Jack’s Perspective

  I hate this. All I’m doing is sitting in a boat waiting for a stranger I don’t trust to rescue one of my closest friends. I couldn't stop my leg from moving anxiously and I was sweating. Not just because there was a woman made out of fire sitting right in front of me but because Suzue Kobayashi made me extremely nervous.

  She barely even spoke to anyone and now she was going to be leading the party that would rescue Masahiro? It didn’t make any sense even when it was explained to me.

  Apparently, Suzue was a very well trained soldier. Missions much like the one we were doing now were something she was specially trained for. I’ve seen her fight before, so I can see that she is disciplined as a soldier should be but that did little to ease my mind.

  Suzue barely speaks, she would not leave her room for ten whole days and on top of all that, her memory seemed to be absolutely terrible! I wonder if she can even remember the training that makes her so skilled.

  The only thing I can say for certain about Suzue is that she is physically strong. I’m not one to brag but I like to think that I have a good physique. Though when I look at Suzue, I can’t help but feel a little inadequate. Not only did she stand taller than me but her body was one to aspire towards.

  Yet, despite such a well-toned figure, she does not look well. In fact, she looks rather sickly. The dark circles under her eyes are a clear indication that she does not get enough sleep. Whenever she moves, I get worried that she might pass out at any moment.

  To put it simply, I do not believe Suzue Kobayashi is trustworthy enough nor physically well enough to even participate in this quest. Lily Valentina would have been a better choice to be leader, though not by much.

  Lily was a nice girl with a strong desire to help others but she seemed to be a little naive. Still, she went on all the tedious quests that no one takes which made her reputation within the guild better. Though, her relationship with Suzue still makes people, including me, a little wary. Actually, I wouldn’t even call it a relationship as Suzue barely even talks.

  Obviously the best person fit to lead the party that would rescue Masahiro was Pip-Pip. She’s a trusted member of the Iron Hawk guild and level-headed. It would not be a stretch to call the girl a genius. There have been numerous times in the past where she came up with some sort of plan that got her party out of trouble.

  I trust Pip-Pip’s judgement but when I went to vent my frustrations to her, she disagreed with me completely.

  She said, “Suzue was a soldier for eight years so she must have been on a lot of important missions. I can see in her eyes that she has been through a lot of things that not even our best members have experienced. So, as a professional, I will trust in her judgement.”

  I was surprised to hear Pip-Pip say this and my trust in her wavered a bit. But maybe I was wrong about Suzue. Perhaps I was being paranoid in thinking that she was some sort of threat to the guild. Maybe another perspective on the matter would ease my worries.

  “Hey, Francoise. What do you think of Suzue so far?”

  “Well, if she got rid of those dark circles under her eyes, she’d be quite handsome. But Suzue should be a boy! Just the thought of her carrying Masahiro like a blushing bride on a magnificent wedding day makes me so angry! I won’t allow her to steal Masahiro from me! I won’t! I won’t! I won’t! I won’t! I won’t! I won’t!”

  I asked the wrong person. Francoise is too obsessed with marriage to talk to sometimes. That’s just what to expect from a demon born to worship the Goddess of Love and Marriage.

  I let out a short sigh and continued to wait. Suzue and her party were taking longer than expected and I thought I heard faint noises coming from the castle. I was nervous but they were trying to maintain stealth so they might have to move slower.

  I was finally starting to calm down when I heard an explosion. I turned my head to the direction the noise came from and saw smoke coming from one of the towers. I then saw a brief flash of light and instantly knew what it meant.

  Something had gone wrong and now the rescue party was in danger.

  Without a moment to lose, Francoise and I used our magic to propel ourselves up the castle wall. I created a platform made from ice while she created a small explosion that destroyed the wooden boat we were just on.

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  When we landed, Francoise and I sprinted towards the tower the light came from. We encountered bandits on the way almost immediately. There were only two so I could handle them alone easily.

  From my fingertips I let out a stream of ice magic that froze the feet of the bandits in front of me. Now that they were immobile, I was able to knock both of them out with simple punches to the back of the head.

