Interlude 3: Promise

Interlude 3: Promise

WACE

"How are you, Wace?" surprisingly, it was my leader who called me three days after we started our mission. So he was concerned about me after all.

"I'm having a great time. I even made a friend." I was joking.

"No way, that guy?" why did he sound so shocked?

"Of course not! It's Nada, the younger of the two magic students."

He sighed loudly, "Of course, it's a girl... Does she know what you are?"

"I haven't told her any details, but she knows enough."

"Listen, I'm not going to forbid you to spend time with her during the mission, but after that, you have to cut off contact."

"Obviously, I wasn't going to do anything else." That was the truth, even though I was glad to find someone to talk to. Nada didn't care who or what I was. But I had enough people in my guild who did the same.

Yet, after over a hundred years, I can still count on one hand the number of people who have been unfazed by the revelation that I am not fully human like she was.

"And the mission? Are you making progress?"

"We're in a tough spot right now, we realized our team composition sucks."

He simply started laughing.

"That's our mistake. We didn't really think about the composition at the leaders' meeting. What is the skill that you guys are lacking?"

"Stealth, scouting, ah, really anything that's not fighting."

"Do you think it was my mistake to send you and not someone else?"

"No, not at all. By the way, I have a question. We've been in many A-rank dungeons together. Which experience was the scariest for you as King of Mages?"

"My title doesn't matter, but the scariest experience? Good question. Of course, fighting a wyrm for the first time was special. This huge creature with scales that blocked most magic and weapon attacks made me feel for the first time that we wouldn't manage to clear the dungeon."

"Really? You never told me you had thoughts like that."

"What kind of leader would I be if I shared my concerns with you?"

"I don't know... A transparent one? I like working with Luna so far. She tries a lot to involve us in decisions."

"Is that a criticism of my leading qualities? Do you want to change guilds? You'd make a great magical girl for sure."

“No comment.”

"Fine, but can we return to your question about the scary experience? Why did you ask? What happened? I can’t imagine you are scared of something."

"Do you think there is a monster that can use spells? Like the forbidden ones, using runes?"

"What kind of spell are we talking about?"

"One that makes you invisible and hides your mana signature. So that you're completely undetectable."

Silence.

The only thing I heard was the sound I made as I swallowed.

"How serious is your suspicion that someone who could use something like this is inside this dungeon?"

"I don't know... Fifty percent, maybe a little more."

"That does sound scary. But even if something or someone like that is one of your enemies, you're far more frightening, to be honest."

“I’m not so sure about that. An enemy I can’t see gives me the creeps.”

"Did you talk to Luna about it?"

"No, I wanted to talk to you first. It was like fate that you called me."

"You need to come up with an emergency plan. Maybe something that involves destroying the dungeon or the gate to our world. Please tell me you know where the dungeon core is."

"We encountered a gigantic dragon bull. I suspect this creature to be the core."

"Dragon bulls aren't C-rank. Why wasn't anything mentioned about it in the old report?"

“You are asking the wrong person.”

"I want you to keep me informed daily from now on. I don't think we're taking enough money from the ministry for this mission."

"How come you leaders are always thinking about money?"

"We have employees who have to feed themselves. Most of them can't live on..."

"Don't say it. I was just kidding."

"By the way, how is the new girl from Lilith's guild?"

"Good, I think. She's practically glued to Miko."

"Keep an eye on her, okay? What about Miko? Is she still that arrogant little brat?"

"I don't know what Lilith has done to her in the three years she's been banned, but her personality has done a U-turn. She seems very reasonable and reserved."

"I'm glad she is. I had a feeling that the incident at the election might cause her to get even worse."

"Maybe those seals play a role, too."

"She still got the seals? But her ban has been lifted."

"Yes, she has a ton of them."

"Have you seen her use magic?"

"Yes, but only acceleration magic."

"Keep an eye on her, too."

"Come on, you know I'm not that good at secretly observing people."

"Who are you talking to?" I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard the voice behind me, and I knew without looking that it was Nada.

I instinctively ended the call and put my phone away.

“I talked to my guild leader.”

"About spying on people? It would be best if you weren't doing that. The others are already paying close attention to your actions since you attacked me."

"He just asked me to keep an eye on some of you."

"Me too?" she giggled, looking at me with a smile.

"No, but he doesn't have to ask me to do that anyway."

"Have I done anything special to deserve all this attention?"

"I don't think so. Maybe I envy you because you are young and full of life."

"You look anything but dead to me."

Somehow, her words resonated with me because sometimes I think my looks are the only thing separating me from being a corpse.

How pathetic I am to envy a child who is forced to work with creatures like me. But at least I can do everything possible to give her a good time.

"What's that? You're writing?" she pointed to my table, which had a stack of notebooks on it.

"It may sound strange, but I have trouble remembering things. That's why I write in a diary, to remind myself of things I think are important."

"Will you remember me?" she asked, still smiling brightly.

"Only if you promise to do the same with me."

"I promise." She stretched out her little finger.

“Really? A pinky-promise? I’ve never made one in my whole life.”

“Then it's about time.”

And just like that, I made sure that I would never be forgotten.