Well, I didn't make it past the interview part of the process for the job. Managed to make it past the written exam and the physical agility test, but I guess for the oral interview, I just wasn't confident enough, according to them… oh well. Guess I just have to resume looking… or maybe consult someone for some advice or something.

Well, that said, remember once again that my story 'Fading Darkness, Rising Light' is available on , everyone. Please be sure to spread the word!

Not much else to say other than that… so let's get the chapter started.

Chapter 29

Jaune groaned audibly, stretching his now sore body and wincing slightly as he heard a few cracks in some locations.

"You okay there, boy?" an elderly looking man asked the blond leader.

"Just a little sore is all," Jaune replied with a bit of a sheepish smirk.

The old man guffawed a bit. "I bet; that was a nasty swing you took from that Ursa."

Jaune tried not to flinch at that remark.

Sometime yesterday, his team had been informed by Glynda of a new mission that they had in a village called Burgundy. They were told that they were to meet with the village's residents and from there scout out the surrounding environment. What would happen after that would be up to their discretion regarding the increasing number of Grimm and sporadic visits said beasts have been paying to the village.

Having left on a Bullhead late last night, it'd taken almost the whole night and most of the morning before finally being dropped off just outside the forest due to how dense said forest was, which prevented the pilot from dropping them off closer to the village. Due to this, team JNPR had to traverse on foot through the forest, relying on their own instincts and a map they had downloaded onto their scrolls to try and determine where the forest had been.

It had been only several minutes after their on-foot journey that they had fortunately came across the elderly man that now led them back to Burgundy. Unfortunately, they'd ended up being attacked by a small group of Ursa and King Tajitus.

Well, most of the misfortune had fallen on Jaune actually; thanks to their already top-notch skills and increased power as pseudo-magi, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren had effortlessly bested the Grimm that had been dumb enough to focus on them while Jaune, the only 'normal' one of the group and the least skilled had to protect the old man from two Ursa on his own. That said, Jaune had managed to do rather well, his training with Miki and Naruto having shown through in how deftly he defeated both Grimm, but not before one of them had smacked him aside like a ragdoll at the end of the battle.

Now trekking back to the village with their guide, Jaune could only wonder just what he had gotten himself into. Looking back at his teammates, they didn't even look remotely winded nor hurt. Hell, their clothes weren't even dirty. Unlike himself, who was somewhat hurt, even with his aura healing him.

"So you're the team, hmm?" the old man asked, snapping Jaune out of his thoughts. "Aren't you all a bit young?" Gone was his previous smile and in its place was a bit of an uncertain frown.

"Believe us, sir, we're here to help anyway we can," Pyrrha politely replied, not bothered by the man's apparent disbelief in their ability in spite of having seen them fight earlier.

"Yeah! You can count on us to blow all the Grimm away!" Nora followed up, twirling Magnhild like a candy cane.

That made the old man chuckle a bit. "Well, I guess so. You young'ins did handle yourself pretty well earlier… except you though, blond lad." He looked to Jaune. "You sure your shoulder ain't hurting?"

"I'm fine. Just a little flesh wound is all," Jaune replied as calmly as he could, but only barely. Although the man didn't seem to realize what he'd really said, Jaune took some offense to his words. He'd done the best he could do, but fighting Grimm on his own was much different to fighting those White Fang guys on multiple levels.

"If you say so, lad," the old man said. "Name's Hans, by the way. And we're almost there now."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hans," Pyrrha said with a smile.

"I'm just glad we're almost there…" Jaune muttered to himself. Having been walking for the past hour now, he's grown a little tired due to how dense the forest was and in turn how much said forestry has shaped the very land they walked on.

As Hans tried to engage Ren, ever so quiet, in conversation, Jaune could only glance at his team and feel his stomach do a roll as he did so. Although Miki's words to him were still fresh on his mind, he still couldn't help but try to compare himself to them and found himself thoroughly lacking. Not only were they heads and shoulders above him in skill and even more so in sheer power now, but they clearly seemed used to walking across such treacherous terrain, most likely something else they've had experience dealing with in some form or another. Meanwhile, here he was trying to make sure he didn't slip and crack open his face on the ground.

