“You’re walking like we have somewhere to be,” Dustin said, trying to keep up with Neil’s clipped pace, even though he stood several inches taller than the healer. At the comment, Neil started walking even faster instead of the usual verbal jab.

  Dustin sighed and picked up his pace as well.

  This had to be about Thadwick.

  He didn’t care for the guy, but obligation kept them tied together.

  At first, it hadn’t been so bad; they were about the same age. Neil a year older than Thadwick and Dustin a year younger. It’d been a game, with just a bit of bossiness from Thadwick, which slowly morphed into tyranny with each year. A request turning into a demand.

  Dustin stopped going to the Mercer estate for a week when he was 14, only to have his family put him in his place.

  This was never about mutual friendship between him and the Mercer’s Son. This was a business arrangement, and Dustin had signed that contract when he was too young to know that he was even signing.

  Not that there was a real contract at that time, unlike the one that held their team together now.

  “You did all you could do, Neil, your obligation to heal him was covered.”

  “I didn’t heal him out of obligation.”

  “I’m just saying, you shouldn’t be upset.”

  “I’m not upset.”

  “No? Well you look upset.”

  Neil glanced over his shoulder with a scowl, not helping his case, before turning the corner that led to the Mercer estate. The five towers loomed large over the street, much like the Mercer influence in the city of Greenstone.

  “If you’re here for my brother, he’s gone.” Cassandra Mercer said as she intercepted them at the gate.

  Dustin saw Neil halt in his tracks, his shoulders tensing.

  “He’s Dead!?”

  “What? No, Davone.”

  Dustin saw Neil's countenance relax.

  “See, Neil, I told you he’s fine, and I’m sure he's still as much of a… wonderful brother to you, my Lady.”

  “Kettering, we both know he can be a prick. But you cannot be that blatant about it. Regardless, I thought he was meeting up with you. But now, I can see that wasn’t the case.”

  “We didn’t know that he’d woken up yet, so I guess it didn’t matter enough to Thadwick to let us know,” Neil said, crossing his arms.

  “It’s odd,” Cassandra said, tapping her chin.

  “Why's it odd?” Dustin asked, knowing full well that Thadwick tended not to think of the team at all if he didn’t need them for protection.

  “He said he was going to the adventure society. So, I assumed you would meet him there. He mentioned going to talk to a man called Asano.”

  “He said he was going to meet Asano?” Neil asked, his voice oozing with dread.

  “Yes, who’s Asano?”

  “Jason Asano, affliction specialist. He and Thadwick got into it when Thadwick had to renew his license. He made up a less-than-favorable comment about your mother.” Dustin said, catching up Cassandra, who grimaced.

  “Well, that’s rude.”

  “He apologized for it after the fact. I think he was just trying to get under Thadwick’s skin,” Dustin said with a shrug.

  “There's no try; he did get under Thadwick’s skin, and he’s been fuming about it for days,” Neil added.

  “Can Thadwick take him?”

  Both Dustin and Neil looked at each other.

  “No,” they both said in unison.

  “Then I suggest you both go get him, if your families wish to continue using the Mercer name in their business dealings.”

  “You shouldn’t say that part out loud,” Dustin said as he watched Neil turn to leave.

  “It doesn't make it less true, if you’re going to play, you better be willing to pay. Also, boys?”

  They both glanced back at Cassandra.

  “Keep a closer eye on him, there's something off with him that I just can’t put my finger on.”

  They both nodded before rushing toward the Adventure Society.

  Thad glanced up at the leaves waving in the wind coming off the port. The speckling of light that came through the canopy was enhanced by magic to keep the tree verdant throughout the seasons. The magic woven into the most basic structures around town was truly distracting.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Thad pulled himself away from the tree as he marveled at the city he'd only read about. It surpassed his wildest speculations, with beautiful tile perfectly interwoven into green marble sparkling under the afternoon sun.

  “Man, I’m so lost.”

  The Adventure Society had been his goal, but he hadn’t made much progress.

  He’d hoped that he would instinctively know the city, but just as he had struggled to navigate the Mercer estate, Thad realized that all Thadwick’s memories were locked into the information data sheet file.

  He glanced at the file as it popped up, the paperclip wizard peering around the file before ducking out of sight.

  He’d been going back and forth on whether to investigate the files again.

  Thad had read Jason’s file, trying to prepare to make amends with him, and the rage that had filled him at that moment surprised and scared him.

  Thadwick had memorized a lot about the man. His appearance, the way Jason had needled into his personal space. The floral scent the man had. The way the corner of his mouth quirked up right before he mouthed off.

  To say that Thadwick had been oddly obsessed with this guy after only two negative interactions was putting it lightly. If Thad hadn’t known how the novel ended, he would’ve thought that Thadwick had a crush on Jason, a twisted one, but then what was not twisted with this character?

  Were all his files like this? If he kept looking, would he find more unsavory things? Would they pepper his personality?

  Thad didn’t feel strongly about Asano now; the feeling had subsided after only a few minutes. But it had still been jarring, nonetheless.

  Thad sent the file away. He would look up the location if he didn’t arrive in an hour.

  He started walking again, moving off a side street onto a busier road lined with nicer cafés and stores, and was immediately taken off his feet as a tall man ran straight into him.

  “Oh, are you all right? I’ve seemed to have knocked you over.”

  Thad saw a hand come into view from the same man who had taken him out in the first place. Thad looked up and then up. The man was tall, with curly dark brown hair tied back neatly, which was a mismatch for his ill-fitted… wizard robes?

