Leaves rustled as a group of adventurers stepped out from the treeline-seventeen in total, led by a man clad in gear far too shiny for his job. He was tall, with sandy hair swept back and a trimmed beard. Definitely the leader.
My eyes flitted over the group. Seventeen... the exact number we'd been missing. My gaze hardened.
"Or else what?" I asked, voice lowering. "You attack me? Go ahead. I make no promises you'll leave with all your limbs."
I took a single step forward, letting my mana leak slightly, letting the air around me chill. "Even if you do attack me, you left your comrades behind to die. I'm certain the guild will love to hear about that."
The leader paused. I saw his jaw tighten.
"...We had to. The Orc King was getting away. We couldn't leave one of our healers behind for them, in case we needed them or they got attacked," he said, tone even-but the flicker in his eyes gave away the guilt.
"Multiple healers, and you couldn't spare even one? You could've left someone behind with protection. Then I wouldn't have had to-"
My sentence trailed off as the mage I held suddenly went limp in my grip. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth, and her eyes rolled back. I stared for a moment... then let out a short laugh and dropped her like a sack of potatoes.
"She isn't dead, is she?" the leader asked, wariness creeping into his voice.
"She'll be fine," I said dismissively, brushing my hands together. "But you, on the other hand..."
My voice sharpened. "What were you thinking? Did you really leave twenty-three injured people behind without a healer? If it weren't for Kayda, fewer than five of them would've made it. Maybe not even one."
"You sound like a hypocrite. Weren't you the one who didn't want to save everyone?" Gaby's voice cut in, loud and accusing.
I slowly turned to face him. "What?"
Catrina stepped forward. "Gaby, now's not the time."
"No, she was talking to Kay alone. I believe there was another way to save more people, but she chose to keep her own secrets instead. Am I wrong, Nova?" Gaby's glare bore into me, her eyes glinting with judgment.
My lips curled slightly. 'Did they plan this?'
As I scanned them, I noticed how Gaby and his group subtly fanned out, forming a semi-circle around me. Except for Catrina, who still stood to my side, the others were moving like chess pieces, cutting off angles of escape.
Behind me, the unconscious mage lay sprawled, and one of her party-a stocky dwarf-had quietly crawled over, grabbing her shoulders to try and drag her away.
I raised a brow. "What are you doing? Did I say she could go?"
"Bitch, she's our party member, you have no-UGH."
My boot connected with his face, sending him sprawling backward with a grunt. The mage's body flopped uselessly back to the ground.
"Oi. I don't give a shit. She stole my kills. And she needs to pay for it."
"...Wait, wait, wait, wait a minute." The leader held up both hands, baffled. "You're not actually upset because we left people behind. You're upset because Rin stole your kills?"
"Yeah!" I shouted, voice rising. "Today was the first time I got to fight things that weren't human! I just wanted to feel what it's like to rip some monsters apart!"
Everyone stared at me. Their expressions flickered through a range of emotions-shock, confusion, and a bit of disbelief.
"...Sigh. What was the guild master thinking when he accepted your employment?" The leader muttered, rubbing his temple.
"Well, Ed and I made a deal-"
I didn't finish. A flash of steel came from my right.
Clang!
I disappeared and reappeared a few meters away as Dalton's blade stabbed into empty air.
I glared at him, twin swords already drawn. "Oi. Attacking like that is really low, Dalton."
"What are you doing, Dalton!" Catrina and Mary shouted in unison.
Guilt flickered in Dalton's eyes for half a second, but he straightened quickly.
"To think you could dodge that even if you're an exotic class," Gaby muttered, stepping forward with his shield raised.
'Wait... didn't I say I was a dual warrior before? That's right. I never showed them my full speed.'
As I squared up, the other guild members nearby stiffened.
"Hmm, are you guys certain you want to do this?" I said, glancing around. "I think I have more people on my side-no? You're not going to help me?" I aimed that last part at the watching guild party.
The leader shook his head. "This is your party. You need to sort them out."
"What the fuck does that even mean?" I demanded.
"Rule number 45 for employees: never interfere with party disputes, even if it's a fellow employee."
"...Who the hell made that rule?"
"The King."
"...Dan did it?! What is wrong with that person!"
I paced angrily, kicking at a rock. "From this moment on, I swear-I hate Dragonoids. They're all dumb!"
