Chapter 2: A Trustworthy Partner
A little over a week had elapsed since Hestia welcomed the one and only member into her new Familia. They both resided in the confines of an old church which was now officially their base of operations. It was an uncharacteristically hot and humid day in Orario and the heat was further exacerbated by the lack of ventilation throughout the rooms. Hestia was noticeably bothered by this.
"Argh! I can't stand this weather!" yelled Hestia, kicking her feet up in the air.
Aiz appeared to pay no mind to the vocal complaints coming from the goddess and continued to clean her sword.
"You know Aiz. It's been over a week now and I'm just as broke as the day I met you. Twenty percent of zero is still zero! Forget being the Sword Princess, people will start calling you the Poverty Princess if you keep this up." Hestia quipped from the armchair she was lounging upside down on.
Aiz had used up most of her savings on either replacing or repairing equipment after her last expedition with the Loki Familia. Resuming her training in the dungeon after what was for her a long absence, Aiz had focused solely on dealing with monsters to gain exilia and not bothered picking up any magic stones to exchange at the guild for money.
"I understand," said Aiz before placing her sword back into its scabbard. She knew what needed to be done and with that departed for the town centre.
Aiz looked around at the various townsfolk that were going about their day in the middle of the city: merchants trying to sell their goods to adventurers who were in turn preparing to brave the dungeon, couples on dates and everything in between. What she was looking for was something very specific.
"Hey Sword Princess! Hey!"
Aiz turned around to see a young man in a vagabond's cloak fast approaching her, when suddenly THUMP! The stranger tripped on a crack in the ground and plummeted right onto his face. He let out a quiet moan and lay there motionless - wine spilled all over the floor, outside of the gourd that had been held firmly in his grasps. Aiz approached the clumsy pile of a human.
"Are you okay?" Aiz asked as she put her hand out to offer assistance.
The man accepted her help back up and came to be directly in front of Aiz. She could now clearly make out his dishevelled brown hair and bright crimson red eyes that were previously obscured by the hood of his cloak.
"My pride hurts more than my face does. One might say that my first meeting with you fell flat."
"..."
"Nothing? How about the reason I tripped over was because I was blinded by how gorgeous you are? I mean, I had heard stories, but seeing your beauty in person really floored me!"
"..."
"Still nothing? Huh. I usually get at least wince and a groan from my bad jokes but it looks like you're not biting. Interesting!"
Aiz confused by what the man was saying went to turn away when he lightly grabbed her arm. She looked down at another's limb placed onto her own when the grip was immediately released.
"Whoa whoa! Sorry to grab you like that. What I meant to say was, I know exactly why you're here and I just wanted to let you know that I'm the man for the job and I won't take 'no' for an answer!"
"You know why I'm here?" asked Aiz curiously.
"I heard what had happened with Lady Loki, and how you're now trying to be a one-woman army with Lady Hestia. A few of us surmised that you might appear around town looking for a supporter and that's why I'm here."
"You're a supporter?" enquired Aiz.
"One of the very best! And let me guess, you need someone to come along mainly to pick up the magic stones left behind by all the monsters you destroy?"
Aiz nodded in agreeance with the surprisingly accurate assessment. The man continued on with his sales pitch.
"But why choose me? Well I'll tell you! Firstly, I have possession of a rare magic item. Even though it looks like an ordinary satchel, you can store limitless amounts of items within it. Don't ask me how it works, but I've heard that an item such as this would impress even Perseus herself!"
He pointed to the leather satchel tied around him. He reached in and demonstrated its powers by pulling out multiple bulky items - the dimensions of which defied logic as to how it could all possibly fit into such a small bag.
"And Even though I'm though only Level 1, my agility stat is quite high. Some have even compared it to being level 2. I'm really great at running away from things and so that should be perfect, right? I'll focus on avoiding danger, wait for you dispatch anything that stands in our way, then I'll quickly clean up all the magic stones left behind you and we all get paid! All I ask is a measly ten percent of all the earnings. What do you say Ms. Wallenstein?"
Aiz could not fault the logic presented before her. The overly excited stranger listed everything she had been on the lookout for, and her naivety accepted what was being sold at face value. These types of negotiations were previously done on her behalf by her former teammates and so she had no concept of what it meant to question the deal being made. Aiz responded to the seemingly uncomplicated proposition.
"Okay. Let us meet here again tomorrow at the same time."
"You got it Ms. Wallenstein!"
"Aiz. Please call me Aiz," the Sword Princess requested before realising that the man had not introduced himself as of yet. "What is your name?"
"Oh, of course. How rude! People know me as THE supporter, and I can't be bothered going by anything else, so Supporter is fine."
"Okay Supporter. See you later."
