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Waves crashing against the hull.

Sea bream in the air.

Flecks of foam that turned to salt which peppered against our faces.

The murmur of crowded voices, broken by the occasional call of danger.

Our ship broke the ever increasing number of tides, leaving twin lines of white behind us. Sailing straight ahead. It rocked back and forth, and I bounced with the same rhythm, keeping my body steady.

We were encroaching on Imugi territory.

A territory so large it would take us the better part of this journey towards Claw's nest. So big that it actually shared borders with the Bada Horde, the kingdom of Sea Orcs.

A true Field Boss.

The once frequent calls of sea-type monsters became less and less. Considerably less the closer we got to the boundaries of the Grade-2 monster's hunting grounds. Understandable. A monster like that demanded its own territory by sheer show of power and any predatory monster that wanted to be at the top of the food-chain needed to stay clear. Still, we kept sailors and other adventurers with Pioneer-like Cores on top of the Crow's Nest. Lest the monster slither out from its hiding place.

The ship was packed full with the rigidity of adventurers ready for danger. Fight or flight. Weapons at the ready; fire, ice, wind, lightning ready to leap to one's palms at the first sign of battle.

I leaned on the starboard railing, trying to catch a whiff of monsters. My nose wasn't as good as a pure 'Pioneerr', but it was good enough to smell if anything broke the surface of the water. The fetid scent of fishiness was unmistakable. But nothing. So far.

It'd been almost a week.

Tension lined my shoulders, like an iron rod stuck through my traps.

Gods. How many adventurers actually knew the danger of a Grade-2 Monster?

How many people on this boat new the natural disaster that could be wrought upon us?

Not many. Perhaps Arione, who also took lookout on the opposite side. For once, he actually had his staff ready. Probably for the stat bonuses.

Say what you will about the Elven Mage. He understood this danger better than most.

A Grade-2 Monster is enough to decimate a small country.

As I said, there's a reason why we adventurers hunt monsters in parties and clans. Their power growth is exponential.

"Mister?"

I half-turned, glancing over my shoulder.

Stole stood there, in her usual black leather garb. But Doror had been working on everyone's armor and it showed. The once worn leather straps were shining with fresh leather balm and it smelled brand new. There was a sheen to the armor now, better fitting to her body shape too. Stole's black hair –more like fur– hung down a little past her shoulders and she let it hang loose. I noticed that the once pale Beastman girl's face had developed a tan, as well as a bit of her fang poking out underneath one lip.

"Hngh." I said, articulating my thoughts in a single sound.

Stole frowned. "Sis said to bring you down for lunch."

I replied in exactly the same way.

A faint crease appeared between her brows, making the girl seem older than her actual age. I wondered how many people on this boat actually suspected her of not being of proper age for an adventurer.

"She said I have to bring you down no matter what."

…I had to keep her alive through this.

I owed her at least that much.

"Hey, Mister! Are you listening?"

I summoned up a sigh but swallowed it. "...I'll eat dinner."

"You said that already. Yesterday. When skipping lunch." Stole said, "Then you said the same thing about lunch, while skipping breakfast. And now, you're saying you'll skip another meal."

I wanted to be hungry. Being full… it didn't feel right. I had to keep myself sharp. Lean. Hungry. It would help me fight better. Battle better.

There was no way to put into words the dangers that I predicted. Once we were out of the Imugi's waters, I'd feel better.

For now…

My stomach lurched with every stray wave that I thought was the back of a sea monster.

"Sis Aurora said that if I don't bring you, she's going to come up here herself."

I tried to imagine the mind-mannered Aurora conveying a threat through Stole. It sounded like Stole was lying. Then again, Aurora did have a tendency to surprise me now and then. I pondered for a moment then shook my head. It didn't matter anyways.

"Tell her I don't feel like eating."

"Kyrian and Skaris said if you don't come down, they're going to come up here and drag you down to the mess hall." Stole pouted.

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"I–"

"Mister, please?"

Her voice broke near the end and I turned. Fully. To give her my full attention and I studied the girl.

I commented on her armor before. How well maintained it was. If I could summon up a status screen, I'd have commented on all the stat bonuses and extra offering it probably provided. That's because I was only looking at her armor.

But MSS had never been about that.

MSS had an aspect that was unique: a relational aspect. A mental health meter.

Funny how in the game, I'd always kept a close eye on it. But now that I was in MSS…

I looked at Stole. I mean really looked.

There were dark circles hanging from her eyes. There were small cuts on her lip, more rips than clean cuts. Probably from biting them. But they were scabbed over, meaning it'd been a few hours. Plus Stole didn't have that habit, meaning it probably happened in her sleep.

She had always been a skinny girl. But she looked even skinnier. Her armor fitted well because Doror had actively worked on it and I realized why. They had gotten too big for her. She'd lost weight. Stole's cheeks were sunken. With the dark circles, her face was pale. I don't mean pale as in the skin color, the voyage had tanned her. But pale as in not healthy, pallid rather than pale.

And her pleading eyes met mine.

How had I not seen it before? Stole had the best observational skills in this entire boat. The greatest [Hearing] stat and the [Sight] stat and the [Smell] stat.

She'd naturally picked up on everyone's fears.

They might not have been as scared as me. But they were scared nonetheless. Most of these guys had never fought anything above grade-5, let alone a grade-4. Not to mention, a Field Boss is usually a little stronger than their none boss counterparts.

A young girl surrounded by adventurers older than her, who were supposedly stronger and knew more than her were all terrified.

And her leader, the one who recruited her here, was the one who was more scared than anyone else.

Instead of reassuring her and radiating confidence as a Party Leader should, I'd been making it worse.

