When she first began dancing, Mina was surprised by how difficult it would be. She never went into Lula's Dancing Troupe expecting it to be easy. Far from it. After her first three lessons with the other new dancers, she was sore all over. It hurt just to even shift in bed.

Then came the repeated routines. There was such a thing as too straight and too slouched. It had to be perfect but not to perfect. Too much perfect, and her dance will be stiff. Not to perfect and her dance will be sluggish.

Despite all that, she never gave up. When she fell, she got up. When she messed up on a routine, she repeated it as many times until she perfected it. As the years went by, her dancing improved to where it feels like second nature to her. If a lute were playing, she would want to dance.

She and the other dancers had owed it to Luca and Lana for teaching them. They could be calming and difficult.

But they were also tough.

Once, when Mina was performing a routine in front of the other dancers, Luca had joined to watch. When she was done, the dancers cheered and applauded her. All except for Luca.

"Again," he had said.

Mina, confused, repeated the routine.

"Again."

By the fifth time she repeated the dance, Luca had come up to her. His eyes never left hers when he stood and walked to her.

"You are a dancer, Mina. Not some lizard with wandering eyes." He lifted her chin with his fingers until her eyes met his. She was sucked into his deep blue eyes as if she could drown in them.

"Eyes are the window to the soul. The audience sees your eyes as you see theirs. Always look into their eyes."

Later, when she went to bed, she didn't understand what he meant. The next day, she looked at her reflection on a vanity. Her brown eyes looked back with a questioning gaze. That was when she knew what Luca was talking about. Her eyes gave it away.

Hours later, she and other dancers performed for a large village and when she was close to the audience, she remembered Luca's advice and looked into the eyes of the villagers. Various emotions were on display. Excitement, wonder, amusement. Their true feelings were on display. Even if some of their faces didn't move, their eyes said everything.

Since then, she always made eye contact with as many people as she could while dancing.

What she later learned from that was how some eyes show hatred. Greed. Insanity.

She and the other dancers knew what they were getting themselves into traveling the kingdoms performing in many cities and villages. There would be people who would want to take advantage of them. Harm them.

Luca's advice was not only for dancing but for surviving. To look at one's eyes and see if there was any malicious intent in them.

Then came Lana's lesson.

When one decides to join Lula's Dancing Troupe, they not only learn how to dance, they learn how to protect themselves and attack as well.

A few weeks after Mina and other new dancers were recruited, they were summoned by Lana and Luca to watch them perform. A makeshift stage was set up and when the dancers showed up, the two teachers went at each other with daggers.

Mina remembered that day well. The clanging of the blades meeting, the quick movements, how the daggers came close to cutting skin. The other dancers shared the same feeling as they all watched intently with dropped jaws and anticipation. They were watching a dance of blades.

When Luca and Lana were pressing their daggers against each other, an unspoken language was said between them. They jumped back, sheathed their daggers, and drew out folding fans and in one quick motion, they waved the fans at the dancers.

They flinched as a strong wind blew past them.

When the wind subsided, Luca and Lana put their fans away and bowed.

"That," Lana said after rising, "ladies and gentlemen, is how you fight. It's a dangerous world out there and you need to protect yourselves. It does not matter if you are a man or a woman, people will want to harm you. Do I make myself clear?"

The dancers nodded.

"Good. Then go grab yourselves some wooden daggers and fans. Your lessons begin today."

Mina took those lessons to heart and for the next six years, she danced.

Now, she was fighting one of the Cardinal Heroes. She went from dancing in front of the King to fighting a hero. Were this a story, the Spear Hero would be the, well… hero and she the villain.

The hero always wins. Not this time.

The Spear Hero, Motoyasu, removed the dagger, crying out. She didn't throw it hard enough for it to go all the way up to the hilt. It was easy to throw it at him from her position in the audience. He let his guard down. And he wasn't even wearing proper armor.

The dagger clattered to the ground, red with blood.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The King shouted.

Mina smiled and looked at the king. Luca always said to smile in the face of your enemies. It shows that you weren't afraid. And she wasn't.

"I'm fighting the Spear Hero, your Majesty."

"No! Why are you there? No one is allowed in the arena other than the Heroes!"

"Then pray tell, your Majesty, why is your daughter here as well?" Mina waved a hand at Malty. The princess huffed and glared at her. Mina shot back with another confident smile.

"She's…" The King faltered with his words.

