Chương 48: Aiko

Dimitri didn't miss a beat. He stepped toward the girl with the heavy, rhythmic grace of a friendly glacier, his presence practically humming with a level of warmth that could probably solve a localized energy crisis. He looked down at her with a smile so incredibly kind it made me feel like I was watching a saint greet a stray kitten.

"My wonderful friend, tell us, what is the name that carries your bright spirit?" he rumbled, his thick Russian accent making the question sound like he was narrating the opening chapter of a legendary epic.

"Every heart has a song, and we wish to know yours!" The girl shrank back just a fraction, her fingers doing a frantic little dance against the hem of her leather kilt. She looked like she was trying to apologize to the ground for occupying the air above it.

"M... my name is Aiko," she whispered, her voice so low I had to lean in just to catch the syllables.

"Aiko-san. I am... I am a member of the Berserker class. I have been in this world for three months now." June, who had been watching the exchange with the sharp, clinical curiosity of a queen inspecting a new and confusing type of fruit, tilted her head. She adjusted her tunic with a crisp, regal snap and fixed Aiko with a look of genuine bewilderment.

"Three months?" June repeated, her posh British accent making the question sound like a royal inquiry.

"Good heavens, is that not a staggeringly long duration to remain at such a low level? How is it even possible to have been here for a quarter of a year and only be at Level 2? I am truly curious as to how one manages such a feat of survival without progressing." The question, though asked with genuine confusion rather than malice, hit poor Aiko like a physical blow.

She began to tremble, her face turning a shade of red that was actually starting to worry me, and she looked like she might just dissolve into a puddle of social anxiety right there on the cobblestones.

"It... it is because I haven't actually finished any combat quests yet," Aiko stammered, her voice shaking as she struggled to get the words out.

"Not since I first arrived in Eteria. I was... I was in a group once, but they kicked me out after the first hour. They said I was too much of a burden because I was too cowardly to actually start a fight. And... and they were right. I am terrified of monsters. I only reached Level 2 by doing farm chores, picking flowers for herbalists, or helping out in a bakery back on the first floor. That is the only way I have managed to survive this long."

I held up my hands in a frantic "slow down" gesture, feeling a wave of secondhand embarrassment so strong it was practically a physical sensation. Honestly, watching her lay her entire soul bare on the sidewalk was like watching someone volunteer to be roasted over an open fire.

"Whoa, easy there, Aiko-san!" I blurted out, trying to keep my voice light even though I was internally cringing for her.

"That is way too much raw honesty for a first meeting. You are handing out sensitive information like it is free samples at a bakery. Personally, you wouldn't catch me confessing a backstory that soul-crushing even if I was staring down the barrel of a loaded gun. You have to keep some of that mystery alive, otherwise, how will people be surprised when you inevitably save the day?" If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Dimitri, however, didn't seem bothered by the oversharing at all. He leaned in closer, his massive presence radiating a warmth that felt like a cozy fireplace in the middle of a blizzard. He offered her a smile that was so genuinely kind it could have probably healed a fractured bone.

"Your honesty is a precious jewel, my dear friend!" he rumbled, his thick Russian accent turning the encouragement into a grand, sweeping declaration of hope.

"But tell us, what has shifted within the depths of your spirit? Why have you decided to take up the call to battle now, after wandering in the quiet shadows for so long? What flame has finally ignited within your heart?" Aiko took a shaky breath, her fingers clutching a strand of her dark hair as she looked up with eyes that were still swimming with fear, yet anchored by something surprisingly solid. She looked like she was about to faint, but the words came out with a tiny, stubborn spark of conviction.

"I am doing this because... because I do not want to spend the rest of my existence being a coward," she whispered, her voice barely rising above the chatter of the plaza.

"I am tired of running away. I want to be someone better than I am right now. I want to be a better person than the one I was back on Earth... the one who never stood up for anything." I felt a sudden, sharp pang in my chest that had absolutely nothing to do with my mismatched gear. The humor died in my throat as her words echoed through my head. It was like she had just reached into my own brain and read the fine print of my personal motivation out loud.

We were basically in the same boat, two terrified idiots trying to rewrite our own pathetic scripts in a world made of danger and monsters. I was just about to open my mouth and say something profoundly insightful, or more likely a joke about how we were all basically members of the same Losers Anonymous club, when June suddenly swept in. She moved with the kind of practiced, effortless grace that made you feel like you were standing in the presence of a very expensive statue that had somehow learned how to talk.

"In that case, you have clearly made the most fortuitous decision of your life by stumbling into our presence," she declared, her posh British accent making the statement sound like it was being etched into a marble tablet.

"The individuals standing before you are destined to form the most formidable guild in the history of Eteria. You should consider yourself quite lucky to be present at the very moment of its inception. At this current juncture, we are merely a small, budding party, but soon we shall evolve into a formal organization that will dismantle the existing hierarchy and claim our rightful place at the summit. And you, Aiko-san, shall be able to say you were part of its incredibly humble beginnings."

I blinked, staring at her in genuine shock. Somewhere beneath that thick, suffocating layer of royal narcissism and the constant need to remind everyone she was better than them, there was actually a tiny, microscopic nugget of kindness. I hadn't realized she was capable of being supportive, even if she had to wrap the kindness in a giant I am going to be queen of the world burrito.

"Wow, okay," I said, leaning back and giving her a skeptical look.

"So you have just unilaterally decided the entire five year plan for this ragtag group of misfits, have you? I didn't realize we had already filed the paperwork for world domination." For the first time since she had appeared out of the shadows, a genuine smile broke across Aiko's face. It was small and fragile, but it made her look a lot less like a ghost and a lot more like a person.

"Are you truly... are you really taking me in?" she asked, her voice still low and shaky as she looked between us with wide, hopeful eyes.

"I am not strong at all, Aiko-san is not brave, and... and I am certainly not smart. I don't want to be a disappointment to such a grand future."