Standing Together

Gwen leaned against the inn’s exterior wall. The morning sun blasted down, heating the surrounding area. Because of the new rumors, people have been watching—making it uncomfortable once again to be in public. Some claimed she worshiped the Dark Lord. Others whispered she had betrayed the kingdom.

She let out an annoyed sigh. I have to keep my head down and just let the investigation proceed so nothing else happens. The last thing she needed was to give the Adventurer’s Guild or the King a reason to send her to jail.

In for a penny, in for a pound, or so they say.

Nonetheless, the silver-haired mage stood there awkwardly, switching between stretching and other various exercises to make time go by quicker. Music. If there was anything she missed the most, it was music. Or the internet; both would be nice right about now.

“Oh, thank Hael, the siblings finally showed up.” She muttered under her breath.

Chris was waving at her the moment she got to her feet. Her gaze dropped to the bandage on his face, but she decided not to ask how he got the mark.

“Heya, Boss, you look like you’re hard at work already!” Chris called out cheerfully.

“Not much for me to do besides exercise.”

“Yeah…I noticed on the walk over that there were more guards out walking this path.” Claire spoke up.

“The Adventurer’s Guild stance is that I didn’t do anything wrong, so I’m allowed on the first floor but no further in the dungeon, and I take any job request.”

Chris flinched. “Ouch, that really limits the money we can make.”

“I know; that’s why I wanted to have a party meeting today to discuss what to do from here.”

“Well, I can’t speak for my brother, but I, for one, will not be leaving the party,” Claire said, a serious look on her face.

Gwen’s lips twitched despite her trying to keep a neutral face. “That makes me feel slightly better about everything.”

“Awww, boss was worried that we were going to leave.” Chris joked.

Gwen just shot him an icy stare, not saying anything.

The smile on his lips immediately dropped as he hid behind Claire. “She’s so scary.”

“Ugh, can you knock it off already?” She chastised, punching Chris in the head.

He rubbed the top of his head and sat down on the ground next to Gwen. Muttering words under his breath.

Claire rubbed her temples and turned to Gwen. “How much longer till the cat gets here?”

“Shouldn’t be m—”

“Stop pulling on me, you shitty pet!” Kira’s voice echoed around them.

In the distance, Kira’s tail was being pulled by the rabbit monster, a sense of pride going through their bond as it marched forth. The gaze of people was on them, in what seemed like interest since a tiny rabbit was leading around a beastkin.

“You sent the Karate Rabbit after Kira.”

“Yep!” Gwen emphasized the p sound. “I didn’t feel like waiting long.”

“And it had nothing to do with all the rumors about you?”

“Pshh, totally not.”

Claire raised an eyebrow. “Right, I don’t believe you.”

Gwen huffed and crossed her arms in annoyance, offering no reply. Claire didn’t have to be so blunt about it.

Soon, the rabbit had Kira in front of the party. It let go of her tail and climbed up Gwen, sitting peacefully on her shoulder.

“Ugh, did you have to send that little asshole after me!” Kira whined, rubbing her tail. “I was going to be here soon, I promise.”

“Alrighty, guys, now that everyone is here, we can get started with the meeting.” Gwen clapped her hands together, completely ignoring Kira. Since I’m being punished if you guys would—”

“Yeah, going to stop you, their boss. If you’re going to say some sappy shit about finding a new party until everything blows over, then you can just drop it right now.” Kira interrupted, glaring harshly at her.

Chris nodded in agreement. “I already told you earlier that I wouldn’t be leaving.”

“So shut up with all of that already, and move on to whatever plan you’ve cooked up.”

Gwen felt something warm slide down her cheek. She wiped it away, staring at the wetness on her fingers for a moment. The relief that everyone wanted to stick with her took a load off her mind about having to be on her own.

“Anyway, moving on,” she paused, taking a shaky breath. “My idea was to focus on conquering the slime hallway.”

“Ugh, does that mean we have to carry extra weapons?” Chris shivered, his frown worsening. “God, I hated fighting slimes.”

Gwen shook her head. “I can coat everyone’s weapons with flames, so that will help against the acid.”

“I cast Shadow Spear now, so I’ll be able to help defeat some as well,” Claire added.

“Hmm, this isn’t a bad idea, then.”

Gwen clenched her fist, a light shining in her eye. “I want to conquer the hallway even if we have to spend the night.”

“Hell yeah!” Chris shouted, jumping up. “I’m interested in spending the night in the dungeon.”

“Overnight? That doesn’t sound like fun.” Claire muttered.

“Yeah, but we won’t make any progress if we have to keep coming back.” Gwen pointed out.

“I hate slimes, but I’ll follow you, Boss,” Kira said.

Gwen smiled at Kira and turned to Claire. “You don’t have to go, but I’d love for you to join us.”

Claire hesitated, biting her lip as she thought.

On Gwen’s shoulder, the Karate Rabbit was pleading, giving her giant eyes as it stared at her.

“Ugh, I’ll go!” Claire finally said, throwing her arms up.

Gwen pumped her fist in the air. “Yes! This is going to be so much fun.”

“Fun, for you maybe.”

Gwen ignored Claire’s complaining and turned to Chris. “You take Kira, and gather up supplies that we’ll need for a long expedition. We are planning for one night, but buy enough materials to last us a month in case something happens.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Ugh, why do I have to go with the stick in the mud?”

“You’ll be fine!” Gwen handed Kira the pouch and patted her head. “Just make sure to be back soon; I’d like to go in the dungeon before evening.”

Kira pouted, but had no choice in the matter since Chris had already picked her up. They were already in the distance, with dirt kicked up behind them by the time Gwen blinked.

Gwen shook her head, smiling.

“Now, Claire, I need you for a very important mission.”

Claire cocked her head. “Oh? What do you need, Gwen?”

Gwen spun around, grabbed Claire’s hand, and stared deeply into her eyes.

Claire was taken aback by the intensity of the stare.

“First, I’ll need you to get in contact with people you know in the Crooks Guild, and ask for any information on a man named Adrain.”

“Wait, how did you know I have contacts with that guild?”

“Second, I need you to help me choose a name for the Karate Rabbit.” Gwen finished, ignoring her question.

Claire blinked. “What, you still didn’t name it yet?”

Gwen shook her head.

“Ugh, why not just pick something?”

“A name is everything; it can give power, fame!” Gwen spoke passionately.

“Right…” Claire trailed off, taking her hand out of Gwen’s. “I’ll go take care of your first request. The second one, yeah, you can deal with that.”

“Ugh, fine...”

“See you in a few hours then.”

Without waiting for Gwen’s reply, Clair spun on her heel and took off into the distance.

Gwen let out a sigh and glanced down at the rabbit. “I guess you don’t have an idea of what name you’d want.”

The rabbit shrugged in response.