The team.

[+2, still Randall's POV]

Three people positioned themselves in front of King Orwell's throne. The two females, a human and a hybrid between a panda and a woman, kneeled down. The human male stood strong, facing the King head on. 

Of course, I am that standing human. The King doesn't seem to mind, so… I'll just take advantage of this.

"You three… will belong to the O.R.T."

'What the fuck? They can use acronyms?'

Ren immediately raised her hand, and asked a question. "Do I have to join, too? I'd be nothing but a liability in combat…"

"Yes, you must. You're staying in these walls, so you shall pull your own weight."

She hesitated, her grim expression revealing some of the thoughts that occupied her mind. Thus, I leaned over and muttered something, whilst making sure only she heard it.

"... Do you really want to end up outside again? Alone? With nothing but dirty rags-"

"I-I accept!"

Keeping one hand behind my back, I snapped my fingers silently.

Everything within my sight came to a standstill, with a monochrome palette consisting of light and shadows dying everything around me. Whether it was the structures, paintings, materials, or even people.

I kept my gaze on Ren's face, as I analyzed her gestures.

The nervousness displayed in her hazel eyes.

Her unnaturally straightened back.

'… She really doesn't want to go back to that life, I suppose.'

Snapping my fingers again, the world went back to normal.

Orwell's bleak robe emanated its golden glow again, as the expression of its wearer regained some color.

Jean's jacket kept her black tone, along with her neutral, yet beautiful expression. 

"Good. In that case, I have a request for you three."

Ren's face tensed up, while Jean's turned a tad more serious. My ears perked up, as I paid attention to the King's words.

"So, as you may know… Two weeks ago, the Elven Princess almost died in a human village, located in our territory."

Jean's face turned slightly grim at the mention of the village, but no one other than me seems to have picked up on it…

"That was not the only attack that happened. In fact, nine more took place on an eerily similar time frame. All of them performed by monster tides," declared Orwell, while casting a quick, borderline impossible to notice glance in Ren's direction. 

"... There's a town near the borders we share with Weildener."

Ren flinched as soon as she heard that name. I do not know if the King noticed her reaction, but he kept talking.

"We believe there might be a clue regarding the coordinated attack there, so we want you three to head out and investigate the town. You may prepare yourselves for this journey today… Also, don't worry about the transport. We have an easy way to take you there."

I nodded, while Jean bowed down and thanked him. Then, the King dismissed us. Jean and I walked towards the door, but Ren remained rooted down to her place.

'Hm?'

Turning around, I grabbed her paw-hand, and walked with a panda-woman whose mind remained frozen. 

…

Right now, the three of us are in a peculiar section of the Fegendale Kingdom, known as "The Lawn".

Well-dressed merchants and businesspeople of many races, minus demons, set stalls everywhere, and attempted to hook in any client that came across their stall, hoping to net another sale.

Humans and beastkin dressed in dirty, worn clothes wandered around the market or sat down on the floor, as they looked at the uniformed and classy crowd. Yet, no one paid them much attention, if any at all.

Ren quickly glanced at a few of the probably homeless beastkin, as a glint of pity flashed by her hazel eyes.

Knights dressed in all sorts of armor stood by the stalls, with their weapons on their hands, prepared to apprehend any criminals or even neutralize potential threats.

Products of all sorts shone in the stands, whether they were fruits in humble, wooden structures, or shining weapons behind glass panels. 

… Ren wore a brown cloak, concealing most of her body, and hid her fluffy panda ears with a hood. "What are we supposed to buy?"

Jean, wearing a gray magician's gown, glanced back at Ren, and gave her an answer. "Travel supplies. Mostly food, herbs and a few spare weapons… Which reminds me, do you have any training in weapon usage, Ren?"

"N-no… B-but I can learn-"

"Ren, can you even fight?"

Both of them turned to look at me. With Jean looking at me, then at Ren, and changing back and forth, I kept my full attention on Ren, whose body vacillated, as her face lost most of the colors it never had.

She ended up shaking her head, and I patted her arm. "Alright, we can work with that."

That was a lie. She'll be nothing but deadweight, but she has two big, round, and good reasons to be kept around.

… On a serious note, if my guess is correct, she might just do about anything if it means not going back to homelessness. 

'Now, the question is, what direction should she take? Assassin? Swordspanda? Healer? Martial Artist?'

"We're here," declared Jean, as she stood in front of a building.

"Hm? What is this?"

"A weaponsmith's shop. I know the owner, and his weapons are surprisingly good," replied the magician.

'... Why do we need weapons? Don't we have our Eg-... Nevermind.'

Shaking my head, we all walked in. 

The rustic smell of wood and iron bursted through my nostrils, and the consistent hammering sounds emanating from the back hinted at the presence of more people. 

Multiple weapons hung proudly on the glass-covered cabinets, clearly showcasing the blacksmith's experience and knowledge in their craft. From one-handed swords, to plate armor, and passing by two-headed giant axes and even some strange-looking whips.

A fairly tall dwarf wearing a tank top-like shirt greeted us, while keeping a careful eye on me and Ren.

"Ahoy, yer back, Verderift?"

Jean nodded, and requested to buy a few weapons. 

Five daggers, two large staffs, a sword, a spear and a shield. 

'That's a lot of stuff.'

"... Which amounts to a total of 80,000 Mantris."

I felt a sting deep within my heart as soon as the word "thousand" slipped out of the dwarf's lips.

Eighty THOUSAND for TEN weapons? 

Indifferent to the pain and agony I displayed, she took out a shining, silver coin and kept it on top of her open hand.

The dwarf did the same, but he placed his hand on top of hers, thus putting both coins together.

At that moment, a bright glow emanated from their hands, which lasted for about three seconds.

And just like that, it dimmed.

"Exchange complete," declared the dwarf, as he took out a small notebook and wrote something down.

"Thank you, Brutus."

"No problemo, Lady Verderift. Pleasure doing business with ya."

We walked out afterwards, and we bought other supplies. 

Mostly food, which, according to Jean, was very expensive. 

When I asked about the weapons, she mentioned that they were indeed expensive.

"However, I know the dwarves working in that place, and the quality of their weapons. The price is definitely worth it."

'Gotta thank the war for that, I guess.'

And well, the sun had reached the horizon the time we finished. Thus, we returned to the castle.