Cracking an eye open exposed a faint orange glow of a dying bonfire. Which wouldn't have been strange at all had I not remembered that there wasn't a bonfire anywhere near the bed – it's a straw mattress. Fire is bad. Very bad.

That made me jump up with a yelp, only to realize I wasn't on my bed at all. Actually, there wasn't even a single bed around me. I'd been sleeping on the rocky floor this entire time. Which made no sense because I clearly remember going to fucking sleep on my goddamn uncomfortable piece of shit mattress just today. Why am I so irritated you ask? Well, glad you did! Because there was something else I realized just then: This is a dream. A lucid dream, and I got a terrible feeling on who the fuck is behind this. Namely, those freeloaders in my head.

"Is there nothing sacred to you punks?" I groaned out, finding a good wall to lean back on. I was in some sort of towerbase, a bonfire with a sword in front of me and the entire place looked like it'd been abandoned. There was something eerily nostalgic about this area, like I knew where I was. Spectrum was at the opposite end, fan lightly moving around.
"Oh SB, I told you, it's training time~" She explained with what I imagined was a grin. I could feel the other voices had pitched in to help too. "As I said, we've been too lax on you. You're barely using your equipment effectively, you know? You're just sitting there and take small hits with your shield and blocking instead of trying to parry."
"I plead the fifth and want my lawyer." I grunted, arms folded in front of me.
"If you can intercede your shield more effectively, you can stop the enemy's attack before they can really begin to swing and open them up for a counterattack. Luckily for you, I've got just the place for you to practice!"

Then a video fed into my head and from the very first moments I knew exactly where I was. The good old sunny world of Dark Souls. These motherfuckers actually went and tossed me into another world. A world filled with soul-seeking mindless hollows that want nothing more than to ram anyone more alive than they are with steel. And firebombs too since I was in the undead burg and that's what they did to folks around these parts. Let me say that again: Fire. Bombs. I think we all know how painful that really is. Spectrum continued, "If you get too discouraged for the night, just speak up, and we'll let you off, but I expect a good number of tries before you do so, young man!"

"Great! I give up, beam me back Scotty." I answered back immediately. I was cordially ignored of course.

Chaos was right beside her, like a henchman. Or henchwoman. Hench-angel. Hench-pseudo-angel. Yep. That's the ticket.
"Good luck! I believe in you!" She cheered with a smile. I tossed a rock at her, which bounced off her chest plate. I think the message was passed however. What? I don't have to be polite when they're literally messing with my dreams here! At least sweeten the pot somewhere! I could tell from the glances between the two she'd be up the next night with some other fantasy world out there. Well, y'all are batshit insane if you think I'm going to take this without a fight!
My mind immediately set on finding ways to subvert this. Memory fed me the rest on this world in moments, turns out: I had played this. Dark Souls was a game, and in my past life before grimgar I did spend time playing. I can't recall any other detail, but I suppose it'll make do for now. Which meant I knew exactly what to do. Don't underestimate me!

The trusty spear was set gently to the side of the wall, right next to my shield. Hands folded neatly in front of my knees and the long process of wiggling my thumbs waiting began, while practicing the smuggest smirk possible. Heh. Hehehehehe.
You can lead a horse to the stream, good luck making this one drink. See the great thing about this game – the hollows aren't going to come chase after me so long as I don't do anything stupid. All I have to do is relax, take it easy and eventually I'll wake up the normal way. What's the worst the voices could do? Send Revya again?

The winner of the smug smile award went to Spectrum, despite my best efforts. See, while my plan was pretty solid, I hadn't accounted for one thing: She sweetened the pot. And worse – she used my own nature against me.
"If you make it all the way to the final fog door for the area," The fan was out, shyly doing its job hiding her smile. This is the pose that would make fox-spirits jealous. I don't like where this is going. No Sam I am, I don't like this at all. "Why, Spectrum-oneesama just might have a treat ready for you~"

In came the images of aprons, cooking, and the usual cliché that came with the turf. No. No, no, no, that's not fair! You can't do this, that's a penalty! Minus fifty DKP, someone call a red card! Spectrum stalked forward, figure changing with every word. Ref! REF! REEEEEF!

"Or...would you prefer to dream about eating some~"
Step.
"Thing~
Step.
"Else~?"
Step.

