Chapter 26: Chapter 26

May walked alone toward the crowd gathered for Rough Rider training. She had awoken to her alarm only to find Sara still sleeping. Either the healer was avoiding her, or she had had trouble falling asleep and set her alarm later—that happened with Chronomil from time to time.

The two had hardly spoken last night when Sara had finally come home. May worried she had jeopardized their friendship. But she was not going to fight alongside her backstabbing former tank regardless.

When she heard the sound of John and his instructors approaching on horseback, May flagged him down. He stopped beside her, while his fellows continued on. “May, congratulations on surviving your first special quest. But I see the rumors are true—you’ve had a falling out with Clare.”

May realized that he was looking at her nameplate, which now said under the party entry. The demon player supposed that she ought to have run the name by Pari first, but she could always change it later. “Word travels fast in this city.”

He chuckled ruefully. “Indeed. What happened?”

“Clare found out Sara’s an anarchist and went all ax-crazy. They’ve made up, but I don’t trust her.”

“That’s unfortunate. I’m surprised the situation got so far out of control. I would have said something, but didn’t feel it would be appropriate unless you asked for my advice.”

“Wait, we never told you about it. ...You watch our show?” May asked, amused.

“Well, this is a prison—I need to pass the time somehow,” he joked.

“And I need to fill out my new party. Do you have any advice on recruiting for me?”

“I’m sorry, but it’s not appropriate for me to help anyone outside the Rough Riders with that. I’d be losing out on potential guild members!”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“There is one thing you should consider—your choice may be between keeping an excellent tank you can’t completely trust, and finding a mediocre tank you can’t completely trust. The criminal justice system in this country may be broken, but I don’t think it’s quite so bad that most people in here are innocent.”

“Even still, I’d prefer allies who haven’t tried to murder one of my friends.”

“Fair enough. But all that aside—have you spoken with Pari yet today?”

“No, we’re gonna meet up here. Why?”

“Then you haven’t heard,” John said gravely. “She had a visit from the Dread Queen last night.”

“What? Is she okay?” May asked in alarm.

“Physically, she’s fine. She reported that Cassandra is coming out of retirement. As if our current problem with the Killers were not bad enough!”

“I heard a news report on them a couple days ago. Is there anything new?”

He sighed. “Very little. But those bandits who accosted you? They were all found dead. We believe those maniacs are responsible, since adventurers would likely have taken credit for the deed. But we can’t be sure.

“Also, I’ve learned that the knight turned down an offer for his own show. Though the company says he’s willing to let his battles be used. There’s been absolutely nothing on who the knight is—I can’t even be completely sure the pronoun I used is correct.”

“Thanks. I’ll pass the news along.”

He nodded. “Take care.” She returned the nod, and he rode onward.

May spent the next few hours looking for potential recruits in the crowd, but it was a daunting task. Realistically, she would have to give up on the “all girl” gimmick—in over a month, the Magical Girls had failed to find a female damage of sufficient talent. Finding a tank and healer as well would be even more difficult. And since May was at seventeen percent XP, she could no longer recruit newbies.

She considered leveling by hunting the hunters, but dismissed the idea. It would leave her without enough gold for gem upgrades. And Pari would no doubt be against something so dangerous.

It became increasing clear that she would need to use the Looking for Party bulletin board, and maybe buy a sign or newspaper ad like Sara had done. But then, despite all her looking around, someone else found May instead.

“Mabel? Why did you leave the Magical Girls?” The voice came from behind her, but May immediately recognized the high, cloying tone.

“Fuck off, Unique,” May said before turning to face her. “It’s your fault my party fell apart! Why did you screw with Clare like that?”

“Because you were rude to me of course. She was too. I can’t be held responsible for my actions if someone upsets me.” She stated this as if it were the most obvious fact in the world.

“Really? ’Cause I have no problem holding you responsible.”

“I insist that you stop childishly antagonizing me. Just let me try out for your party now—you’re not allowed to ruin my dream!” This shouting drew the attention of some of the inmates practicing nearby.

“Dream?”

“I’ve always wanted a Fantasy Justice show, but I couldn’t afford medical VR. And then I saw your show, and it was perfect for me! I killed my ex to get in here.”

“...You’re in here on purpose? You to get in here?”

“Yes, that’s what I said. Are you slow or something? ...Besides, she was a total bitch anyway.” There were murmurs of disbelief from the onlookers.

May very nearly exploded at her. But then she realized that the first time she had lost her temper with this woman, it had helped ruin everything. Maybe there was something to be said for a more restrained approach—especially when dealing with a complete lunatic. May spoke slowly. “Listen to me, just as hard as you can. Under no circumstances will I work with you. The others won’t either.

...We are done here.”