"Bye Aiz!"
And with that the adventurer bid farewell and left The Supporter who then punched the air in excitement.
"Time to celebrate with a drink!" he proudly exclaimed before making his way to replace the wine that had gone to waste in the dirt near him.
Aiz and The Supporter built up a steady routine of meeting up in front of the dungeon every morning before proceeding into it together it. Every day turned out to be almost exactly how Aiz had envisioned - she would strike down any hostile parties, and he would swoop in at the end to collect any valuables that dropped all the while keeping a safe distance from the action or fleeing if the situation intensified. When they had enough, they would travel to the guild and each would receive their share of the earnings from the exchange of magic stones. The day ended with them going their separate ways. Aiz would usually return home and shared in a meal with her goddess, while The Supporter would go off to turn his solid assets into consumable liquids.
At frequent times throughout all of this, The Supporter showered his partner in bad puns and praised her attractiveness repeatedly, all of which were ignored almost every single time. Aiz never seemed to be put off by the relentless wall of noise spewing from the mouth of her partner. Aiz was extremely adept at blocking out anything external to the task at hand, and the few times The Supporter's words did reach her, they appeared to come from a place of actual sincerity. The Supporter was growing fonder of his fellow party member as the weeks went by and this was just his awkward way of expressing himself. He even managed to glean that the reason why the Sword Princess was so hellbent on becoming stronger was to slay the fabled One-Eyed Black Dragon, a high-level monster that was said to have wiped out even the legendary Zeus Familia - the strongest group in Orario's history.
On one particular occasion after gaining some confidence in their teamwork, the two decided to venture down to the lower levels of the labyrinth. After a hard-fought battle with a group of Sirens, the party decided to rest sitting atop a few boulders in the middle of a field.
The Supporter reached into his magic satchel and pulled out a small wooden flute. A peaceful melody filled the air. The tune made Aiz take notice.
"That melody. I've heard it before," said Aiz with a slightly puzzled look on her face. Feelings of nostalgia were invoked from within but she could not precisely recall when or where she had heard the piece.
"It's an old song. I guess I only know old songs," replied The Supporter. "Do you like it?"
"Mmm."
"Then I'll play it for you anytime you like, princess."
The party had grown complacent in their safety and the sounds of the flute alerted a nearby group of Harpies to their presence. They were now surrounded by creatures that had their top halves bearing resemblance to human women, and their bottom halves like giant eagles. They circled the duo in the air, screeching at their prey.
One of creatures swooped in from behind at full-speed towards The Supporter who was caught completely off-guard. All he could see in the corner of his eye were the sharpest of claws aimed right at his face.
Aiz managed to slice apart the Harpy before it could reach its intended victim, however the act of protection resulted in the loss of positional advantage in the fight. Even with Ariel engaged, the sudden shift in momentum meant that neither of them would leave the fight unscathed.
After the battle was over, a dimly lit cave with landforms that looked like leafless trees was chosen as a safe spot for the party to recuperate at. Although being a regular occurrence for the veteran adventurer, Aiz being wounded was a new sight to The Supporter who took sole responsibility for her injuries.
"I'm so sorry Aiz. It's all my fault that you were hurt."
The Supporter sitting on his knees as if begging for forgiveness, handed over vials of healing potions, more than the adventurer would actually need. He closed his eyes as he imagined what it would feel like had she been lost to him. All he could see was darkness. And then a light appeared. He opened his eyes to see the source of the illumination.
Aiz had gently placed her hand on his face to soothe his concerns.
"Don't worry about it Supporter. You're my trustworthy partner after all," said Aiz with a kind look on her face.
Unable to fully restrain his emotions any longer, tears started to well up in his eyes, blurring the crimson colour behind them.
"Trustworthy partner huh? I haven't been described with such kind words in the longest time. I'm sure you've found out about my reputation by now. The reason why people refer to me as THE supporter is because every day after we've finished, I go to The Benevolent Mistress, drink too much and make a fool of myself. Even though I never drink on the job or ever fail to fulfil my duties as a supporter, I'm always ditched at the first opportunity."
Aiz sat quietly and listened to the man bearing his soul to her.
"The only adventurers that would accept me were either desperate or ignorant. No one wanted to be associated with THE supporter, the sloppy drunk, the embarrassment. But not you. You don't care about things like that. You don't care about what others might say about me or about you."
"It'll be alright," is all that Aiz said back to her supporter before resting her head across his thighs and closing her heavy eyelids. Her usual nonchalant attitude was exactly the type of comfort that he needed to warm him to his very core. She didn't care about any of the unnecessary details. She put up with his nonsense and ramblings every day without complaint, and never judged him based on his personal life. He in turn made sure that he would always be there for her and support her to the best of his ability - that's all she cared about. She had fully accepted him for who he was and appreciated what he did for her. He needn't say or do any more - he just had to be there for her.