By the time she was clearly trespassing uncontested in my personal space, she'd disappeared completely – and in her place stood Mary. Blue hair, beautiful legs, silky skin and all covered by that white piece of lacy clothing. That just-barely long enough apron kept it all together with one tauntingly easy to pull string.
My tra-la-la punched me in the gut right then and there; wide awake and taking over my mind faster than cotton candy melts in a mouth. An armored leather glove looking suspiciously like my own reached out but Mary was already gone before I could grab and yank that string.

"Are you really trying to bait him with thinly veiled sexual actions here Spectrum? Really? Have some Class for craps sake. I mean really." General muttered angrily behind the wall. Thinly veiled he said. Thinly. Veiled. That's the understatement of the century. I'll tell you exactly what was 'thinly veiled' here – that apron was just slightly see through. The exact amount for maximum jimmy rustling, I'm sure there was cold hard math that was put into that tiny piece of white lingerie. I'd swear on my excalibur I could see her outlines and the blush of skin through it. Straight up weapon of mass destruction against men. Shit should be banned by NATO, or at least pushing blue ball treatment in the bill.

Spectrum had an answer for that too. "Oh, he's a healthy young man in his prime. Leave your own repression at the door. There's nothing harmful about a little dream..." She replied dismissively, fan at the ready once more. Lord Bleed Heart was on the other end of the room, joining the discussion. "There are a few dozen of young healthy men in their prime, running around Geoff's tower of madness. Please wear a swimsuit under the nude apron for sanitary reasons."

My head says yes, but my zucchini says fuck you. With a cactus.

Bleeding Heart heard none of that. "And do be aware that if somebody misguides the essential elven army to their designated battlespace due to you 'appearance' they might misguide it further up the place where your backside loses its noble name..."
Which sounded like gibberish to me, but who knows if that meant something to the voices? Once again, proven correct that I was certified insane. My spear and I sat by that wall, flustered beyond anything I'd been for the past two weeks. It's like my body had just remembered it was still a man, which also came with the king under the mountain to deal with.
See, LN protagonists are safe from this sort of attack. They'll just curl up, go beet red, stutter a bit – maybe have a nosebleed - and then it'll all go away after a good laugh from the audience, never to be brought out again. For me though, it only reminded me what I'd been putting to the back of my head for the past week.

Then I stopped taking things seriously. My decision train whipped around into the I-no-longer-careterritory once I remembered this was my own damned dream. It was an off the rails train wreck from there on. Mr. Sniffles and his two kids had won the war hands down, currently busy trouncing the remaining wrecks of decency in my head. While I was having my introspective moment of one-sided civil war, General huffed on his rebuttal.
"If he wakes up with a boner and the girls notice, I am going to eat you alive damn it. That said I do support your er...mind training?"

By that time, I was back on my feet, spear in hand and a decision in mind. Fuck it. Why not? I mean really. After that show? I did say they had to sweeten the pot, I didn't expect them to dump blue paint into that pot then smash my two amigos with it. "Oi, the only people around me right now are the other guys." I insisted, "Unless you guys managed to make me sleepwalk, I won't be showing morning wood to anyone who had the equipment to take it."

Spectrum protested for me, "They're in town. If he wakes up like that and one of girls is in a position to notice, he's doing a lot better than I thought~"
…That would mean one of the girls sneaked into my bed. Which can't happen because I'm not an LN protagonist, like Spectrum pointed out ages ago. Never go full LN protagonist, a mantra I took to heart. Manato's the LN protagonist remember? And he's… literally sleeping in their room right now! See?! More proof for the damned. Next we know, he'll have a harem orbiting around him before the king summons him for that plot hook to save the kingdom. And don't forget the sudden but inevitable reveal that he's really the cast aside crown prince all along raised by farmers.

Chaos nodded at the discussion. "I would be impressed if he still shows effects of the image that appeared in his dream when he goes meets the others. Even more impressed if forgot his ~condition~ in his dazed state till one of his friends point it out to him, in which case a certain dino General is going to be having Spectrum for Dinner..."
I snickered at that. Poor choice of words General. You know what? If we were going to be crass, we better do it right and go all the way. Mary was stunningly beautiful, and after that sight I can't say I haven't noticed her anymore. And I'm definitely saying that only because the schwartz is on mission Mary or bust now.

