Chapter Eight: Meet The Hero's Party

The next day-

A typical morning in the Bellar household. I was woken to the sound of Layla's charming humming and Cliff's forging. The early birds chirped and the rays of the gentle sun leaked into the gaps in my window.

I got off the bed and did a few light stretches to get the sleep out of my eye.

I had once contemplated and questioned if exercises or stretches were necessary for this body. It always seems to be in too good of a shape. I still decided to do so anyway.

I never really paid much attention to my body's shape back on earth. Couldn't care whether it was frail or not. So I decided to cover most of my past life's regrets. Plus, exercising makes me feel normal.

By the time I had had my fill, I walked up to the window and threw open the blinds.

I took in a big whiff of fresh air. The morning sun basking gently against my face. I instinctively knew...

It was going to be a great day...it was until a rock smashed hard into my head.

A*Guh-yuck* sound escaped my lips as I forcefully fell to the ground.

What Tf?

Receiving a rock to my head soured my mood. Stumping my way back to the window, I look out for the person who threw the damn rock at me, and there he was.

A familiar kid, with creamish brown hair and lively green eyes. Don waved back at me from beyond the wall.

...

...What the hell was the rock for??!!!??

What the hell is he even doing here? Hasn't he ever heard of knocking? How the hell did he even guess my window?

I breathed a sigh to calm myself.

Don...

I decided to change my clothes and head out to meet him.

I went out of my room, down the stairs, and got outside.

Before I had gotten there, Cliff seems to have made it before me. They were both engaged in some light chatter. Don's face lightens up now and then. And then I remembered what happened yesterday... I got worried and approached the two from behind.

"Ah! Reo, I didn't know you were awake. You sleep well?" Cliff instantly noticed me. He turned around and said to me.

"But of course. My morning however was a little...rocky." Saying this, I snuck a glance at Don who smiled back at me.

Cliff's expression remained blank as he watched this.

I ignored this, I focused on Don. His trademark smile plastered all over his face. I suppressed the inexplicable urge to smack it off his face.

"So, Don. Are you going to come in or…" Cliff asked Don.

"Ah! No, that's okay. I've got something planned with Reo." Don said.

"Oh, okay then. Guess I'll head inside. You guys have fun." Saying this, Cliff returned inside.

I patiently waited as I watched his back vanish behind the closing door.

"So, how may I help you, Don?" as soon as Cliff left, I ask Don trying hard to hide my dissatisfaction.

"Huh? Why are you being so formal? We're friends, so loosen up." Don said patting my shoulder. "R-right. Sorry about that. So, what is it?" I ask.

"Nothing really, I just thought maybe we could hang out or something… c'mon, let's go. The others are waiting." Saying this, Don dragged me out of the compound, and down the hill.

Don was the kid I met in the last chapter- er… I mean yesterday. Following a weird development, we ended up friends leading us to where we are now.

"Th-the others?" Getting dragged along, I said. A little confused.

We walked down the hill for a little while. A little away from where we were, was a bunch of kids by a tree on the left

One of the kids spotted us from afar as he or she began to wave in our direction. Don didn't hesitate to wave back, so I quickly judged he knew them and silently followed.

"Hey, guys." Don waves.

Pulling me along, he made his way toward the kids

There were four of them by the tree, two boys as well as girls.

"H-hey, Don. What happened to you? Where did you get those injuries?" one of the kids, the boy closest to the tree ran his eyes against the figure of Don and said, concerned.

"Hmph. Knowing Don, he probably went to pick a fight with Mitch again and ended up getting beat up. Again." The cherry colored-haired girl in the group said with a mocking grin.

After yesterday's event, Don was covered with bandages and bruised all over. At a glance, it was obvious what went on.

"S-shut-up!" Don retorted, "I made sure to show Mitch who is boss. These injuries are just scars of honor" he continued, "Y-you should have seen the way he ran off."

Heck, you showed him who is boss alright.

I nodded firmly and sarcastically behind done at each of his words.

"Ho? Is that so? Well, your black eye

says otherwise though." The blonde kid said with a chuckle. "it's a scar of honor! A scar of honor I say!" Don refutes quickly.

The blonde boy just sneered and dismissed Don's tantrum, and while I was nodding, noticed me.

Four pairs of eyes nestled in me. The others had already picked up on my presence.

The cheerful expression he had just a minute ago disappeared and was replaced with a stiffened one.

Don noticed this and turned to me. "Oh, right! Guys, this is Reo, we met yesterday. Reo, these are my friends." Don gestured.

"Uh, um… hi, I'm Reo, pleased to meet you," I said awkwardly.

Even after that, the suspicious and unfriendly gazes didn't let. They seem really on guard around me for some reason.

Did I maybe say anything weird, or is it how I look? Wait! Is there something on my face?

"Don...who is this?" the blonde kid who had been giving me the most scornful glare among the others spoke up first. He ignored me and spoke as if to intentionally piss me off.

"Uh, didn't you hear me? This is Reo." Don replied looking at the blonde kid with an expression that said, 'did you hit your head or something.'

"No well, I heard that. I mean, where and how?" the blonde kid said back.

"Ah! W-well, he um…" Don began to awkwardly stutter.

"He…he helped me against Mitch yesterday, though I didn't need it."

The blonde kid shifts his controversial gaze back to me. Trying to avert it, I unconsciously shifted my gaze to the other girl who hid behind the cranberry-haired girl.

Along with my gaze, my attention fell on her. She hadn't said a thing at all, so I hadn't noticed her.

