Obviously the party didn’t take up Sister Elery’s offer to have lunch with the orphans. At least not today, everyone needed time to cool off. Instead, they went to a nearby restaurant and were seated at a large, circular table.

  Interestingly, the four ladies took extra effort to keep themselves between Artyom and Tommy all the way there like some sort of human wall, and made sure the two sat on opposite ends of the table.

  On Artyom’s left sat Neitra and on his right, with considerable space, sat Daisy.

  Xerica and Lensa sat on either side of Tommy, with Ecole next to Neitra.

  Artyom swore to himself. While getting Tommy to send one of them away might make it easier to stay alive, it made them a lot more defensive about keeping him away from Tommy. He needed answers first and foremost, and he missed the perfect opportunity to get them when he was alone with Tommy. But grilling him for information when he was already in such a sad state might have driven him off instead.

  And besides, helping kids was second nature to the man from Earth.

  “He looks a lot happier now,” said Neitra in a low whisper. “I’m glad you were able to cheer him up when nobody else could.”

  Artyom wordlessly nodded.

  “How did you know what to say to him?”

  He shrugged. “I told him he was following the best path for helping the most people.” Artyom leaned over and whispered in her ear, “And what more could be done.”

  She nodded with raised eyebrows, understanding what he was talking about and why he was keeping quiet.

  Ecole glared at the two.

  Neitra let out a sigh. “I… didn’t even try.”

  The rest of the table was busy in their own conversation about sending someone to protect the frontier villages, to the point where even Ecole was dragged into it away from the other two.

  “I didn’t know what to say. I mean what could I say that the others already hadn’t?” said Neitra while tightly clutching her fist below the table. “I was too scared to even approach Tommy.”

  Artyom kept quiet. He didn’t mind going three for three with helping the people around him work through their troubles, but he wondered why Neitra of all people was opening up to him. Whether or not she was part of the same murder-clique as the other ladies didn’t matter, had they really been traveling long enough for her to trust him this much?

  “It’s funny,” she continued. “I know how to fight monsters, but comforting someone told they’re worthless? I don’t know anything about that.”

  “Hasn’t anyone comforted you when the others say that to you?” asked Artyom. “Just say whatever they tell you.”

  “No, nobody’s ever really done that for me before.”

  “Seriously?” asked Artyom. “Not before you joined the party? Not even Tommy?”

  She shook her head. “Nobody’s called me worthless before I joined. And nobody here’s defended me either.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “I mean, I’ve… shit,” Artyom thought.

  Had he openly defended Neitra from the others? Maybe deflect their blame or explain the truth of the matter before more insults could fly, but never openly call them out and defend or comfort her. Some friend he was. But why did Neitra still treat him like one anyway?

  “Well, I told you how I comforted Tommy. Just learn from what you see and the mistakes you make, it’s all we can really do in life. And I guess be thankful you never had to learn the hard way before joining.”

  Neitra nodded with a gentle smile. Her eyes had a soft blanket of mist forming but she took a long swig of water before any could dare to fall.

  Just as she set her cup down, the food arrived and they all began to dig in. Bowls of clam chowder and grilled fish served on a bed of seaweed were part of the first course, followed by an attempted recreation of a Teccan dish: fish tacos.

  The cuts of fish were battered and deep fried, something that was beginning to feel like a pattern, and flavored with a blend of more Western spices. Well, western in the context of Earth. Fennel, rosemary, and orange zest were the most noticeable in the blend, but there were more somewhere in the background. Artyom was surprised how well they went with the dish.

  They finished the meal off with dessert, which consisted of an egg-based custard served in mini pie crusts. Despite the fried food Artyom and Tommy ate just before, their appetites were more than enough to demolish the four-course meal.

  “The food here was amazing, I’ve never had fish so fresh before!” exclaimed Xerica as she gave Tommy a side hug.

  He nodded in agreement and let out a burp, making the other ladies except Neitra giggle.

  Artyom just rolled his eyes at their display.

  “So who are we going to send to protect the villages from the war bands?” asked Tommy.

  A sudden chill spread across the table that even Xerica’s white-hot flames couldn’t fight as everyone turned towards the hero.

  “I’m not changing my mind, someone has to go.”

  “But Tommy,” whined Daisy. “We have to figure out where we need to go first, and that means we have to travel around and talk to all the nobles who’ve seen the war bands. That’ll take us at least half a week!”

  “Not to mention we still need to find the armor piece here,” said Xerica.

  “I don’t care, we can keep people safe and look for the armor pieces at the same time, so why shouldn’t we?”

  Artyom wondered if he should butt in. He could help push the conversation forward so one of them would just leave, or let them continue their argument to push them away from Tommy.

  “Why don’t you split up?” asked Neitra.

  Artyom held in a sigh. It looked like she had decided for him.

  “We can’t split up,” said Lensa with an annoyed look. “I need to stay here to track the armor piece, I’ll start praying to the goddess once we’re done here and I can’t leave town until we’ve found it.”

  “But what about the others?” asked Tommy. “The rest of you can split up and talk to each of the nobles on your own!”

  The four women all looked at each other, and after a moment, collectively sighed.

  “Fine, we can do that,” said a despondent Xerica. “Hopefully we’ll be back by tonight or tomorrow morning.”

  “Great!” exclaimed Tommy, standing up from the table. “Let’s get to it, then!”

  After paying, the party exited the restaurant and went their separate ways.

  Lensa headed to the church to begin praying, and Tommy followed along to keep her safe in case of another zombie attack. Though Artyom felt it was the other way around.

  Xerica, Daisy, and Ecole went to the teleport crystal and left town, promising to be back sooner or later. Artyom hoped it would be later.

  That left Neitra and the man from Earth on their own.

  “I feel like we still owe the orphans, I want to go and at least entertain them a little. Tell them about our adventures or something.”

  Artyom nodded and let her go on her way.

  He too had something to do, and made his way to the luxury cabins. There was still someone responsible for the undead attack, and Artyom was set on figuring out who it was.