It had been one thing to observe his friends' newfound power in action during spars, but now that they were out on an actual mission, his uncertainty about himself and his ability to properly stand alongside them all seemed to just triple in intensity.

"Just how am I going to catch up to them? Can I even do that?" Jaune thought worriedly. Although his thoughts were focused on his current ability compared to the others, he couldn't help but think along different lines instead; on this mission, it was pretty much expected for the Grimm to start attacking Burgundy. Never mind his lack of strength and skill when up against his friends… will he even be able to properly defend the village and its citizens?

The mere thought alone nearly made Jaune hyperventilate. What if he failed to hold off any of the Grimm that could attack? What if someone got hurt as a result? What if they even died?

"No… don't think like that…" Jaune lightly shook his head, not wanting to draw attention to himself from the others. "…I just have to do the best that I can do. That's all I can do…"

Steeling himself, Jaune ultimately decided on this: even if he ended up weaponless, even if he ended up severely hurt and left at death's door, if it came down to him literally standing in between the innocent and the Grimm, then he'd do so without hesitation.

After all, isn't that what a hero does?

Elsewhere, lying in wait deep within the forest on the opposite end of Burgundy was none other than Surma. The massive and deceptively fast beast slowly made its way through the forest, taking some measure of amusement in seeing how the Grimm reacted to its presence as it past them by. For reasons that couldn't be discerned, the Grimm were both drawn to yet frightened to death of Surma in equal measure. This is why he was able to goad them into attacking team RWBY and Miki at the village all that time ago. This is why right now, the Grimm would become so agitated and attempt to flee even when Surma has already passed by.

Currently, the sentient Relic was out to complete a certain task, which is to traverse and mentally map out the entire area around Burgundy. Sharing its vision and thoughts with its master, Kalma, Surma could feel its small yet beautifully shy master carefully create a layout on her scroll. This is how things had been done the past few weeks. Surma would scout out the area and the information it sends back to Kalma via their link would be used by the girl to rather artistically create a map that would be shown to the rest of the Holy Knights once their task was fully done.

On that particular note, all things were quite well. At least for a few extra minutes.

Sensing a shift in Kalma's mental state, Surma came to a halt on the very outskirts of the forest, its head tilted in a way to indicate confusion and worry for its dear master.

"There… there seems to be three of those students here…" was what Kalma eventually spoke telepathically to Surma.

At that, Surma's eyes narrowed a bit and it snarled. Having lied dormant within Kalma when the ancient magi had attacked the warehouse, it had familiarized itself with the scents and power signatures of those Beacon students that had fought alongside the ancient magi a month ago. Perceiving these three signatures as a threat to Kalma, Surma immediately sniffed the area, putting to use its keen sense of smell to locate their exact location and attack.

But just as it ascertained where the three signatures were at, Kalma reeled the Relic back. "Wait. They don't seem to be aware that we're even here," Kalma said softly.

Indeed, from the little inn that she had opted to stay in, Kalma could sense team JNPR approach the village, now approaching the outer edge of the village. Here within the confines of her room, Kalma allowed her dog ears to freely move about, no longer bothered by the hat she usually wore to hide her Faunus attributes when out in public.

Of all the Holy Knights, her senses were perhaps the sharpest and thanks to this, she was able to easily keep track of the location of the three pseudo-magi that those students had become. And thanks to her also keen nose, she was able to detect a fourth member that she immediately recognized.

"Oh no…" she whispered, nearly dropping her scroll. "…It's Morgan's brother…"

Through her mental link, Kalma could hear Surma growl a bit, could literally feel her sentient Relic bristling as soon as she said those simple words. Clearly, Surma remembered the blond boy just as well as she did, said boy having been the only one to land a genuine blow on Surma out of all the students that had tried to fight back against him back at Beacon Academy.