"Surely those rules applied to her as well?" She looked up at the audience. "And surely you all saw the spell she cast? Or are all of you blind?"

The audience murmured loudly amongst themselves. Mina knew they saw what happened. They were willing to turn a blind eye against the Shield Hero.

"Mina?" Behind her, the Shield Hero staggered slightly until he was next to her.

"Relax, Shield Hero. I will take him down." She said, winking at him.

The Shield Hero, Naofumi, only stared back. His eyes spoke with confusion and skepticism. It was understandable. To him, she was a stranger. To her, she saw a part of herself in him.

"Hey," Motoyasu called out.

Mina turned. "Yes, Spear Hero?"

"Why are you doing this?" He still clutched his shoulder. "Did Naofumi force you to fight?"

"He did nothing to me. I am here on my own will."

"Then please go. I don't want to fight a girl." His eyes did show concern for her.

"Aww. Such a gentleman." She spun the dagger in her hand until it was pointed at Motoyasu. "Then I hope you don't mind if I do this."

Like a panther, she ran to him. Motoyasu yelped and jumped back, narrowly getting sliced.

"Quite the dancer you are." Mina went at it, forcing him back. She landed a few superficial cuts. "Though your technique is lacking."

Not once did Motoyasu use his spear. True to his words, he did not want to harm her. Such a silly notion.

"You will come to learn," she took out her fan from her leg strap and opened it, "that women can be just as deadly."

She fluttered the fan at him. A light blue mist started to form underneath him. Motoyasu only looked on with confusion.

The Mina brought her fan up. Columns of ice sprang from the mist and hit him straight in the gut. He flew in the air and landed hard.

"What do you think you're doing?" Malty shouted. "Get out of here or I will get the guards to-"

Mina fluttered her fan, not even looking back. Ice shot forward at Malty's feet. It traveled upward until she was encased in ice up to her neck.

"Please kindly stay out of this fight," Mina said with a smile.

Malty growled.

"Growling is not good for you. You look more dog than a princess. Actually, that would be an insult to dogs."

Motoyasu groaned and pushed himself up until he was on his hands and knees.

"Had enough, Spear Hero?" Mina walked to him until she was standing over him.

Motoyasu looked up and flinched when Mina opened her fan.

"Y-yes! Yes!" He crawled back. "I give! You win! He wins!"

With those words, the audience gasped.

Mina put her fan and dagger away and went up to Naofumi, who stood there in shocked silence. He's going to have to do better at concealing his feelings. She could see it all on his face.

Instead of standing in front of him, she went to his side and grabbed his right hand with her left. She drew out a purple cloth from the inside of her skirt and bowed, swishing the cloth.

Her dance was complete.

When Mina let go of his hand, Naofumi stared at her. She came into this fight out of nowhere, defeated Motoyasu, and bowed like she was done performing a dance.

In a way, she did. He just watched as she attacked Motoyasu. She did it in such a graceful way. The same way when she was performing yesterday. Her movements weren't rough or stiff, they were light and fluid. And her ice magic made the dance all the more captivating.

"Are you well, Naofumi?" She asked, placing a hand on his arm.

He didn't flinch from her touch.

"I'm fine." It was true, though he will need a lot of rest tonight. Maybe he'll sleep like a log and not wake up until mid-afternoon. It wasn't any different than the times he slept in when classes were canceled.

"That's good to know. I was worried when Motoyasu was going to strike you."

"Naofumi!"

Rachel had rushed in from one of the arena entrances. "You two did it! You won!"

She playfully punched him on the shoulder. He didn't react much to her enthusiasm, but the sentiment was there in his mind.

He turned to Mina. "Guess I owe you for saving me twice."

Mina waved a hand. "Think nothing of it. Originally, I was here to watch the fight. But when the princess cheated and intervened, I knew I couldn't let it slip by."

"Nice dagger throw, by the way."

"Thank you."

It was a strange feeling to be talking with her like she was already a member of his party. Given what had happened after Malty, his trust in others dwindled until it was nothing more than a small flame. Somehow, Rachel and Mina had stoked the flame until it burned slightly brighter.

"Shield Hero!" The King was approaching them followed by Malty who was supporting a beaten Motoyasu. "What is the meaning of this?"

Naofumi reigned in his anger at the King and crossed his arms. "I won the fight if that's what you're asking."

"You did no such thing. That dancer helped you, which violated the rules of the fight. Have you no decency to obey even the tiniest of rules?"

