Anojin the Crusader

Morning finally came. After a restful night, we regained our strength. I waited for the girls to finish getting ready. They didn’t bring anything from their home, but at least they cleaned themselves up.

We left the apartment and headed straight back to the guild. We entered the guild and went towards the admission station to claim our reward. The beasts were not slain, but they were defeated. So, thankfully, it still meant we completed our quest. The kind nun behind the counter congratulated us on completing the quests. “Thank you, Mr. Satori’s group-”

“It’s Takumi.”

“-for defeating the Gran Warthogs. Here’s your reward.” She slid three leather pouches of gold coins over the counter. “Each warthog defeated is 15000 Gulions. So, that equals 45000 Gulions.”

I couldn't contain my excitement at seeing all that gold. I quickly opened one of the pouches and inspected the money. It was a shiny gold coin, small like a 10-yen coin. It had a cross carved into the coin.

Hinabe and Amada looked pleased with the money, but not as excited as I was. 45000 sounded like a lot of money. I quickly asked the nun, “Is this a lot of money?”

She explained the value of Gulions, which sounded like my currency system back home. That could last me for a couple of days.

I happily collected the money and walked away. We haven’t eaten yet. So, we headed to the tables across the guild to order some food.

…

With the money situation solved for now, I needed more information about everything, specifically my new comrades.

The waiter came to our table and brought refreshments. She offered us a menu with the same food I ate back in Japan. We got a little over our heads and ordered more than what they normally would eat. As the waiter left to tend to our order, I suggested something to the group.

“Alright, during our last quest, we were a mess. I still don’t know who you guys are, so we should start by reintroducing ourselves, specifically our roles.”

I already knew their flaws, but they never explained their abilities to me.

Amada finished chugging her large glass of water and slammed it onto the table. “Alright…” As she wiped the drink off her lips, she reintroduced herself. “I’m a mage. I can only use basic attack magic, and it's average at best.”

I nodded at Amada, appreciating her volunteering to go first. Then, I turned my attention to Hinabe. She started when my eyes made contact with her.

“Oh… sorry. I learned support magic. I don’t know any attack spells, only healing.”

“I see.” I didn’t’ get to see much from either of them, so it was good they told me. Better now than in battle like yesterday.

After chatting for a while, the food eventually came. Perfect timing.

Plates filled with different kinds of carbs and proteins filled the table. Their steamy aroma from the freshly cooked meat and fried treats had me almost salivating at my mouth. Since we were in the guild, we happily thanked God for the meal and began chomping down on our food like wild animals.

As we enjoyed eating, I asked Amada, with food in my mouth. “So, what kind… of mage was… Mr. Satori?”

She continued munching on her food, having no manners. “Oh… he wasn’t a mage. He was far from that.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a different mysterious voice interjected. “Yeah, Mr. Satori wasn’t a mage, he was a great swordsman.”

All of us stopped eating and dropped our food in our hands. Who was talking to us? We turned our heads to the end of the table and saw a huge figure.

His voice sounded deep and clear. He spoke with clear confidence and seriousness, like a strong warrior. “His swordsmanship was like no other. With one slice, he defeated the demon lord.”

As he approached us, I got a clear view of him. He stood proud, covered in armor. Titanium shell shielded his lean body. The metal plates on his shoulder point outward, giving him a powerful presence. His gear was the real deal.

He tilted his sleek orange hair back in confidence. He looked taller than me by a few inches. His hunter eyes gazed at Amada. “Hello there, beautiful woman.”

He stepped closer to Amade. Then, he lowered himself and gently reached for Amada’s hand. What’s he trying to do to her? As he lifted her hand, he leaned in and gave her hand a light kiss.

Everyone's eyes at the table widened. Who is this man? And why is she kissing Amada’s hand out of all people?

Afterwards, he slowly raised my head up, his eyes staringly softly at Amada’s. “What’s your name, gorgeous?” He spoke with a charming tone.

Hinabe's face turned red, surprised. I secretly cringed at the man. Gentleman, my ass! I had a feeling I knew what kind of person this lover boy was.

Amada, responded, softening her voice. “It’s Amada.”

