For several minutes, my speech goes on as I recount every last detail of Fleetfoot’s break-in and botched assassination attempt. Everyone’s faces, aside from Zutiria’s, grow more confused by the moment when I tell them how Fleetfoot voluntarily revealed themselves and all of the other amateurish mistakes they made.

Opalina is the first to speak. “They claim they acted alone and that they were trying to attack you preemptively, so this means that the Duke of Dewhurst has yet to actually make an effort to start pressuring you, correct?”

“One would assume,” I nod my head and lean against the quest board. “Meaning we have a new goal for the time being.”

“I hope you’re about to say what I want you to say,” Sam leans over the table as her optimism grows. Her face contorts into a battle-ready glare accentuated by her new armor.

“I think I am. We need to start pressuring the Duke and cleaning up this town ourselves before their forces really start cracking down on the Guild. This’ll be hard considering Fleetfoot implied we aren’t going to have local quests to build funds anymore, and I imagine some of the shops in town will start rejecting us.”

“This is getting so complicated...” Meri whines as she looks down at the table. “Last night was so wonderful, too... not to mention we were supposed to go and see the Beastfolk today.”

“Yeah, things have gotten pretty fucked...” Sam sighs and leans back, “But Boss is right. We gotta bring the fight to these fuckers if we ever wanna have a normal Guild life.”

“Exactly. The Dewhurst Adventurer’s Guild’s fall from grace was one of the many factors that turned this city into the shithole it is today, so it stands to reason that we should be the ones to fix it.”

My audience looks at each other for a moment before muttering agreements, save for two. Opalina and Nikita each have something on their mind, and I ask them as much.

Nikita says, “Chief... I admire your grit. You’ve got more determination than Odysseus trying to get home to his wife, but I hope you know that my position hasn’t changed on anything. I am not a sword you can point at your enemies. Even if you want to clean up this town, the most you can expect from me is a bodyguard.”

All throughout her words, I give Nikita a resolute stare. I knew she was going to say this, so it doesn’t upset me that much. “I’m aware.”

“Niki...” Opalina frowns, squeezing Zutiria tight for support like a doll.

The Grekkan stares back at me with an equally severe gaze of her own. “Take off your glasses for a sec, Chief,” She commands, so I do. Nikita looks into the cloudy, pinkish, pupilless depths of my eyes and says, “Well. You’re determined to actually win, that’s for sure. I can see it in your eyes. I respect that. I’ll keep a closer eye on you while this is all happening and live in one of the spare rooms if you want. Just remember. I’ll keep you safe, sure, but don’t include me in your battle plans, and don’t count on me to save everyone at the last second if things go wrong.”

Nikita’s words are harsh, yet strangely, I don’t feel any ill intention behind them. She looks conflicted. There’s a distant pain in her eyes that speaks of betrayal, loss, and loneliness. As strong as Nikita is, she’s got baggage just like everyone else in this room. Maybe more. I know very little about Nikita’s past beyond what she’s mentioned here and there. Still, whatever the truth is, I get the impression that actually fighting again would hurt the strong, proud woman more than I could imagine.

“I wouldn’t dream of asking more than what you already do for us, Nikita. You’ve done a great deal for me already, and I consider you a true friend.” I bow formally out of respect, which prompts Nikita to start laughing and even blushing slightly.

“C’mon, Chief, that’s not necessary. I’m just doing what I can.” After the laughter fades, she smiles distantly.

Now that that’s settled, I turn my gaze words the Doctor after returning my glasses to my face.

“What did you have on your mind, Doc?” Sam asks Opalina.

“I have my own reasons for not contributing to this little war front, at least as far as fighting... but I’ll still help as I have until now, Dear.”

Meri turns to Opalina and twiddles her thumbs. “I-Is it because you’re a Doctor and don’t like hurting people?”

Opalina smiles what appears to be a half-sincere smile. “Yes, that’s part of it. Just like Niki, I reached a point in life where I questioned everything I’d done. Ever since that day, I’ve tried to use my magic for good rather than to do harm onto others.”