"Surma… please calm down," she nearly begged. "This is supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission. So the sooner we finish, the sooner we can leave before they find us…"

Through the link, she felt Surma calm a bit before slowly going back to performing its duty. As she sensed this, the sixteen year old Holy Knight allowed herself a sigh of relief. She'd much rather avoid fighting if at all possible. This wasn't due to just a sense of self-preservation; she genuinely didn't want to get the villagers mixed up in any danger if she could afford it.

And on that note…

What with having her room locked and the blinds drawn, Kalma flinched back when she moved the blinds a little to look for team JNPR, the sun blinding her for a brief second before she adjusted to it.

Sure enough, now walking through the village alongside an elderly man, Kalma could see Jaune talking with the man and his teammates about something, most likely the number of Grimm surrounding the village.

At that thought, Kalma shivered a bit and not from the death-like coldness that followed her wherever she went. She may have control over Surma, but not over the Grimm. What with Surma's presence scaring the Grimm into unpredictable action, it honestly wouldn't be a surprise if the Grimm in the surrounding forest launched an attack on Burgundy. The mere thought of this was enough to make Kalma nearly bite her thin lip in worry.

But she was startled to the point of nearly having a heart attack when the unexpected happened.

Jaune was now looking right at her.

Closing the blinds as quickly as possible and unconsciously grabbing her hat to hide her dog ears, Kalma retreated to her bed, hugging herself tightly.

All of a sudden, she couldn't help but feel that perhaps things wouldn't go as smoothly as she'd hoped for after all.

Meanwhile, outside said inn, Pyrrha looked to her team leader in confusion upon seeing him suddenly look upwards at an angle. "Is something wrong, Jaune?"

"Could've sworn someone had just been looking at us…" her team leader and crush replied, Jaune's eyebrows scrunching up as he clearly thought on this.

Following his gaze, Pyrrha looked up to the second floor of the inn they were about to enter, said inn having been recommended to them by the elderly man who had now just left them to go take care of a few other things before he could do anything else. However, all she saw were drawn blinds. If someone had been looking at them, they had already closed the blinds and possibly gone elsewhere.

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing to get worked up over." Pyrrha allowed a smile to stretch across her lips. She patted Jaune on the shoulder as she spoke again. "So… ready to get this mission officially started."

As soon as those words were uttered, the redhead was met with a grimace from the blond leader and a somewhat dark look came over him. "I guess," was Jaune's unintentionally curt reply as he looked down.

Pyrrha's smile dropped and she looked at her leader/partner in concern. So did Nora and Ren, the two immediately sensing Jaune's sudden shift in mood.

Much to the blond's own ignorance, he wasn't quite as subtle as he'd thought himself to be. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren knew of how Jaune felt over… well, everything ever since the Holy Knights came into the picture. They've had an inkling of sorts back when they'd first become a team and had taken some time to know one another, but now the three of them have learned through observation of the sort of thoughts that plagued Jaune.

He never once hinted at such admitted self-depreciation with words, but they were all perceptive enough to pick up things through his actions. And his recent ferocity during training this past month had just been the final confirmation they needed to know what troubled Jaune so much.

He was feeling left behind by them.

Yes, the three would admit that their power now was much greater than ever before and their skills have been honed even further thanks to the training of the ancient magi, but even then they never once viewed Jaune as lagging behind them…

At that thought as they entered the inn, Pyrrha frowned greatly. "Perhaps that's not entirely true," she silently admitted. To say that they never once saw Jaune as lagging would be a complete lie; if such words were true, then they nor team RWBY would've ever noticed the noticeable gap in power and skill between themselves and Jaune even before their awakenings. But that being said, it was now as clear as day to them that their leader saw himself as a sort of burden, which they never once thought him to be. Was he weaker than they were? Yes, especially after they'd been awakened. Was he less skilled than they were? Given he's yet to win a single match during combat class, that was true too.

