[S2] Chapter 23: Trial

I just can't stop thinking about it. I realize that the others called us a couple just for fun, but normally, she should have an insult or a snarky comment ready.

Why didn't she say anything? Did she not hear it? Ignored it?

"Can you two please take down the barrier? Just the magic item and the tape, the fences will be picked up by a company." Wace asks as he goes around with a clipboard. The way he keeps crossing things off it, it is probably a checklist of all the things that need to be done before we can leave.

"Sure," replies Miko and leads the way. So, her ears seem to be working. I should stop. It's getting awkward. I think.

When we arrive at the barrier, we start looking for the magic wooden board that Nada had buried somewhere along the fence when we arrived. In the meantime, we tear off all the barrier tape we can get our hands on.

I look over at Miko from time to time. She seems pretty much back to normal, not as emotional and unpredictable as yesterday. I enjoyed lying on her lap and her laying her hand on mine, but all of this caused chaos inside me all over again.

"Did I step in dog shit, or why are you giving me that weird look all the time?"

"You'd smell that, wouldn't you?"

"Shut up."

She was talking to me, wasn't she? At least she's a bit meaner again, which somehow reassures me. But why can't I give her a normal answer? I know exactly why I'm looking at her like that.

The moment I decide to speak to her about the situation earlier and look over at her, I catch Miko in the act as she glances at me conspicuously inconspicuously.

When she realizes that I have caught her, she turns her head away far too abruptly. Being sneaky is definitely not one of her strengths.

Do I ask her? Do I ask her why she's looking at me like that?

I didn't ask her. Without another word, we removed the barrier, collected all the tape we could find, and walked back to where our camp was, just in time to see the gate dissolve into mana that rises into the sky.

This is the first time I've witnessing this live. But somehow, it's less exciting or special than it probably should be. Maybe I've just seen too much in the last few days for it to make any impression on me now.

Together with Miko, I walk over to Wace, and she gives him the item that kept the barrier up. In return, he hands me his clipboard and a pen.

"Please search for your name and sign it. It's just to confirm that you took part in the mission and are still alive."

I do as he says and pass the list on to Miko.

"I didn't sign anything like this on my first mission."

"You ended up in hospital after all."

"Right."

Wace chuckles briefly and takes the clipboard back with a broad grin.

"What's so funny?" Miko asks, slightly annoyed.

"I'm just relieved you're still talking to each other. It seemed like the air was thick between you."

"Bullshit," she answers him with the utmost conviction.

Well, I wouldn't have called it thick air, either an awkward silence.

"What?" Miko asks a little flippantly when she notices me looking at her once again.

"Nothing at all," I just smirk at her and get a long sigh in response.

"How are you getting home?" Luna suddenly appears behind us, dressed like a celebrity in disguise again.

"I don't know, probably by train again." I shrug my shoulders and give my travel partner a questioning look.

"I guess." is the only thing she has to say about it.

"I could get you a cab. I'll take Alex and Nada home too. Although that may be partly because I've neglected my job of looking after them a bit." The nervous laugh at the end of her explanation is quite unsettling.

"That's all right. We won't take long by train either." In the end, it is Miko who declines her offer.

"Alright. It was a pleasure working with you two. I'll see you soon."

"Are you leaving already?"

"The driver will be here soon, and we have nothing else to do here, so yes."

"Oh, okay. It was nice to meet you." No idea what I was expecting. A wrap-up meeting? Something like a meal together? But in the end, for most of them, it was nothing more than another mission done.

Miko just nods at Luna as she walks towards Alex and Nada, who are heading straight for us. The two are back in their school uniforms and look relatively healthy. Nada may still appear a little tired, but she'll get through it.

Alex takes me by surprise and gives me a hug. "Thank you for everything," she whispers in my ear.

Then I return her embrace. "As far as I can remember, you fought the demon, so I must thank you."

As we let go of each other, I look over at Miko, who doesn't seem to have let us out of her sight. Her face looks tense, and it's hard for me to predict what she's going to say.

I startle slightly as she bows towards Alex. "Thank you for saving that idiot."

Wait, wait. Who's an idiot? Me? And why is she thanking her like that? It's honestly embarrassing, at least to me.

"Without Kayla, we probably wouldn't still be here, so you should thank her too," Alex explains, scratching the back of her head, looking visibly uncomfortable.

"I already did."

Ah, yesterday, she had actually thanked me for surviving. The memory of it is enough to make me blush. Sometimes, Miko is so dense that she doesn't even realize the impact her words and actions can have.

"It was nice working with you," Nada says in a brief moment of silence. When I look at her face again, she seems a little more distressed than I realized at first. I'm sorry that I can't do anything for her. And it's frightening that she still doesn't remember a single thing that happened after Kajsa, the demoness, appeared in our camp.

