"I'm beat," Chris said as he leaned against Bobby.
Bobby groaned. "No kidding. I didn't think the training could get any worse."
Theodore scoffed. "You're tired already? This is nothing."
Chris and Bobby threw dirty looks at him as Bobby said, "Not all of us can be all muscle."
They glared daggers at each other as Grace tried to intervene by getting in between them and calming them down. Luke watched all this transpire from the side as he rested his cheek against his hand. The party's unity was still poor, but he had expected as much when he had allowed Theodore to join their party, and the party was still young. It was unrealistic to expect a party that had only been together for a few weeks to compare with a party that had been together for years.
"What was that?" demanded Theodore
No one was too pleased with the idea that they had to continue the joint training session, but they had no choice. Sir Gilbert wasn't going to end them until he was satisfied that they had some form of teamwork that wouldn't endanger them while they were out on the front. They had already lost one hero just when he took a step oustide the castle walls. It would only get worse from there if they weren't sufficiently prepared.The following days were grueling, and several fights broke out as people lost their tempers. Fortunately, it hadn't been Luke's party that saw the most fights happening though this fact surprised many people. It was impossible not to expect Theodore to pick a fight with the knights, who were just as eager to fight with him. However, the party that got the award for being the most out of control had been the biggest party.Luke wasn't completely surprised by this fact
Luke didn't know how he ended up in this situation. No, not just him. He couldn't figure out how his party and the knights ended up going shopping when all of them had unanimously agreed that they didn't like the activity. His eyes turned to the only female member in their group, who looked like a cat that caught the canary. The power of the Saintess was truly unstoppable, as Grace seemed to pull off new tricks each time, and she wasn't even a Saintess yet.[I'm glad I never had to deal with a Saintess in my time.]"Didn't you fight her in your previous life?" Luke muttered to himself as he made sure to cover his mouth to prevent anyone from noticing what he was doing.[That was at the end of my life. It doesn't count.]He chose not to push on the matter, as he was more focused on the fact that Grace was leading them t
Grace tried to peek in the blacksmith store to see how everyone inside was doing, but it was hard to tell since she couldn't hear anything they were saying. After being unable to figure out anything, she gave up and decided to leave them alone. Instead, she was studying the people around her. It would be hard to get Theodore to consider the knights as anything more than nuisances. He always appeared to be on the verge of snapping and beating the knights up.She knew that Luke wouldn't do anything that would cause trouble. He had admitted to her about his suspicions about them when the duo had found a moment of privacy. 'Kayla' was too busy with her own party, so they couldn't talk to her about it. While she didn't like to think the knights would do something so dishonorable, Luke knew more than her, so she had to trust his words. He hadn't led them astray thus far.Looking at the two knights with them, she asked, "What's it like being a knight?"The duo looked shocked that she would a
"Grace and I can wait," Luke said. Grace seemed shocked by his words, but she wisely didn't argue with him or question him. "You three can go on ahead."The trio looked ready to argue, but they relented. Theodore and the two knights glared daggers at each other as they entered the store, leaving Luke and Grace alone with the trio of knights that had finished their business. Luke could feel Grace's stare on him, but he had a reason to keep her from going in first. He wanted her to work her magic on these knights as well, so he could have valuable information to use.Of course, this wasn't something he could say out loud. Instead, he needed to rely on her figuring out what he wanted her to do or for her to simply act like herself. Either way, he was certain she would do what he needed her to do. His assumptions were proven correct when she started chatting with the knights and asking about
Luke was definitely never going to let her be alone with Boyd. Either he or Thodore should be with her at all times. While he didn't think Bobby and Chris would let anything happen to her, they were quite free spirited, so they might not release what Boyd was doing. At least with Theodore, he could count on him to always think the worst of the knights. It was better to be safe than sorry.Speaking of Theodore, Luke could see that it was worse than what Chris had said. Theodore was literally holding the poor man by the collar and lifting him up in the air. With their swords drawn, the knights tried to persuade him to release the blacksmith. Luke was afraid to know what could have happened in the brief time between Bobby and Chris coming out and them walking in.Grace had no reluctance as she ran up to tackle Theodore in the back and demanded, "What do you think you're doing? Put the man d
After Grace's first attempt at getting the party to bond, she was determined to try again. While the shopping trip wasn't a complete dud, it could have gone a lot better. In the beginning, she thought things had been working out just fine. Everyone had been a bit awkward, but she thought the knights were opening up to them. Then Theodore's stunt at the blacksmith's caused them to recess.Grace was certain that if Theodore had explained himself and apologized, then things would have smoothed over. She wasn't sure why he was refusing to say anything. Her best guess was that it was something he wasn't comfortable talking about, like she wasn't when Luke had asked about her past, but Theodore couldn't keep attacking people because of it. She was afraid of what would happen the next time he got violent.Well, it was a good thing she had some ideas on how to fix this mess. The incident
"We should plan as early as possible so we don't accidentally plan something on a day you're all busy," Grace pressed, not giving Cedric a chance to take it back or change the subject.It was really easy to see her attempts as her trying to be manipulative. Luke was so grateful that she was on his side and that she never had bad feelings towards him or the party in the previous life. He could easily see her screwing them over if she was capable of doing this much. He shuddered just thinking of what she was capable of if she was truly out to get them or was more like the princess.Bobby and Chris seemed amused by what was happening, and Bobby said, "That's a good idea. When are you available? Surely there will be one day where we'll all be free at the same time.""Of course," Cedric said as he forced a smile. "It will be difficult considering we have so
Luke scanned the group to see how everyone was reacting to the new quest they had received. It had been so unexpected that everyone had been thoroughly caught off guard, including himself. Theodore, who left not too long before, had rushed back once he saw the quest, while the knights had to be tracked down since they weren't privy to the quests.[Quest][Wipe Out the Demon Infestation][A large group of demons has taken up residence in the forest near the castle and must be evicted before it becomes too large.][Locate where the demons are hiding and kill all of them.][You will be rewarded based on your performance.]