But did he actually weight them down? The answer to that was an almost deafening 'NO.'

He may not be strong nor particularly skilled, but he's never let such a lack of things stop him from trying his best. And during the initiation, he proved his worth by immediately thinking up a way to defeat that Deathstalker. And frankly, they all felt that Jaune wasn't giving himself enough credit; thanks to all the training he's undergone since then, he was a much stronger and more skilled hunter-in-training than he'd been starting out. To be perfectly honest, his progress was kind of scary. Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and virtually all of the other students from Beacon had gone through years of intense training to get to where they're at now whereas Jaune has shown enough improvement to do fairly well now in combat class in the span of only two or three months. Even though he kept losing, he was lasting longer and had begun to land some actual hits on the likes of Cardin during spars and was more than capable of taking down the grunt of the White Fang and certain Grimm such as Ursa one on one.

But alas, Jaune didn't seem to recognize these facts about himself. All he could see was the gap between him and them and how much he's contributed to becoming a hero in this conflict against the Holy Knights thus far.

With all of this running through their minds, Pyrrha wanted to desperately take Jaune aside and talk with him about this. She would've done so too just as they spoke to the inn keeper and got a room key, only to be stopped by Ren.

"Don't," he whispered just loud enough for only his redheaded teammate to hear.

"But…" Pyrrha began to argue, only to be cut off by Nora of all people.

Uncharacteristically quiet and now solemn, Nora shook her head. "Let Jaunie try to deal with it on his own for now."

Contrary to what Jaune and Miki had thought, their conversation, at least when Jaune had started to speak louder and louder, had been heard briefly by the three of them during the spar the other day. And while the words they had been able to hear had rattled them a bit, it seemed to them that words from others wouldn't be doing Jaune much good; no matter how serious his issues were, it seemed like he was the only one who could properly sort them out.

Realizing this, Pyrrha nearly bit her own lip out of a combination of worry and frustration. She could only hope that her leader/friend/crush would figure things out soon. Because if he didn't, this mission might not go too well.

Elsewhere, more specifically at the new base of the Holy Knights, Morgan found herself in a bit of a funk. Given her current sitting position upon the ledge of the roof, what with one leg crossed over the other under her dress and her hands perfectly poised in her lap, she looked for all the world like some classy model that was posing for a picture. However, the effect was ruined somewhat by the rather childish pout that she sported.

"Is something the matter?"

Not even remotely surprised by her peace and quiet being interrupted, Morgan only turned marginally to see Lugh walk towards her. He didn't have Areadbhar with him, which made for a rather novel sight given just how often he carried it around with him for one reason or another. "I've noticed you've been sitting up here for a while now."

"It's… nothing. I'm simply contemplating," Morgan replied before turning away, her gaze extending outwards to the land beyond.

"Contemplating what exactly? Because with all due respect, you have been acting… odd," Lugh remarked, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he leaned back whilst looking at Morgan, almost as if to study her. "Ever since Kalma sent Surma to Beacon Academy, you've seemed distant."

Morgan had to make an effort to suppress an unlady-like grunt. "…I was just thinking about my brother," she then admitted.

That actually made Lugh quirk an eyebrow. "Your brother? I wasn't aware you had one."

"Yes, well, family is hardly a topic I discuss with anyone, though not out of any bad reasons." Morgan paused. "And before you start getting any ideas, the captain already knows about all of this."

The fifth seat nodded. "Of course he does." Lugh said those four words as if it was a simple truth. Shifting around a bit, he spoke again. "So what is it about your brother that has you so occupied? Worried for him or something?"

"More or less," the third seat admitted almost casually. "This past month, I've been using my Books of Spells to monitor him every now and then."

And on that note, she nearly sighed, both out of frustration and genuine concern. Frustration because of how she could only just view Jaune from afar like this and out of genuine concern for her dear younger brother. Although through her Relic, she couldn't actually hear what was going on, the images she saw combined with how well she already knew Jaune was more than enough for her to know what was going on.

