Just a Joke

“Please don’t mind me,” the woman said, her voice slow, steady, and commanding, and kicked the two broken dolls to make sure that they were really dead. “But if you’re like the rest, feel free to give me more ideas.”

Teri glanced at Taku and then back at her.

She cracked her knuckles and started her approach, the still air doubling its weight at her every step. Teri’s body begged him to step back, but was that even a viable option? And Taku… well, he seemed flushed—beaming like a goddamn sun—about this entire encounter; he was also refusing to let go of his staff. Getting killed because of his friend’s behavior was now a part of Teri’s worries.

The real question was how she dealt with those dolls. She was practically unarmed. And given that her clothes were stained with blood, it meant that the fight had happened up close and personal. It was also possible that she came after Taku bound those dolls and led the rest outside.

Teri lowered his head, his gaze clinging to her.

The only possibility Teri could think of was that she could use magic.

“We’re not looking for trouble,” Teri muttered, his voice just as heavy and tempered. His hands were still in the air. “So, would you mind letting us go?”

The woman slowly widened her eyes.

Her lips started to form a smile.

Teri could only think of two reasons why this woman deemed it necessary to approach them. One, she wanted to clearly establish her dominance for whatever reason. Two, she decided to kill them right then and there; she just needed to get them in range. Based on how everything was going, it was easy for him to deduce that they were screwed and nothing was really stopping her from killing them outright.

With that in mind, the best option was to minimize the damage.

Teri would be lying if he said that there was nothing he could do about it. So upon assuming that she had approached them for reason number two, he willingly entered the woman’s presumed range with his hands raised in surrender and an even sharper gaze. He didn’t feel good about betting his life on how fast Taku could cast his spell—especially when his last attempt failed—but he had to. He wanted to laugh at the thought.

The girl needed to think that they had an ace up their sleeve. She could at least question why they were doing these things. And the less certain she becomes of what will happen if things go south, the more she would be open to talking. She didn’t look like the type that would risk it all for something small like this.

“You’re approaching me.” The woman raised her head, chuckling as she cupped her chin with her finger touching the corner of her lips. “You’re really approaching me.”

“I am,” Teri said, looking at Taku and then back at her; his friend was raising a brow and in deep thought as if the woman said something familiar.

She combed her hair with her fingers, her lips curving even more to show an interested and daunting smile. “You’re picking a fight then?”

“Definitely not.” Teri grinned back at her, barely resisting the urge to flinch.

The air was getting heavier. Literally. It was as if the room itself was shaking due to some kind of pressure, even more so when the area’s supposed still air hugged his body and pulled it downward. It made it seem like kneeling in front of her gorgeous figure was the most natural thing to do.

They didn’t have a lot of distance between them anymore—now only about three meters left. Nothing suspicious was going on with her hands. There were no sudden movements either, even the slow and sustained ones. Based on what he had observed and what Taku told him, magic could be activated by saying a specific word. It could also be activated with a gesture. Either way, there should be a tell.

Teri felt his grin becoming a bit more helpless.

“And instead of running, you’re coming closer,” she continued, her eyes gleaming as if they were staring at a piece of meat. “I don’t hate your confidence… Or are you just this desperate? Like a student… t-taking an exam with seconds left on t-the clock…”

That didn’t make any sense. But as if Teri could tell her that.

“He can’t talk to you without getting any closer!” Taku shouted from the background. He seemed too excited.

Teri wanted to thank him for that. Unfortunately, his feelings were overshadowed by a seething sense of confusion and borderline rage. He also wasn’t familiar with his friend’s game.

“Oh…” The girl’s sweet smile buckled. There was a bit of worry clinging to her brows, but she forced out a confident chuckle and recovered. “Oh r-really? Then by all means, c-come as close as y-you like…”

Now, they were one step apart.

Teri was scared, confused, and angry—not necessarily in that order. He didn’t even have the time to process what the hell he was feeling. But at least he knew that he was surprised when he realized that he got this far without getting cleaved in two.

If her magic could be activated verbally, he’d die. But if her magic could be activated through a gesture, he could just grab whatever hand she would use and put a dagger through her neck. Easy. Teri was slowly getting his confidence back. And to tip the tides a little bit in his favor, Taku could probably bind her from a safe distance too. As expected, his friend was focused and reliable in situations such as this.

Teri glanced over his shoulder and found that the man, the myth, and the legend himself was about two meters away from him—definitely within her range. He was still refusing to let go of his staff, though he did for a moment so he could give both of them a small, shy wave.