"If I may interject," Mina stepped forward, "your daughter cheated by using wind magic against him. If the rules say that no one can interfere, then she broke it first."

"I did no such thing!" Malty stood straight while supporting Motoyasu. "You must have been seeing things."

"Your wind magic was strong enough to reach the audience. The woman next to me had her hat blown off. I think it's safe to say we all saw what you did."

Malty scoffed.

"So, are there no winners?" Rachel looked at Motoyasu who could barely stand, let alone lift his head.

"The announcer said that the first to concede defeat will lose." Naofumi bore his eyes onto the King. "If the rules still apply, then I win."

Seeing the King writhe in anger pleased him. Let him try and do something underhanded again.

"He's right."

Behind the King, Ren and Itsuki came in.

"Though there was cheating on both sides," said Ren, "Motoyasu gave up first."

This was new. Since when were they taking his side?

"Yeah," Itsuki spoke up, "We saw what you did." He pinned his gaze on Malty.

"As fun as this conversation is," Mina made her way to the exit. "It's time I bid myself farewell. My job here is done. Good night, all of you." She bowed and left.

The audience stood and slowly began exiting. Ren and Itsuki followed suit with Malty dragging Motoyasu. The King gave Naofumi one last glare and left as well.

The fight was victorious. But Naofumi didn't feel like he had done anything to win.

In the end, it was Mina who won.

He was going to get answers out of her, even if he has to beg for it.

As soon as they exited the castle, Naofumi went off in the direction of the city gates.

"Wait up!" Rachel jogged up to him. "Where are we going? Traverse Inn is in the other direction."

"We're not going there. We're going to where the dancers are."

"Why?"

"I need answers."

Rachel didn't ask any questions and followed behind.

Twenty minutes later, they were outside of the city and made their way to the tents.

When they came into view, so did the many dancers the troupe had.

Naofumi couldn't help but look at them as they wove through the crowd. Men and women wearing dancing garb that ranged from revealing to modest. Many stopped what they were doing and whispered and pointed. They didn't look like they feared him. More like they were curious about him.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Rachel asked.

"I'm looking for that guy who presented Mina when she performed." It wasn't hard to miss someone as flamboyant as him dressed in bright colors.

Sure enough, he spotted the man talking to a woman. The woman looked the same age as the man, in their mid-forties, but compared to the man, she was more modest but still had an aura of confidence. She wore a loose dress with several pastel colors bleeding into each other. Her hair was in a loose bun with tendrils of brown hair falling up to her chin.

She briefly tore her gaze from the man and found Naofumi. She didn't react as much as others did when they saw him. Her expression was curious amusement. She said something to the man and he turned around. His expression was louder.

"Shield Hero!" He threw his arms open as if he was going to hug Naofumi. "This is a surprise! Come to watch our beautiful dancers?"

Before Naofumi could even say anything, the man shook a finger. "Because I will not let someone as cute as you distract our lovely dancers."

The playfulness in his voice didn't ebb away the annoyance Naofumi felt being called cute. It wasn't as bad as babyface, but cute?

"I think," the woman put a hand on the man's arm, "the Shield Hero is looking for Mina, Luca." She gave a pointed glance at Naofumi. "Am I right?"

Naofumi didn't want to entertain whatever game they were playing.

"Yeah," he finally said. "Can I speak with her about something."

"If you are professing your love to her, I think you will have some trouble," Luca said. "I heard she only like mature men."

"That's not it! I just want to talk with her."

"Merely a jest, Shield Hero. I swear, youth today are angry." Luca looked back at the woman. "Lana, be a dear and summon Mina."

"Of course." Lana curtsied and went off into one of the tents.

"So…" Rachel approached Luca. "By any chance are you or your dancers in need of medicine and salves?"

The two walked away, talking about cost. Left by himself, Naofumi found a crate and sat down.

Today was eventful, to say the least. He still couldn't fathom that he was stuck in a different world far from home. In a fantasy world with magic and monsters, this was still to false for him. He half expected to wake up from a fever dream and would no doubt go to therapy after waking up. But the scratches on his body and the soreness of his arms were real.

The scent of the grass, the feeling of the wind against his face, everything is real. It made no difference if he was back home.

If he were back home, he would be playing video games with Akito, attending his courses, or buying the latest figurine from his favorite anime. To anyone else, that may sound like a boring life. But to him, it was his normal.