The Doctor sighs and brushes Zutiria’s hair to keep her hands from idling. The expressionless lady doesn’t seem to care one way or the other. “Magic is funny like that, you see? It’s comparable to medicine. Use it correctly, and you’ll save lives, misuse it, and... it might as well be poison.” For a moment, Opalina’s eyes flutter with a forlorn sense of disappointment.

I can’t help remembering Fleetfoot absentmindedly saying that they couldn’t uncover anything about Opalina’s past despite doing some digging on the rest of us. At the time, I didn’t pay it any mind because I was prioritized with survival, but now... hmm.

“The other part is if I used my magic on a large enough scale, then... I might draw some attention I would rather avoid.” Opalina says. I pick up Zutiria’s body languages tensing for a split second as she weighs the 

Sam laughs before blatantly asking the thing on everyone’s mind. “What, are you a wanted criminal or something?”

Opalina blinks during a moment of awkward silence and then laughs. “No, not exactly. Silly Samantha.” The old witch pinches Sam’s cheek, causing the Princess to blush, swat her hand away, and scoot over.

Zutiria looks at me, and although she doesn’t say a word, we both notice that Opalina is using evasive words. I have a hard time reading Opalina’s body language and facial cues, sure, but I recognize a half-truth when I hear one.

“That being said,” Opalina playfully adjusts her glasses. “I plan on helping you in other ways. That’s all I’ll say on the matter, for now, but I promise it will be well worth the wait.”

“Lady, are ya intentionally tryin’ to make yerself look like yer made o’ red flags, or what?” The Dwarf asks bluntly, as Dwarves are known to do.

Opalina laughs it off, despite it being a valid question. “No, But I’m aware of how suspicious I must sound...”

“At least you admit it,” I sigh and shake my head. But, unfortunately, there are too many other things going on for me to spend time dwelling over Opalina’s mysterious past, so I’m just going to file this all away for later.

Sensing the group’s desire to get back to talking about strategy, Sam asks, “So, if we’re really gonna be taking the fight to the Duke of Dewhurst, Boss... I take it you got a plan?”

“No, Sam. I-”

“W-Wait a second! We can’t fight a crimelord without a plan, Master!” Meri starts shaking in her boots. “What are we going to do?! Oh, Goddess...!”

“MERI!” I yell to grab her attention, but I do it much louder than I actually meant to, causing Meri’s fear to rise.

“UWAA!” She shirks back and pulls her shield out in front of her to hide.

“I was going to say that no, I don’t have a plan. I have many.”

Meri meekly returns from behind her favorite hiding spot and bites her lower lip. “Oh... I-I’m sorry. Pressure must be getting to my nerves, I think...” She blushes, which only worsens as Sam and a few others laugh at the Shield Maiden’s embarrassment.

“I want everyone to know that this attack on the Guild changes very, very little,” I clear my throat and take a stern look at each of my adventurers. “We were already on a collision course toward open conflict with the Duke of Dewhurst. Sooner or later, something would have tipped them off, or we would have offended them in some way. Guilds exist to help people; This simple fact runs antithetical to criminality. This means that the last thing a crimelord would want running around in their territory is a thriving Guild that can solve the citizen’s problems using force. It didn’t use to be this bad five years ago, but it seems things have changed for the worse during my darkest years... now, a Guild cannot exist in Dewhurst until it’s been cleaned up.”

“Hell. Yes.” Sam smirks and stands up from her seat. “This is the kinda shit I’m talking about! Nicely put, Boss!”

Zutiria nods her head, disinterested but still trying to remain part of the conversation.

Meri, far from fired up, raises her hand. “U-Um... quick question?”

“Meri, you’re adorable, but this isn’t school. No need to raise your hand. You can freely speak your mind.”

The Shield Maiden’s face grows bright red as she uneasily lowers her hand. “O-Oh, right. Um. Sorry... I was just wondering... did you ever find out why the Duke of Dewhurst suddenly started viewing you as a threat?”

“Actually, yes. Or at the very least... I have a good idea as to why. Let me explain.” Thanks to Fleetfoot gabbing about something unnecessary, I think I have almost all the pieces. Now, I just need to put it all together.