I stormed out of the tower, charging straight across a small bridge with my spear in both hands. The weapon banked to the first undead it spotted. The dead thing raised a sword up in the air to deliver pain, but hell if I waited for it to politely finish. One stab and yank latter, I'd thrown him off the steps and off the side of the bridge. A well timed roll to my left let me avoid a crossbow bolt and I cudgeled the arborist's head in with the prongs on my spear. The ruined helm dented and the skull fractured. Somehow it was still moving despite the catastrophic damage. In the next moment, it too joined its friend at the bottom of the city, thrown off the high walls it had been guarding. I like tossing things off high places. And so did the defenders of murder bridge, which was just up ahead.

Murder bridge, a thin narrow rampart of wall which would be carpet bombed by hollows standing on the roof waiting. Great real estate, you can say it comes with its own fireworks crew.
"What the fuck Spectrum..." Yii said to my side, having shown up now that the danger was dead. Well… more dead. Tossed-off-the-wall dead, you can't get deader than that. Probably.
"I didn't know you were that kind of malicious! Remove that filthy image from my sight immediately!" He snarled, glaring at the woman behind. She probably rolled her eyes, then grinned evilly. "You should see what it was like before I cropped it~ Oh, she has such clear and soft skin..."

I'd seen the real thing thanks to my dream filling in the blanks, so yes – I absolutely agree. Yi didn't bother further with her, instead he turned to my direction. "Yes, Sobato... Mary is indeed a very beautiful waifu when she's not wearing anything other than an apron, and I think Spectrum envied her just a little for that... please forgive her."
"Forgive her?" I wondered for a moment, examining the bridge like a dead row inmate would examine an electric chair. "You realize I'd be sitting at the tower laughing my ass off at you all if she hadn't right? Besides, you all pop up as anything you goddamn want to be. How's jealousy even possible?"

I took a step onto the bridge of terror, like a cat testing the water with its paw. One moment later rolling backwards for very good reasons. Good news everyone – the bridge works just like the game!

Yii tutted. Not at the bridge that's on fire of course. There were far more important things to worry about. "Seriously, Spectrum... I admit that sometimes I'm also guilty of sharing with you some sexy stuff that I got my hands on, like my ideal image of a Fox Girl Servant, but it's an entirely different matter if we are showing it to SB and it's about one of our own members! About Mary, most of all!"

I took another step on that stupid bridge, rolled out of the way when the inevitable bombs blew up all over the place, then charged straight forward through the smoke because I was an idiot on a mission. Shield raised and spear at the ready. Seriously. Who runs over a bridge that's been bombed.
"SB needs to concentrate now to do something very important," said Yi, only to be interrupted by Lex who'd tagged along silently behind till now. "Making her smile is the most important of his tasks, isn't it Spectrum?" He grinned. She shot back thumbs up. They were up to something, mark my words.

Master Yi just steamrolled past, getting his word in. "You know, I'd appreciate it if you didn't distract this healthy young man with suggestive images of someone who might as well be his reincarnated Mother!"
"Wait what?!" I took another swing at a hollow on my side, knocking its helmet off while its buddy tried to get past my shield unsuccessfully. The third guy was swatting in between but getting body blocked by his friends. "What do you mean by reincarnated mother?! Ack, just fucking stay dead already!" I barked right after, running my spear into the annoyance and dragging out my dagger. Keep that spear in your chest you dead bugger.

Yi didn't answer back on that one, a greedy glint in his eyes, "That said, where in the Archive did you get that? This is clearly a corrupt entry, I'll have to go erase it from the source itself..." Already I could hear the whistling sound of the next volley of bombs being tossed into the air.

I stabbed the final hollow straight through its skull, pinning its weapon hand at its side while I ripped the bones apart using my dagger as a glorified gardening tool. I'd rolled into the building right when the bombs exploded behind, just in time. The remaining undead were quickly put down by steel and shield. Surprisingly they weren't very strong at all. They all telegraphed their attacks all the way from last week, and committed to the swing even if it hadn't hit. It was simple to just abuse the attack from every direction. Still. Caution must be exercised. If I die, then my two krakens would give me agony beyond mortal comprehension in the morning. It was a matter of life and death here on more than one front.