Instead of being in his air-conditioned room, he was out here in the field waiting for a dancer.

To his left, he could see the dancers enjoying themselves near a campfire. Drums were beating, dancers were choreographing new routines. They were having fun. Their smiles showed no care in the world.

Surely they must've fought when the waves hit. He could the leg straps holding daggers on their legs. They knew hardship but still danced the night away.

Something blue appeared in the corner of his vision. He looked and immediately did a double take.

A man was walking to the campfire. He looked to be slightly older than him and had lean muscles. Naofumi could see those muscles because the dancer was hardly wearing anything.

The dancer wore sheer dark blue pants with a hole in each knee. His hips were on full display. Only the area around his crotch was well covered. Above, he wore a necklace adorned with a lapis lazuli. That necklace was holding fabric that wrapped around the man's pecs and back. To match with it, he wore fingerless gloves ending below his shoulders. On his head, he wore a purple headdress covering light brown hair that ended below his shoulder blades.

Naofumi could see every inch of the man's light skin. He was more revealing than Mina.

The man stopped and looked at him.

Naofumi couldn't keep his eyes off of him. He was… beautiful. There were no other words to describe him. He knew he was just staring at the man, but he couldn't help it.

The man smirked and winked at him. Naofumi could feel heat rush to his cheeks.

The man then continued walking to the campfire.

Naofumi reached up to his cheeks and could still feel the heat. This was different than when Malty flirted with him. And this was his first time a man was flirting with him.

"I see Alistair has caught your attention?"

Swiveling around quickly that he nearly fell off of the crate, Naofumi saw Mina standing a few feet from him.

"He is quite the looker," She continued. "He loves to show off as much as he can. No one can take their eyes off of him. He especially wears that garb when performing in front of men, if you understand what I'm saying." There was a playfulness to her tone.

"I-I wasn't…"

"You can't fool me, Naofumi. Now then, what is it you wanted to speak with me about?"

Naofumi stood and looked around the camp. He spotted Rachel selling some of her tonics to a few dancers.

"Rachel!"

Rachel turned and when she saw Mina, she waved to the dancers and jogged up to them.

"Can we talk somewhere private?" Naofumi didn't want to have any of the other dancers hear what he had to say.

"Follow me," Mina said as she began to walk.

She led them to a tent where it stored lots of musical instruments. Some Naofumi recognized and others he didn't.

Mina pulled out a few crates for them to sit down on.

"I take it you want to ask why I saved you from your fight with the Motoyasu?" She crossed her legs and rested her chin on her hands.

"Yeah, to put it simply."

"Hmm…" She tapped her finger against her chin.

After a moment, she spoke. "I was concerned about what was going to happen to you. I have on doubt my interference would make your battle a little more difficult. And I was right when Malty had attacked you."

"But why? You knew you would get in trouble." Rachel asked. "I'm grateful you helped him, but helping him put you on the King's shit list."

"I care not for what the King thinks of me. Anyone with compassion and a sense of justice would've done the same thing."

"That's the part I'm having trouble with," Naofumi looked right into her eyes. "You say all of this like it's something anyone would do. But I know you're not telling the truth."

The accusation was thrown out there like a hook to water. Naofumi learned that beating around the bush won't get him anywhere. Especially with Mina who used her words to influence and play around with people.

There was always the chance it wouldn't work. The knee to the crotch from Rachel cemented that. But Mina didn't look like someone who would do that.

Then again, she did have a dagger with her.

"So, you've noticed," Mina said after a while. "Guess I've underestimated you, Naofumi."

Mina shifted in her seat. She took a deep breath.

"The reason I helped you, was because I was in your shoes at one point. Or rather, I still am."

Naofumi stilled. She did?

"Don't misunderstand. I was not accused of a crime. But I do know the feeling of loneliness. The feeling that you have no one and when you do, you risk losing them."

There was a softness to her voice. She sounded… a little sad.

"This may come as a surprise to the both of you, but I actually come from nobility."

"You do?" Naofumi asked. She didn't look like someone who came from a rich and powerful family.

"Yes. My full name is Mina Kaldori. The Kaldori family was a prominent family who specialized in trading. My father was the owner of a trading business that brought different goods from different countries. He even got goods from Innis. And my mother was in the business as well, but she worked with clothes instead."

"Was?"

"Yes." Mina's eyes seemed to have dulled from saying that.