Her dear little brother wanted desperately to match up with his friends. Not necessarily out of an inferiority complex, not so that he could go on to find fame and glory as a hunter, but simply because he wanted to fight alongside his comrades and become what he's always really wanted to be: a hero.

"Oh Jaune. Didn't I tell you years ago that you already are a hero?" Morgan thought, a bittersweet smile on her face now.

Ever since he was a small child, Jaune had always been a rather sociable boy, his own awkwardness at times notwithstanding. And whenever there was an opportunity to lend a hand to someone in need, then Jaune would do so without any hesitation or thought, as if it was a reflex he'd been born with. And as he grew older, this innate desire of his only grew, culminating in him wanting to become a hunter just like his parents and his ancestors were, all so that he could help people, even if said desire was somewhat hidden from others by the other typical interests he's demonstrated having. However, due to how busy their parents had always been while he grew up, they never once bothered to really train him, so he'd had to rely on himself to get in shape. It's why he was so subpar when he'd forged his way into Beacon.

And no matter how much she and her fellow sisters had told the boy, Jaune remained unconvinced that he was a hero, regardless of his lack of fighting ability growing up.

Morgan was brought out of her deep thoughts on the past by Lugh, who took that moment to spoke. "Monitor him, eh? Why so?"

"Because I'm worried for him is all. Isn't that to be expected of an older sister?" Morgan quipped.

"Maybe. I wouldn't know since I never had any siblings," Lugh replied in a flat tone of voice. "But why so worried for him? It's not as if he's in any danger, yes? Aside from the usual troubles that'd come with being a Beacon student."

Morgan did turn to face Lugh this time and her expression remained impressively blank. "He's the blond teen that you stabbed at our old base. Of course I'd be greatly worried for him."

At that, Lugh fell completely silent. "Oh," he eventually muttered lamely. And just like that, he had nothing else to say.

But that didn't seem to hold true for Morgan. "Now I don't blame you for it… you didn't know." She sighed. "And even if you had, Jaune still would've forced your hand, most likely."

"So he's stubborn," Lugh now said, inwardly relieved that Morgan hadn't decided to take revenge on him in some form or another.

"Very much so. When we were younger, if there were bullies bothering people, Jaune would always step in and try to help the victims. He'd always end up fighting the bullies off whenever words failed. And while he certainly never won, he never once retreated either," Morgan said.

"And that's why you're concerned," Lugh then said, hitting the proverbial nail on the head.

"Yes… and now that he's caught up in all of this, I can only wonder if he'll make it through." Morgan hesitated for a few seconds before continuing. "And if such a scenario does happen, where he might die, I could only then wonder what I'd do at that moment."

"Certainly, that's a dilemma. But it seems to me that he can take care of himself a bit, at least against the Grimm and usual foes that plague hunters." Lugh then tilted his head as he thought of something else. "And since, regrettably, his friends are now pseudo-magi, I'd dare say they can protect him well enough-."

"That's the thing, Lugh. My brother doesn't want to be the one being protected. He wants to do the protecting," Morgan said, now sounding a little upset. Her fingers now moved about in her lap, fiddling with one another as her worry returned with a vengeance. "Without a doubt, he'll try to take on any of us if it came to it. But he's not like us or his friends… and never once in his life has he ever come across a…" Morgan suddenly trailed off, leaving the sentence woefully unfinished and in turn Lugh's curiosity unsatisfied.

"…Regardless of what happens, Morgan…" Lugh eventually said. "You're going to have to make a choice: him or us. There's hardly any room for a third option in such a situation." He didn't say this to be cold or mean, but rather to bluntly point out the reality that lied before Morgan. As much as she cared and worried for her brother, he was ultimately on the opposing side in this battle of theirs. Sooner or later, Morgan would have choose which side to stick with for good. It was as simple as that.

"I know…" Morgan softly said, closing her eyes, trying to hold back the mounting frustration that came with uttering such simple yet poignant words.

