Shyness Boy

“SIt ThE fUck DoWN.” Yayoi hehehe’d like a gremlin.

“IT WAS COOL. I WAS COOL.” Taku screamed, pleading, clinging to the Hot Rod, and about to cry. “I MEAN… I knew that the Witch pulled up a barrier… so I tried to up the OOMPH of my spell. IT WAS THE PERFECT SETUP!”

“Dude…” Yayoi slapped Taku’s shoulder. “That barrier could tank my slashes. What were you expecting?”

Taku’s gaze drifted to the middle of the room. He chuckled. “That I could overcome it with pure badassery and hype! Just imagine. Yayoi. Teri. My friends. Just imagine.” Taku glared at them, almost screaming this time. He licked his lips. “I shoot my shot. Boom. Fire goes everywhere. Then… shards of barriers in the air, glimmering. And then… the smoke clears thanks to Yayoi’s magic…”

“My pleasure.”

“Then the Witch is revealed—” Taku waved his arms. He also did the whispery sound effect of multiple people intrigued and whoaing. “The Witch—or what’s left of her—half burnt and barely standing.”

“Yeah, I can imagine it,” Teri lied, nodding as though full of thoughts. “It’s pretty cool.”

Taku beamed. “Really—”

“Too bad it didn’t happen, though.” Yayoi interjected.

Taku gasped. He clutched his chest and faked a cry, making both Teri and Yayoi laugh.

Teri kept his smile as he looked over them, even after the joke had passed. For a moment, Yayoi caught his eyes. He couldn’t understand what just happened. She had looked at him before during the fight. But this time, she immediately looked away, still keeping her smile for Taku.

It was a nice moment at least.

Teri glanced in the middle of the room and tightened his grin. The memory wasn’t at all pleasant. He wanted to laugh.

Taku shot the fireball. It exploded on impact. Though thinking more about it, Teri could feel that it was an understatement. The spell did explode on impact. Pretty much. But the attack also engulfed half the room in a blinding blaze, burning everything in its wake, and left the stone surface—the floor, the walls, the ceiling—blackened with soot. Yayoi blew the cloud of dust and burnt glitter, revealing that the monster hid behind three barriers. The first one was broken. The second was cracked, about to break.

The Witch was largely unhurt from the spell itself, but it was its sheer heat that got to her. She was at death’s door. She couldn’t bear to move, much less moan. The last of the meat clinging to her cracked and sizzling bones was seared and dripping with juices.

The smell reminded Teri of yakiniku.

The barrier dropped not a moment later. And thinking that the Witch could still put up a fight, Teri, Yayoi, and Mr. Takeshi ganged up on her. It ended with Teri breaking her knees, Mr. Takeshi punching her into the ground, and Yayoi cutting her head off. It was brutal and uncool.

Though, to celebrate their victory, a part of the floor in the middle of the room glitched and—with the merry accompanying sound of grating chalkboard, out-of-tune trumpets, and a sprinkle of confetti made from torn exam papers—summoned a working water fountain with a large black chest in front of it.

The trio shivered in place. Taku went as far as to beg Sebastian Benjamin Noir and Mr. Takeshi to not drink from it. Yayoi looked relieved that Taku didn’t have to explain. Teri was just glad that Taku’s desperate glare was enough to convince the other two that the water could be dangerous. At some point, Taku also had to grab Yayoi’s arm before she could lead herself to a nearby wall.

At least, the fountain featured the praying goddess they saw in the shrine room—Yayoi. There weren’t any love letters in it either, making them even more hopeful. Still, they couldn’t be too sure.

Taku had to do his honest work. Yayoi was beside Teri, still not looking at him. Teri had to ask Mr. Takeshi and Sebastian Benjamin Noir to be more patient.

The fountain wasn’t enchanted, except for the magic that allowed it to infinitely “create” water. The three of them let out breaths of relief. But Taku froze at the thought of bacteria, spiraling even more at the idea of the water being poisonous.

At that point, Mr. Takeshi got himself a handful of water from the fountain and drank it. The three asked him why, visibly worried. He walked away, laughing it off and saying that he was not going to bitch about water now. Taku talked about the fear of dying due to diarrhea, and the old man replied that Taku was the magic man and he was the one who needed to figure out how to deal with that. Sebastian Benjamin Noir bowed at the three a moment later and followed the old man to their fellow party member lying on the other side of the room.

