Emily feels conflicted as the footsteps come closer and closer. Part of her wants to run out of the pond and towards them while screaming for help like a banshee, while part of her wants to collapse onto the ground and weep in relief at finally finding other people in this hellish place.

  Most of her, though, is wary and worried about what kind of people are coming towards her. She’s alone, without her team, in the middle of the forest. If the people coming towards her have ill intentions, would she be able to escape them? Would she be able to fight back? What would happen to her if she fails to do either?

  She quickly looks around herself, finding that Blue is still nowhere to be seen. Praying that the little guy is okay and will stay out of sight, she makes her decision and hides herself behind some thicker reeds, keeping just her head above the water while hiding the rest of her body below it.

  Moving aside some reeds so that she can peek through them, she watches the forest carefully, as the boots grow closer and closer and closer. She holds her breath as the tension mounts. She takes a deep breath to calm her heart and her raging mana, as she holds back the urge to prepare it, just in case.

  She holds back a gasp as the source of the boots finally moves past the trees blocking the sight of them, revealing a slim-looking man wearing some form of scouter’s uniform, complete with a thick and warm-looking cloak with the hood up and a well-loaded backpack on his back.

  The man stops in the clearing and looks around, his head swiveling from side to side. He takes off his hood, revealing thick, curly brown hair and dark emerald eyes. The majority of his facial features are hidden behind a thick, curly beard, but Emily thinks she can see relief on his hard face as he does a second scan of his surroundings, his eyes skipping over Emily without stopping.

  He pulls off his pack from his back and takes off his heavy cloak, laying the cloak carefully down on the ground before dropping his heavy backpack on it with a relieved sigh. He lets out a sharp, high-pitched whistle that pierces through the forest air, which is answered by a second whistle nearby.

  The man sits down on his cloak with a sigh and pulls out a waterskin, taking a deep sip from it before lowering it down again. He leans back on his arms and stares up at the sunny sky with a smile on his face, enjoying the afternoon sun and seemingly content. His face relaxes from its piercing gaze into one that’s softer and warmer, as he digs into his pack and brings out some dried meat to snack on.

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  Emily takes a moment to consider her options. She could stay in the pool and stay quiet, keeping out of sight and hoping that the man and his party won’t see her, before they eventually move on. She didn’t know what she’d do if they decided to stay there for the rest of the day, but she was sure that she could find a moment to sneak away.

  But she imagined what it would be like if she made a different choice. What would it be like if she just… Got out of the pond and strolled up to the man without a care in the world? She’d walk up to him and give him a friendly wave, showing him that she’s friendly.

  She’d introduce herself and ask him his name, which would probably be something like Erik or Finn, since he seems like an Erik or Finn. She’d follow that up by asking him if she could join him, and he’d naturally say yes, having been charmed by her natural beauty and (more realistically) feeling bad for her after seeing the state she’s in. He’d then offer her food, which she’d devour with abandon, and they’d then get to chatting before his friends arrive and he introduces her to the rest of them. They’d then spend the rest of the day and part of the night funneling food down her throat until she’s full to bursting, and then Erik/Finn would offer her his tent, and she could actually get a good night’s sleep for once.

  Her imagination comes to an end, however, as four more people walk out from the treeline, and she notices that the rest of them are wearing the exact same outfit as the first man. And all of them have the same symbol stitched into different parts of their clothing, which she didn’t notice on Erik/Finn.

  The Wrenfall Army’s coat of arms.

  She’d recognize that coat of arms anywhere. She’s seen it on every single recruitment flier, on every single propaganda poster, and in every single scouts briefing that they got before they left to go into this gosh-darn forest. They were the boogeymen across the mountains; the ones who “provoked” a “swift and final” response from her king. They kidnap women and steal babies; they force mages to work to death and steal land from the farmers. They’re greedy barbarians who need to be taken under the loving embrace of the Greenbarrow wing and taught better.

  They’re five normal people in scout’s uniforms, taking a break next to a pond.

  And as the party of four reach Erik/Finn, she knows that not only can she not go and join them as she hoped that she could, but that they shouldn’t be in this forest in the first place. And that something much, much larger is going on here.

  For the first time in her life - even after joining the Adventurer’s Guild - she worries that she might have to hurt another person. And more than that, she worries that if that were to happen, she’ll end up being too good at hurting them.

  Just like her uncle taught her to be.