Without another word spoken between the two of them, Lugh then walked off, leaving Morgan alone with her thoughts yet again.

Hours pass and back in Burgundy, Jaune lied silently on the admittedly comfy bed that came with the room he and his team would be staying in for however long their stay would last.

A lot was on his mind right now and some of it actually concerned this rather lively village. As small as said area was and how hard it was to make a living here, the people of Burgundy certainly had an energy about them that made it hard for Jaune or his friends to ever imagine them being sad or otherwise feeling negative. Thus far, everyone they've met today seemed quite friendly and inviting overall, with a number of them even asking them earlier when they'd had dinner just how it was like to be hunters/huntresses in training.

That wasn't even getting into the village itself rather than the people. Having been informed by Glynda that Burgundy was a somewhat modernized village, Jaune hadn't been very sure what to expect, but to his surprise it seemed as if Burgundy may be more advanced technologically than what the deputy headmistress had implied. For one thing, just the fact that the village had an actual inn said a lot about its capabilities, especially since this inn felt remarkably comfortable to live in. Jaune would dare say that even those most accustomed to life within places such as Atlas would find a stay here a nice one. In his brief time here thus far, he's also seen people carry around scrolls with more or less the same functions that could be found elsewhere in Remnant, though due to how isolated Burgundy was from any other place, it takes a while for messages to get through, which Ren had even tested earlier, having sent a simple 'we got here safely' message to team RWBY hours ago and said message having yet to even be fully sent. Jaune could see why the formal request for help had been sent in actual writing to Ozpin if such a short message could take this long to be sent. Then there was also the fact that every home and other structure here was made out of concrete or at least something similar enough to pass for it. In all honesty, Jaune was more inclined now to think of Burgundy as a really small city than an actual village, a thought that had been reinforced earlier when he and his friends had seen what they assumed to be motorcycles of sorts on the dirt roads earlier, functioning as cart wagons due to the small vehicles tugging an actual wagon behind it.

Jaune could only shake his head. "What an interesting place…" he muttered with a bit of a smile, his mind still trying to wrap itself around how clashing the 'old' and 'modern' aspects of Burgundy were.

But that all aside, the blond leader could only grumble a bit as he sat here in the room alone. Earlier, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren had head out to have the elderly man from before – Hans – show them around the forest a bit more, to scout it out and get a basic feel for the layout of everything. Jaune would've gone along too, but the trek here along with fighting those Ursa earlier and the fatigue and pain he was still feeling from training made him a little too tired and sore to properly focus, so he'd been politely asked by his teammates/friends to remain behind for now to just rest up.

And it was that thought that sort of angered and saddened Jaune simultaneously. Out there in the village, his friends were on the job without any trouble yet here he was, their leader, being left behind because he couldn't handle a little pain. Was he perhaps laying on the self-depreciation a little thick right there? Maybe, but recognizing this fact hardly made him feel any better. And he could only imagine what the people of Burgundy would soon be saying about him if this kept up. From practically the second they'd arrived, word had already spread to everyone about team JNPR being around and people, albeit unintentionally, spoke loud enough for others to hear and already Jaune could hear the wonder and excitement that the residents were feeling with them around.

And this went especially for his teammates.

Pyrrha and Nora, despite not interacting much with other villagers so far, had already garnered more than a few would-be suitors, all of whom had become immediately attracted to them due to a combination of their looks and skill. Hell, earlier when all four of them had been walking through the village, some guys had already worked up enough nerve to try to even flirt with the two beautiful girls. Said guys met with failure, sure, but the fact that they still tried and so early on already said a lot to Jaune.

On a bit of a random note, when one guy had asked Pyrrha – who had politely turned him down just a moment before this – if she already was in a relationship or at least had someone on her mind, the redhead had looked to him, her partner, with a rather heavy blush on her face.

How odd. Maybe Pyrrha had been expecting him to speak up and get the guys to back off? Jaune would have to apologize later just in case.