And now, the three of them were left to check the black box themselves. They sat and huddled around it.

Teri shrugged at Taku. He smiled back, excited to tear the box open. Yayoi avoided his gaze, making his heart sink a bit. He was starting to find it annoying.

Going back to the chest, it could be a sign of courtesy. Maybe even as thanks. It could also be the other party’s way of settling their debt.

Taku opened the chest. Half of it was food—stale bread, dried berries, and meat. Of course, the loot included a single-edged shortsword, similar to a machete with an overall thinner blade, a metal buckler, a pair of plated bracers, and another sleeveless gambeson. Two magic scrolls were also included in the mix.

Teri looked at Taku. Yayoi avoided him again. These were some nice items, but they weren’t special enough to fight for. At least for now.

Taku inspected the shortsword first. It was enchanted. He nodded to himself and poured his aura into it, turning its edge jet black seconds later.

Yayoi thought it was cool and asked if she could hold it. Taku agreed, so she spent the next minute pouring more and more aura into it until it adopted the color of her aura, teal.

Taku felt challenged, so he snatched the shortsword and turned its edge pink. Then, he explained that this change signifies that the blade is now attuned to someone—its owner. He further explained that the weapon’s ability is to use its owner’s body as its scabbard; meaning the owner can effectively hide this weapon in their bodies, though the extent of this ability could also be further explored.

The two scrolls were more straightforward.

The first one teaches “Stone Wall,” and as Teri had guessed, it lets the user create a stone wall with its size and toughness depending on the strain the user was willing to take upon making it. Yayoi explained her disdain for it, thinking that it was a slower and weaker barrier spell.

The second one teaches the “Mist” spell, allowing the user to summon a cloud of mist or fog. Taku thought it was interesting because it could make their epic entrances more sustainable since he didn’t have to risk burning anyone or everyone down.

The buckler, the bracers, and the gambeson weren’t enchanted.

“You sure you guys don’t want anything?” Taku wiped the blood from his nose. “I didn’t expect us to not be very excited when it comes to loot.”

Yayoi’s apologetic smile met Teri’s gaze before she looked away. “The sword is nice, but I don’t see myself using it. Could be useful in the future though.”

“It’s tempting.” Teri sighed. “But I think I’m good. We haven’t met anything that’s resistant to blunt weapons, at least not yet. And if there are…” Teri nodded to himself, his eyes still fixed on Taku. He tried not to look at Yayoi this time. “If there are… Yayoi can just kill them.”

Yayoi wasn’t looking at him either.

“Though I think I can take the Stone Wall scroll.” Teri kept his head low. “If I have that spell… we have a bit of leverage against the Trueshot Bow other than Yayoi. We don’t need to break it anymore. Yayoi’s sister can have it or… maybe we can give it to someone in Mr. Takeshi’s party. The Mist scroll can be traded, since Yayoi can essentially counter the spell.”

Taku tossed the scroll to Teri. “You’re okay with being support?”

“I’d rather be called… strategic. Please don’t call me a bitch though,” Teri gave both of them a lopsided smile. “There’s no need for me to compete with you or Yayoi. Both of you are cool in my book, and I think cool, cool, and cool should stay side by side and exist together. I think that's the cooler way to go.”

Taku offered Teri a fist bump, and he gingerly took it.

“Thanks…” Teri still did his best not to look Yayoi’s way.

Taku rose from his seat, closed the black chest, and brought it up. He turned his attention to Mr. Takeshi, Sebastian Benjamin Noir, and a girl on the southern side of the room. They seemed to be talking amongst themselves, sometimes looking their way.

“So, we’re going to give the rest of it away?” Yayoi asked out of Teri’s view.

“Obviously,” Taku replied, looking at Mr. Takeshi’s party with an innocent smile. He waved back when he caught them looking at him. “We’ll split the food as normal. And I mean… they’re our new party members, right?”

Teri chuckled. He made a mistake by looking at Yayoi, who met his gaze and looked away at the very same second. Her smile still seemed pained and apologetic. He faced Taku, grimacing. “You need a hand?”