COMPANIONS

The Guild hall was filled with all sorts of sounds; none of which came from their table. Here silence reigned as Kaylee endured the glares of her teammates. She struggled not to blink while she stared back.

"Why?" Marcus asked silently in his deep voice.

"I need to sort out some things," she replied honestly.

After a long time thinking about it, this was the only route she could take.

Her friends would not accept the fact that she had bonded with an undead, more so that it was that swindling scarred bitch. Maybe Marcus could be brought around and probably Arletta after some time, but Zachary would never accept it. The guy was a priest of the Life Goddess with a belief just a few steps shy of bordering on zealousness. If she ever revealed it he would immediately cut ties with her, probably even force the other two choose between him and her.

Kaylee did not want to cause turmoil among her friends. That was why she chose this path.

"That's the reason?" Marcus asked, giving her a sceptical look.

"Yes," she nodded, a sense of guilt washing over her as she responded.

She knew that, in order to prevent future conflicts with her companions, the smartest thing to do was to dissolve the contract and pretend she had never made it. Unfortunately, the little harlot had not lied to her when she said that a bond between them would increase her mana.

She could feel it, the amount of mana at her disposal had more than doubled. With her current aptitude she could probably step into the 4th or even 5th Order.

This was a way for her to get stronger, for her to maintain her status as a future member of the team. Such an opportunity might never come by again. She was unwilling to let go of it.

Unfortunately, she could not just learn a new spell and improve her Order out of the blue or the others would be suspicious. Increasing one's aptitude is an almost impossible feat. Cases of those who managed to do it were exceedingly rare and unrepeatable. One such example was Alufa Mogg, a beastkin magician who carelessly slipped and fell down a seemingly unremarkable hole and got himself splashed with a strange substance. It was only days after the incident that he realised that his aptitude had increased. With this he finally managed to advance to Ultra Order after being stuck in the 9th Order for countless years.

Back then the story shook the entire mage community, especially since Alufa had some renown in the magical community. Unfortunately, when Alufa returned to the place he could not find the mysterious hole.

That was how miraculous such situations were. Reciprocating them could only remain a dream.

Compared to Alufa, Kaylee's aptitude was pathetic; so the increment was not enough for her to become a Transcendent. However, just the fact that her mana had increased would attract a lot of attention. If it was revealed, she would be approached by countless people wondering how she managed it.

Obviously the truth was out of the question.

The purpose for her leaving for a few months was not only to learn new spells, but to think of a convincing story to sell to her friends and anyone who got curious. The story did not have to be wholly believable, after all her increased capacity was enough to convince anyone she was telling the truth. In fact, a believable story was less likely to be believed given past experiences with similar phenomena.

Over the next few months Kaylee would create a story so incredible that verification would be impossible on the basis of how unbelievable it was. Of course everyone would take a look at her changed aptitude and have no choice but to believe her, including her friends. They would congratulate her and everything would be back to normal.

That was how she planned it in her mind.

"There is really no other reason?" Zachary asked, clearly not believing her.

"No," she replied with a forced smile.

"Is there something wrong?" Arletta asked with a worried expression. "Come on. If there is you know you can tell us."

"Really, I am okay," Kaylee replied a little too quickly. After realising this she took a deep breath to calm herself. "I just need some time away from all the mercenarying."

"What are you going to do?" Marcus asked. "If you take a break how will you afford you meals and lodging?"

"I don't know," she replied with a shrug. "Maybe I'll go to Yshta for a while, to visit my family."

The next moment silence passed in which the other members of the Scarlet Quartet stared at her with mouths slightly agape.

Then Arletta jumped up from her seat.

"Something is definitely wrong!" the redhead exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "Is that undead threatening you? What did she say to you? You know you can trust us. Tell us and we'll hunt her down and teach her a lesson!"

"That's not possible," Kaylee replied weakly, not resisting the girl's action. "Now that her necromancer is dead she has been kicked out of Aran to wherever she came from. I told you that before didn't I?"

"If there's really no problem why are you leaving?" Arletta asked sternly. Just as Kaylee was about to speak up the girl cut her off. "And don't insult us by saying you just want a break. Everyone here knows that's bullshit!"

"Then what do you want me to say?" she asked, trying hard not to show her frustration.

