The party approached the young woman sitting alone and eating some type of soup. She had long pink hair that was tied at the end. She wore the red dress for women of the Holy Clergy.

"Hi there! We were wondering if we could join you—"

As Brittanya uttered those words, the place became extremely quiet. Everyone around them looked at the party and at the woman at the table. She wasn't able to continue talking and just looked around.

"What's happening? Why are they looking at us…?"

Leonze turned his head frantically and looked everywhere around them.

Then, loud whispers started to echo around the tavern.

"Hey… Those guys are talking to the Healer of Death… Are they crazy or stupid?"

"Don't they know that she's always the only one who gets back alive from her party? They must be desperate… to be killed."

"I heard that that happened even before the monster inside Mount Havenero appeared… She's really more of a threat than any of the monsters…"

The murmurs continued to get louder and exaggerate details. Jaegar, who was rapidly tapping his foot on the floor, loudly clicked his tongue and then approached the seated woman.

"Can we join you in your table? We just wanted to eat."

Jaegar looked down at the young woman, with no hint of anger or irritation toward her.

The woman placed her spoon on her bowl. She then turned her head toward Jaegar and looked up at him. She then looked at Brittanya and the others. Finally, she faced toward her food and then nodded. She picked up her spoon and resumed eating the soup.

"Oh, they just wanted to sit down. Jeez, they should have just said so."

"Yeah, but they better be careful not to be lured in by that healer."

"Must be some adventuring newbies. Even if they don't join up with the Healer of Death, they'd eventually die sooner than later."

The people around them laughed and then returned to their own business, as if the party and the young woman didn't exist.

The party sat around the table. Jaegar sat beside the woman, as well as Brittanya on the other side. Kryllo and Leonze sat facing the woman. A female server was near them so Brittanya called her and gave her their orders.

While waiting for their food, the table was eerily quiet. Jaegar closed his eyes while he had his arms crossed. Kryllo just blankly stared at the woman. Leonze fiddled with items inside his pouch without raising his head. Brittanya was looking at everybody around the table, while her hands were fidgeting on her lap.

Finally, Brittanya let out a sigh and straightened up in her seat. She then faced toward the woman and talked to her.

"So… what was that about a Healer of Death?"

Brittanya smiled as she stared at the woman.

The woman glanced at Brittanya and then closed her eyes and placed her spoon down.

"I thought you were just going to eat? If so, then wait quietly and eat."

She then resumed eating while looking directly at her bowl of soup.

"I just thought a bit of small talk wouldn't hurt…"

Brittanya looked away as her voice faded.

"That wasn't small talk! You went straight to the taboo topic!"

Leonze looked at Brittanya. He then noticed that the woman was staring at him, so he faced downward again and resumed looking inside his pouch.

"Even so, we were going to ask around for information anyway. Do you know anything about the strong monster that's being rumored to be near here?"

Jaegar opened his eyes and looked at the woman. She stopped eating for a moment before speaking without looking at Jaegar.

"I've been on several parties that tried to go to Mount Havenero, but all of them died even before we got there. So, I really don't know what that monster is. Some have been able to go there but none have returned so far."

The young woman continued eating nonchalantly.

"If they're all dead… How come you're still alive?"

Leonze's voice was shaking a bit as he asked his question.

"It's none of your business."

The young woman quickly glared at Leonze, but then returned to staring at her bowl.

"So… it's dangerous even before you get to the monster. That means the people that are still in this town are too afraid to even try and go to the damn volcano."

Jaegar smirked as he glared at the people inside the tavern.

"Hey, I've got an idea! Since we're planning on going there, do you want to come with us? We could use a healer in our party."

Brittanya smiled at the young woman again.

"Um… I don't think that's a good idea…"

Leonze reached out toward Brittanya.

"I don't join up with weak-looking parties. I don't want to waste my time trying to go there and then they will just die on me."

The young woman glared sideways at Brittanya. Suddenly, Jaegar slammed the table with his hand.

"Oh, weak-looking, you say? Then, why don't you join us and see if we really are weak?"

Jaegar glared fiercely at the woman while he tried to keep his smirk on his face.

"Hmm. Fine. It's your funeral. Don't blame me when you're screaming for your lives and die out there."

The young woman briefly looked back at Jaegar before averting her gaze from him.

"Likewise. You better not depend on us to protect you!"

Jaegar had a visible vein that was surely about to pop.

"…I won't."

The young woman didn't look at Jaegar this time.

"Well, good to have you on board. I'm Brittanya, by the way. That rude knight is Jaegar. That cowardly guy over there is Leonze. That creep that's staring at you this whole time is Kryllo. What's your name?"

Brittanya rested her arms on top of the table and kept on smiling toward the young woman.

"I'm not… staring…"

Kryllo looked away from the young woman.

"Alecsia."

The young woman briefly looked at Brittanya.

"Nice to meet you then, Alecsia."

Brittanya then laughed lightly.

"I wish I could say the same. I think our time together will be short-lived, anyway. I'll see you tomorrow morning by the exit gate. Don't chicken out on me. But I don't expect you'll show up."

Alecsia stood up from her seat without looking at anyone in the party. She walked toward the door and then exited the tavern. The party watched her as she walked away.

"Umm… guys. What about the red flags around her that you didn't understand?! What about 'Healer of Death' and dead party members that didn't scare you away from inviting her?!"

Leonze leaned over the table to scream at the others.

"She seemed nice. She let us sit here."

Brittanya smiled at Leonze.

"That woman called us weak-looking. I can understand she could get that from you three. But me? Oh, we'll see who's weak, alright!"

Jaegar clenched his fist as he stared at the exit where Alecsia passed through.

"Hey… I'm not weak!"

Brittanya pointed at Jaegar.

"Where is the food? I just want to eat and forget I'm with these weirdos…"

Leonze slumped back on his seat.

---

The following morning, the party left the inn that they stayed the night at. They went straight to the north gate of the town. Mount Havenero was located north-east of the town, and people would have to pass through some short mountains and valleys to get there.

Alecsia was already standing nearby the large wooden gate. There were only a few people in the area. Most of the adventurer-looking people there weren't even looking to exit the town. Though, they were visibly staring at Alecsia. There were also some whispers about how she again duped some newbie adventurers to get killed out there.

"I think they're talking about us."

Leonze scratched the back of his head as they walked closer to Alecsia.

"Hey, we're famous!"

Brittanya pumped her fist.

"Not in a good way!"

Leonze exclaimed loudly at her.

"It doesn't matter. We'll get to kill monsters along the way."

Jaegar shrugged his shoulders.

"Your luck with meeting those absurdly strong monsters will get her killed instead… Oh well, I have to worry about myself if I want to live and find the Legendary Artifacts…"

Leonze let out a huge sigh.

They finally reached Alecsia. The small crowd that was present in the area all gasped as they saw the party talk to Alecsia. All the murmurs became louder, attracting more people from nearby places to watch the party leave with the so-called Healer of Death. The crowd increased in size and then betting among them started. They were waging bets whether the Healer of Death would come back in a day or more. No one was betting that the party would come back alive.

"I praise you for actually showing up and not running away with your tails between your legs. Let's go."

Alecsia turned around and headed toward the exit. The party all looked at each other and nodded.