It didn't take too long to get Hunter somewhere safe.
Safe, of course, being my floor of the mage tower.
Having an entire floor to myself was a treat. Most people had agreed I could have it, though there'd been a little pushback.
Taking a whole floor was greedy, yah.
But I was the leader of the guild, and—
Right. Hunter.
Jane stood over him as he lay on my couch.
His injuries healed rapidly as she fed mana into his system, but he didn't wake up.
I kept watching his hands.
So far, they'd stayed hands.
That was reassuring, though not quite reassuring enough for me to let my guard down.
A couple of hours after we brought him back, a rat somehow found its way into my room.
That should've been impossible.
Between the tower's defenses and everything standing between my floor and the outside, an ordinary rat shouldn't have made it anywhere near us.
The little bugger didn't seem particularly concerned with that.
It crossed the room, climbed onto the couch, and nestled into Hunter's pocket.
"...Okay."
Jane glanced at it, then went back to checking him.
I left it alone.
At least one thing seemed happy to see him.
Eventually, I got Sheral. She brought someone else, and now three people were looking over Hunter while Mei sat a little to the side, watching everything unfold.
Nobody asked about her.
Of course, I got a look from all of them.
Apparently, they could manage that while concentrating on something else.
After another round of checking, Jane finally stepped away.
"Alright. He's as good as he'll get for now. Definitely some sort of druid-style magic in him."
Her eyes moved to Mei.
It wasn't quite a glare.
Close enough, though.
"...Okay. Thank you, Jane."
She gathered her things and left without answering.
The other priest followed her, leaving Sheral standing beside the couch.
As the door closed, I could practically hear her attention turn toward me.
"Well? Are you going to introduce your friend, Tero? Or did you forget your manners?"
"Oh. Sorry…"
I walked over to Mei.
"This is Mei. She's my girlfriend."
Saying it out loud in front of someone else felt a little different.
Good.
Weird, but good.
"Hi…" Mei said.
"Hello, darlin'. I'm Sheral."
She offered her hand, and Mei took it, managing a small smile.
"Mei, this is basically my mom here."
I stepped over and hugged Sheral.
"'This'?" She pulled back enough to look at me. "Boy, you better watch what you say before I smack you."
I backed up, raising my hand in surrender.
"I'm so terribly sorry, ma'am."
I smiled, sneaking a glance at Mei.
I'd hoped our antics—albeit a little forced—might get a smile out of her too.
Instead, she was watching us carefully.
There was something in her expression I couldn't quite place.
Fear?
Worry?
Neither seemed right on its own. There was interest there too, like she was studying something she hadn't figured out yet.
"Mei?"
"Mhm?"
She straightened immediately, gaining almost an inch as she stood up tall.
Sheral noticed.
"Listen, darlin', I don't know what you're worried about. This guy's harmless."
She went over and hugged her.
Mei accepted it, though she didn't seem particularly comfortable.
That was the problem with older Southern women.
Always hugs.
It had taken me a while to get used to it too.
"I'm not worried," Mei said. "Just happy to meet everyone."
Sheral leaned back and looked at her.
I knew that look. I got it whenever I said I was fine or tried brushing off something she'd noticed.
Mei smiled a little more.
After a moment, Sheral let it go.
"Well, then. I suppose I'll leave you two alone."
She glanced toward the couch.
"Minus Hunter."
"Thanks, Sheral."
"Mhm. Come get me if he wakes up."
She checked him once more before leaving.
We both waited for the door to close, then looked at each other.
"Sorry…" Mei spoke before I'd figured out what to ask. "I was so awkward. I made it weird."
"It's fine, Mei. Just…"
I looked at the door, then back at her.
"I mean, I gotta wonder. You were acting weird there."
"I know. I just…froze up. I don't know."
She lowered her eyes.
I had a few questions, but none of them seemed like they'd make this any less awkward.
"...Well, that's okay. No harm, no foul."
"Thanks, Tero."
She stood and moved into a hug.
I held her close, kissing the fur on top of her head.