"The truth."

"That was the truth," Kaylee responded firmly.

For a while the noise in the place drowned the silence at the table. Then Arletta took a step towards her and swung her open hand.

Kaylee saw it coming, but she did not react. The blow caught squarely on her jaw.

It stung, but she did not pay attention to it. At the moment her eyes followed the redhead as she stormed out of the Guild hall with angry huffs.

When the doors closed behind Arletta she gave a dejected sigh and turned back to her remaining teammates while ignoring the stares that had been attracted to their table by what just transpired.

Zachary shot her a hostile glare, while Marcus' was a little more unreadable. Unfortunately, even though his expression gave away nothing, his vibe told her that he was not pleased with what had transpired.

"Take the break," the large man said in a neutral tone. "When you're ready to come back we'll be here."

Hearing this, tears welled up in her eyes but she quickly forced them back.

"Thanks," she said sincerely.

Marcus gave her a nod before he got up and left.

"Arletta only did that because she cares," Zachary said, his eyes leaving their leader and coming to rest on her. "I hope you realise that."

"I do," she acknowledged.

"Good," the priest said, also getting to his feet. "Then I'm sure you know that if you go to her asking for help she will not hesitate to give it. The same can be said for Marcus and I. All you need to do is ask. I hope you realise that as well."

Then he was gone, leaving her alone at the table.

She stared at the priest's back until he, just like the others, exited the building. Then she retracted her gaze to the table and sighed.

Not hesitate to help me? She thought sceptically.

If only she could believe him.

As a priest of Shea, Zachary was a kind guy and good to the core. However, with his deeply ingrained beliefs she knew that he would definitely be the first to reject her if she told him she had willingly contracted an undead and did not want to break that contract due to the boon it gave her.

The only way to ensure they would stay on good terms after she revealed her aptitude had increased was if she implemented her plan. She would disappear for a few months, return with a meticulously constructed semi-believable story and do her best to patch up with her friends.

This was her plan, and she was hell-bent on making sure it worked.

***

When Arletta stormed out of the Guild building she was so mad she could not think straight. Without caring much about whose presence she was in she stomped the ground madly, her fists clench tightly as a part of her wished it was the half-elf's face under her foot instead of the innocent ground.

Stomping around for a couple of minutes or so, she found an empty alley where she could fully vent her frustration.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" she screamed as she repeatedly stomped down.

Kaylee was frustrating! Did she really believe they would believe such a stupid reason? Visit her family? They were not idiots! Even though Arletta did not know much about them she could tell from the way Kaylee reacted whenever she mentioned them that she hated them. They were among the last people she would ever want to see!

"Bitch!" she exclaimed as she stomped the ground again, wishing it was Kaylee who was receiving her fury.

Suddenly a hand came from out of nowhere and grabbed her shoulder. Filled with adrenaline and anger, Arletta turned in the direction of the hand, while getting ready to deploy a spell to pound its owner straight into the ground to vent the anger.

Unfortunately, she had to stop halfway through the plan because that person turned out to be Marcus.

"It's okay," he said softly, his grasp on her loosening.

Normally someone of her stature would find his presence intimidating, but in his presence all she found was security. Hearing his voice, she hurriedly hugged his large waist. It was only when she heard herself sniff and felt tears spelling from her eyes that she realised she was crying.

"It's okay," Marcus comforted her with a gentle pat on the back. "There was no harm done with that slap. Even if there was it's not a big deal. She deserves it."

She disentangled herself from the large man and searched his face.

"Do you think the undead is controlling her?"

If that turned out to be the case then it would be all her fault. She was the one who had invited Sage to stay with them back then. Like a fool she had never even questioned the undead's story. If something happened to Kaylee because of that it would be all her fault. She would never be able to forgive herself.

"The undead's not controlling her." The one who said this was Zachary. He too had entered the alleyway. "But it has some kind of hold on her. We should investigate what it is."

Hearing this, Arletta sighed in relief and stepped away from Marcus to wipe away her tears.

"Yes," Marcus said, still patting her back. "We should split up for a while. Why don't the two of you do the mission to find the culprit of the break-in, while I tail Kaylee to make sure she's alright?"

Arletta thought about it before nodding. A moment later Zachary followed suit.

This was the best cause of action for now.