Request

I strode out of the changing room, rushing through the corridors. Two pairs of steps trailed behind me like ducklings.

"Come on, mister great and amazing Paladin, be a kind soul," Chub, one of the boys, begged in fabricated praise.

"Please stop following me." And stop attracting so much attention.

"But aren't you Paladins supposed to help people in need? Especially women and children," said Cod, the other of the two.

Calling themselves children was a bit of a stretch, given they both aged around fifteen—almost adults.

"What's the matter? Are ya in any trouble?" Rasbora said as she came from the lounge.

"It's nothing. Where's Betta?"

"She told me to wait for ya and went ahead to find a place for us to stay the night."

"Miss Paladin, you're so pretty," Chub said.

"Uh? Wha? Ah am?"

"Like a fairy tale princess, or even a queen," added Cod.

The two kids shared a wink at each other, but Rasbora was too busy blushing to notice.

"Ignore them, they're just a pair of troublemakers."

Cod approached Rasbora. "We need help, Miss Paladin, pleeease."

Again with the lamb eyes.

"Corydorin, mayhaps we should hear the boys out."

"I already did. They do have a problem, but it's not as urgent as they make it sound. The Capital will no doubt send a group of knights to deal with the matter soon."

"But our dear sister can't wait that long. She wanted to see the outside pastures at least one more time before it's too late," Chub added.

You never even mentioned you had a sister until now.

"Aww. What can ah do to help?"

It seemed I'd underestimated the two boys.

And overestimated Rasbora.

ᗢ⫘⫘⫘⫘𖦹⫘⫘⫘⫘♡

A cast of Cursed. Lesser ones by their descriptions; forty or so. Not a huge threat despite the numbers.

Yes, they could and would hurt people if they found them alone and defenseless, and their presence meant that taking your cattle outside the safety of the town risked costing you a few animals even if you could afford guardbeasts, which the kid's father couldn't.

Stuck in cages and unable to graze, the cattle would get stressed, especially given the less-than-ideal conditions they were being kept in. It was a problematic situation, true.

But still far below a Paladin's paygrade. A group of half a dozen knights could take care of this without casualties. Even an unorganized force of twenty or so laymen could deal with the matter if they weren't all so sickly terrified of the mere mention of the Cursed.

It would be child's play to deal with them.

To kill them all.

"So dad says we can't leave town," Chub said. "But our lil' sis is so sad about it. She cries every night."

"Yeah, and it makes us wanna cry too." Cod paused to sniffle. "We can't bear to see her like this."

"We should talk with Betta," Rasbora said.

"Listen, no matter how sobby they try to make it out to be, it's obvious their sister isn't doing as bad as they say."

"Aye, ah've figured out that much already."

"Are you worried about the Cursed, then? I know the stories paint them as the ultimate evil and always reiterate how dangerous they are, but I promise you leaving this group unchecked won't be the end of the town."

"Ah believe you. Ya know a lot more than ah do. And that's mah issue. Ah need experience—or do ya expect me to face the Cursed Prince as mah first real battle?"

"That…" Crap. "...is a good point."

Chub and Cod high fived each other.

"Thank you so much oh great mister Pala—"

"Slow down, I haven't agreed yet."

"We can pay you back with a room," Cod said.

"Yeah, that way you great Paladins can save up some marks."

"Money isn't the issue here."

"Ah'll talk with Betta, " Rasbora said. "If she has to scold someone let it be me. This is for mahself, after all."

"It's fine," I sighed. "Let's go talk with her together."

"Really? Thank ya, Corydorin."

Oscar appeared at the corner of my eye, and after catching my attention, he nodded at me with a smile as sweet as ripe berries.

ᗢ⫘⫘⫘⫘𖦹⫘⫘⫘⫘♡

We were given a living room, a bathroom and three bedrooms, one for each. A huge luxury given the standards of this town.

Leave it to Betta to find the best deals.

Having such a skilled… let's say, negotiator, was a great boon for any traveling team. But on the other hand, it also meant that anytime our interests collided—

"No," she replied.

"Give it some thought at least," I said.

"Hmmm… No."

"Ah know ya said ya won't waste time during this journey, but won't ya agree ah need some fight practice?"

"I do agree," Betta said in an almost jovial tone. "Once we get closer to the Borders, I'll personally train you against real Cursed, not these oversized bugs."

"It won't even take us that long," I added. "We can just scout the surroundings tomorrow morning and we'll be done by noon."

"Yeah, suuure." Betta narrowed her eyes. "And when we pass by the next village you'll pester me to deal with another Cursed plague, or maybe you'll volunteer to help fix their cursed roof. I know, how about you also wipe their asses for them?" She gulfed the rest of her bowl and set it on the table with a clonk. "We're the Paladin Team, we slay world-ending threats, and every minute we waste one such threat is wreaking havoc in the northern region."

Neither of us dared stop her as she headed for her room. "We leave first thing tomorrow, end of talk." Her door shut with only a light slam.

Well, that went great—she explained her reasoning, didn't resort to threats and only glared at me like I was an annoying fly instead of grabbing me by the marks.

"Sorry, Rasbora, I tried."

"Aye, it's alright." Her fingers fidgeted with the pendant under her neck—a small wooden carapace tied to one of the Divines.

Oscar was still present. He floated next to me.

"Dori, are you going to leave things like this?"

I was.

By all means, I was going to leave things like this.

The kids would look for us tomorrow, but by then we'd already be somewhere on the road. Their sister would have to endure a little longer.

They'd be disappointed, and it would all be my fault.

…

I got reminded of one of my first times getting a request as a Paladin.

Even if it was an easy assignment, the mere act of someone entrusting you with a task they couldn't accomplish on their own… that alone was enough to make you wish to go above and beyond in order to fulfill it.

And when you did—when they looked you in the eyes, smiled and thanked you for your help…

… that was when you felt like a real hero.

Too bad I wasn't one of those.