The Supporter smiled with a sense of understanding before becoming quiet for his weary partner who drifted off into a slumber.
Hestia and Aiz were sitting down at the dining table in the old church sharing a light evening meal. Hestia had done her due diligence and investigated the partner of her Familia's sole member and could not help but be inquisitive.
"So, I hear that the person you've been going into the dungeon every day with is THE supporter."
Aiz stopped eating and stared at the goddess, almost as if to dare her to say the wrong thing.
"It's not that I'm complaining. The amount of money you bring into the Familia is more than enough for us to live well off. I'm just checking that you're making good decisions with the people you choose to risk your life alongside," explained Hestia, voicing her honest thoughts on the matter.
"He's a person I can depend on," replied the Sword Princess, before going back to enjoying her food.
Receiving any response was rare enough, but for Aiz to actually compliment someone? The virgin goddess decided to have a little fun and tried a different approach. A mischievous grin appeared on Hestia's face.
"I noticed that you didn't come home at all yesterday. You haven't done that since you were solo. Does that mean you spent the night with a man? You must really like him!" teased Hestia, who was expecting a complete denial of the accusation.
Aiz's cheeks tinged with red and once again paused to carefully think about these strange feelings that were making their way to the surface. Aiz did not know exactly how to respond and so chose not to at all, but was no longer able to hide her smile or make any eye contact with her dining partner. The unexpected and earnest reaction from her Familia's captain made even Hestia blush because of its implication. The two of them finished the rest of their meal without uttering another word to each other.
A further week of daily adventuring went by and the two-person party felt more in sync with each other than they had ever been. Aiz decided it was time to test the lower levels once again and so they went. They were determined not to let another incident like what had occurred happen again and so they remained vigilant every step of the way.
Feeling a lightness in her step, the Level 6 adventurer cleared a group of Harpies with ease, quietly revelling in the payback that she had given to her adversaries.
"I bet these monsters are surprised to see us again after watching us take flight the other day. They all must've thought we were chicken."
The bird-puns just like all the other terrible puns from The Supporter did not elicit even the slightest response from Aiz.
"Oh please, that was a good one. Silent as always. You must've been a real nuisance for your parents."
The sarcasm was lost on Aiz who this time sharply glanced over at the wannabe jokester. It was common knowledge that Aiz's parents were no longer of this world. Sensing that she was slightly taken back by his poor choice of words, he immediately apologised for being insensitive.
Was she always like this? Aiz thought back to a time when she was but a small child, laughing loudly and merrily with her mother and father. It had been so long since she felt such joy that she had almost forgotten what it was like to be truly happy.
Her reminiscing was cut short by a blood curdling roar that bellowed from nearby.
A black onyx Minotaur slowly trudged towards the duo, dragging alongside it a large cleaver with streaks of vermillion splashed all over it. Many questions entered both Aiz and The Supporter's minds all at once: what was a Minotaur doing at the lower levels? Why was it coloured in such darkness? Was the red all over its weapon the blood of adventurers or fellow monsters? The irregular hurled itself at the team as if to say that none of what they were thinking mattered and that they should pay attention to the battle if they wanted to survive.
Just like other situations where they found themselves against a single opponent, the Sword Princess strategically led the monster away from the Level 1 supporter. The Minotaur struggled to keep up with the First Class Adventurer's speed and accuracy. When the creature was not defending itself against rapid sword strikes, it would hit nothing but air when swinging to counterattack. The large and muscular beast grew increasingly frustrated and gripped its weapon with both hands. The metallic cleaver started to glow.
SMASH!
The Minotaur struck the ground and a geyser of explosive energy rushed directly towards Aiz, who managed to dodge it at the last second - the destructive blast exploding into the wall behind her. She would not be able to take a direct hit from something so powerful, but foresaw no issue in evading it with her swiftness. The Minotaur charged its blade once again.
"Give it up. You'll never be able to hit me with such an attack," informed Aiz as more of a fact than a taunt.
Almost as if the creature had understood the provocation directed at it, the Minotaur sniggered before slamming the ground once again. But this time aimed at the nearby supporter. Aiz used all of her Level 6 agility to make it in front of The Supporter in time, bracing as a shield for her partner.
Both human bodies were blown into the wall of the dungeon with parts of it crashing down on them. The Supporter coughing from the dust, opened his eyes to find his precious light covered in debris. He cleared as many of the loose rocks as he could and tried shaking her awake but Aiz was unresponsive – he then realised his hands were coated in her blood.
"Aiz?! Wake up! Please! AIZ!"