As far as Nora went, the girl's lively attitude as she bluntly turned down all the guys so far only seemed to make them look more determined, if the fact that they later returned during dinner to speak with the auburn haired girl said anything. Who, as expected, still refused them.

And then there was Ren.

Jaune had to keep from shaking his head now as he thought back to earlier. Because Ren's looks were unlike the vast majority of men here in Vale, his features could best be categorized as exotic and combined with his thoughtfully quiet and mysterious demeanor and the poor guy had just as many women of all ages flocking to him as his female teammates had had guys flock to them. There had even been one very bold young woman, maybe just a few years older than the young Beacon students, all but forcefully pull Ren's head into her very large bosom, all but suffocating Ren between her breasts as she tried to whisper flirtatiously into his ears.

The memory made Jaune laugh a bit, if only at how flustered Ren had looked afterwards, the normally quiet young man having sported quite the red face. Though Jaune supposed said face could've resulted from the lack of air at the time.

All in all, it was safe to say that Burgundy was one very lively place, one where it seemed as if the younger people had no trouble turning to romance and the likes given the lack of actual things to do, if the sheer number of suitors had been anything to judge by. It almost made Jaune feel better.

But almost just wasn't good enough.

As nice as everyone was, as good a time they've had thus far, Jaune worried greatly and over a number of things. Firstly, in spite of how great this village has shown itself to be thus far, the blond couldn't help but feel a chill constantly race up his spine, as if there was something sinister lurking in the shadows. And due to how sporadic the Grimm within the forest were stated to be moving around in addition to their clearly random moods, this sense of dread and fear seeped further into Jaune's mind, making him feel awfully cold even here in the warm room.

Secondly and more importantly, there was his own ability to contribute that worried him. As he'd thought just moments ago, him being the only one to stay behind probably wasn't going to be giving the people of Burgundy a very good image of him in their minds. Such a poor image would result in them not quite trusting him. And when it comes down to it, trust is key to being able to do things effectively. If he didn't have their trust, then just how was he to expect them to listen to him if something really did happen? And on that note, if the Grimm really did pull something, would Jaune be able to do anything to keep the residents safe? While he had no doubt that his teammates could effortlessly wipe out all of the Grimm in the forest thanks to now being pseudo-magi, to even think of leaving everything to them made the blond feel almost physically ill. He's their leader, there's just no way that he can do something like that!

But ultimately… what can he personally do? He had a bit of a hard time just trying to fight those two Ursa earlier today while protecting Hans. Can he really expect himself to be capable of protecting even more people from an even greater number of Grimm?

Feeling horrifically anxious now, Jaune all but threw himself off the bed. These thoughts of his right now were only making him feel like shit. He ought to go for a walk, maybe even try to find his friends and stick with them and Hans until they were all done doing whatever it was they were doing.

Having thrown off his shoes earlier, the blond leader hastily put them back on and proceeded to leave his room.

Only to pause as soon as he closed the door behind him, yet another memory from earlier today suddenly coming back to him.

Someone had been watching them walk here to the inn. Someone here in one of the second floor rooms.

Having felt curious at the time over who had been eyeing them, Jaune then tried to mentally map out the entire inn, trying to pinpoint the room where he'd seen the person look through the window in relation to his team's room. While certainly a bit tiring to try and do, it'd beat simply knocking on doors one at a time to see if anyone would answer.

Taking a few minutes to mull over this, Jaune finally decided on where he needed to check.

At roughly the same time he'd been lying in bed just now, Kalma was doing more or less the same thing within the confines of her own room.

Having borrowed a handful of lengthy books from the innkeeper, the young girl had her nose nigh-literally buried within the pages of one as she read. She had no light on, no so much as a single lamp, and yet even in complete darkness, she read on without any worry. Thanks to being a Faunus, night-vision made it easy for her to read without any light, even more so since her senses had been further enhanced as a Holy Knight.

But while her eyes moved over every word on the pages, her mind comprehended little, instead being preoccupied with other things.

