Which Side Is The Good Side

“Sorry Jadwiga, but you’re sounding like some insane cultist now. The whole killing yourself, going to a happier place, and all that,” said Nadia.

“Aren’t you a priestess, Nadia?” asked Kitezh.

“Well, yeah, but I don’t let people die so that I can give some prayer!”

Kitezh didn’t want to divert into religious cult talk and continued with Jadwiga.

“Nadia has a point, though. I can’t trust all of this. I don’t know why you trust everything this Koschei guy is saying,” said Kitezh

“It makes sense, you weren’t there during the initiation. All of us phenomena had to go through it,” explained Jadwiga.

“Why did I never get an initiation? In fact, why did all of you phenomena get to meet this Koschei guy except me?”

“All of us were sent to an arbitrary place in this world, at least based on what I was told. Some of us were taken by the Demon Lord’s, or I should say Koschei’s, army. You, on the other hand, had a different circumstance.”

Kitezh remembered what happened shortly after she was transported to the new world.

“Oh yeah. There was a massive raid by the Demon Lord’s army on the city of Kitezh. However, I ended up saving it. My invisibility helped stop the invasion!”

“That was exactly what the invasion was about. So, the next idea was to have individual spies take you to the Demon Lord’s realm. As you can see, that has failed so far.”

“So, this whole time, I’m just the target for a kidnapping plot, and also part of some sacrificial ritual? No way am I believing this crap!” yelled Kitezh.

“I don’t know what to tell you Kitezh. You were saved from your previous life. And now, you’re not paying back the favor. I consider that to be selfish.”

“Why should I pay back the favor? What if this Koschei guy is tricking you? He pulls you in this world after saving your life, only to put you into some other shit like espionage and assassinations!”

“Well, what are you even doing, Kitezh? From what I heard, you’ve been sulking around the city a lot!”

“And what do you do all day? Trick members of the guild that you’re here to help save the city while supporting the thing causing this chaos? Why should I trust any of this stuff?”

“That’s enough, you two! You can’t convince each other!” Nadia interrupted.

All three of them were silent. Kitezh exhaled loudly.

“Well, how do we move forward from here?” asked Kitezh.

Nadia was suddenly given the role of mediator.

“As of now, this Koschei guy wants to get all the phenomena, and wants to kill them. However, he promises something good in the end. We just don’t know what it is. I think we need more details on this,” explained Nadia.

“Unfortunately, that’s as far as my knowledge goes,” said Jadwiga.

“Even though Kitezh is not the most cooperative girl, it seems she wants to help everyone in this world. Therefore, she is not sacrificing herself anytime soon,” Nadia went on.

“So, Kitezh. Why exactly are you helping this world that you have fallen into? Like, it seems you don’t have a strong bond,” questioned Jadwiga.

“Oh, that? Well, isn’t it fun to be the goddess of your own city that you can easily defend? Of course, it can get tiring and boring after a while. However, it gives me a purpose here, and these powers are still so much fun!” Kitezh said with a sudden change of mood.

“Kitezh, you’re supposed to be defending your argument!” shouted Nadia.

“What, you want me to lie?! I’m not giving some stupid hero nonsense! I literally came here with powers beyond a regular mage, what the hell did you think I was going to do?” retorted Kitezh.

Kitezh pointed at Jadwiga.

“Come on, don’t you have fun with your powers? Don’t you want to enjoy more of your life in this world? What did you even do here during your espionage?” asked Kitezh.

“Well, I am of the thief class, and spent a lot of time training and learning new skills as one. I felt going for that class was the best option with my phenomenon. You may have noticed that from our series of altercations.”

“Huh, now that I think about it, you somehow got to the top of the observatory and created a barrel trip wire trap. Yet, none of us questioned a god damn thing about it.”

“Yep! A thief is equipped with all sorts of neat gadgets for climbing and setting up traps! I didn’t even get to show it off to you guys.”

“Oh, I already played with that grappling hook thing from your backpack. It’s so much fun, except for the falling part,” said Nadia.

“And now you made my tools uncool. Anyways, I did participate in one mission. We had to take on some monsters. I never told them about my powers, nor did I attempt using them in the fight. I had to keep my identity a secret. Then we were done, and we celebrated at the tavern. That was where your choking incident happened.”