The older members of my party had seen it. Stole, Aurora and Kyrian. All three of them. That's why they'd sent her to me. Because they knew me well enough to know that I'd notice. That I'd see Stole and the state that she was in; seeing the same things that they saw.

They were reprimanding me without reprimanding me.

"...Ok." I said.

"I–" She paused, then said, "Ok?"

"Yeah, let's go."

"Oh," Stole looked at a loss for what to say. But it was momentary. She beamed at me. "Ok, then! Let's go eat with everyone!"

And for that split moment, she was back to the old Stole I knew. The one I knew back in Jayu, with her sister. The confident, joking foul-mouthed talented Pioneer I recruited.

This journey was changing her. Turning her more mature. Grown up. She'd seen things. Had to think about things she otherwise wouldn't have.

…There's a reason why there's an age limit for adventurers.

I followed her down to the mess hall.

I passed by a couple of adventurers. Mostly the auxiliary forces. They all gave me a nod or a pat on the back. I didn't miss the shift in mood as they saw me heading down to eat. Some of them looked relieved to see me. Others visibly relaxed and followed us down to the mess hall; sitting at different tables.

The line to eat was short. I took my tray and waited my turn; only to be surprised by Zenom plopping down a bowl of soup on my tray.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

The blonde Holy Knight didn't smile. He never did. But his face eased up upon seeing me.

"Good." He said and used the ladle to add some more meat to my bowl. "You should be down here. With everyone."

Stole dragged me by my sleeve towards my party's table.

I thought about what Zenom said. Why was Zenom down here, serving food at an important time like this? He should be up on the deck. On stand-by.

The Zenom I knew in the beginning of this journey wouldn't have done that.

…Would he?

Cecilia said that Zenom's been leading men long before I had.

Was there something that Zenom wanted to achieve by being down here?

I… I don't know if I understood. I think I did. I think I knew what he was doing here. What he meant by 'Good'. What my party members wanted to do by showing me Stole's state of being. I don't know if I agreed.

Stole practically shoved me down into a chair, sitting herself down next to me. Next to her sat the pale-orc I'd recruited. An empty tray was sitting in front of her. Licked spotless clean.

"Ssslaveborn, you are here." Skaris hissed, his eyes satisfied. His bowl was empty. "Good, now I can get ssssecondssss." Before I could greet him, he stomped over to the cook and demanded more soup from Zenom, who complied heartily.

Kyrian's eyes met mine, then Aurora's, and he nodded. Just a fraction but it was there. An unspoken message. Like he knew that I'd understood why the three of them had been trying to convey.

Aurora on the other hand simply took her bowl, which lay untouched, and finally ate a spoonful. Dignified and quiet.

She'd been waiting for me before eating.

…

I see.

I won't pretend to understand or put into words what happened just now.

But…

I don't know.

I think I felt what they felt.

I don't think I need words between me and my friends now.

They'd risked their lives for me and I for them.

Yeah.

I tried for a faint smile and started eating.

"Isn't the soup really good today, Mister!" Stole exclaimed, gulping from her bowl like it was a cup. She had to dodge as the orc healer growled and tried to snatch the soup out. "Stop! I'll get you another!"

Mixture of beef, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and onions. A thick gravy like sauce with a hint of sourness that tasted like tomatoes. One of the better things about having a refined sense of [Smell] is how much more you could taste. I remember reading somewhere that scent made up over half the taste.

"It is." I agreed.

"We have a dish like this in Turina, near my old home. A place known for soups." Kyrian chimed in, "Though… it is a bit more elevated than this particular dish. I must take you all sometime."

Skaris sat down boisterously, clanging and slamming his tray down. "Ssshaa! Big wordssss for one who came from eating trassssh!"

Kyrian turned red. For the noble-born Mage, he'd had a tough time getting used to eating while in the slums.

I hoped the orcs in Miltus were alright.

Aurora set her spoon down with each bite, a well-mannered lady. She folded her arms, leaving just a tiny bit of it left in the bowl. It looked classy.

The scene didn't last long. The orc girl reached out, snatched the thing and drank it whole. As if on reflex, Stole's arm reached up and kept the hood from falling off of the girl's head.

"So, any luck with her name?" I asked.

"Nope." Stole answered.

"Sssshe won't tell ussss."

While I'd been busy being wary of possible dangers, I'd ignored the new girl I recruited.

Was it guilt? Just neglect?

I always did this. Promised myself I'd treat my party members as people, as friends. Not just… tools to be used. Weapons. That I'd show them that I cared about them. Get to know them as people outside of adventuring. Where they came from. What they wanted to do.

I can't even come to terms with a Slave Girl I adopted into the party.

I took another bite, mulling over it. "Maybe we can give her a nickname for now. Until she says her name."

A week to give this girl a name. What was wrong with me?

I had to change. This wouldn't do. It just wasn't sustainable.

"Maybe we can call her–"

As Stole started, the boat lurched.

And the hull groaned.

Everyone. And I mean everyone froze.

Fear descended on the mess hall like a fog of death, spreading around us, a rotting cloud of fetid disruption that broke the artificial ritual of breaking bread –pretending it was just another day.

A reminder of where we were.

A sign of things to come.

We'd been hit by waves before. Bumped into by smaller sea-type monsters. Everyone knew what that felt like.

This…

It had been different.

It felt big.

Like hundreds of man sized scales scraping against the underbelly of the boat, a cliff, a mountain a–

"Everyone." Zenom said calmly, but he couldn't completely hide the sign of nervousness from his voice.

"Get to the deck." He whispered.

"And be ready for battle."

Gods help me.

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