The second to speak was a chunky human sack of fat, he was a male, about the same age or a bit older, with a huge broadsword hanging by his side. He was timid, so small in presence, but so gigantically big and imposing in volume.
He held his broadsword tight with a hand and meekly nodded at the adventurer babe, silently greeting her. What a sluggish, timid ball.
"Jeez, then…" The babe's fighting spirit was diminished after she greeted her three friends—yes, the one I just bumped into was part of their team—as she looked about her team, with a slight sense of anguish and unease building up on her beautiful, little face.
Her two brows knit together, her gaze dropped to the ground, and she shook her head, forcing a smile on her face.
"I know… Yeah," said the young man who was the leader. He and his group of friends seemed to all be as anxious as he was. What happened to them, or to their companion, wasn't quite the first time they heard of hardships befalling adventurers—casualties were all too common, in this line of job, unfortunately—but that's why he decided to step up to the team's charming babe, unwilling to let her beautiful features be wasted on her apparent grieving. That's how a leader should behave, after all, that was his idea.
"Our partner isn't with you…" said the clumsy babe. Her chin was lowered, and her eyes avoided eye contact, feeling a palpable lack of energy. "Does it mean it's that bad? Tell me she's all right. No, I know; you tell me where she is." By the end of her plea, her two hesitant eyes agreed to climb up and plunge into her leader's own, who walked up to her and held her shoulders warmly. He told her not to worry, with a soothing smile that chased the babe's guilt away.
Following in his leader's steps, "Sh-She's fine…!" the big guy stuttered, also unwilling to let the charming babe be saddened.
"I-Is she really…?" The truth was, the adventurer babe knew her comrade condition wouldn't spell her death, letting her succumb to her wound, but she still couldn't help but worry. That was for reasons only she knew.
Whoever her comrade was, she was apparently fine. "She is. So don't worry. She's been healed, already. …And, I'm so sorry I couldn't be the leader you all deserve…"
"No. You were—you absolutely were. If it hadn't been for me… I'm the team's healer, after all, I should have supported her best—"
"You know what—let's stop," the leader curtly said, shaking his head and pursing his lips.
"Sorry?"
"Let's stop."
After a moment of silence, the emotional conversation was cut short, and the sluggish ball chimed in with a timid comment of his own. "H-H-He—" the sack of fat stuttered like a champion, and sighed at his own inability to speak, but ultimately decided to fight on. "H-H-He's right… uh… l-let's not speak of… of…"
"Thank you," the leader thanked his tank. "Yes, let's not speak of whose fault our unfortunate accident was. All I want you guys to know is that I'm sorry I couldn't be a better leader, and that's regardless of whether any of my precious friends gets wounded or not, because I could always be better, stronger, and more of the reliable—"
"Fine, then. I don't want to hear you blame yourself either, you know. Thank goodness she's safe anyway. Has the healing been all right? H-How much did it cost, by the way?"
Their conversation ended with the leader explaining some details related to the healing of their friend. And that was it. My party. They just arrived, and I was forced to meet them. On one side, there were three of them mourning their comrade's fall.
The girl wasn't actually dead, and she was apparently saved, but why were they so worried? I mean, I wouldn't worry about my old man even if he suffered through the greatest of hells, because why worry? What purpose did it serve? Observing the adventurers reuniting happily, I was reminded of the other side of our little emotional setting.
"Oi!" The angry young man called out to me. He seemed to have recovered from his shock and scare, by now. I debated whether to calm him down again, showing off a tiny portion of the chilly monster I kept hidden, but decided against it when I was reminded of the quest. "Explain yourself, you snotty brat!"
Explain what? "I bumped into you for a reason, sir! Lemme break it down for you so you understand why!" Heh.
Fortunately, I didn't have to say any of that or glower at my victim again. The leader came to my rescue, helped me up, and asked his comrade to quieten down. Why, because the "boy" seemed to be as lost as he was. People easily took to calling me a human "boy." That made me think, was I a boy? Why not call me a sir? I guess I was just a few days old and all, but oh well.
I stirred when the angry adventurer called out to me but was rescued soon after. Both I and the angry adventurer were still on our butts, down on the earth.
"It hurts! Damn it! Just watch the steps next time, y'hear?!"
After he helped me up, the leader came to the angry adventurer and whacked his head, telling him he didn't have to go around playing the bully as it didn't suit him. "Ah, but you're always so nervous. Relax, and apologize to the—"
"Shut it! D-Don't upset me more than 'im! 'Sright! I'm upset! Aaargh, and you keep off; blegh, blegh; I can get up on my own…!"
"That's right… okay… you're forgiven," said the leader. He turned to me and winced a little with embarrassment. "Hey, kid, he's forgiven, all right?" That was a weird kind of apology, forcing it on me and telling me I forgave the angry man, but in the first place, I should have been the one to apologize.
Maybe they didn't feel the pain, but my headbutt was strong enough on the man's stomach. He'd be lucky not to have broken any ribs. That's why I nodded, saying it was all perfectly all right, I wasn't upset or anything.
When I said as much, I felt a hand placed on the top of my head, it was warm and gentle, and I nuzzled under the warm hand like a cat without really intending to. Looking up, I saw the charming adventurer babe who helped me minutes ago. Her smile cast sunrays down on my face, and I smiled back.
In front of me, the leader and angry man continued to speak. The leader said he understood it had been a harsh day, and with what happened to their precious friend, he had all the reasons to be pissed off at everything and everyone. "You do get where I'm coming from, don't you, huh, Leader?" When the leader repeated he did get his companion, this latter, rather than be soothed and happy, burst even more.
Tapping the dirt off his pants, he shook his head. "Oh? You? Upset? Really? Ha-ha…" That line was full of passive-aggressiveness, for some reason. Also, a few tapping motions on the young man's pants were enough to get the dirt and dust off, but for some reason, with a frown carved on his face, the angry adventurer kept at it, like he wanted to rid his pants of a world of animosity… but it wouldn't wash away.
The leader, witnessing his nervosity swelling up, wryly scoffed, cast his eyes downward, and hesitated before he spoke. "C'mon, now… Don't give me that." After a moment, the angry adventurer finally apologized, admitting he was being a jerk, and everyone was happy together. "Right. Anyhow, you take this, just like we promised. Your share with no loss."
"You sure?"
"You were brave today," the leader nodded, placing a hand on his companion's shoulder. After he slid a leather purse into the adventurer's pockets, he told him to go get that sword of his fixed at once. "Sure, you can go right now. Meet back up at the North Gate. Same village as always."
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