  Francoise rushed ahead and had her head cut off by someone hiding behind a crate. Her head rolled across the ground yet her body remained standing. The man that cut off Francoise’s head could only watch in horror.

  Simply cutting off Francoise’s head was not enough to kill her. Her body was made entirely from flame so weapons such as swords had no effect. The only way to deal damage to someone like Francoise was to use water magic or try to hit the magma core located in her chest.

  Francoise’s severed head then exploded, knocking multiple bandits off their feet. Her head then regrew and she was back to sprinting at full speed towards the tower.

  The bandits in our way retreated back into the keep but before they could close the door, Francoise burst forward and blew the door to pieces. She then breathed in deep and shot out a stream of fire from her mouth that lit up the dark halls of the castle.

  I followed close behind as we searched through the castle for any sign of the rescue party. The bandits were too burned to even stand so we weren’t concerned about being followed.

  Then I heard a series of loud noises coming from deeper within. Those noises came from Suzue’s weapon. There was no mistaking such a distinct sound as anything else.

  Francoise and I ran towards where the noise was coming from. I turned the next corner and saw Suzue who immediately turned and shot at me with her weapon once. I could feel something fly past my face and just barely missed me. We both stood in place frozen for what felt like an eternity before Suzue finally said something.

  “Fuck! You scared the shit outta me! I’m sorry. Are you alright?”

  I was still too shocked to even say anything. I looked at the stone wall behind me and saw a small hole. Whatever kind of projectile it is, it can pierce stone and move faster than I can react. If I had moved only slightly, I would be dead before I would realize.

  Just the thought of dying without any real chance to protect myself scared me. I was able to snap out of my stupor when Suzue started snapping her fingers in my face.

  “You alright? Wait… What’s your name again?”

  “My name is Jack. Don’t you remember? I accompanied you on your first quest ten days ago.”

  “I don’t remember any of that. Why is that girl made out of dirt?”

  I looked over at Francoise, who was not made out of dirt but instead fire. I then looked back at Suzue questioningly. She was wearing her glasses that seemed to be in decent shape.

  Did Suzue hit her head? At this point I’m starting to get really worried about her mental health.

  Francoise ignored everybody and immediately went to hold Masahiro the moment she saw him but Pip-Pip stopped her before that could happen. Masahiro was already horribly malnourished and bruised. Francoise would only give him severe burns if she held him and given his state, we could not allow that to happen no matter how much she pouts.

  “What’s our next move?” Suzue asked.

  “We need to get Masahiro back to the guild as quickly as possible. Pip-Pip, Lily, we’ll be counting on you to protect him. Suzue, I want you to take the lead. Francoise and I will do our best to keep any enemies away as you pick them off from a distance.”

  “Got it. Also just call me Suzi.”

  And that was that. I honestly expected more push back from Suzue- I mean, Suzi. I’m not confident in my strategic abilities so I rely on the input of others in order to create a solid plan of action. I thought she would be that voice of opposition but Suzi is surprisingly more timid than I thought. She might want to say something but she might be too nervous.

  You would expect someone as imposing as Suzi to be more vocal and loud. But she’s quiet and reserved. Instead of being the type to boast about her accomplishments in battle, like one would expect from a soldier, Suzi keeps to herself and isolates herself from everyone else.

  I find myself getting annoyed by overly boastful people so I consider Suzi’s reserved nature as an admirable trait. However, considering how the guild I care so deeply for was betrayed, I can not help but be wary of someone like her.

  There was also something familiar about Suzi that I could not figure out. I think I met someone similar to her not too long ago and I believe that it had something to do with Aurelia. But I could not figure it out at that moment so I pushed the issue aside and focused on getting Masahiro home.

  “Everyone else should be fighting the bandits right about now. Lead the way, Suzi,” I said.

  And with that, we followed Suzi to regroup with our friends.

  There was a reason as to why I allowed Suzi to lead us and that was so I could be in an advantageous position. From where I was, I could watch her every move and she wouldn't be able to do anything if I were to suddenly attack.

  I want to trust Suzi but I cannot bring myself to until this quest is over. Until then, I will watch her closely and if I detect even the slightest hint of betrayal, I will take her down without a second thought.