"So you're an orphan, then?"

She hesitated as if she didn't know what to say. It confused him. She referred to her parents in the past tense, then they must be dead.

"I actually don't know." Mina finally said.

What?

"You don't know?" Naofumi leaned forward, intrigued.

"It's a bit complicated. Since you're new here, I take it you didn't learn about the Sunset Incident?"

Sunset Incident?

"No."

"Then I'll let Rachel explain." Mina looked at Rachel.

Rachel adjusted herself on the crate.

"Well, the Sunset Incident happened a few years before I was born. I only know about it because it's mentioned in our history lessons as a great tragedy."

"What kind?" Naofumi asked.

"It's a bit of a long story. One day, a group of nobles was invited to attend a party at a mansion in a city called Novi. They were invited by the richest couple in the city. It was supposed to be a simple party. But things went south real fast.

"At sunset, a group of people broke in and started killing the nobles. Men, women, even children. No one survived, not even the servants. They left quickly just as they came in. Not long after that, other nobles in different cities were being killed. It was bad that a lot of nobles went into hiding until the killings stopped. Since then, no noble family has been a target from those assassins. That's the gist of it, anyway."

"She is correct," Mina said. "The Sunset Incident caused a nation-wide panic among the nobles and even the common folk. The assassins in question were known as the Black Foxes."

"And these black foxes killed your parents?" Naofumi asked.

"No."

"No?"

"A few months after the Sunset Incident, the Black Foxes were going to kill my parents. I was only a few days old when the plan went into motion. But my parents built their mansion to have several escape routes just in case. They took one and were able to escape.

"But they knew they had to keep running. Otherwise, they would be killed."

"So why are you here then? Isn't it dangerous for you to be wandering around if the Black Foxes were after your parents?"

Again, Mina went silent.

"A week after escaping, my parents knew that it wasn't safe for me to be with them. I was only about two weeks old and it's hard to move around with a newborn. They came across a village with an orphanage. There, they made the choice to leave me."

A pang of sadness his Naofumi's heart. Though he kept his heart guarded, he still sympathized for others. Mina was right in that they were somewhat alike.

He was alone in this world. And so was she.

"That's why you helped me. Because you were alone."

Mina nodded. "In some ways, I still am. Before they left, my parents wrote me a letter explaining why they put me in an orphanage. And in that letter, was a picture of us. It was the one thing my mother took with her. My father gave me a necklace with a pendant that bore our family crest. Those are the only things I have left of them."

Seeing the sadness in her eyes was a punch to the gut. In the weeks he's been here, all he has done was complain about how crappy his life was because of Malty. But back home, he had his parents and his brother. A family. A home. Mina didn't have any of that.

She was alone.

"How'd you end up in the dancing troupe, then?" He asked wanting to steer clear of the sadness.

Mina looked thankful for the shift in conversation. "The village I was in was fairly big enough for the troupe to stop by and perform. The other orphans and I were invited free of charge to watch them. When they came on stage, I fell in love with their dancing. Something about it just felt natural to me. I wanted to get up and dance to the beat of the drums." Her lips tugged upwards.

"When they left, I tried to copy their dancing. I was only a kid, so it was sloppy at first. When I got older, I told the couple who ran the orphanage that I wanted to join Lula's. They're a really nice couple and cared for all the children. They were thrilled to know I wanted to dance. When I turned eighteen, I packed whatever I owned and joined Lula's. For the next six years, I danced away."

The way she told the story was tragic yet uplifting. She was alone yet still found a way to live and enjoy life.

"When the King had you and Rachel separated, I saw your eyes. They showed anger, resentment, and loneliness. You would've been left alone had Motoyasu won. And when it looked like you were about to lose the fight, I knew I couldn't let you be alone."

Now it made sense.

"I'm a complete stranger, you know," Naofumi pointed out. "And pretty much everyone hates me. You're not getting yourself any good points by helping a scum like me."

"You are not scum, Naofumi," Mina shook her head. "You are just a man who needed help and help you I did. Not everyone in this world is out to get you."

Naofumi took her words into consideration. Rachel had helped him escape the bandits because to her, it was the right thing to do. She's an apothecary who wants to help the sick. Mina helped because she knew the feeling of being alone.

These two women, these two complete strangers had helped him. Maybe Mina was right.

Maybe…

He stood. "Thanks for answering. Sorry if I interrupted anything you were doing."