"I'm out," Catrina said, turning away. "I only joined this party a week ago anyway-"
Mary stepped in front of her, knife flashing. "We can't have too many loose ends."
Catrina's eyes widened. "Wait-what-"
Before the blade struck, a white chain shot out, wrapping around Catrina's leg and yanking her back. She hit the ground with a thud and rolled to my feet.
"Loose ends?" I said, raising my voice and turning to the guild team. "Did they already forget about you guys?"
The leader's brows knitted in confusion.
'They're strong enough to beat all 17 of them,' I thought, before tossing Catrina toward the guild group. She yelped, but the guild group caught her, albeit clumsily.
"Alright," I said with a long breath. "You're targeting me, right? Then don't drag anyone else into it."
Dalton stepped forward. "Of course. If we bring your body to the Federation, we'll live a life of luxury for the rest of our lives."
My grin disappeared.
'I really should raze that country one day,' I thought grimly.
Before I could say anything, a voice called down from above, lilting and amused.
"Tsk, tsk. To think my hunch was right."
I didn't even look. "You're back faster than I thought. And what do you mean by 'your hunch'?"
Kayda's wings beat against the wind as she descended, eyes sparkling.
"You wouldn't have won if you fought them."
"I could've at least tried," I muttered, annoyed.
'Still not stopping my spell, though,' I thought with a smirk.
"And you, Dev-what the hell is that rule?" Kayda's voice shifted, accusatory. She pointed down at the leader.
"K-K-Kayda!" Dev stammered, paling.
"I got the dumb fox into the guild," Kayda said, jerking a thumb at me.
"Oi!" I snapped.
"Are you trying to cover up your mishap by letting your party die on you?" she pressed.
"No! Of course not!" Dev sputtered.
"You're sure?"
"..."
Dalton coughed. "Uh... am I being ignored?"
'No, we just don't give a shit about your dumb betrayal,' I thought with a deadpan look.
"Oh right, you guys are still here!" I said with a big grin.
Suddenly, chains erupted from the ground, tipped with glinting blades. They coiled and lashed around the traitors.
"AAAH?! What is this!" Gaby screamed as three chains pierced into his thighs and pulled him down.
All four were yanked violently into the dirt, unable to resist as the cold crept through their blood, freezing them from the inside. Even Gaby, the defensive brute, was overpowered-just with a few more chains to pin him.
Kayda watched silently before nodding. "Cunning fox."
"That's my nature," I said, collapsing backward onto the ground. "It took a stupid amount of mana to prep all that. I'm pooped."
"Thanks for stalling," I added with a grateful smile.
"No problem~" Kayda chirped, landing beside me with a smirk.
Dev blinked. "Wait... did you use us as decoys?"
"Yup," I said cheerfully. "And you did a fantastic job playing dumb."
"Y-yeah! Of course! We saw what you were doing!" Dev nervously scratched the back of his head while speaking.
Kayda's tone darkened. "Oh, but I'm not done with you, Dev."
His face paled further. "K-Kayda, come on, be a pal-"
"YOU!!" Kayda roared, wings flaring wide as her shadow stretched over him.
I looked at him solemnly. "May you rest in peace."
Ignoring the chaos, I stood up, dusted off my clothes, and slung the mage girl over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Help!" she cried weakly.
Kayda and I said nothing. Her cries faded into the background as we started the cleanup.
Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely
I have nobody for my own
I'm so lonely. I'm Mr. Lonely
I have nobody for my own
I'm so lonely
Joking, I have all you guys, hehe.
Group hug!
Wait a minute.
Group comment!
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Chapter 84:
The afternoon sun filtered through the dense canopy of trees, casting dappled shadows over the neatly tended garden. A gentle breeze stirred the edges of the gazebo, fluttering the white curtains lazily around its wooden frame. At the center of the gazebo sat a large round table, topped with tea, snacks, and a single unconscious mage bound to a pillar behind them with glittering ice chains.
"So, let me get this straight," Amari said slowly, her fingers laced together on the polished wooden table. She sat upright, her tone stern yet bewildered. "On your very first day, you met Ed-the guild master-and his wife, Tracy. Then, instead of just finishing a simple orc elimination quest like anyone else, you stumble upon a battlefield in the Emerald Forest where 23 people are lying around injured, and somehow there's also a valley of destroyed trees?"