Out there in the forest and well away from Burgundy, Kalma could sense her dear Surma flit about like a monstrous shadow in the night. Through their mental link, she could see everything that he saw as the Relic silently mapped every nook and cranny around. Committing every single little detail to memory, Kalma resolved to continue adding to the map she's made so far tomorrow morning. By then, Surma should've covered most of the area northeast of here and then the beast could move onto the next area.

But that wasn't all that was on her mind. "He'd spotted me earlier," she thought, a sense of worry slowly washing right over her.

She honestly hadn't expected Jaune to suddenly look up like that and spot her. Whether or not it was out of sheer dumb luck or something else was irrelevant; she couldn't afford to have her cover blown.

But… just what was she to do about it? Assuming Jaune and his team somehow managed to track her down, just what can she do to get out of such a possible, if improbable, situation? While Surma certainly wouldn't have a problem tearing team JNPR to shreds, Kalma would. While she believed in the same goal that the rest of the Holy Knights believed in, she wasn't sure if she could ever directly engage in acts of violence, especially when it could result in the deaths of others.

Furthermore, it's been made quite clear to here following her previous mission that the blond boy was actually Morgan's younger brother. And Morgan had made it known to her that her brother being harmed and potentially killed was something she'd never stand for.

At the thought of suffering Morgan's wrath, Kalma shivered a bit. While she did doubt that Morgan had actually threatened her, she really didn't want to do anything to test the older woman's patience and tolerance. But on the off chance that Jaune did discover her and try something, just what was she to do? She may be no fighter on her own, but the young sixth seat was fairly confident that she could at least take the boy by surprise long enough to get away, she supposed. But given how stubborn he'd shown himself to be when confronted by Surma all that time ago, he'd undoubtedly give chase and have his team help out too.

And if that happened…

"I can't think of that turning out well!" Kalma nearly dropped her book as her worry mounted. In any and all scenarios she could imagine, in all of the ones where her identity as a Holy Knight is discovered by team JNPR, she could only imagine herself only walking away by killing them. Given that three of the four person team were pseudo-magi, it simply wasn't possible for her to get away all on her own and if she brought Surma into the picture, then without a doubt the team would fight to win or die trying.

And if they do die… then she could only fathom how angry that'd make everyone at Beacon Academy. Especially the ancient magi.

So.

Ultimately, her best bet was to just lie low as much as possible for the remainder of her stay here. Surely, looking on her previous thoughts, she was simply hyping things up too much. After all, just because Jaune had seen her briefly through the window doesn't mean anything will hap-.

A knock was heard at her door, suddenly cutting off Kalma's thought and so suddenly that she nearly fell out of her bed.

Regaining her wits posthaste, Kalma blinked and wondered who it could be. She's already asked for one of the inn's workers to bring her dinner and had returned the empty dishes not long thereafter. But then again, she'd also asked for desert to be brought up to her room later if it'd be possible, so perhaps that's what it was.

Another knock against the door rattled her lightly out of her thoughts yet again, but nowhere near as badly as before. "C-Coming… I'll be right there…" Kalma said softly as she quickly got her hat and placed it atop her head, covering her dog ears.

Walking towards the door, she gripped the handle and took just a few seconds to try and smile politely in advance.

But when she opened the door to say hello, she froze in place and her small smile disappeared fast at who she saw.

"Err, hi there," Jaune said, waving awkwardly to the girl. "This is going to sound kind of odd… but were you the one watching me and my team through the window earlier?"

As I started this chapter, it literally occurred to me that this little 'arc' may take up a few more chapters than I'd originally anticipated. So I sincerely hope it won't bother you all too much if this entire situation drags out a little longer than you may have been expecting.

That said, you can count on anything/everything taking place to have some kind of point on the story, so no need to fear for filler or anything. And it's also my intention to make this arc an enjoyable one.

Hope you'll look forward to what I have in store for you all.

Until next time, everyone. Take care.