“But I don’t remember seeing you there,” said Kitezh. “Unless…”

Nadia grabbed Jadwiga’s face and scrunched it.

“I remember! You were actually that shy fellow at the tavern last night!” cheered Nadia.

“Uh, yeah, I was,” confirmed Jadwiga.

“So, you were in disguise the whole time. I assume those annoying guys were the party you were working with on that mission. You knew I was going to be there?”

“Correct. I wasn’t sure which one was going to be you until I saw you walk in with the helmet.”

“Whoops. That was pretty stupid of me after all," Kitezh shrugged, as if it was somehow not her fault. "Still, going into a guy’s night and exiting as a girl was the perfect disguise. Nadia and I did not have that possibility cross our minds.”

“The more important question is, wasn’t it a fun night for you?” asked Nadia.

“I suppose I did. I had a good show from, uh, Kitezh. I found her actions pretty cute,” said Jadwiga as she blushed.

“Great, so my assassin was a sadistic pervert. Why am I not surprised?” Kitezh said sarcastically.

“Hey, what about me?! I was the one helping you get out of your shell!” exclaimed Nadia.

“You were just annoying me, especially when you got into my face. In fact, that was the only reason I tried to kill you.”

Nadia put her head down in silence and disappointment.

“But Jadwiga, think about it. Even though you tried to kill us, wasn’t using those phenomenon powers fun? You had to hold back during a quest, but wouldn’t it be fun to actually go all out and do that weird shooting thing you did?”

“So you’re telling me I should abandon my post so I can live a fun life here with my powers?”

“If you offered me that, I would,” said Kitezh.

“I’d still got my own side of the story though. If I decide to suddenly stop supporting Koschei, his supporters will try to kill me,” replied Jadwiga

“Alright, let’s make this simple. How about we meet your commander and settle things once and for all. We figure out exactly what’s going to happen if both of us die. And if he sounds like he’s talking nonsense, we kill him. If not, uh… I guess dying is okay?”

“I’m not even sure what to say to that. However, this decision is really up to you, Kitezh,” said Nadia.

“Going straight to my commander is really risky. Your only options when you’re done talking to him are killing him, or killing yourself,” said Jadwiga.

“And if you find him disagreeable in the end, will you actually help me?” asked Kitezh.

“Alright, I’ll try this out. We’re both on neutral grounds, though. I’m only helping you just so you can decide your own fate.”

Kitezh started untying the ropes on Jadwiga. Her hands were loosened, and she stretched them towards the ceiling.

Jadwiga finally felt free, but Kitezh suddenly grabbed Jadwiga's hand tightly.

“I won’t say I’ve forgiven you. I’ll tell you this now. I beat you once. If you try to betray me, I will actually kill you,” threatened Kitezh, as she stared Jadwiga straight into her corneas.

Jadwiga silently complied. She put on her clothes that Nadia left next to the bed.

“The commander is here in this city in disguise, just like me. I will bring you to him and settle things out,” said Jadwiga.

“Perfect. Just let me rest a bit, I’m still tired after last night,” yawned Kitezh.

SLAM!

The door to the room suddenly flew open.

“Kitezh! You’re alright!”

It was a familiar, overenthusiastic voice that Kitezh hadn’t heard in a while. It was Marigold, who was rushing into the room.

“Marigold, slow down, she’s probably tired. Oh, and helloooooo, Nadia!”

It was another familiar, yet annoying flirtatious voice. It was Frigyes, who crept into the room.

“Who are you? Kitezh, did you make a new friend?! What’s her name!?” squealed Marigold.

“Marigold, Frigyes. This is my new, uh… friend? Her name is Jadwiga,” said Kitezh.

“Once again, Kitezh brings a win by recruiting a cute girl. How did you two even meet?”

Kitezh started giggling.

“Hey Jadwiga, maybe you should get them both up to speed. You know, explain EVERYTHING to them. You don’t mind retelling stories, right? Hehehe.”

“YOU MOTHERFU- AH!”

Nadia suddenly embraced Jadwiga from behind.

“Now, now. You’re not leaving here until you explain everything to your new friends!” Nadia said cheerfully.

“I should’ve killed you both!” yelled Jadwiga.