Miraculously, this got through when nothing else had. After a slowly dawning look of horror, Unique burst into tears and ran away.

“You went surprisingly easy on her,” Sara said.

May turned around to find her former healer and tank in the now dispersing crowd of onlookers. “How long were you two there?”

“Since the part about her killing her ex.” Sara briefly glanced in the direction Unique had fled in before continuing sadly. “She belongs in a mental hospital. Preferably a high security one.”

“Works for me,” May said to the healer. “So, how come you’re strolling into practice so late?”

“We were both feeling a little run down after yesterday. ...And I hoped a few hours of looking for a new party might impress upon you how difficult it would be.”

“Sneaky. But I’m not giving up.”

“May, I’ve thought about what you said...and I’m a little hurt. You may not trust me to watch out for myself, but do you think I would put you and Pari in any danger if I could avoid it? Clare did something terrible, it’s true—but if I thought there was any chance of another incident like that, I’d be the first to turn my back on her.”

“You’re a hundred percent sure of that?” May asked skeptically.

“I don’t know that I’m absolutely sure of anything in life. But my every instinct tells me she’s sincere. I trust her as far as I trust you. As far as I would trust my own family.”

Clare, who had been passively observing the proceedings, looked ashamed at the undeserved praise. May had to admit that it seemed unlikely that she was faking her regret.

Sara noticed the tank’s distress and briefly placed a hand on her arm. This drew some of May’s ire. “How come I get the parental disappointment speech, and she gets nothing but comfort? Maybe I should take a stab at you and cry up a storm too.”

“May!” Sara cried, shocked.

Clare looked down—from her expression, she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. “It’s fine. That was a perfectly fair description of my behavior.”

May was left with an empty feeling—there was no pleasure in insulting someone who just agreed with your criticism. “Sorry,” she said reluctantly to Clare. “That was outta line.” Clare looked up at her and nodded.

Sara sighed. “If you want a serious answer to your question—I approach any problem in the way I think is most likely to solve it. Clare’s in a very bad place and needs support. You’re making a decision I view as misguided, so I’m being direct with you.

“But I’ve said my peace. Please reconsider breaking up the party.”

May hesitated some time before answering. She looked to Clare. “Don’t take this as forgiveness, ’cause it isn’t that. But I think your guilt is real. I don’t know for sure if it’s enough to keep you in line. But, with everything that’s been said...I’d rather go with the evil I know than one I don’t.”

Sara looked extremely relieved. Clare answered. “Protecting Sara is what’s most important to me. But since you and Pari are so important to her, I have a responsibility to both of you as well. I’ll do everything I can to safeguard the party.”

“Yeah...don’t get all mushy on me,” May told her sarcastically.

“I can’t wait until we can tell Pari the news,” Sara said.

“That reminds me. John told me some things you both need to hear.” May then relayed what he had said about the Killers and Cassandra.

“So we clear up one crisis and another has already arrived,” Sara noted in annoyance. “That’s it—I’m officially giving Fantasy Justice a one star review.” May chucked slightly before the healer continued. “I hope Pari’s okay. She didn’t even want to talk about Cassandra.”

“I’m surprised she still isn’t here,” May said. “Do you think she’s too upset for practice? We should go check on her.”

“Let’s do that if she still isn’t here when the instructors leave. If we go now, we might miss her if she shows up.”

May considered going by herself, but she wanted to be sure she could be there to comfort Pari when the subject of the Dread Queen came up. “God damn it, would it kill the company to give us phones?” she complained. “This place is like the eighties with slightly better fashion.”

The three finally settled into PvP practice among themselves and with some of the other groups. An hour later, while Sara and Clare engaged in a duel, May noted Pari approaching through the crowd. The mage looked extremely distraught. “Pari!” The demon player hurried to join her. The others canceled their contest and followed her.

“We heard about who came to see you,” May began. “I hope it wasn’t too painful. But there’s good news too—we’re getting the band back together!”

Pari burst into tears. “I’m sorry, but I’ve decided to focus on taking my vows as quickly as possible. I’m not going to adventure anymore. I hope you all have the best of luck with it. P—Please come to visit sometime.”

“Did she threaten you?” May asked.

“Please tell us what happened,” Sara added.

“I’m sorry, I can’t!” May received a message that Pari had left her party. The mage was drawing stares from the other inmates, and when she realized this she turned and hurried back toward the city gate.

“Pari!” May called again, but she was ignored. She turned to Sara. “Should we go after her?”

“Let’s give her some time to deal with what happened. ...It worked with you, at least.”

May gave a slight laugh. “Right when we thought party was okay again. Figures.”

“Speaking of...” After Sara trailed off, May received an invite to the Magical Girls. She gratefully accepted.