Spectrum was observing the wreck of dead-er bodies I left behind in my wake. "Oh, if a little incentive here and there keeps him focused and also keeps him from making a fool of himself in the waking world by trying to peep on the baths, it's worth it."
I disagreed on one part, "Oi oi, wait just a second here. Are you calling me a perv Spect?" I yelped back loudly, which got the attention of nearby hollows. Not that I was going to let them ruin my fun.

Only after I beat down the three back into their graves did I realize the truth of the situation. I was systematically mauling my way through an army of undead for a chance at snu-snu with a blue haired model. That sentence sounds a lot more dreamlike then I ever suspected. Change of plan. I'll wear my perv title with pride then. It's not a negative if I say it's a positive! Good old politician thinking there. America would approve… America? Ahh, probably someone I knew from the past I suppose. Another relic holding cobwebs in the back of my brain.

Chaos was sitting at Spectrum's side, following along from the rooftops. "Let her have some fun, it is quite fun teasing our Host," She tutted to Yii. "But please do so when Sobato isn't training. I doubt he can die but a careless mistake like getting your head chopped off can be annoying."
I gulped at the thought, steeling up the will to charge the next tower. Getting my head chopped off would definitely be a little annoying. That's the word, yep.
There's an archer up there that'll shoot my back if I passed without clearing it. Stupid level designers got tips from Satan himself.

"Anyways Mary is a nice girl, but let's try to let S.B decide - and not push him to anyone till he is really ok? Doesn't mean we can't tease him about what girls he is currently crushing on~ "
That brought my momentum to a dead stop for a moment, thinking. Mary was… Couldn't make up my mind even after a minute of thinking. Sure, my ding ding dong was pounding me about a very specific apron wearing girl, ogling every detail she had or was imagined to have. Few men would look at Mary and think nothing of her, fact.

It was fun to trade words with her, like petting a cat. You never know when you've hit the exact number of belly rubs before the claws come out. She was someone I respected, a friend. Someone I wanted to see smile someday. I did feel protective of her – but that could be because I'm a tank. It's my job to stand in front of anything that might hurt her and take the damage to my face. It's not like I like her that much or anythi- fuuuuuuuuuuck. Did I just seriously think that? Yep. I did. Silas Bell, 100% confirmed tsundere bell.

That got me to sit down on the steps and re-evaluate my life. I don't do things half-assed, that's what I decided. Sure I do thing stupidly every now and then – but at least I've done them after careful consideration. Here is the big question: Have I developed an unknowing crush on Mary over the week, and Spectrum's showcase here triggered the floodwaters that'd been building up? Or was I running up this gauntlet just because deep V diver here decided it had been limp for too long?

A few minutes passed, and I came to a conclusion: There was no way to tell right now. My head was a mess of emotions, and a lot of it lust. I'd need to think it further once I wasn't getting suggestions from Vlad the Impaler.
Storming the rest of the steps, my spear ambushed the arborist on the top, tossing it off the tower and hearing a satisfying crunch of metal and bone against ground. With the job done, my feet carried me back down. Where I ran into a seriously weird sight. A ghost woman wearing the exact same armor I did, spear and shield to match. A sign held by rope, around her neck, reading "I'm cursed."

I could hear Revya snickering on the background. Right, I remember. He threatened I'd become Kate's big sister if I fucked up somewhere. As it were, I'm well on the path. My chimichangas were going to blow in less than two hours unless the lieutenant gets polished. Maybe it's because of my situation here, but female SB was pretty cute. And she had a rack too.

The prongs on my spear made quick work of shield wielding hollows. I'd hook the side of the shield, yank it away, and bite back with the steel tip into their chests. Up next was dodging a barrel on fire, running up the steps and slaughtering another hollow. Home stretch baby. The last few steps were reached. The fog wall stood in front of me. I love it when I win.
Patting down my armor, I made myself presentable then stepped foot through the fog imagining as hard as I could a bed and somewhere nice.

Wish granted. Walking through was a modern home, looked like an apartment. Wall window and all, with a king sized bed right at the foot - great view from high up over a dark forest… which I recognized and quickly put out of my head. The problem was that the room was empty. I walked forward quietly, cautiously for some trap. Nothing came. I took off my gloves and set my spear aside. I'd gone this far, if the voices yanked the rug on me here, I'd seriously file for a class action lawsuit.