In a split second, he stepped back and hugged himself, like he was performing. “Amada. What a lovely name!”

Then, he turned his attention to Hinabe. He also went in to kiss her hand. “What about you, my lady. What is your name?”

Hinabe couldn’t hide her embarrassment. “Oh, it’s Hinabe.”

He began to observe Hinabe’s elf ears. “Those ears. So pointy. They are so adorable on you, it makes my heart beat!”

I had to interrupt this cringy interaction. “Umm, who are you?”

As I spoke, he stopped his lover’s boy persona and tightened up. He cleared his throat and introduced himself.

“Ahem… My name is Anojin.” He posed his body to showcase his armor. “I’m a crusader. There is nothing that gets past me. I am the greatest shield you have ever seen.”

Anojin reached into his pocket as he continued his introduction. “And I notice there was this poster of recruiting new members.” He took out one of Hinabe’s posters. “So, ladies… if that offer still on the table?”

Amada and Hinabe looked at each other. Even though they never spoke a word, they both nodded simultaneously. They concluded. Amada confidently replied, trying to stop blushing from his charm. “Umm, yeah. You can join-”

“Sorry, buddy.” I cut Amada off. “We aren’t looking for members right now.”

“What?!” Amada pleaded, unable to understand my actions. “Why not?!”’

Anojin asked Amada, pointing at me, unpleased, “And, who is he?”

While Amada continued to nag me, Hinabe spoke up, “He’s a member of our group. His name is Takumi.”

Anojin carefully inspected me. “I see. But he doesn’t look strong at all. Why is he here? What does he do, besides be annoying?”

“Annoying?” I understood that there was going to be bad blood between us. I don’t know why I know that, but it’s something about his personality.

I let out a sigh and clarified, “Listen, Anojin. We don’t need any more members. I don’t think you’ll make a good fit. Plus, I don’t think we would need a useless tank.”

A vein popped on his forehead. “Oh, really? I wasn’t talking to you, though. I was talking to your leader, Amada.”

I knew he was trying to invoke me. I’m not that easy to break. “She isn’t the leader.”

“Then it must be the sweet Hinabe. Because you would be far from it.”

“That’s it!” I couldn’t hold my rage any longer. “You want to go, you chunk of metal?”

“Yeah, I do, you low-life beast! Come on!”

Anojin and I clashed with our foreheads towards each other, fighting for dominance like a tug of war. I could handle Amada's slick comments, but this man was on a whole other level.

To everyone around us, it would look like brothers fighting. It looked embarrassing, but I didn’t care. “What are you idiots doing?” Amada pondered. “Stop it!”

Both Amada and Hinabe tried to calm us down, but neither of us was going to admit defeat first.

While we argued, creating a ruckus. The nun worker behind the desk approached us. She spoke with a nervous tear running down her cheek. “Mr. Satori. There’s an emergency. One of the Demon Lord’s captains has arrived in the capital.”

One of the Demon Lord’s captains! The whole guild froze after her announcement. Why is one of the captains here already? I thought they were far away from Stalu. I thought we had more time.

Fear built up in everyone’s bodies. However, Anojin quickly backed away from me. He strolled to the worker and gently clapped her hands together. “Thank you for the information, ma’am,” he said to the worker.

He hurried to the captain’s location with a face of determination. He waved back at Amada and Hinabe and declared, “Don’t worry, my loves, I’ll make sure the Demon lord’s captains don’t harm any of you.”

As he left the guild, I pondered in my mind. How much of an idiot is that guy? Anojin didn’t look reliable in battle. There’s no way he has a chance of defeating one of the Demon Lord’s captains. He had no chance of winning.

However, I calmed myself down. I would still let him fight, knowing he would lose. For some reason, that bothered me. As much as I would love to see him get hurt, it wouldn’t sit right with me watching him die a meaningless death.

Without having any regret, I made up my mind. I left my food behind and thanked the worker as I chased Anojin down to stop him.

“You’re going, too?” Amada curiously asked. “Hey, wait up!”

Amada and Hinabe quickly followed behind, confused by my actions.

One of the Demon Lord’s captains. This would be a step in the right direction to learning my powers. Hopefully, I arrived at Anojin’s aid before the battle even started.

…