Chapter 48: Friend

Peace hadn’t even gotten a single second to process anything.

The last memory he had was being thrown off a waterfall.

The next moment, a Giant was pissing on his head.

No clue how he’d gotten from point A to point B yet again.

And now, he found himself cornered, being threatened into giving up the item that held one too many incriminating secrets about someone named ’Pax.’

As the fabled Pax, he wasn’t too keen on sharing.

"This... is all I have. I’m afraid I can’t give it to you. It’s an heirloom from my mother."

Ralph began stroking his beard.

"An heirloom from your mother... what is it?"

Peace, clutching the book against his chest, said:

"A diary... I keep it with me as a good luck charm."

Taking a long breath, Ralph narrowed his gaze, then asked:

"Hmm... Is that really all you have?"

"Yes."

Volkar hit his chest, then bellowed:

"See, I told you he’s a friend!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ralph sighed, then asked, "Why are you here... alone?"

Peace pointed behind the tree he rested against, toward the calm river flowing through the Dark Forest.

"That carried me here after I got knocked out... probably."

Ralph smiled lightly, his eyebrows lifting in open disbelief at Peace’s apparent stupidity.

"What? How dumb do you think we are?"

’Ah... I see.’

Peace didn’t know exactly where he was, but if the river had carried him here, then he must have been knocked unconscious somewhere within the Convergence Zone...

Or he was lying through his teeth.

"I tell the truth... I was fleeing from the Stalker. One thing led to another, and I was thrown from the Moonlit Falls. That’s the last thing I remember... before waking up to here moments ago."

Peace pointed at the Giant, who knelt nearby with a bubbly look in his eyes, plucking a glowing purple flower from the ground before giving it a sniff.

Ralph shook his head.

"And... you expect me to believe that?"

Peace cast a pained smile over the group, his eyes still expressing clear indignation at Volkar.

"Not really... but I was hoping you would. It’s the truth. The only truth I have for you."

Ralph spun his sword, sliding it into its sheath as he asked:

"Well, it’s quite hard to believe you when there’s no evidence of it."

Peace looked down at his body. He bore some new scars, but they looked settled, as if they’d been there for weeks. There were no fresh wounds anywhere on him.

However, his left arm and shoulder were still all sorts of messed up.

At least pain-wise.

Still...

’At least they don’t doubt I’m a citizen...’

And they seemed to have understood he wasn’t one of the Night Parade.

The tag had really saved him there.

"Do I really look uninjured?"

Ralph looked him up and down.

"Perhaps a little."

Peace sighed.

"Look... I’ve had it quite rough. It’s my first time in the dungeon. I’m quite aware I look like one of the Night Parade. And I’ve just had the shittiest of luck... I mean, I came to with your friend here pissing on my head."

The quiet girl behind Ralph shuddered, averting her gaze.

The small elf boy, who had looked both terrified of Peace and ready to kill him only moments ago, winced — a flicker of pity crossing his face.

Lifting his face from the pretty flower, Volkar looked at his comrades and shouted:

"I said sorry!"

Before anything else could be said, Peace cut in:

"If anything... I’m suspicious of you four. Why are you one short?"

Ralph, still clearly trying to make heads or tails of the situation, replied:

"Where’s your tact... don’t you know asking that could be sensitive?"

"It could, but I don’t care."

Ralph hung his head over the shield.

"Y’know... my wife was slaughtered by your kind during the Night Parade. Right before my eyes..."

Peace, keeping his red eyes locked on Ralph’s hands, said:

"Why bring that up? As I said, I am not one of them. I merely look like them."

"I know, I know... I believe you. I do. However..." A murderous glee flashed in his eyes. "Just looking at your face is enough to feed the vengeance resting in the shallow depths of my heart. There’s one thing I’ve always regretted since that day... It’s that all of the Night Parade were culled before I got a chance to kill a single one."

’Ah... fuck me.’

Kicking over his shield, he added:

"Life’s not fair, kid. Right now, I want to butcher you. Slice you up and feed you to the Dusk Wolves; however..."

’Is he really declaring all that after crying like a little bitch when he first saw me?! Screaming to run away?!’

Ralph’s eyes fell on Volkar, then he added:

"That idiot is quite strong, and I doubt he’ll just let me kill you."

Volkar grew a confused look, then asked:

"Why would we kill our friend?"

Ralph palmed his forehead.

"See?"

"I see..." Peace looked at the two behind Ralph. "Do you two feel that way as well?"

With the pity having fully vanished from his eyes, the elven boy said:

"Of course."

The red-haired woman, on the other hand, just shrugged indifferently.

Peace’s glare settled on Ralph.

"Unfortunately for you, I don’t particularly want to be killed. And I am definitely a friend."

"Friend!"

Ralph suddenly straightened his back at Volkar’s enthusiastic shout. Eyes widening, he muttered:

"Wait... friend..."

A devious smile tugged at his lips as he looked at the Giant and said:

"Volkar, wouldn’t it make sense for our friend to prove himself a friend by joining us? I mean... why would he not? That’s the easiest way to become friends, right? Unless, of course, he isn’t a friend and he’s just tricking us."

’Seriously? That was his "epiphany"? That’s never going to—’

"Hmm..."

’Fuck me.’

Volkar stood and stroked his chin.

"That would be very unfriend-like to trick us. Are you tricking us?"

’Oh gods...’

Like a mocking bird, Peace reiterated:

"I am... a friend."

Ralph gave Peace a pleased grin. Then, he stepped toward Peace and extended an empty hand.

"Then welcome to the team, friend."

Peace awkwardly raised his hand, then placed it in Ralph’s.

Ralph laughed, then added:

"Don’t think of joining another party once the dungeon closes. And you better join us on our next dungeon adventure! Friends stick together, right, Volkar?"

"Friends stick together!"

Well...

It seemed like Peace had somehow found himself a party.

Except he’d been invited specifically so they could murder him or get him killed.

’I’m going to crash out if I hear "friend" one more time...’