There was indeed a trap here. Suddenly, hands reach around my chest, pulling me backwards lightly to a soft and warm stop. Someone was hugging me from the back. Gently too, which made me relax a moment after I had frozen up. "Mary?" I asked, turning around.

Indeed, it was blue hair I noticed first, alongside blue eyes. She was there, looking up to match my gaze. Her hands let go lightly as I turned around, while mine took over, bringing her closer to my chest. I felt the smooth contours of her exposed back, the white apron and my armor being the only thing that separated us while my hand traced for more. She smiled. The sort of smile that you knew belonged on her face. I cupped her cheek with a free hand and drew her closer, mesmerized.

What happened after was between me and myself, and certainly none of your business.
Because the moment before I could kiss the girl; I woke up. Textbook bait and switch. You know – everyone gets trust issues because of raisin cookies at some point in their life - but this took the entire cookie jar and ran away with it.

You dicks.

How did I know I was really awake this time? Because straw, snoring and the damp chill of winter were all around me in spades. Laid in my straw mattress for a good ten minutes, looking at the wall. Deciding if going back to sleep was an option - or just get on with the day. On one hand, those fuckers in my head might be waiting for me to do just that. On the other hand, early bird gets the worm. And I needed to get rid of the morning oak here discreetly.

Despite the toss up, I went with option two and got ready for the day. Unlike yesterday's slog through dark caves and malevolent chests, today would be spent through good food and shiny merchant stalls. Can't wait thinking about it: a day off, no need to stab something, no need to worry about getting stabbed, no hard choices. Bliss. There was some business to handle of course, always was, but for the most part it'd be mine to do whatever I damn well pleased.

With that said, on went my hoodie and the rest of my old world leftovers once I was done cleaning up. Felt like home again. If I could remember it anyhow. Probably should aim to buy something more fitting with the world on second thought, comfort clothing to wear you know? And maybe safety reasons too… definitely safety reasons. Looked like a perfect target for thieves in this with a massive 'All you can scam' buffet sign strapped to my back. No I'm not being paranoid damnit.

My feet swiftly took me out into the cold streets on autopilot where I soon found myself before the walls of Altana. Climbed up the stairs, took a few turns and sat down. Nice slow minutes passed watching the sun raise in peace. Last Fang was always around of course, but she didn't disturb me in the slightest. It's a great view of the valley from here, honestly probably the best view of the place. Not a lot of people get a moment to come by, even if it's as close as five minutes. The other spot was a bridge on the high rise of the city, but there was traffic there every now and then. Totally deserted here which is exactly what the doctor prescribed.

I thought back over those dreams. The first part was annoying. That latter part definitely had my interest but also horror when I thought of several dozen… people? Entities. Right, several dozen entities being voyeurs over my private life. You try having happy go lucky fun time with a crowd cheering you on. Either it's your kink, or you're not going to have a good time. I'm not even safe in my own dreams. The whole situation reminded me that testing needed to be done on my side of things, figure out exactly how to pull the wool over their eyes on demand. I suspect it has a lot to do with the inner voice narrating everything I thought.

I'd need to resolve my mixed feelings about Mary as well, now that I was calmed down. But I found that my feelings hadn't changed at all despite Mr. Johnson stepping down since this morning. Did I actually care for Mary as more than just a friend? Didn't know. There's a big difference between normal lust and feeling something click. Likewise, there's plenty of people that don't click at all but instead find themselves together just because life turned that way. And they make it work too, building something together from nothing. So really, I had no answers at all right now.

That made me decide to go looking for her today, maybe over lunch with Manato and Shihoru. Seeing her face to face might give me some hint on what I'm looking for. If… If I really did like Mary, it would certainly be unrequited. She has rejected every single person that's asked her. I'd be no different. Well, that's going to suck.

Mogzo would be waking up around this time and getting ready too. Probably cooking breakfast. We both agreed to skip conditioning and the usual workout in the morning – today was our day. Manato and Shihoru would be staying for the moment today with Ranta. Like Spectrum said, "No sense in overexposing any one particular person to Ranta or boring any one person by sidelining only them with not much else to do. You should slot the priests in on the first two days, then people who can deal with him best while he's lucid can be there on the last day. On Shift 2, you can also attempt to take the opportunity to teach him how to read, between you and Mary."