Zagan, who sat beside her with his arms crossed, shook his head in disbelief. "A whole valley?"
"I wouldn't say valley exactly," I replied, lazily spinning my ice teacup between my fingers. The cold emanating from it gave a satisfying chill that grounded me. "But yeah, close enough. The trees looked like something out of a war zone."
Amari leaned back slightly, her brows furrowed. "And after assessing the situation, you decided you could only save sixteen of the wounded?"
Her voice had softened, and I caught the conflicted gleam in her eyes. I sighed quietly. That tone again-the one that assumed every life could be saved if only we tried hard enough.
"Don't make that face," I said, my voice deliberately calm. "There wasn't much we could do. We didn't have a healer with us, and time was ticking. I'm still trying to learn healing magic on my own, but... it's not exactly my forte currently."
Amari looked down for a moment, nodding solemnly. "I understand. It's just-"
"Let's get back to the story," she said, cutting herself off with a small breath and forcing a neutral expression.
As she spoke, I caught Zagan giving her a side glance. He was clearly struggling with the same idealistic mindset. These two individuals still hadn't learned the first rule of adventuring.
'I don't understand how people care so deeply about random strangers dying,' I thought, watching them. 'It's inefficient. Unproductive. I should ask Mom if she wants to help change that mindset of hers later.'
"Anyway," Amari continued, tapping her nails against the table's edge, "after you identified the sixteen survivors and froze them for preservation, Kayda transformed into her dragon form and flew them to the capital for treatment."
Zagan, his curiosity piqued, looked up. "Wait. I've only read about dragon forms in theory. Isn't Kayda a fire dragon? How did you use ice magic on her? Wouldn't her scales burn anything before it even touched her?"
I grinned, a little too proud of myself. "My ice is special. It's not the run-of-the-mill kind. It's adaptive, and Kayda has better control over her body temperature than any dragon I've seen. She let it happen."
"Umm, Kitsu?" Amari interjected with a raised brow and an awkward smile. "You really need to think more before you speak sometimes."
"Huh?" I tilted my head, genuinely confused for a moment before waving it off. "Don't worry about it."
Amari cleared her throat and moved on. "So, after she flew off, twelve orcs entered the clearing, and you and your group held them off. Most of them were taken down. That is, until-" She pointed at the unconscious fire mage still chained behind me. "She showed up and stole a few of your kills. Then you... brought her back? Why?"
I looked at the girl, her limbs still rigidly encased in translucent chains of magic-infused ice. She groaned faintly but didn't wake.
"I don't know. Honestly, I don't really care anymore," I said, staring at her. "Initially, I believed she owed me repayment. Then I realized she had already suffered enough. Did you lose your dignity mid-fight, get choked out in front of your party, and then watch your comrades abandon you? Yeah, that's punishment enough."
With a flick of my wrist, the chains crumbled away in a slow cascade of shimmering frost, and the mage slumped forward, collapsing to the grass like a broken doll.
Zagan, unfazed, casually poured himself more tea. "After you grabbed her by the neck, her party arrived, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah. They didn't like that I nearly froze their friend to death. We argued. During the shouting match, the people I came with circled behind me to prepare a sneak attack.
Amari looked horrified. "Wait, they tried to betray you? But they were with you on the mission!"
I glanced at her. "Probably thought I'd be vulnerable without Kayda there. They must've known about the bounty on me from the Federation. A high-value fox girl alone in the forest? Tempting."
My hand clenched without thinking, and the teacup shattered again in my grip. I groaned in frustration and hurled the icy shards to the floor.
"Damn it!"
"That's your fifth cup today," Amari noted, exasperated. She refilled a new one for me from the pitcher beside her, her movements smooth from repetition.
"Yeah, well, at least I can-"
I froze mid-sentence, sensing something.
From the sky, a figure descended with impossible grace, her white wings catching the light like a divine signal. Her golden hair shimmered, fluttering down around her as she touched the ground without making a sound.
"Hello, Rachel," I said, forcing a smile. "Long time no see."
"Kitsune~!" Rachel whined, rushing over like an eager puppy and jumping straight into my lap.
"Ha-ha, what's with you today?" I asked, trying not to sound too irritated as I caught her awkwardly. I took a moment to observe her more closely. Her white wings looked the same, but the hair was new-golden instead of pink-and the most striking addition was the single gold feather under each of her eyes. Subtle but impossible to miss.
