a while with my silence yet again, with Clyde staring with concern.

"A-Ah, sorry sorry. Not my business te drill stuff ‘f that sort. Sorry again. Weeell, te make up fer that. Change ‘f pace an’ target. How ‘bout ye ask me somethin’. Go ahead. Can be anythin’, sunshine." A smile returned to his face.

I swallow my fill and put my busied hands on my lap.

Alright… now what would be the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to Clyde? S-Setting aside that creepy nickname he seems to always have for me…

"Any particular reason why you’re always guarding that same spot by the stairs?"

He put down the gloved hand from behind his head onto his lap and gazed down at it. He looked contemplative again.

"Not te sound vague er anythin’, but I’m waitin’ fer someone. An’ until I meet them again, I’ll… station myself at that same spot everyday."

Maybe asking further would be a little too intrusive so I’ll just forego the minute details of that. For now.

"Th-That doesn’t sound vague to me. I think that’s… a sweet thought. Whoever it is, you must really care about them to do this much."

He chuckled weakly. "I guess it is. An’ I guess I do. Well? Ye’re not gon’ ask ‘bout it? ‘Bout who that is?"

How considerate…

I shook my head. "I don’t need to know if you don’t want to mention anything. I won’t even know whoever that’d be, if you were serious about revealing that."

His eyes trailed off, before laughing it off. "A’right a’right. I, uh, appreciate that. I’ll be takin’ first watch. Ye can go te rest early if ye want te."

"O-Okay."