Once my fill of the morning sun was good, my mind set into motion. The usual routine was meeting Kate for breakfast and I certainly wasn't planning on being late. In a few minutes the usual meeting point was in sight. Finding a nice crate, I happily sat down and did what I do best – twiddling thumbs and not getting anything done.

Time passed while merchants and the general population meandered back and forth. Then the tell-tell footsteps came out of the alleyway. Kate came trotting by, same clothing and all that she'd always worn. The young girl approached with a nod.
"Did the chest mission work out?" She asked.
"Nope." I answered flatly.
"Empty?"
"Just the opposite. It wanted to eat us."
Kate frowned at that, confused.
"Eat you?"
"Turned out, putting a chest in the forest has a chance of something evil making a home inside of it. It ate the first bandit sent to get the chest. Then probably ate another bandit when they returned to grab it in force."
"… So that's why they didn't try again. I thought they were just looking for more still."
"Naw, they probably gave up completely. Loot's gone. Swallowed up by the chest monster. Nothing to gain anymore."
"Did… did anyone… get hurt?"
"Our dread knight took a pretty nasty hit, he'll be in bed for a good week while he's recovering. Otherwise, we all made it out somehow. I even got a teeth. They look wicked cool. Wanna see?"
The girls eyes lit up with curiosity, which I fed in moments. My bag opened up and out came the Nightmare's teeth. Large thing really, as big as my hand though not as thick. Harder than stone, very pointy. Not exactly sharp but considering how this teeth rips through metal I don't think it needs to be sharp.

Kate quietly watched the item, moving it around in her hands to see closer detail.
"Know anything about this sort of monster?" I asked her; she shook her head.
"No, don't know much about monsters. How big was this thing?"
"Big enough to eat someone whole. It could throw me across the street here, and it did back when we fought it. Lost consciousness halfway through the fight after the thing tossed me against a tree."
Kate winced, but stayed quiet. Waiting for the rest.
"My team took it out, I'd bought them enough time. All in all, I think we got incredibly unlucky to run into it. Enough about that, let's go eat yeah?"
"I'd like that." Kate answered cheerfully. She didn't smile much, but unlike Mary she wasn't incapable of smiling.

The merchants stalls offered plenty of different choices. Kate didn't like sweet things as much, so we both ate something more fitting. We made a good small talk while she traded her previous day's events.

"So, ready to go into training?" I asked her, getting onto topic.
Kate nodded, "I've got a plan I've been thinking about. A dream I've always had."
"What are you cooking in that head of yours?"
At that Kate beamed at me. "I'm going to become a thief. That's the first step in everything. They have a skill that lets them become invisible, and there's so many times I wished I could do that. Now I'm finally going to."
"Not a mage or a priest?" There'd been a debate in the back of my head about persuading Kate to be a mage. We had a lot of melee on our team, we needed more ranged damage – and not the physical kind either. Another mage would help a lot more then another thief. I decided to wait first, see what her argument was. I'll try my hand at persuading her differently after I got all the facts.

"I could." Kate said, munching over her meal. "Priest is really nice because everyone always needs a priest. But," She fidgeted in her seat slightly, "…I'd need to rely on a team. I just can't right now. It makes me nervous to think I have to trust my life to other people. I don't like it. I want to be in control. I don't want to rely on anyone."
"Ah, going for a survival route. Hey, I don't judge."
"Thieves can do everything I need. With a bit of preparation. You know, Albedo goes out to the ruins by herself anytime she's broke, she kills goblins alone. Doesn't do it a lot 'cause she says it's still really dangerous. But she can do it. That's something only a thief could do. If things go wrong, thiefs can vanish and…"

Kate continued to gush over the setup. With the right gear, a clever thief could munchkin her way into doing the same job every class does – slightly differently but effectively the same. I could tell she had her mind set on becoming one, not all for completely logical reasons – although there were a lot of good points. She grew up wishing for a lot of things, and one of those wishes were to be a thief, at least that's what I suspected. Then the conversation took a swing into much deeper territory. "So, up for joining my team after the week's done?" I asked her, taking another bite out of my meal. She went quiet then, meeting my eyes with a determination I hadn't seen in anyone but Mary.

"I can't."