"Take care of yourselves," Miko says in a tone that almost sounds like a threat, but I think they know how it's meant. And so, the two of them and their baggage disappear with Luna towards a nearby street.

I look around for the two men, who are actually talking to each other. However, from a distance, it seems more like Wace is harassing Krystoff.

"Leave me alone!" Krys finally complains so loudly that I can hear it very clearly, but it's nice to see how he starts laughing afterward. From the beginning of the mission, he seemed rather tense, sometimes depressed. I can't even imagine what was going on inside him the whole time. Returning to the place where many of his friends died.

"Who's coming to the station with us?" Miko asks them both, hinting that she wants to leave.

"Me," Wace raises his hand with a grin and throws on his backpack.

"What about you?"

"I'll be picked up together with the equipment here on site. It belongs to our guild, after all," Krystoff explains and unfolds a camping chair for himself to sit down in.

Some would call it rude to sit on their butt when saying goodbye, but I think it's rather smart to avoid all the unasked hugging and handshaking. Although I did think Alex's hug was kind of sweet.

And so, the three of us make our way to the station. I'm a little surprised that Wace also takes the train. It's probably a bit superficial to assume that he travels differently just because he's co-leader of the King's Guild and led our mission.

"Miko?"

"What do you want?"

"Did you notice anything in the dungeon yesterday? On me?"

"Your eyes?"

How did this conversation suddenly come about?

"Before you think or hear anything false, I thought I'd tell you. I am from the same world as those demons."

"Oh."

Oh? I'm still trying to focus on where I'm walking because my eyes are glued to Wace, who brushes his hair behind his ears. Behind his strikingly pointy ears. He doesn't look like you'd imagine an elf to look, but the shape doesn't appear entirely human, either.

"Unfortunately, I don't know very much about this other world or how it's connected to ours. When I came here, I was still a little kid."

"Is that why you didn't want to kill her?" Miko asks without looking at him.

"I don't know. Maybe I had the same one as you."

Do they realize how confused I am right now? Shouldn't they perhaps have had this conversation in private? Was I supposed to hear all this? I realize how simple my life was when I was still on my own and didn't know anything.

These few days have changed an awful lot. But the things that have stuck in my head the most are forbidden magic circles and the existence of other worlds, including non-human beings.

I was able to deal with the dungeons, worlds that seem real but aren't quite quickly. But I could have guessed that there was always more to it if I had given it a single thought.

"Oh yes, that was a relief. I always think to myself that you can tell I'm not a pure person anyway, but it's always a struggle to say it."

"Jora has it easier," Miko says and giggles briefly. Jora... Jora? I've heard the name before, but I've forgotten when and where.

"You think so?"

"His ears aren't that easy to hide."

"That's probably true. And sorry, Kayla. We talk all the time here and leave you completely out of it." Wace surprisingly apologizes. He is so attentive and polite that I still don't understand why most people have such a bad impression of him.

"It's alright. It's interesting to listen to you." And a little disturbing, but I'll keep that to myself.

"How was it for you? I understood it was only your second mission. And then such a difficult one, that's what you get for joining Lilith's guild."

How was it for me? My first few minutes in the dungeon, including cuddling with slime, probably gave me the wrong impression.

In the end, I can probably be happy to have had such an experienced team and a skilled student like Alex with me. Looking back, I don't really contribute anything to the success of this mission, if you can call it a success anyway.

What did we actually find out? It seems to be common knowledge that there are other worlds. Hence probably the existence of these horned demons. But we don't know why they were in that dungeon or what they intended to use that gate for.

"I just hope that one day I'll have such a routine that I won't get scared by all the things my companions do."

"Most beginners would wish they had a normal job after an experience like that. No wonder Miko and you are such a good match."

"That's not a compliment. Don't even think about thanking him," Miko warns me with a threatening side-eye.

But Wace is on to something. I'm not sure why I still want to be a witch after having to fight a demon who hasn't even taken me seriously. If Kajsa had wanted to, I probably wouldn't be on my way home now. I don't know what the reason for her disappearance is either. She was probably surprised that we were able to oppose her, and she knew from the radio message that the others were on their way.

The conversation then moves on to less significant topics until we finally arrive at the station where this short adventure began. In the end, it felt like a blink of an eye, and yet I'm still a tad exhausted, at least mentally.

"Well then, I'll leave the two lovebirds alone because my train is about to arrive," Wace says in front of the station building and waves goodbye.

"Finally," Miko says, crossing her arms before giving us a slight smile.

Why doesn't she comment on his words? Are we lovebirds? Are we? Since when and why?

"Get home safely," are the words I say when Wace is long gone. Meanwhile, Miko pulls out her cell phone, and her eyes wander back and forth from the display to me.

"When are we leaving?" I ask, still in shock that Miko ignored a stupid remark about our relationship not once but twice.

