James Miller

The path that constricted around the mountain was steep and perilous. "These two people must've really wanted to have stayed in isolation," I thought. I looked down at my revolver, popping out the cylinder, looking at the six bullets spin in the cylinder, putting it back as I climbed over some rocks.

I had the foresight to count my ammunition before I ascended the mountain. I had thirty loose rifle rounds and twenty revolver rounds left. I'd need to figure out how to produce more ammunition. There were two possible path for me to do so. The first path: find the resources to do so, niter, brass, and steel, then find a way to produce them. The second path: see if bullets could be produced using magic. Maybe using magic stored in a bullet instead of gunpowder. Either way, I'd need to do it fast, as I was eating through my current supply.

I looked at my rifle, checking its parts, inspecting the bullet chamber for dirt and water. "What's that?" a young woman who was wearing a bluish-green dress and a pink scarf wrapped around her neck. Her dark, black hair reaching just above her shoulders. Her brown eyes gazing down at me and my rifle.

"It's my weapon," I replied plainly.

"So you're here to kill us then?" The woman said as she pulled out a knife.

"No. I'm here to learn from the expert herbalist, Bow," I replied sternly.

She looked me over from a distance before making an approach. She sheathed her dagger and extended a hand. "I'm Dazu Tayak, Bow's significant other," she said.

I took her hand and gave it a firm shake. "James Miller, it's a pleasure to meet you." She nodded agreeably before leading me up the rest of the mountain.

"So, James Miller, tell me why you want to learn about herbalism? Don't you have a decent amount of magic? Use healing magic," Dazu replied as we walked up the trail, reaching the peak of the mountain.

"I don't have magic," I stated. Dazu looked over her shoulder at me with an incredulous look on her face. "Really? Is that why you have those weapons?" Dazu asked. I nodded. "And I'm assuming you want to know how to make medicine to compensate for your lack of magic?"

"Yes. Knowledge of herbs and plant life and what they can best be used for would quite useful for my continued survival," I replied. We reached the house. It was a small cottage with a high fence perimeter. We walked through the gate to see all the space around the house except for some walkways, covered in a large, lush garden. It had many colorful plants that were laid out in neat, labeled rows. There were ones I was familiar with, sage, mint, parsley, and many, many others I wasn't familiar with. We walked into the door to find, presumably Bow, diluting a herbal solution with some boiling water. She looked up at the two of us with a surprised look on her face.

"Dazu, who's our guest?" Bow asked with a smile.

"He goes by James Miller," she replied. "He wants to learn from you," she said.

"Oh? Now that's something I'd never expect. Well come over and have a seat. It's been forever since I've had someone to teach. Dazu's learned all there is I know, but she's not that good of a teacher," Bow explained.

"Good to know. So how will I be compensating you for your teachings?" I asked.

"By helping us get food. We have enough to sustain us. As such you'll need to do some hunting. There are some magical beasts that make for good food. Hunt a few of those and your payment will be complete. And once we have our food, you will learn about every plant in the Clover Kingdom, know how to brew potions, and make medicinal powders, amongst other things," Bow explained, offering me some tea. I took it, sipping from the ceramic mug.

"What did you put in this? It tastes lemony."

"Lemon Balm leaves and some Dragon's Lick," she answered.

"Dragon's Lick, I can't say I've heard of that one. What does it look like?"

"Long green leaf with a strip of orange that's red at the tip. It looks like the tongue of a dragon hence the name," Bow explained. I finished up my tea and walked out to the door, waving the two of them goodbye. The second I was out the door I ducked under the nearest window, putting my ear up to the wall.

"So what do you think of him?" Dazu asked as she took a seat.

"He seems to be telling the truth when he said he had no magical power," Bow replied

"So could he be eligible?" Dazu asked, a bit of excitement in her voice.

"It's possible, but we'll have to wait and see if he's been contacted by one," Bow explained.

"What should we do in the meantime?" Dazu asked.

Bow gave a happy hum. "We'll look after him and teach him about herbalism as he asked."

"And if he never displays a connection?"

"Then once he's done with his training, we'll leave him be and let him go on his way."

Dazu seemed to protest but I decided to move on and get to hunting. I snuck down the hill to find my prey for my payment as I pulled my rifle out and chambered a round. However a single thought was swimming around in my head: "They mentioned devils, are those… real in this world?"

That's when I heard the voice of the serpent once again. "Indulge the cycle. Become eternal. Become my… partner," the serpent spoke with an evil cackle after that last word. I decided to try and communicate with it.

"What do you want with me?" I asked in my head.

The serpent snickered as it began to crow clawed legs. "I want… to see… your world," It said with a raspy voice. "So become my partner." It clearly wanted to join with me for some reason or another.

"I'll talk to you about this later, I have some food to hunt," I said as I spotted my prey. I felt a pain in my arm and chest.

Vanessa Enoteca

I don't know why he left. He took the gifts and even wrote me a note, but I still didn't understand. Vice Captain Asta could've helped him train, he could've stayed and been a part of the squad. I sighed as I opened my eyes. It was the early morning, The moon was still up in the sky, the dark sky a perfect reflection of my mood. I reached the night stand to look at the note James left me.

'Dear Vanessa,I hope you're doing well. I've made a decision that I'm too weak, and would only drag you and your squad down. As such I'm going to travel through this country to learn more about it, and thus become stronger. When I feel I'm strong enough I will return. Thank you for all you've done for me.'

I turned over to let some tears slip from their ducts as I softly wept, pulling the blankets over me. I wanted to hide under them, I wanted to just be alone. There was a knock at my door and the voice of Finral at the other side of the door. "Vanessa, are you alright? You haven't been out of your room for a day now. I brought Finesse along if you two want to talk," Finral said with a tone of worry in his voice.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and climbed out of bed. I walked over to the door and opened it, the refreshing image of Frinal in his normal clothes, and Finesse in a nice frilly dress. They both entered my room and sat me down at the bed. Finral stood while Finesse joined me on the bed. She gave me a tight hug. "I hope you're doing alright, Vanessa. Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, her soft features making it easier to look at her. I began to cry again as she gave me a second hug, gently rubbing my back like the mother I never had. "Finral has told me everything, if you just need to cry then do that. And if you want to talk, then talk," Finesse said.

I took a deep inhale before speaking. "He… just left. He wrote a note and just left. I… I was having a nightmare about the day that Dante attacked the hideout. I just kept seeing Dante attacking us and stealing Grey and I away. But instead of Asta being attacked, it was James, and he was killed. Then he came to take me away," I said as I began to shake in fear. I felt Finesse tighten her hug and Finral took a knee by the bed.

"I understand. Vanessa, you'll always have the two of us, and the rest of the squad to talk to," he said in a soft voice.

"Thank you both," I said, wiping away the tears. I felt a bit better, but still hurt that James had left. The two of them smiled as they gave me some space. I began to think. "Why should I just wait for him to get back? I'll go find him myself! Yea! Thats what I'll do!" I grabbed my grimoire, put on my clothes, and grabbed my favorite hat. The only question now was how to find him? And then I had my answer, The Queen of Witches.

So that's chapter 4! Apologies for the shorter chapter but I wanted to get this out today. I'll make sure to keep the perspectives to either just James or James and Vanessa. As for the reason why I removed the Finral and Finesse pairing because I realized I wouldn't have much time to show them. They'll still be in the story as a kind of couple friends to Vanessa and James. Drop a review if you liked it and see you all next chapter!

P.S. brownie points for whom ever can tell me what the serpent is a reference to ;)