Chương 188: (183) 3.48. The Roamer. He Roams.

Vin didn't sleep easy after he finished helping Spur and Phil collect Abby. Part of him felt guilty when the guard had revealed that it had been his own actions that had sparked her realization that the rules were more like guidelines to be followed rather than ironclad bindings. Perhaps if he hadn't barreled his way past her when she was just trying to do her job, she wouldn't have taken it upon herself to start killing people she deemed as threats. No, that's ridiculous.

There's a big difference between pushing past someone into a room and snuffing out a life. Even so, the entire ordeal just rubbed him the wrong way, and Vin quickly realized he wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. Instead, he spent the next couple of hours quietly working on Dimensional Sheath within the comfort of his own stone box. He'd intended to only work on the spell until breakfast, but when he finally emerged from his skill, he realized it was almost noon.

Damn, I really need to figure out an actual way to tell time within Introspection… Yawning, Vin made his way over to the mess hall, intending to grab a quick meal to go and eating alone somewhere quiet. Lumel had informed him she was planning on spending the entire day working on the artifact prototype she'd mentioned earlier, and knowing how dangerous messing with artifacts could be, he didn't want to disturb her concentration. Blowing up his girlfriend was not how he wanted to start his new relationship.

Ignoring the screaming Chefs and the stares that he felt were even more numerous than normal today, Vin grabbed a delicious looking sandwich and some grilled vegetables he didn't recognize. But as he went to wander off, he spotted two familiar faces waving him down. Weston and… Becca, I think? Realizing the two members of the second wave were trying to get him to join them, he sighed.

After the night he'd had he kinda wanted to be left alone, but the two had been incredibly friendly, and he still felt a bit bad that he'd never managed to explain the truth to them. Preparing himself for what was to come, Vin returned their nods and slowly made his way over to them.

"I feel like every time we see you, you look like your puppy just died!" Becca snorted, watching him take a seat and raising an eyebrow at his cloak.

"What's with the vampire cape? You trying to cosplay The Roamer after we told you about how your first day was just like his?" Blinking, Vin glanced down and realized he'd forgotten to take off his cloak after last night's grave digging with his mind addled as it was. While it was far from freezing, the temperature dropped a good bit in their fragment at night, and he'd just been trying to keep warm.

"I mean seriously, I had my own chuuni phase back in middle school so I get it. But you probably don't want that to be why people remember you," she grinned, leaning over and elbowing Weston in the side.

"Am I right, Wessy? Come on, tell him what you told me! About the time you tried your own hand at cosplay!" After a few seconds of silence, Becca finally realized something was up. Glancing at Weston, she frowned as she took in his wide eyes and pale face. The poor man looked like he'd seen a ghost, and she waved a hand in front of his face.

"Uh, Weston. Are you okay?"

"Becca…" Weston finally managed, watching Vin as he quietly took a bite of his sandwich and calmly waited for what was coming. Thinking better of whatever he was about to say, Weston began sweating, and swallowed again.

"Can I… tell her? …Sir?"

"Sir?" Becca snorted, looking between the two of them.

"Come on, don't encourage him, Wessy. You know he's just gonna get made fun of." With every word out of Becca's mouth, Weston winced as if he was being stabbed. Vin had to admit he was a little curious to see how long it would take before Becca figured it out on her own, seeing as he wasn't exactly hiding his golem arm or anything. But he was way too tired for this, and frankly, he felt bad for Weston at this point.

"Becca, I'm not cosplaying," he finally sighed, putting down his sandwich and fixing her with a tired look.

"I was up all night and forgot to take my cloak off this morning."

"I mean, even if you say you're not cosplaying, you're clearly trying to dress like The Roamer," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Becca, for the love of all that's holy you dense woman, he is The Roamer," Weston finally hissed, keeping his voice low as he gripped her arm. Becca looked like she was about to crack another joke, before she registered just how pale Weston's face had truly become. Glancing around, she realized just about every table in their near vicinity was staring at them, and she finally seemed to notice the dozens upon dozens of eyes Vin had upon him.

"Wait wait wait… Are you being serious?" she finally asked, squinting at Vin.

"Like, you're really The Roamer? You're not messing with us?"

"Yes," he sighed.

"But please, would you just call me Vin?" Becca was silent for a moment as she took this all in, before giving him an even wider grin than before.

"Wicked! So, did you eat the scorpion that tried to kill you, or not?" Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Becca!" Weston all but screamed, withdrawing into himself as he cautiously glanced toward Vin to see what he would do.

"Weston, I'm not going to explode or hurt anyone," Vin drawled.

"I'm just a guy that's been through a lot. And no, I didn't eat the scorpion. I'd imagine the warriors of Sakis either ate parts of it very carefully, or they disposed of it after harvesting what they could use."

"You actually can eat monsters?" Becca asked, clearly surprised. Peering down at her sandwich, she frowned, pushing the food away from her after a moment.

"…I don't think I like the sound of that."

"The Chefs aren't feeding you monsters. Eating too much monster meat will drive you insane," Vin said, shaking his head.

"I bet at least one of them will start preparing it soon enough, because it does have some benefits from what I heard, but for now, you're definitely not eating monster."