That got a raised eyebrow from me. Did not see this one coming. The budding thief continued. "Silas onii-san. You're a kind person. Genuinely kind person. And people like you die, that's why there isn't a lot of kindness in this world. I want to be strong so I can change that. Tell me," The girl continued after a pause, swallowing another bite of her meal. "What do you want to do in a year? Five years? Ten?"
"Oi, oi, didn't think I'd hear this sort of talk out of a little girl. How old are you anyhow?"
"How old are you?" She shot back.
"Probably in my twenties." I answered, taking the bait and looking back. I was growing a bit of stubble after all. Okay, it's peach fuzz – but that's the precursor to a beard! Get off my lawn.
"Then I'm thirty seven years old." The girl huffed, crossing her hands.
"Bullshit. Talk, or else I'm stealing some of your toast."
"Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age?"
I sighed dramatically, "All right fine, I'll wiggle that answer out of you someday. Count on it."
"Anyhow, you dodged the question!" Kate yelped, back on track.

True. I totally did. Because my answer is lame.
"I don't really have plans. Never thought too much on it. I guess my end game is the same as everyone else's, buy a nice house, retire. Marry maybe. Grow old and fat. I'm just trying to live happy enough."
"That's why I can't follow you." Kate answered with melancholy. "I need to be more. I need to be strong. Otherwise I can't change this world."

Change the world? Damn this girl had her eyes set on a massive goal.
"Tall order. I'm not going to talk you out of it, but genuinely curious how you plan to do that."
"I'll wait a few weeks until the next group of Crimson Moon come. I'll take charge and make my own team out of them, then we'll become the strongest group out there!"
I nodded, following. Kate was smart, but she was also a little kid too. She continued, a twinkle in her eyes. I could tell she must have been daydreaming about this for months, maybe her whole life. It wasn't just her dream I was hearing here, it was probably the fantasy that kept her warm during cold hungry nights. I knew well enough not to touch haphazardly. Tread softly for it is my dreams spread under, and all that jazz.

"Then, when I'm among the best I'll join House Tyule. From the inside, I'll climb my way up and change the system. I'll protect you and all the other Crimson Moon who come after. I'll make it."
Now there was real fire in her eyes. She was passionate about this. Did I just run into the main character of this story or something? Hell, even Manato, who I was convinced was the protagonist here, didn't have any far-reaching goals like that. Unless Kate was actually Manato's long lost sister – thus also crown princess in hiding who'll appear to be Manato's rival. Ah, yes that follows the good old storyline. Therefore, I conclude that they're both the protagonists.

The girl looked up to me expectantly then, waiting for my answer. Out went my hand and I ruffled her head affectionately. "Shoot for the stars Kate. Tell me if you need any help setting up, I'll do my best. But try not to die, okay?"
Kate nodded, "That's why I need to be a thief. You know why a bird isn't afraid of a branch snapping?"
"Hmm, because it has wings I'm guessing."
"That's right, it's got its own wings. If the worst happens, it can do something about it. I have to be like that bird. I need to be able to survive anything, alone too if it happens."

We went quiet for a moment, munching over toast. I had a feeling of all people, Kate actually could do this. She was clever, real clever. Maybe a little childish at this moment, but I doubt that dream of hers will fade with age – it'll only get sharper and more refined as she grew up. If I stayed my current course, I had a feeling Kate and her group would sprint ahead of us. Because unlike our group, they would have a goal. A real goal. A personal goal that was steeped in her own past experiences. The most powerful driving force I could think of. Not something generic like defeating the deathless king, or becoming a general leading an army against the orcs and whatnot.

I thought some more on what I wanted out of my life. Lex had mentioned here and there to become a great hero of the world. Standing among the best. My group weren't the best, but anyone could be great with time and effort put in. Yii often talked about how my team were gifted enough.
Ranta would become an incredible dualist. Haru was actually an amazing thief with his line-skill ability. Yume, Shihoru, Mogzo, they all had great potential. At least, he said the archives pointed it out. Me, I don't think I'll ever be that strong. They hadn't ever said a thing about where the archives mentioned me, so my theory is I likely died early on and history forgot me. I don't think I'll ever be that genius of a hero, but I could get close enough if I really tried. The rest of the voices hadn't put much thought on our endgame. Arbit had once told me to make better friends with the merchants, because with their knowledge of cooking and other archives, we could start a very successful chain – once we managed to make ourselves important and wealthy enough to challenge the guilds. Force them to accept us.

