?????°???°?????

  When we returned to the camp, the soldiers rushed toward us. The group looked exhausted but relieved, some ran up to check on us, while others examined the condition of the captured enemies. Luckily, we had met the search team on the way, so the retreat went smoothly.

  Pumpkin nudged the frozen body of the Teleporter, Telos, with the tip of her boot, producing a dry thud against the hard ground.

  “Take both of them to the containment room. But be careful with this one, yeah? If he touches anything, he might teleport.”

  I finally dropped Honda on the ground and stretched my arms, feeling the weight melt off my shoulders.

  Both would be interrogated once they woke up. Sentil had been called for a meeting in one of the tents; he would explain everything, and later we’d have a bigger discussion.

  Before entering, he looked at Pumpkin and me.

  “Pumpkin and her group can rest in the city. I’ll call for you when necessary.”

  His gaze lingered on me for a second. “You too. Thank you for today.”

  He disappeared inside the tent. I guessed things were better between us now… which was good. But the feeling that we still had a lot of work ahead stayed with me as I exhaled slowly.

  “Hey, Victor. Come here,” Pumpkin called, excited. “I’m gonna introduce you to the group.”

  “Alright…”

  Introductions began immediately, Pumpkin was practically glowing.

  “These are Don and Logy. They’re my teammates. Don, Logy, this is Victor. He’s a super cool and really strong Metamorph. Can he join the group?!”

  'Too fast!'

  Don just nodded at me, short, direct. Logy took a long breath, almost collapsing.

  “That’s all great, but I’m exhausted… used too much mana. Oh! Nice to meet you, Victor.”

  “Same here.”

  This guy looked seconds away from passing out. Being a support must be hell.

  “So… can he stay?” Pumpkin insisted.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “I don’t mind, if Don isn’t against it…” Logy said.

  The whole situation felt oddly familiar, like a child asking her parents if she could keep the puppy she found on the street. And I was the puppy.

  Don inhaled deeply, as if pondering something important, then finally spoke:

  “I don’t mind him staying. If you trust him.”

  And that was that.

  “See? You’re in!” Pumpkin said, giving me a big thumbs-up.

  “I don’t remember agreeing to that…”

  “Don’t be like that, we’ll travel together. It’ll be fun.”

  And just like that, I became part of an adventurer team. Not that it was bad, I was going to accept anyway… I just wanted to keep the dramatic moment going for a few more seconds, come on.

  °??──────??°

  On the way back to the city, I walked beside Pumpkin and Don. Logy went straight to the inn, practically dragging himself.

  My clothes… well, they were a mess. My shirt still had dried blood from Dragan, and now it was torn because of the labyrinth. Just thinking about how Eliza gave it to me so lovingly… it made my stomach twist.

  “Hey, Victor,” Pumpkin nudged me. “You’ve got a weird look. Something happen?”

  “My clothes. I want to buy new ones and fix this one.”

  “Don, know any place like that?”

  He nodded, of course.

  “There’s a place. They also sell battlewear.”

  “Battlewear?”

  We followed him. The shop had a beautiful fa?ade, built with dark wood reinforced by stone blocks. Through the windows, I could see shining armors and carefully displayed outfits, almost like art pieces.

  “Welcome!” the shopkeeper called.

  To put it simply: armors were made of magical minerals and resisted heavy hits and strong spells. But they cost an arm and a half. Battlewear was the middle ground, light, comfortable, woven from Empress Spider silk, and resistant enough for normal encounters. The most important part was the belt with the blue gem, a barrier artifact that used the user’s mana.

  “I think it suits you,” Pumpkin said. “Since you’re a monster, you naturally have a lot of mana. You won’t even feel the barrier using it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. For me and Don it’s different. We spend more mana to use our skills. Elves use these a lot, they created them.”

  I also fought mostly at close range, so heavy armor would be a disaster. Not to mention my size… I’d look ridiculous.

  I stared at the set in front of me: a white tank top, black pants with red ribbons, and the belt with the blue gem. I liked it immediately.

  Until I saw the price.

  “TEN gold coins?!”

  I didn’t even have a third of that. My chest sank.

  “We’ll take this one,” Pumpkin said without hesitation.

  “Hey! Wait! You can’t just—”

  “Relax. I work a lot, I’ve got money to spare. Consider it an investment. You’re part of the group now.”

  Don just nodded. Typical.

  I didn’t want to owe even more to others, but I silently promised to do my best from now on… so I accepted.

  The outfit fit perfectly. Light, flexible, practical — it even felt like I could move better. The barrier also blocked the cold, but that wasn’t a problem for me anymore.

  I left my old clothes to be repaired, Don paid for that too, a few silver coins.

  We split up after that. They would stop by the guild; we had a lot to investigate. Sentil would call for the meeting later.

  Until then… it was better for me to stay alert.

  “Merlin, you there?”

  “[I’m here! I missed you.]”

  “Me too. We need to talk.”

  “[Alright.]”

  I wanted Merlin to explore the city with her camouflage, but first I needed to explain everything.

  “[Ah! That outfit looks really good on you.]”

  A satisfied emoji appeared in her speech bubble.

  “O-oh! Really?” A cold flutter hit my stomach. No idea why.

  And thus, our excursion finally came to an end.

  ?????°???°?????