"So you're actually him," Weston said, a bit of color finally returning to his face as he stared at Vin. His eyes flicked first to Vin's golem arm, then to the enchanted ring on his finger, before finally returning to his face.

"Why didn't you say anything the last time we spoke? We treated you like you were some brand new third waver!"

"I tried to, but you guys kinda talk a lot," Vin said bluntly, earning a blush from Weston and a boisterous laugh from Becca.

"He's not wrong!" Becca grinned, leaning forward with a twinkle in her eye.

"So, are you single?"

"Becca…" Weston sighed, looking entirely done with his friend's antics.

"I'm sorry, Vin. She's a bit of a pain, but she means well. Though I wouldn't recommend going on a date with her. I'm pretty certain she adjusted the pants of the last guy that annoyed her so that the seams fell apart while he was working, leaving him in his underwear in front of everyone. Tailors are scary."

"Hey! I am a delight!" Becca frowned, punching him in the arm.

"Stop trying to ruin my chances with The Roamer! It would be like hooking up with the goddamn bogeyman!" Before the two of them could start wrestling again, Vin decided to interject.

"Sorry, I actually am seeing someone at the moment," he admitted, wondering how the hell the conversation had turned to this.

"Really? Damn," Becca sighed, resting her head in her hands.

"Is it with that ghost you have bound to serve you? Because if it is, isn't that kinda messed up?"

"Aha! You admit it's a ghost!" Weston grinned, pumping a fist before realizing just what he was celebrating. Clearing his throat, he grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry… Becca kept insisting it wasn't a ghost, but your own soul that shot out of you to fight people on your behalf. I figured she was just trying to tick me off, but now I know for sure."

"Alka was a ghost, though she wasn't bound to me like that," Vin said, shaking his head.

"We were helping each other out. And no, she's not bound to me anymore. Surely, you've seen the golem wandering around camp by now, right?"

"What, you mean Slayer?" Becca blinked, realizing who he was talking about.

"The dangerous looking knight in jet-black armor that is putting a half-dozen people through hell and back for their own sick amusement? They're a golem?!" Jesus, does nobody have any idea what's actually going on around here? Vin resisted the urge to facepalm, instead, managing to simply nod his head.

"Yeah. She's a golem."

"That would explain why they never seem to eat," Weston muttered, thinking carefully.

"I always thought that was a little odd."

"Damn, you must know everything, huh?" Becca asked, grinning all the while.

"So, are Spur and Phil secretly a thing, or what? I've got a friend who ships the two of them hardcore."

"What? No!" Vin said, staring at the girl like she was crazy.

"People are shipping the councilors?!"

"I mean, it's not like we have television to kill time with," Becca shrugged.

"Okay, Spur and Witherson then? Can't say I was ever a big fan of the Spitherson ship, but I can maybe get behind it. I feel like it wouldn't work, but that's what makes it so hot, you know?" Deciding Becca was a lost cause, Vin turned to stare at the far more reasonable of the two. For his part, Weston just had his face pressed into his hands, looking like he wished he was just about anywhere else but there.

"Trust me, it only gets worse," Weston mumbled, before taking a deep breath and sitting up straight.

"Far more important than all that, what's with all the newcomers that showed up a few days back? Commander Spur made an announcement that they were from another fragment and that they'd be joining our new town, which don't get me wrong, I'm all for. But he didn't really give us any details. They've been camping out in their own small area away from the rest of us, and they seem pretty tight-lipped. They all have those metal bracelets that look like manacles, so there have been a lot of rumors floating around."

"Ah… Yeah, it's not really my place to say," Vin said, scratching the back of his head.

"Suffice to say, Spur and Myers have personally vetted them, so just do your best to treat them like you would anyone from Earth. They've been through a lot."

"Can you teach me magic?" Becca interrupted, dragging the attention back toward her.

"Like, how to control a sewing needle with my mind?"

"No, I don't know any spells like that," Vin admitted, thinking some sort of weak telekinesis wouldn't be a bad idea, however.

"Damn… What about a fireball? Surely you know how to throw a fireball, right? I figured that's like, the first spell any mage would learn."

"That's not really how magic works," Vin tried, debating if he really wanted to try and get into the inner workings of magic with Becca of all people. Not that he knew her all that well or anything, but even from his two brief interactions with her, he'd gotten the sense that she was a tad… easily distracted. Thankfully, before he had to make that decision, he was saved by a rather unexpected source.

Golrim of all people suddenly appeared directly beside their table out of nowhere, causing Becca to flinch back and Weston to nearly fall out of his chair. Even Vin's eyes widened, and he stopped the half-formed Stone Shot he'd reflexively started on.

"I feel like that was an unnecessary entrance," Vin frowned, waiting for the former advisor to say why he'd shown up out of the blue.

"Perhaps," Golrim nodded, his almost permanent, knowing smile plastered on his face.

"How was lunch?"

"Delicious, as always," Vin sighed, looking pointedly at him.

"What is it?"

"I suppose I won't beat around the bush," Golrim said, tilting his head slightly as he considered his words carefully.

"In light of the events of last night… I'd like to join you for today's council meeting."