The girl timidly hid behind the other. She shrunk back as her eyes met mine. She had beautiful flowing navy blue hair and equally sparkling blue eyes which awkwardly shifted around.

I caught a glimpse of her cheeks flushed red from behind the other girl. And for a moment, I stared blankly at her. My mind went blank as I closely observed or rather, stared at the precise and pristine facial features the little girl possessed.

I had to admit, she was breathtakingly cute.

I was probably staring so hard that the cherry-haired girl stepped forward.

"The hell are you looking at?" She growled menacingly and I winced back uncomfortably.

Don and the blonde kid on the other hand had moved a little away from the group while this was happening. From the looks of it, they were settling some argument.

I judged this from the warp changes in both expressions and the constant flaring of arms in the air.

The spectacle carried on for a few more moments before the two returned, Don with a broad smile bounced as he came.

The blonde kid in question looked exhausted and drained.

He heaved a tired sigh and said, "Um, Reo, right? Sorry about all that. I'm Leon, nice to meet you as well." he said with an outstretched hand. The rest of the kids were a bit taken aback by this but decided to follow suit.

Despite what he said, his eyes shone otherwise.

The blonde kid was Leon. He had blonde hair and deep blue eyes and was a little taller than me. He seemed like the popular type. The grey haired was Kyle. The red-haired girl was Trise and the blue-haired shy girl was a bit hesitant at first, but her name was Lia.

She never really left from behind Trise, but I managed to get a look at her face, though it was only for a moment. She was cute.

"Well then, self-introductions have been made. Reo, you are officially welcomed to our party." Don announced. Huh? A party? I muttered the words in confusion and asked, "A party, what do you mean?"

"Yes, a party! Didn't I tell you?" Don said while taking a thinking pose. "Huh, guess I didn't… well, Reo. This is our adventurer's party."

An…adventurer party? Oh, right! I am in that kind of world after all. I forgot. It is a fantasy world of magic, of course, an adventurer's party exists.

Now that I know, I have this little urge to try out adventuring. Going on different quests, taking job requests, and having lots of adventures, that's any kid's dream, but unfortunately, not mine.

Sure, adventuring seems like a lot of fun and a bit tempting, but I've already sworn to live a quiet slow life. If I had no intention of living such a life, I'd have tried adventuring at least once.

But it still stands, adventuring is the complete opposite of the slow and quiet life I plan to live. It contains a lot of fun, excitement, and at the same time danger.

If there is anything I've learned in my past life from watching anime and reading light novels, is that the job adventurer works side by side with danger. Sure, it can be a lot of fun as well, but the risks are high as well.

But why are a group of kids—oh! I see what is going on here. It's just a bunch of kids playing adventurer.

"So, what do you say?" Don asked. His eyes were bursting a lively jade.

He looked intent on me joining. I sneakily snuck a glance at the other kids. The questionable gazes, especially from Leon still plastered against my back.

It was almost as if his eyes were trying to swear and curse at me. I'm not dense enough to have not noticed that.

"Ah well, I'm- I'm not quite sure…"

Though I was 'formally welcomed,' it is quite obvious I'm not, but Don doesn't seem to realize this.

"Eh? What are you talking about, it'll be fun. C'mon!" Don protested.

I'm not wanted, but Don was persistent. He wasn't ready to take no for an answer.

This was a pickle.

I snuck glances at the faces of everyone including Don's which gleamed brightly.

...

Sigh...

"O-okay, I will." The dissatisfaction on the faces of the others became more apparent, but they however decided to remain quiet.

"Great! Then you'll have to know our job class and the roles we play. Leon, you go first."

"Leon, Knight."

"Kyle, Guide."

"Trise, Crusader."

"Lia, Priest."

"Don, Hero!"

Hero? They all disclosed their roles, but Don said something unexpected. "Hero?" I leak out.

"Yeah! I'm the hero, which makes us the hero's party." Don said striking up a weird pose.

Of course. Guess I joined the hero's party…yay, lucky me.

"So, what role are you going to play? If it's the hero, forget it! I'm not giving it up without a fight!" Don said while suddenly becoming aggressive and growling like a hound.

"N-no! No! No! I don't plan on taking your role."

"Hold on!" Trise said with her look of dissatisfaction even more obvious. "Before he can formally join us, I'd like to see how good he is first." She says with a grin as she popped her knuckles.

"What?" Kyle leaked out with a short gasp.

Yeah, what?

This was supposed to be role-playing. Ain't no need to take it seriously.

As I thought this, Triste popped her knuckles with a very disturbing smile plastered on her face sent at me.

"So, as the crusader of the party, I'd like to personally test him out first." She was enjoying this. I quickly got that feeling.

I suspected but this just proved it. She's the wild kind who would pummel anyone irrespective of who they are. Her kind seriously scares me.

Even the others including Leon were dazed and slightly bewildered by the declaration and Trise's sudden action. Despite that, no one stepped up to stop her.

"Ah, that wouldn't be necessary. Reo is good. He took out Mitch with a single punch and broke his nose. You wouldn't want to know how that feels, right?" Don said bluntly while waving his hand at Trise.

...

"…Eh?" x4

Gasps escaped the lips of the four.

"...I-I see…"

"Wait, no! that's not it. That's not how it went. It was an accident. Yeah, a mistake!"

"Wait, so you mistakenly broke Rob's nose with a punch?"

"Come on, Reo. You don't have to be so modest." Don said giving me a little pat on the shoulder.

Don! Why you…now I've got no chance of making them like me. You've ruined my childhood.

"So now that that's all settled, let's go questing, guys! C'mon!" Don moved on to change the flow like nothing ever happened

-