“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Meriah screamed bloody murder as she bolted off behind the wagon, with Kooco fluttering her wings as she followed after her.

“Meriah! Calm the fuck down! You’re making things worse!” Jeremy stood between Em and the camp, trying his utmost to defuse the sudden and abrupt situation.

Lee was winded and trying to catch his breath when he arrived. When Em wanted to go somewhere, she was quick about it. Eight legs seemed better than two—who would have guessed. Along the way, his jog had transitioned into a sprint, but even sprinting, he couldn’t catch up to Em’s slightly hurried scuttle. It didn’t even look like she was exerting much effort, either.

Jeremy had mixed emotions when he spotted Lee holding his cramping side. This was the first time they’d spoken since the incident with Wall Commander Timberson and since he sent in his report to General Fatalina. Fear, worry, and frustration warred for supremacy before frustration won out.

Jeremy spoke through gritted teeth. “Lee, please tell me what’s happening—Meriah’s having an episode.”

Lee caught his breath as he watched Belgrate wander off to find Meriah and Kooco. Kendri angrily stormed out of his tent, but upon spotting Em, he quickly schooled his face, took a swig of his drink, and went back inside.

After one dramatic final deep breath, Lee responded to Jeremy’s question. “Let her into camp, Jeremy. It’s not like you could stop her if she used force anyway. On a side note, she’s coming along with us from now on. So, you might wanna get to know each other better and inform one of your superiors that Breye will need a new defender… Oh, and break the news to Meriah.”

Jeremy must have forgotten who he was talking to in his sudden anger. He scowled and began furiously shouting at Lee. A shaky finger pointed toward Lee as he spoke with righteous indignation. “You can’t just bring a fucking defender along with you! Do you know how much of a—”

Then, in the blink of an eye, Jeremy was standing next to Lee. Lee used Miraculous Return to teleport Jeremy right next to him.

Lee slammed his hand down on Jeremy's shoulder. His blank face spoke more than words ever could. Jeremy’s raging fire of anger was doused in an ocean of glacially cold water—Lee’s mana subtly leaked out. It was reminiscent of what Lee had seen Neia do once around a campfire.

Lee waited a few seconds, daring Jeremy to continue on; when he didn’t, Lee took his hand off his shoulder and spoke calmly. “First of all, I do not choose where she goes. She chose to go with me of her own volition. Secondly, don’t raise your voice at me. I didn’t do anything wrong. Thirdly, if you don’t want to travel with her, you can head back to the Wall of Shadows. I’m not forcing you to be here; frankly, I don’t want you to be here.”

Lee’s voice was losing its calm as he grew more strained and angry. “I don’t know you. You don’t know me. I don’t need you to babysit me, and I only allowed you lot to join me because I thought traveling with someone else would be a nice change of pace. Turns out that you spy on me, look through my stuff, and now yell at me? You? The soldiers stationed on the opposite side of a war?”

Lee shook his head. “No, no, no. That’s not how things are going to continue. So, you have two choices now. One: You return to the Wall of Shadows, and I forget you exist. It's a win-win, in my opinion. Or two: You apologize, and I will give you and your little friends a final chance. If you do something I dislike, you will be gone. You have five seconds to choose. Starting now. Go.”

Lee had laid it on thick, but so far, he was frustrated with his time in Thexis. He could deal with the reports. If he were in their shoes, he would have wanted to keep an eye on the random guy who came from within the Shadowgrove, too. But the invasion of privacy and now getting yelled at? No, this was not going to continue. It either stopped now, or more drastic measures would need to be taken.

Jeremy opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. No words managed to make their way out of his mouth.

Lee raised a finger. “One.”

That did the trick.

Jeremy gave a bow and began word vomiting. “I’m sorry for yelling and I am sorry for looking through your things and… and…”

Lee let loose a single loud clap, causing Jeremy to jerk upright. “Okay then! Remember! This is your only chance; you won’t get another. Now, you go ahead and talk to Meriah and tell her about Em. I’m going to grab Em’s things from her tower. We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”

Lee stalked off toward Em’s tower but paused next to Em as she stared approvingly at Lee. “Do you want to come with me to get your stuff, or do you want to hang out here?”

“Aaaaaaahhhh”

Em cringed upon hearing the distant scream. “I’ll come with you. I shall instruct you on what is necessary to bring. I have many precious items.”

Lee thought about her storage floor and had severe doubts about the preciousness of her items. The books he could understand, but the majority of the second floor was filled with junk. He double-checked his Hidden Cache and felt confident about being able to bring most of her things. He didn’t have much of his own, so most of his 21x21x21 storage area was empty.

“Well. Ladies, first.” Lee gestured toward the tower.

Em raised her chin, smiled, and gave Lee a slight nod before she speed-scuttled away, leaving him behind in the literal dust.

—----------------------

Lee felt more at ease when they came back to camp. Meriah shivered as she sat before her tent, holding and petting Kooco with practiced ease. Her eyes never left Em’s form for even a second. She refused to blink, causing her eyes to turn bloodshot over time. Lee would have to get to the bottom of her issues sooner rather than later. It’s okay to be afraid and vigilant of danger, but Meriah went overboard. That couldn’t continue.