Mina followed suit. "You weren't. I was just about to remove my make-up."

The three of them left the tent and Mina bid them good-bye as Naofumi and Rachel headed back to Castle Town.

In Traverse Inn, Naofumi was lying down on his bed looking up at the ceiling. The grinding and mixing sound of Rachel making tonics somehow eased him. If there was sound, it meant his thoughts wouldn't take over.

It was hard to ignore Mina's story. In some ways, she did have it rough growing up not knowing your parents or if they are still alive.

He closed his eyes, hoping his dreams wouldn't be about tragedy.

Mina tossed and turned in bed, failing to find any comfortable position. That, along with telling her story to Naofumi and Rachel, brought back memories of the orphanage.

The owners, Hal and Carol, were the closest thing she ever had to parents. They loved all the children in the orphanage. From the little babes to the older ones, their love comforted them all when they believed no one wanted them.

Some of the kids had parents who couldn't take care of them and left them. Others had parents who just didn't want them. Others had parents who died.

Mina didn't know which one she belonged in. Her parents could've taken care of her had it not been for the Black Foxes. She knew she was loved by her parents, otherwise, they wouldn't have left the letter, the drawing, and the pendant. Were they dead?

She did not know. And she may never know.

Lula's was an escape. The years at the orphanage wasn't bad. She loved everyone there. But Lula's was a new experience. At the orphanage, she was just Mina. At Lula's, she was Mina, a dancer.

In the many theaters, mansions, and alehouses she performed in, she would dance away, never once thinking about her life before Lula's.

That changed when she saw Naofumi.

Giving up on sleeping, she reached for her bag and took out the letter. After all these years, the letter was still in good condition. It was folded and put in-between the pages of a romance novel she kept.

Unfolding the letter, she wondered if her mother or father had written it.

Our little Mina,

We never imagined you would have to read something so heartbreaking. We are so sorry to have to put you through this. If we could change time and fate, we would do it in a heartbeat.

If you are reading this letter, then you are old enough to understand why we had to leave you. Do not be mad at Hal and Carol. We told them to hold on to this letter and give it to you when you were old enough.

The reason why we left you was that your life and ours were in danger. The pendant you have bores our family crest, the Kaldoris. We were a known family who dealt with trading. And because of our nobility, it made us targets to assassins.

By now, you may have heard about the Sunset Incident. A group known as the Black Foxes had killed all of those families, leaving no one alive. The carnage didn't stop there. More noble families were killed. We knew it was a matter of time before we were next.

When they did come, we took a secret passageway and escaped. We ran for days and days, hoping to find some sanctuary somewhere. But after so many days of running, we knew it would take a long time before we settle down. The Black Foxes will not give up until we are killed.

It was then that we decided to make the tough decision to leave you at an orphanage.

Mina, this does not mean we didn't want you. We truly did. You were a blessing to us. Your life meant so much more than ours. We would lay down our lives if it meant you would have a chance of living. Which is why it was best if you weren't with us. If the Black Foxes found us, you would die along with us.

When we came across the orphanage, we told Hal and Carol our story and they didn't hesitate to take you in. We knew you would be in good hands.

Before we left, we left you this letter, a drawing, and the pendant. It's very important that you do not reveal your last name. Make one up in case you are asked for your full name.

This may come as a surprise to you, but we didn't have a name for you yet when you were born. The day before we left, we finally decided on Mina. That means the Black Foxes don't know your first name.

We don't know what will happen to you or to us. We may be dead or alive. That all depends on whether or not the Black Foxes will give up. But just because they may decide to end their search, it won't be safe if we reveal our identities. We have changed our names because of it.

This may be too much to bear, especially for someone your age, but please understand, we wanted to keep you safe. You were only a newborn after all, not even a month old yet. You deserve the chance to live.

There's a saying the Kaldoris have. "The hawk shall protect all." Hawks may not be as big as eagles or other birds, but they are swift and intelligent. You are a Kaldori. One day, you will have friends or even a family you want to protect. The same way we protected you.

Mina, please find happiness. We love you no matter what. If fate decides to bring us back together, it will be a most joyful reunion. If not, then continue living.

Love, your parents.

She has read this letter who knows how many times. Each word was written was out of love. She ran her fingers across them, hoping to feel the love from her parents.

The hawk shall protect all.

She stuffed the letter back into the book. In the morning, the troupe will leave. Off to another city or kingdom.