As for me, the only somewhat personal goal I could think of was Mary... And not in that way. She had unfinished business in the mines and I don't think she'll be able to move on until that's dealt with. I wanted to see her smile one day, not just in my dreams. So long as Deathpatch was still walking around I don't think she'll get her closure out of this story. And I'm pretty sure she hasn't even thought about taking a partner up so long as her past is filling her heart. There's just no room.
There were plenty of ways to end happy enough when it came to general life. But Kate was right – I needed a goal to move forward to. I couldn't keep walking aimlessly like I was right now. Living day to day as she said. I put those thoughts on an afterburner, I'd raise them up to the voices later.

"What are you going to do during the few weeks in between the rookies showing up?"
Kate shrugged at that, "I'll do what I've always done. Survive, and with my thief skills I'll practice."
"You know, you could join up with my group for the week before the new recruits show up. Get some field experience with a veteran team."

That got her good. I could tell she was sorely tempted with that.
"I'll… think about it." She answered slowly, I could tell there was something that had a reservation on her.
"Where do you usually stay?" I asked to defuse the situation and also out of curiosity.
"I've got a straw mat I keep on a roof of a building, it's hard to climb up on but I don't always sleep there. If it's too cold, I stow away in some house or empty storage."
"Hmm, our inn has an extra bunk in the girl's room that's not being used. Want to stay with us for a few weeks while you wait for the next group to come?"
"You'll have me?"
"Sure, just keep the place clean and help cook things for us in exchange. I'm sure the girls would let you join in. Although, Manato also sleep there too. You still have to meet and talk to him soon, you can't keep avoiding this."

Kate frowned. She had been very nervous on meeting the priest and for good reason. The girl had deliberately tried to hurt him with her words the last time they met.
"He's a forgiving person, Manato. Talk to him, truthfully. It'll be fine."
"B-but what if… what if he doesn't like me? What if he says I shouldn't meet you anymore?"
"You can dislike someone but also respect them and make a level-headed choice. That's what being an adult is about. In the streets, maybe being liked or disliked was enough. In the crimson moon there's plenty of parties that hate each other but are willing to trust their lives to one another." Look at me, being all responsible and shit. Just because I'm older doesn't mean jack squat about having my head on my shoulders. But, somehow being with Kate made me try to be more… accountable.
"That' not what happened to Albedo, she got kicked out of her group because they didn't like her!"
"Oh? The stealing she did?"

Kate grimaced, shoving some more toast in her mouth and taking a long sip of milk to wash it down. "It wasn't just stealing - She's always stealing stuff. It doesn't even have to be worth anything, she'll steal junk just to steal it and then throw it away. She told me once she can't help it."
"I think the word for that is Kleptomaniac."
"leptomank?"
"Klept-to-mani-ac."
"Lept-to-mani-ak."
"Close enough. Continue, I'm kinda curious to see who you have to hang around."
"She's really strong. But she can also be really mean. She was a crimson moon member too, but she stole too many things from her group. One of the party members caught her stealing and she killed him to keep it quiet. She said she was drunk, and he was drunk too, and it was an accident when they got angry at each other. She tried to say she was being attacked by him or something but the group didn't buy it and kicked her off the team."
"Ouch. Two teammates gone in a single day."
"Mhm. The group disbanded I think. But all the rest of the Crimson Moon heard about her and she couldn't join any new groups. She ended up in the streets like me."

I thought about it for only a moment before answering, "She stole things probably a lot from her group. They probably didn't like her for a long time and then she did something that crossed the line. We won't shun you even if Manato doesn't like you ok? One mistake is just that – a mistake. Or even if by some chance they do, I'm not just going to give up being your friend."
"But if they find out you keep visiting someone they don't like, then they might not like you anymore too! It's-"
"It's not going to happen. You trust me right? Trust me now, my group's not like that. I'm the second in command of those buggers remember? So go meet Manato, and talk to him. Get that over with and off your chest. I'll tell him ahead of time you're coming by, okay?"
Kate had a slightly frightened look on her face, but I could tell I'd convinced her enough.
"… thank you for the stay. I-I'll try."
"I think it'll do you good to be around normal people for a change. You want to lead a crimson moon group in the future yea? Then you should be around Crimson moon people for now."

I wrapped up my breakfast, then we both set off to visit the merchants.