It was dusk by the time they had arrived at camp, so Lee began to take out Em’s bedding and place it next to his. Belgrade and Kendri were stirring a ladle in their large cooking pot—they were making dinner.

When everybody was circled around the fire, Lee spoke. “So… Did Jeremy fill everyone in on our travel?”

A series of nods were the response. He looked at each person, trying to see what they thought about Em joining them, but couldn’t make out much.

“I think it’s best to do some introductions. Who would like to go first?” Lee asked.

Em straightened her back, raised her chin, and looked down upon everyone. She spoke with authority in her faux regal tone. “I am Emthraxiatus Mertalicus Sepheroxus, former watcher of the tower of Breye and stalwart defender of the realm—Brood Mother of the Metalic Vanguard. You may refer to me as Em for the foreseeable future. I am multifaceted in my role. I can cast spells, heal, or fight up close and personal, as my metallic body is durable and robust.”

She peered around at everybody around her with a critical eye. “Most of you are low-level— Some without a class. State your goals, ambitions, and current strengths and weaknesses.”

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Lee decided to go first. They all knew him already, but he figured he would break the ice. “I am Lee Barnes, a healer and creator of healing magic. My goal is to spread the knowledge of healing magic across the world. I would also like to live my life to the fullest as I do so. There is no rush, so I want to relax along my travels—Leveling up would be nice occasionally, too. I am interested in learning enchanting. My current strength would be my magic. I know expert tier Glacial magic and can heal. My weakness would be in melee combat, as I am not trained in any weapon.”

Lee smiled as he finished and waited for someone else to speak up. Surprisingly, it was Kendri. He took a swig from his bottle and spoke with clarity and focus. “Kendri Lowri—Former adventurer turned soldier. I just want to stay alive and get paid. I’m good with a spear. My weakness is being too weak in general.”

Lee gave him a polite smile, but the amount of self-depreciation at the end of his introduction really soured the mood. Em gave him a nod of respect but stayed quiet.

Kooco then chirped up and ruffled her feathers as she hopped out of Meriah’s lap. “I am Kooco! The greatest bird! I want more friends and for my friends to be happy! There is a monster that I am seeking to slay! Kooco makes eggs and is small! I will now slumber!”

Kooco waddled over and used her tiny beak to flip the flap of Meriah’s tent. She strolled inside, leaving everyone else to stare at the now-closed flap. Then, everyone turned their heads toward Lee for a translation. He sighed but translated what she said for everyone else.

Belgrade was next. His hand raised meekly like it was a classroom. “Belgrate… No surname. I’d like to learn magic, or at least try. I hope it’s possible…” He lowered his hand as he continued. “...I’m good with my fists, thanks to my ability, but I never really left the orphanage before joining the army. So, i’m not too knowledgable about the world I guess.”

Belgrate glanced at Em and noticed her intensely focused red-eyed glare and a slight smile tugging at her lips. He gave her a nervous smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I like your armor.”

Em’s slight smile turned into a grin. “It’s not armor. It’s my body, but thank you.”

Jeremy was next. He straightened his back and adopted a practiced form. He spoke confidently, almost as if this was rehearsed. “I am Jeremy Blight, son of Jeremiah Blight, lord of Felispar. I aim to take over for my father and be a man the people of Felispar can look to for guidance and for security. I am formally trained in using the sword and have taken formal courses about diplomacy. My greatest weakness is that I like to stick to a task until it is finished fully.”

Kendri coughed and muttered. “Bullshit…”

Jeremy, to his credit, didn’t seem phased by the insult.

Meriah was last; her bloodshot eyes drilled holes into Em. Her body was tense and tight, ready to spring away or forward at any moment. Since Kooco had retired into her tent, her hands were free to grip her two long daggers tightly—Knuckles turning white from the intensity of her grasp.

An awkward silence fell over the camp as everybody waited for Meriah to take her turn. After a few seconds, she hissed only a single ominous sentence. “I’m watching you…”

Em just narrowed her eyes and bristled. She stood and slammed her legs into the dirt beneath her, ripping clumps from the earth. She walked over and loomed over Meriah as she sat in front of her tent.

“You may watch all you like, but you will get hurt when you move against me. This is my one warning to you, little girl. You are out of your depth.”

A hiss came from Em’s spider maw as her ‘legs’ kicked outwards, mere inches from Meriah’s face. Meriah’s eyes never left Em’s.

Lee waited patiently and didn’t interrupt. If things went to shit, then things went to shit. If he was being honest, he hoped that this little power display showed Meriah that Em was a person capable of reason and not a monster. It would be better for any animosity to be settled before they left.

The tense staring contest lasted until Em calmly spoke. “You may rest, little bird. I’m not going to kill your friend.”

Everyone tore their eyes away from Em and Meriah to spot a puffed-up Kooco glaring at Em; wings puffed out in a threat display from the tent flap.

Then, when Em’s eyes wandered over toward Kooco.

Meriah moved.