  “I’m fine,” Thad said, being pulled up and dusting himself off as he looked closer at the robes.

  No, wait, those had to be Magic Society robes.

  “Well, my apologies, I’ll be going.”

  “Wait.”

  The man was already a few steps away as he looked back at Thad.

  “Are you Clive Standish, the Deputy Director of the Magic Society?” Thad asked, which got a surprised expression from the man.

  “Yes, I am Clive Standish, but you must be confused as I’m the Adjunct Assistant to the Deputy Director of the Magic Society, Greenstone branch.”

  “That’s a mouthful.”

  “Excuse me?” Clive’s brow creased.

  “Oh, sorry. I just thought I recognized you,” Thad said, realizing now that he didn’t know what to say. He’d been a massive fan of Clive in the books, but being confronted by a book character he had read about was weird. He hadn’t thought about it with Cassandra, but the person standing before him felt like a person. Not just an idea written out by some author. A person who was now looking at him with a mixture of confusion and irritation about being delayed.

  “Well. You did. Albeit with the wrong title.”

  Thad had to admit he didn’t remember every part of the book perfectly.

  They both stood there silently for a second before Clive started to take a few steps backwards.

  “I’m leaving now. I need to be at the adventure society in 15 minutes.”

  “That makes sense,” Thad said, watching Clive walk away briskly, feeling like a complete idiot. Only to realize Clive had mentioned the Adventure Society.

  Wait… if Clive is going to the adventure society, maybe he’ll meet Jason there. If not, Thad could still follow him, find the adventure society, and wait until Jason showed up.

  Keeping his distance to avoid another uneasy interaction, Thad followed the Adjunct Assistant to the Deputy Director of the Magic Society to the Adventure Society Campus.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Davone, but I haven’t seen your teammate come in today. I saw his sister this morning. Had to mop the floor after.” Albert said as he tidied paperwork at his desk.

  “Why would you… Never mind. You didn’t even see him just walking in?”

  “I haven’t seen Thadwick Mercer since he got reinstated into the Society. Your team doesn’t take that many contracts, Mr. Davone.”

  Neil sighed as he walked from the Job Hall front desk, noticing Dustin coming in from outside.

  “Anything?”

  “No sign of him in the training yard, but I did notice Asano a few seconds ago. He doesn’t look full of himself yet, so I don’t think he’s seen Thadwick either,” Dustin said.

  “We’ll check the bars around the hall, maybe he got distracted,” Neil said, rubbing his hands down his face before heading out the door.

  Not ten minutes later, Clive walked in and positioned himself in the corner of the room. This was shortly followed by Thad, who, still trying to avoid Clive, ducked behind the line of notice boards.

  Something about this felt odd to him. Clive hadn’t gone to look at the notices or meet Jason.

  Why was he even here?

  Thad started trying to think if he could remember something, when he heard an Australian accent and snapped out of his daze.

  It was weird hearing the accent. Thad had started to get used to his translation ability. He could still tell that people were not speaking to him in English, but it felt less jarring.

  Hearing Jason speak was just odd. Every now and then, an English word would slip into the native language, obviously a word with no direct translation. He understood most of them, but some were slang he had never heard.

  Thad took a few steps and peered around the noticeboards.

  Jason was a shorter man, maybe about 5’6. He looked Eurasian, with a sharp chin, straight, glossy black hair, and brown eyes that quickly took in the room. His battle robes looked like they had been almost torn to shreds.

  “Your armor looks a bit ragged, " the desk attendant pointed out, quipping back and forth with Jason in a friendly manner.

  “The armor self-repairs, but it got torn up pretty well. It’ll be fine in a few days.”

  Thad looked from Jason to Clive and came to a realization.

  They haven’t met yet.

  That means I’m still early in the series. This is great! Oh my god, wait, this is when Clive’s wife is introduced!

  A grin came to Thad’s face as he saw Clive walking to confront Jason.

  “Mr. Asano?”

  Thad wished he had popcorn.

  It was beautiful, if not a bit odd, watching the scene hit by hit. Thad knew he had some existential feelings about the story being set in stone, but for once, he saw a recreation of a story as intended.

  The perfect movie adaptation.

  “What? I’m not married.”

  “She told me the same thing,” Jason said.

  Thad could see that grin he had noticed in Thadwick’s memories.

  Based on the novel, Thad knew that Jason liked to toy with people, but it was interesting to see it in person. Watching the quick glances Jason gave to Clive between talking, pulling apart Clive’s appearance, the way Clive held himself, and his reaction to Jason’s words. Jason was using all of that, molding his interaction around the man, playing with him.

  How could this only be a character and not be a real person?

  Thad went cold as Jason shifted his gaze to him.

  A sharp glare cut into Thad, a contrast to the mirth in Jason’s voice. Thad knew immediately that he was an intruder in this world. He felt his breath catch. Jason looked him up and down once, the corner of his mouth quirking slightly before he turned back to Clive and patted him on the arm.

  “Welcome to my life,” Jason said before walking past Clive and out of the Job Hall.

  “What just happened?” Clive said, watching Jason leave in confusion.

  -Congratulations! You have marked Sub-Task List [Enemy of my Enemy] (Meet Jason Asano) complete, and now can access [Widgets]. –

  Thad stared at the door Jason had walked through, as the tiny paper clip wizard had fireworks going off in the corner of his vision.

  ESFJ vibes for the people who like Myers-Briggs. My head canon is that Jason is an .

  Clive

  -

  meme for you as well!

  It's funny posting this chapter to a new platform after already being on chapter 33 on AO3... it's like having a conversation with myself in these author notes.