"And I'm sorry. You kinda got dragged into all this when I promised you a date."
"Well…actually, it's okay."
She stayed against me for a moment before continuing.
"Life before…this…was boring. I just woke up, did all the things you do, and went to bed. This is better, even if it isn't perfect."
I didn't particularly like how vague that was.
All the things you do?
That could mean basically anything.
But I knew at least some of that was just my head wanting an answer to every little thing.
"Yah, I get it. It's more…lively."
I shifted back enough to look at her, trying to explain.
"Like we're living how people were meant to. With purpose. There's something to actually do, something to work toward, instead of just…"
I made a vague gesture with my hand.
Apparently, that explained it better than the words, because she laughed.
"Yah?"
She tilted her face up.
I leaned down, expecting another little kiss.
It wasn't a little kiss.
Her hand settled against me, and she held me there long enough that I stopped trying to think of anything to say.
It lasted longer than the hug at the beginning of our date, yet felt far too short.
"I, um…"
I looked to the side as we separated.
Before Mei, I'd never kissed a woman.
Now she was standing close enough that I was finding it difficult to think about much besides kissing her again.
There was something growing in me, something far less complicated than all the things I'd been thinking about earlier.
Before I could get the thought out, she kissed me again.
This time, she almost pushed me back a step.
I couldn't help responding, drawing her closer.
When our lips finally separated, we were both blushing.
"...I never, um… I thought I'd have to, like…initiate."
"...Well, you weren't doing it."
Fair enough.
I kissed her again.
We started moving toward the bedroom.
[World Chat
[Edwin, Messenger of Olympus] "The attack has failed. We're requesting any mage of sufficient power to open a portal for us. The forces are overwhelming! They're already spilling out! Anyone on the eastern half of the continent, flee to the capital!"
]
I stopped.
Mei felt it and pulled back enough to look at me.
I read the message again.
Failed.
Spilling out.
I couldn't have a good fucking date.
Fuck my life. Fuck this world. Fuck everything.
For a second, that was all I had.
Then the request for a portal caught up with me.
"...I'm sorry."
"No, no. Go!" Mei said. "That's your whole thing, right?"
She smiled, though there was something strained around the edges of it.
I was pretty sure we were feeling the same thing.
At least about the interruption.
"I'll stay with your friend, okay?"
I glanced toward the couch.
Hunter still hadn't moved.
The rat was tucked into his pocket.
"Yah. Thank you."
I could only manage a nod after that.
I re-equipped my full armor set, took my staff, and headed downstairs.
On the way, I bashed the staff against every door I passed.
"Everyone up! Everyone to the war room! Now!"
Another door.
"Now!"
It wasn't really necessary.
Mostly, it was for my sake.
Most of the doors were already open, and the people coming out of them had the same look on their faces that I could feel on mine.
They'd seen the message.
Of course they had.
By the time I reached the war room, most of the guild was already there.
The room had been built around something we'd found in the original dungeon: a celestial focus, an object meant to view deep into space.
With some clever modifications, we'd turned it into something capable of displaying just about anything we wanted.
The item we'd gotten from the raid had added limited clairvoyant properties as well.
Limited was the important word.
A display wasn't the same as knowing what was happening.
Still, it was the best place we had to start.
"Finally made it, Tero?" Merlin asked as I walked in.
"Not my fault you live in here, man."
"Shut up. We need to get to the point," Rowan said.
Fair.
Recently, he'd started taking on more of a leadership role alongside Jane and Merlin.
Well, Merlin mostly advised.
He always had something to say, but getting him to actually pick a side was another matter.
I looked around the room.
People were waiting. Some for instructions, some for someone else to offer an opinion first.
We'd been putting off making a few things official.
Apparently, we were out of time for that.
My eyes found Blake.
I glared at him.
His cold gaze met mine without shifting. He looked like he'd seen that expression on me before.
Probably because he fucking had.
I turned back toward the others.
"Jane. Merlin. Rowan. You're promoted."
A few heads turned.
"We can hold a formal vote after this shit."