The hawk shall protect all.

The Black Foxes were still out there. If her parents are alive, they were in danger. Noble families were in danger.

The hawk shall protect all.

She knew what she had to do.

Mina got up and put on her sandals. She left the women's tent and went straight for the tent Luca and Lana shared. No doubt they will still be up counting their finances and preparing for the travel.

When she came upon the tent, a faint light glowed from the inside.

She opened the flap, startling Luca and Lana.

"There's something I have to tell you both."

"I really don't want to do this."

Outside of the castle, Naofumi leaned against a wall, looking up at the towering building. The windows were almost like eyes, gazing down on him.

"Quit being such a baby," Rachel elbowed him in the side. "We'll just go in, collect our reward, and leave. Simple as that. Unless you decide to be a dumbass and piss them off even more."

"They're already pissed at me. And Motoyasu will be even more pissed knowing he lost the fight."

When they left Traverse Inn and made their way to the castle, Naofumi didn't miss the whispers or the pointed glances he received. If he were to step into the throne room, it will probably be worse.

"Let's just go in already," Rachel said, shifting her satchel. "We'll be out of here as soon as we get the reward. Then we can do whatever we want."

When he couldn't come up with an excuse, Naofumi pushed himself away from the wall. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

They didn't take a few steps when their names were shouted.

"Naofumi! Rachel!"

Turning around, they both saw Mina running up the stairs. When she caught up to them, she readjusted the bag she had slung over her shoulders.

"Thank the Gods I found you both. I was worried I wouldn't get to see you."

"What are you doing here?" Naofumi asked.

"Is Lula's leaving already?" Rachel asked.

Mina nodded. "Yes. The troupe is preparing to leave. They're putting away the tents as we speak and moving the furniture as well. They'll be traveling to another kingdom, so you won't see them for a while."

"Then you're here to say goodbye?" Naofumi didn't expect her to show up out of nowhere, especially far away from the gates to say goodbye.

"No silly. I'm here to join your party."

…huh?

"You're what?" Did he hear that correctly?

"Last night, after your visit, I realized that I could do so much more than just dancing. I love dancing, but more than anything, I want to know if my parents are still alive. There's only so much I can do as a dancer. If I were to travel with you, I will be able to visit more cities and villages who may have some information on my parents."

She bowed. "Please, I know I'm asking a lot from you. And I'm a still a stranger to you both. But this is my only means of knowing if my parents are fine. I have- I need to know. So please, let me join your party."

Naofumi already had a number of reasons why she shouldn't join. She was right when she said they were strangers. If he couldn't trust anyone, why should he trust her? A dancer with a past that could get in the way.

But, she did save him. She stopped Motoyasu from winning and taking Rachel away. A stranger helping a stranger.

"You know who I am, right?" He might as well start with this.

"I am aware, yes." Mina nodded.

"Then you know that your name will be tarnished if you're with someone like me."

"I do not care what others think of me. If it means my reputation will be hurt, then I will gladly accept it if it means finding my parents."

He didn't know if she was being stupid or brave. Probably the latter.

"It isn't safe out there," he pressed on. "There's always the chance you could get hurt or die."

"I can take care of myself. I was taught how to use daggers and my folding fan. You saw how dangerous I can be."

…

He turned and began walking to the castle.

"If you betray me, I won't hesitate to kick you out."

Mina rose from her bow and looked at Naofumi's back.

"Then…"

She looked to Rachel who shrugged while smiling. "Welcome aboard. Don't worry, you'll get used to it." She then followed Naofumi.

Mina stood there, stunned by how quickly Naofumi had accepted her. Before he turned, she saw a glimmer in his eyes. It wasn't a hopeful glimmer or a glimmer of annoyance. It was a glimmer of… acceptance.

They were two lonely people seeking guidance in a world where they felt like everyone is against them. Him being treated like trash. And her, having her family life taken away by the Black Foxes.

Was that why he let her join? Or something else.

Whatever the reason, it did not stop the hope that was blooming inside of her.

She was going to find her parents. Alive or dead, she wanted closure.

Mina looked at the horizon, to the fields and mountains and deserts and other places that awaited her. Already, she felt like dancing.

Giggling, she caught up to Naofumi and Rachel.

The world before her is her stage, and she will dance away.

New Party Member Added!

Name: Mina Kaldori

LV: 30

Race: Human

Age: 24

Class: None

Occupation: Dancer