(Attendances… plz…)
….
How does one react when they know someone is going to die?
To be honest, he didn't know. He had never been on the receiving end of that kind of news, so how could he possibly know what to do?
For all his strength, for all the blessings granted to him by the world, he didn't know how to handle something so fundamentally, painfully human.
He looked at Shizue, who was calmly waiting by the inn's entrance. From his limited memories of this world's story, he knew she was suffering.
Not for days or months, but for decades. A long, painful life that was drawing to a close.
The present situation, however, was far less serious. It was the morning of their departure, their three days of "rest" now over. And, predictably, the trio was only just now starting to pack.
"It's the leader's job to be prepared for the mission!" Ellen's voice cut through the early morning quiet.
"Oh, so I'm the team leader now when something is wrong, huh?!" Kaval shot back, stuffing a potion into his bag with more force than necessary.
"Can you guys, for my sake, please be quiet for a moment?" Gido mumbled, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. "It's so early."
Reinhard and Shizue stood a short distance away, watching the two of them bicker like an old married couple.
Reinhard scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed. "Sorry about those two," he said to Shizue. "They're… quite the unique ones."
"It's no problem," Shizue replied, her voice calm and even. "I think they are close. They have been fighting like this every so often in the last three days I've been here. I've learned that the closer people are, the more they fight over small things."
"Well… haha, you could say that, I think," Reinhard said with a small laugh.
"Ellen said you joined their party very recently," Shizue continued, her masked face turned toward him. "And she was feeling very proud while telling me about it. Like she was the one who trained you."
Reinhard got a spooky feeling from that. "Well… I don't know what to say about that."
The argument finally ended after a few more exchanges, with Ellen emerging as the clear winner, as usual.
They finally got serious about packing their things.
The usual supplies, potions, rope, whetstones.
As for food, that was no longer an issue. Before Reinhard, they would have had to pack days' worth of dry rations. Now, they didn't even bother.
Why, you ask? Because they had a master fisherman with them. Reinhard could catch fish like he was just picking them up from a market stall.
Kaval, especially, feared that he might lose what was left of his manliness just by being near the guy.
It wasn't just fishing. The man wasn't bad at anything. Negotiating prices? He was a master. Cooking? Better than any inn they'd stayed at. Directions? They never got lost anymore. Fighting? He was an absolute monster.
Even cleaning up the campsite, he did it perfectly. It was like he had been doing these things his entire life.
Of course, Kaval thought to himself as he double-checked his sword, whatever manliness he was losing, it was a small price to pay.
He remembered the days before Reinhard.
The constant hunger. Getting lost in the forest for days. Running for their lives at the first sight of a B-rank monster. Not having enough money to even rent a room at a cheap inn.
So, losing his manliness versus not starving to death? He would choose the latter every single time. No question.
.…
After packing their supplies, the newly formed party of five was ready to depart from the Kingdom of Blumund.
They stood at the city gates, double-checking their gear, especially the tents, which were now a crucial part of their equipment.
Then, with a final look back at the relative safety of the city walls, they began their journey into the Great Jura Forest.
The forest that awaited them was a different beast from the one they had traveled through weeks before. Due to Veldora's disappearance, the delicate balance of power had been shattered.
Stronger monsters were now aggressively expanding their territories, preying on weaker ones.
The forest floor had become a battlefield, a constant struggle for dominance where only the fittest could survive.
This new, chaotic reality meant they had to travel on foot. The monster population had become so active and aggressive that the usual merchant caravans had stopped their routes entirely.
Hiring enough guards to protect a wagon was now more expensive than the goods themselves, so merchants, being practical and profit earning people, had simply abandoned the forest routes altogether because of the losses.
If the party wanted to get to the heart of the forest, they had to walk. Normally, this would have meant packing a week's worth of food and supplies.
But with Reinhard on the team, that was no longer a concern. All they really needed were potions for emergencies and tents to sleep in at night.
….
Few Hours Later:-
In the Great Jura Forest:-
The five of them moved through the dense woods, the sunlight filtering down through the leaves. And, as luck would have it, their path had been quiet.
They hadn't stumbled into any traps or encountered a single hostile monster yet.
If this had been any other mission before they met Reinhard, the trio would have already been running for their lives from some B-rank or A-rank monster they had no hope of defeating.
This quiet, steady progress was a new and very welcome experience for them. Since they met Reinhard.
Shizue followed them silently, her masked gaze constantly scanning the surrounding and looking past the trees. She was acting as their lookout, making sure no monster could sneak up on them.
Even if one did, she wasn't entirely sure how she would handle it. She could take care of one or two, yes, but after that, it would be a struggle to control her power, to keep from losing consciousness to the fire spirit, Ifrit.
And if that happened, she would ruin everything all over again. Her deepest desire was for a quiet, uneventful journey, free of any monster encounters if at all possible.
….
A/N: Well i will write fuze and shizue pov after moving forward a little. As someone suggested it would be good if i upload them after they have seen Reinhard power as tk what did they of reinhard and now what they think of reinhard situation comes.
Next two chapters are already on my discord.
Melatonin, spawn and many more on my discord … thanks for beta reading this fic and not to mention suggestions too.
Hoped you all liked the chapter and all.
And if you want to read ahead you can do it by just joining my discord server.
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