Chapter 29: Lizard

Chapter 29: Lizard

Arwin led Reya to the front of the Glowing Swordfish, where Rodrick and Anna were already standing outside and waiting for them. Rodrick, who was wearing the old set of scale mail greaves that Arwin had sold him, did a double take as he saw the armor Reya was wearing.

“Arwin,” Rodrick said, raising a hand in greeting. “This little lady must be your friend, then? It looks like she’s certainly outfitted for a fight. More than I am, actually.”

“That’s because you keep breaking your armor,” Anna admonished. She sent a small smile in Reya’s direction. “It’s nice to meet you. Arwin bailed us out of some trouble a little while ago. I’m Anna, and the oaf beside me is Rodrick.”

“I’m Reya. It’s nice to meet you.” Reya shifted, clearly uncomfortable with all the attention being directed toward her.

“Did you bankrupt yourselves on getting all that armor? Or is that smith friend of yours doing loans?” Rodrick asked. “That’s some real nice looking gear you’ve got. It’s probably too late for me to order anything right now, but you’ve got to tell me who’s making this stuff.”

Reya sent a surprised glance at Arwin, and he realized he’d forgotten to tell her that he’d hidden his identity from the two adventurers. He just shrugged, speaking before Reya could say anything.

“I’m sure he’ll come around eventually, but we’ve got things to do today. Shall we get on with it?”

Thankfully, Reya picked up on what was going on and said nothing that would jeapordize his identity. Even though it probably wouldn’t have been a big deal one way or another, it was still a bit of an inconvenience that Arwin preferred not to deal with on this particular day.

“Gladly. Lead the way,” Rodrick said. “Back to the forest, I assume? Pretty good distribution of monsters in there that shouldn’t be impossible for someone new to the job to handle, especially with armor like that.”

“It’s a good spot to start,” Arwin agreed. “Hopefully the monsters there have calmed down a little bit. It’ll be a little annoying if we have to constantly avoid large groups.”

They all set off down the road, making for the town gate. Arwin couldn’t help but notice that Reya was getting a few lingering glances from passersby. Nothing too concerning, but her armor was definitely drawing attention, and possibly a little more than he’d originally planned.

This is good. At this rate, I might get enough attention that people come looking for the smith that made her armor. Then I’ll be able to sell non-magical equipment and start making some money without worrying about arming someone with a terrifying weapon that they don’t deserve.

“So, what kind of class are you looking to get?” Rodrick asked as they left the city and started through the hills. “Some kind of warrior?”

“I’m not sure,” Reya admitted sheepishly. She scratched at the back of her head and craned her head back to look at the receding city behind them. “Probably not someone that’s on the front of the battle.”

“A mage of some sort?” Anna guessed. “Magic can be incredibly rewarding. It’s a lot of work and can be pretty risky, though.”

“I’ve always wanted magic,” Reya allowed slowly. Rodrick was shaking his head before she finished her sentence.

“Don’t go muddling her goals, Anna. Anyone can get magic. Mages just focus entirely on it, and you get blown over by a light fart because of it.”

“You’re not wrong,” Anna admitted with a laugh. “I don’t have any good ways to defend myself. If I was a combat mage, then I’m sure I’d be able to blow things up before they got to me. I went with healing instead, though. It wasn’t easy, but there’s few people that help a group more than a healer. I just can’t fight very well.”

“Not being able to fight seems like a pretty significant drawback,” Reya hedged.

“It would be if I didn’t have this idiot to stand in front of monsters for me,” Anna said with a laugh, shoulder-checking Rodrick. He shifted to the side and rolled his eyes – Arwin was pretty sure Anna couldn’t have moved him if she’d wanted to, so he was just going along with it.

I almost forgot how close they were. It reminds me of things I’d rather not remember.

Arwin shook his head to clear his thoughts while Reya worked to gather her own.

“I think I’d rather be a bit farther away from the thick of things whenever possible, but being able to hold my own when the time calls for it would definitely be nice,” Reya said. She idly ran her hands over the hilt of the sheathed dagger at her side.

“Maybe some form of archer?” Rodrick guessed.

More like an assassin, I’d say.

“We’re not getting into this argument again,” Rodrick grumbled. “You can be kind to other people and intelligent beings, but no feeling bad for the bloodthirsty creatures that want nothing more than to rip us to little shreds and snack on our bones.”

“Not every monster is unintelligent,” Arwin said quietly.

Rodrick sent him a surprised glance. “You’re the one that brought us out here to hunt, man. Are you having second thoughts?”

“No,” Arwin said, and he meant it. “A lot of innocent people get hurt in war, and I don’t think that all monsters are intelligent. Creatures like the lizard in front of us aren’t mentally developed enough to have much intelligence beyond their desire to kill and survive. But others are different. There are... occasions where killing them may not be the right choice.”

“How so?” Anna asked curiously. “I haven’t met many warriors that hold that viewpoint. You’re certainly an odd one, but don’t take that in the wrong way.”

“I won’t,” Arwin said. He paused, watching Reya as she snuck closer to the lizard. They were close enough to intervene if something went wrong, but not so close that he could completely block a blow if she completely screwed up. “And it’s just something that comes with experience. Some things don’t need killing.”

Reya arrived beside the lizard. It had still yet to notice her presence – it really was the most oblivious creature that Arwin had seen in a long time. All that remained was for Reya to deliver the killing blow.

Her knuckles whitened around the hilt of her dagger. She started to draw it but froze midway through the motion. Seconds ticked by. Arwin’s brow furrowed as Reya let the dagger slide back before it could clear the sheath.

Does she not want to let Rodrick and Anna see that it’s magical? She should just be able to put her back to us so they don’t see the blade, and I’m sure she’s got another dagger from those idiot brothers I had to kill.

Reya backed away from the lizard, letting her hand drop from the blade as she drew back alongside them, her jaw clenched.

“Is it okay if I don’t kill this one?”

“Why not?” Rodrick asked. “It’s a free kill.”

“I know,” Reya said, her cheeks flushing with shame. “But that’s the problem. I’ve killed before. You have to if you want to survive. But I’ve never had a choice, you know? It’s been death or life. That’s it. There hasn’t been another option.”

“You don’t want to kill at all anymore?” Arwin asked. He couldn’t fault Reya for that, but she wasn’t going to be able to become any sort of adventurer if she didn’t want to fight.

“I don’t think it’s that. I’m fine with killing. Just... I’d prefer to kill something that’s going to fight back or something that deserves death. For once, I want to make my own choice instead of being forced into one.”

“It’s a lizard,” Rodrick said. “It’s probably too stupid to even realize what death is.”

Reya bit her lip and nodded. “I know.”

“So?”

“I still really don’t want to do it. I’m sorry.”

Arwin studied Reya for a second, then glanced back to the lizard. It really did look quite content. He shook his head, his lips curling in slight amusement. “It really does look too peaceful. The next fight isn’t going to be this easy, though. Are you sure it’s wise to pass up a free kill?”

“I’m sorry,” Reya repeated. “But it just feels wrong. I’d rather take a harder fight.”

“Well, she knows what she wants,” Rodrick said with a shrug. “That’s half the trouble with the Mesh in the first place. Your call, lass. I can find us another monster in the area, but Arwin was right. I doubt we’ll get a chance as good as this one again.”

“Better a difficult fight than a cheap one.”

Not exactly the words of an assassin.

“Onward, then,” Arwin said with a nod. “Rodrick is correct. Standing by your ideals is something that many forget to do in the pursuit of power. Let’s go find you something that’ll fight back.”