There is no problem at all.

In the cold darkness of the night, I walk side by side with the little mage Mochiko.

I kept my hands buried in the pockets of the coat tied over my hoodie. Her staff bounced softly against the ground with each step, she held it in her left hand with the hat pulled down, facing forward. She didn’t show much expression, only a twitch of nervousness at the corners of her eyes that I could feel more than see.

I wonder if she isn't cold as well...

“H-Hey, Mochiko…” I whispered. The words felt small in the dark.

“Uh? What is it?” she replied.

“Where are we going?”

“To a cave!”

“A cave? Why would you want to go there?”

“B-Because… because it’s full of monsters!” she blurted, then glanced quickly to both sides. Her eyes betrayed her. I am sure she was lying.

I swallowed. Then a stupid grin grow over my face.
...Wait a second...

HAHAHAHA, I'M WALKING ALONE WITH A GIRL!!

THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED IN MY PREVIOUS LIFE, NEVER NEVER!...
If we exclude mom...

And I actually think it's been a while since I've been with someone by my side, regardless of gender...

...I'm so stupid.

“S-So, Mochiko…” I tried to make conversation. Stuttering and looking around like an amateur spy, I asked the kind of question that felt important and safe: “W-What’s the your names meaning?"

She puffed up proudly, planted the staff on the ground, and grinned like a stage actor. “Because it’s cute!”

“Uh?”

"Yeah, I mean it's also because it's the sound it does, like a lightning does KATTCHAU!!" She bounced on her toes.

I corrected, “I meant… Mochiko, as a name.”

Her bravado cracked. She looked down, embarrassed, and muttered, “Tsk, it's because of a stupid food, Mochi. My parents were a huge fan and sold it in my hometown, AND THAT'S THE ONLY REASON THEY NAMED ME THAT!!! What a drag, what a drag, what a drag!! WHAT A LACK OF CREATIVITY!!" She stamped a foot, furious at the memory.

"Mo-Mochi?..."

"YEAH MOCHI!!! THAT FOOD THAT STRETCH!! Goddamit..."

Stretch?... W-WAIT, IT'S KATAKURI'S DEVIL FRUIT?! I finished One Piece so long ago that I had forgotten about it!!

Good one Brain, good one.

"So you hate your name?"

"I-It's not like if I hate, I just think it's stupid to name your daughter after a freaking rice cake..."

I wonder what my name means.
The real answer, I will never know...

We pushed deeper into the trees. The path narrowed until the forest swallowed us. Without torches, the only light came from our clothes faint glimmer. I wondered if she actually knew where we were going, and more importantly, whether she knew the way back.

“"S-So Mochiko... C-Could you explain me what an Suicider is, and the guild thing?” I asked, trying to learn something practical, and start a conversation.

She lit up, slamming the butt of her staff down for emphasis. “Of course! Suiciders are the ultimate adventurers. We take quests from the Guild board, go out, solve huge problems, kill monsters, and well, we also sometimes do criminal stuff. B-But we’re not mercenaries! We’re free! The ultimate freedom form! No working hours, literally 0 restrictions, no guild rescue even if you need. With that, boom!! the mortality rate is very high, hence the name. Just go there when you need a little money.”

It's definitely... a pretty suicidal job, how would that represent freedom!? Doesn't make sense at all in my head.

"Sounds a litt... unfair?"

"Unfair? No. We don't pay any fees and the money the guild make is only from selling products. Like a newbie like you could do a 5-star mission if you wanted.
Second, the guild takes literally no responsibility for anything that happens!"

It sounded romantic. It sounded reckless. Mostly, it sounded like a job that would make you die a lot.

“And the wizard tournament?” I asked.

“Oh, that’s just a wizards thing. A contest that happens every 4 years to see who kills the most monsters. Last champion was Lisa... three times in a row. It’s January, still looooots of time left. I’m going to win! Since I’ll be the world’s greatest wizard, and defeat Lisa in a duel too!" She punctuated her ambition with a fist pump.

"Ok... seems fun."

I said that but actually, I don't quite understand.

I never understood people who "wanted to be the best" at something, just for being.
What does she gain by becoming the greatest wizard in the world? What does a chess player gain by having the greatest elo in the world?
It's a kind of ego that I can't understand.

Maybe that's why my grades were never an exception, good but not the best.
It's just something that doesn't make any difference to me, whether I have the title of being the best student or not. That's why I practically didn't study and got good grades anyway.

Actually it's because I'm naturally intelligent hahaha...

We emerged at the cave entrance: a round hole in a great rock, twice my height and wide enough to walk in without shrinking. There were torches burned along the lip, cheap lamps she’d apparently left after coming yesterday.

“Y-You really came here alone yesterday?” I asked.