"Would it be okay for you if we walked home?" Almost shyly, she turns her cell phone towards me and shows me the route calculation on her maps app. My eyes search for the estimated time we are supposed to be walking.

"Three hours, huh? Is there a reason? Don't you have money for a ticket? Do you want me to buy you one?"

"I just don't want to go home yet, and maybe we can chat for a bit?"

These words are almost like an alarm signal for me. The last time she wanted to talk to me was the last night at the school. The night she casually asked me what my feelings for her were, only to reject them. Which, of course, she had every right to do, but it still hurt.

"Fine by me."

"Thank you."

If she smiled like that every time, I would probably do everything she asked of me. Luckily, she hasn't realized that yet. Although I can't really remember when I've ever refused her anything.

And so, we begin our journey home. Luckily, my suitcase has wheels, and my backpack isn't really heavy either.

"So, you wanted to talk?"

"Yes, I did. But you have to promise me something."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Please don't take it the wrong way. It's not an excuse, but I haven't really done anything but train and fight monsters since I was twelve."

"Okay."

"I got all my social skills from Eliza, Lilith, and the people I've worked with."

"I see."

"But I don't live under a rock either. I also have an interest in romance, in love, even if I don't quite understand it. Sometimes, people told me that I don't seem to be attracted to other people. That I'll never find someone for myself and that I'll end up lonely."

Those are pretty harsh words, considering she's only 18 years old.

"Let's assume that you and I would become a couple. What would change between us?"

I actually knew she wanted to discuss this topic when she said she wanted to chat. Nevertheless, I can't really prepare myself for this kind of conversation, and it feels strange to explain to her how a closer relationship with me would actually affect us. But she's not doing it to annoy me. She's really concerned about it, and I can tell she's insecure. Miko usually has the biggest mouth in the world and never asks for help. Still, right now, she seems more helpless and vulnerable than ever.

"I don't know what to say, Miko. Not because I don't want to, but because I can't. My feelings aren't 100% clear to me either. As silly as it sounds, at first, I just had a crush on you because you're just too pretty. Then I had the chance to get to know you and realized that behind the mean facade, you're a very sweet and caring person."

Strangely enough, I am quite relaxed. Walking side by side is a little more pleasant than lying next to each other in bed. Still, I can barely manage to take a look at her, but when I do, I see her gazing straight ahead.

"Is it no problem that I'm a woman?"

What a stupid question.

"Ah, now that you mention it... Well, no, of course not. I fell in love with you as a person, not because you're a woman, although that might make it a little more exciting."

"Exciting, you say? Why do I have the feeling that you have perverted ideas?"

"I don't know, it must be you."

Maybe it's false optimism that Miko, as a woman, understands certain things better than a man and that some situations might be more effective.

"What I wanted to ask. I know it's an incredibly shameless and selfish request. But would you be willing to be my girlfriend… on trial?"

"What's that supposed to be?" I ask without fully grasping the meaning of her question.

The joy of hearing that she wants me as her girlfriend is so immense that I almost said yes, of course, without giving it a second thought, but something inside me kept me from doing so.

"I would like to try to have a relationship with you, with the possibility of going back to being friends if it doesn't work out."

Wait, Kayla. Don't reply too hastily. Think for a moment. Actually, it's perfect, isn't it? She's giving me the chance to be a couple, and the worst that can happen is that it's going to be like it is now?

Somehow, that doesn't sound that great at all. I never actually considered that I didn't want to be in touch with Miko anymore. But after she broke my heart the first time, I cut myself off from her automatically. If she hadn't come to me, it might have ended in us never seeing each other again.

"I understand if you don't want to do that. I could have slapped myself when I had the idea of suggesting it to you. But I'm too much of a coward to go all the way. I've never had a relationship, and I have to say that it's more curiosity than a desire to make certain experiences, but when I consider making them with you, I'm less scared than I was in the past."

"Miko... hold on a second."

At my request, she stops walking, and I move in front of her to take a look into her face for the first time during this conversation. It surprises and relieves me at the same time to see that she blushes at least as much as I do.

"Kayla, I'm sorry."

"Shut up. If you want, we can try to make this work."

I look directly into her eyes and once again realize how beautiful blue they are. I actually have blue eyes myself, but mine seem rather pale and lifeless compared to hers.

She just looks at me with her mouth slightly open and can't seem to get any words out. Did she really expect me to say no? Or why does she seem so stunned?

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Are we going to kiss now?"

Her question is so innocent and straightforward that I can't help but giggle a little.

"Do you want to kiss me?" I ask her bluntly.

"I don't think so."

"Then we won't, I guess."

It feels like a huge load of pressure has been released from both of us.

I have no idea what this relationship is going to turn into, but I'm excited for it.