Fuck.

Teri turned his head and pressed his gaze against her. He was definitely overcompensating for something. The girl looked as confused as he was, but she could probably tell that he lost his composure already. How was he able to answer her before with so much confidence? Did he even do it with confidence? Teri didn’t know. He knew he’s fucked, though. Yes, he was casting his shadow over this girl right now, but that just made him the most satisfying target ever.

But maybe, there was a way out of this. Maybe Teri could still double down. If his confidence could not do it, maybe cringe would do the trick.

Teri widened his grin. “This c-comfortable enough f-for you?”

“Interesting…” She looked straight into his eyes, her face flushed with rage—he could understand that much. “I didn’t think you’d stop.”

“Yes…” Teri dryly replied. “We would hit each other if I kept walking.”

She cracked a smile, almost breaking into a laugh as she leaned forward and placed her soft hand on Teri's shoulder. “Let’s hear it. What do you want to say to me… for you to be up this close?” She glanced at Taku and then eyed Teri up and down. “Is it a proposition? A good joke, maybe? Or is this a trap?”

Teri found himself heaving, the heavy petrified air making it seem like he was drifting through water. The cringe strategy didn’t work. Teri wanted to laugh. He gave up trying to find the right words and just glared at her. He wasn’t too confident in his ability to beg, after all. Taku’s position was also compromised.

But there was still something he could do.

Teri could just grab her hand and stab her in the neck. It was a decent idea. He had to protect Taku, after all. They still had the initiative, the element of surprise. His eyes widened. His hands trembled.

They should kill her.

Now—

“Both of you guys are overcomplicating things.”

Taku’s cheerful voice smoked out the thoughts in Teri’s mind as he moved in between them. The guy didn’t even think about his safety. Was he even thinking? Teri let his jaw hang. His friend’s presence cracked the terror-stricken air and replaced its blood-ridden scent with his own.

It took a second for Teri to notice that the heaviness in his chest was forced out too.

The woman stepped back, looking more confused but still remaining poised. Taku didn’t care. The man, the myth, and the legend himself wiped his hands on his cloak and chased her for a respectful handshake.

“My name is Taku, future Wizard King of this new world. I’m tanky as hell and currently single,” he started with a very macho voice. “Here is my boy, Teri. He’s smart, strong, and reliable. He likes men.”

“I like women,” Teri firmly interjected and groaned at the next second, realizing that he might’ve done himself more bad than good.

The woman reluctantly took Taku’s hand. Her focus shifted from Teri to Taku and back again. “I’m Yayoi.”

Taku refused to let go of her hand for five seconds. He looked at Teri, and then at Yayoi, and then at Teri, and then at Yayoi once again. Then, he stepped back moments before the air suggested that Yayoi could kill them.

“So, that’s us.” Taku cleared his throat. “We didn’t come this far! In fact, this is our second room. I see you don’t have any supplies at all. So, do you wanna rest? Maybe we can find a corner in this room. We can relax. Wanna break bread together? Have you eaten? Don’t worry! It’s on us!”

Teri smiled as he stepped back to let Taku have the limelight. It was clear that Yayoi wanted to reply. She probably wanted to say no, but tough luck. She couldn’t. So, that was her weakness.

Positivity and sheer fucking optimism.

If you try anything funny—”

“Nah.” Taku turned around, pointed them at the north-eastern corner of the room, and led the way. “We’re good. And besides, I feel like we have some stuff to catch up on with our new dungeon buddy! Ooooohhh I can already see it happening. This is gonna be fun!”

“Yep,” Teri mumbled as soon as Yayoi looked in his way. “That’s just him. And no… we just became friends when we got here in this dungeon. He’s cool. He’s very smart too.”

As expected, Taku was amazing with people.

The best thing Teri could do right now would be to follow Taku’s lead and throw everything into her court. So he walked away and did his best to dismiss his worry of being backstabbed as much as he could. His attention was needed elsewhere. The doors of this room still needed to be closed if they wanted to have a better chance of getting a more decent rest, after all.

“I see… I’ll take you up on your offer then, both of you.” Yayoi muttered, her voice getting softer after every word, and followed Taku’s back with her head slightly lowered. “Thanks.”

Teri kept walking. It was hard for him to admit. Not like this. He looked at his right hand. It was still shaking. He was about to kill her and he was so sure of it. He was glad even more that he wasn’t alone, that Taku was with him. But it stung.

So, this was all he could amount to.