“Yeah. I cleaned most of the monsters, probably none left. Oh, I left some lamps there so I wouldn't get lost again.” she said.

Yesterday... Yesterday... She's lived here for who knows how long and only yesterday she remember to put them on.

"Wait, if you killed all monsters, what we're doing here?"

She froze. Her eyes went huge and distant for a good ten seconds, like a deer caught in headlights. Then, as if embarrassed by herself, she grabbed my back and dragged me forward. “Just go in! There are tons of monsters... uh, not really but… go!”

"H-Hey Mochiko... D-Don't you want to go in front?"

She backtracked her lie so fast it turned into panic. “N-No, c-cause uh... I-I'M A WIZARD!! S-SO I CAN ONLY USE MY MAGIC FROM AFAR! I'M A SUPPORT!"

Tsk, but actually it's a good excuse...

The corridor narrowed. Our footsteps were loud in the stone. At a fork she barked directions. she did know the way at least. Then we reached a heavy, carved stone gate with stacked wood beside it.

Without fanfare, she pointed her staff and murmured “Vrunch.”
A tiny spark ran from the staff to the wood and it flared alive.

She grinned. “I know fire magic too.” she bragged, proud as ever.

“Is that rare? Cross-type magic?” I asked.

“Uh? Of course!! Most wizards decide to dedicate themselves to just one type of magic, they say it's better to be an expert in one than average in many, BUT THAT'S BULLSHIT!!!” She jabbed a finger at me. “That’s how I’ll beat Lisa.”

She glared at me like if I did something wrong "And that's how I'm going to become the greatest wizard in the world! I'm going to have at least one magic of every type!... This is a revolutionary idea that no one has ever thought of before!!!"

"N-No one?... Not even Lisa?"

"No, Lisa is a water type wizard. Of couse she knows some magics from other types, but her main is water."

"You don't have a main then?"

"I have, water also, because I wanted to copy her... BUT! I realized a time ago that if I want to suprass her, I CAN'T BE LIKE HER!!"

Then you should also change your clothes, which are very similar.

"I don't actually understand, why nobody thought of that before? It's such a brilliant ideia..."

WHY WOULD IT BE?! MAYBE BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS SAY THAT IT'S BETTER TO BE AN EXPERT IN SOMETHING, THAN TO BE BAD AT EVERYTHING?!

She waved the idea away. “ok, here's the plan: you sneak in, draw attention, then boom, iappear and finish the job.” Her face flushed a little. “Are you ready?”

"...Ok."

I confess, I really don't want to go there...
But now my hands are already pulling the gate, so there's no turning back.

It's heavy, but it opened. We stepped into a square chamber that smelled of wet stone. The place should have been empty, but it was not.

A dragon filled the room: black as coal, with a white underjaw, eyes like dull embers, and wings cramped against the ceiling. It was taller than any building I’d seen. Its presence hit me like a wall: I had never felt so small.

“RHARRRRR!!! I am the final boss of this dungeon, Sirgi, the only way out of here is to kill me. Yet, The fiercest dragons are not the ones that breathe fire before us, but the shadows that linger within." Iboomed.

It talked. IT TALKED! My mouth forgot how to say anything.

Wait, why am I nervous? There is no problem at all.

I can revive so maybe even I'll get lucky again and respawn in a great spot to kill him.

Lucky...

Mochiko’s voice cracked, “Just stick to the plan! If he chases you, it’s over!” Then she roared “Go!”

I ran.

Fear thrummed under my ribs, but there was also a ridiculous calm. I can die and come back. That thought, in its odd way, made me braver. I wasn’t reckless, but disposable in this world, with a reset button.

Maybe I'll die a lot, but I'm not going to be a coward in this world, not when there's no reason to be.

Life? Do I still have it? Does that even still exist here?-

"I am the final boss of this dungeon, Sirgi, the only way out of here is to kill me. Yet, loneliness is not being alone, it is losing everyone you have."

H-HE ONLY SAYS THAT!?

"GO MOCHIKO! I'LL GIVE YOU ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!!"

"Y-YEAH I GOT IT!!!"

The last thing I saw was her raising her staff, her eyes furrowed, extremely serious and focused.

I don't need to trust her or not, she will have all the time she can imagine, one day she will succeed.
I just can't let the dragon lose focus on me, and that's simple, just keep being reborn until-

"I am the final boss of this dungeon, Sirgi, the only way out of here is to kill me. Yet, guilt indeed is the worst feeling of all."

The dragon opened its mouth. A red glow swelled in its throat and formed a sphere that swelled until it filled the maw. I saw it and my lungs wanted to stop.

That's when I realized: He's going to breathe fire.

I mean, it's obvious, right? That's how I imagine dragons, they fly and breathe fire, obviously!

But that means... I-

"Infinite heat exhalation!!!"

I'm going to burn alive.