Jhed's gaze landed on the warrior at the far end of the table.
"Who is that?" He pointed.
Animal followed the direction of his finger. At the last chair — the first position, actually, the one closest to the head of the table — sat a warrior in full armor. Face visible, everything else covered in plate.
Black hair. One eye fully black. The other a mixture of black and white, like two colors that had never quite decided which one to be.
Beside the chair: a sword in its sheath. Simple. No ornamentation.
"Ah. That one." Animal's tone shifted slightly — still pleasant, but with something underneath it. "Nothing particularly special there, sir. The last four chairs — honestly, I'm not sure how they reached S-class. A bit of a mystery."
"I want to look at him closer."
Jhed walked over.
Up close, the armor was covered in dust — the kind that accumulates over years, not days. Rust had crept along the joints and edges. This one had been sitting here a long time.
"What does he do?" Jhed asked.
Animal appeared at his shoulder. "Swordsmanship, sir. That's it. Nothing else."
Jhed kept looking.
I don't know why I want to choose him. He's not the obvious pick. The water magician is more powerful, more versatile. This one just... swings a sword. I can do that myself.
But something keeps pulling me back here.
His head started to ache — the familiar pressure of too many decisions at once.
Two months with someone. That's not nothing. And I can't undo it once it's done.
He closed his eyes.
I can't spend two months with a girl. That's just — complicated in ways I don't have the energy for right now. So it should be one of the men. And out of all of them—
He opened his eyes.
The warrior.
"Alright." He pressed a hand against his own head, firmly, like he could push the indecision out. "I've decided."
"Sir?" Animal waited.
Jhed looked at the warrior.
Everyone has something. Some quality that got them here. This one made it to S-class on swordsmanship alone — there has to be a reason. The right person in the right situation can change everything. And I won't know what he's capable of until I try.
"I want this one." He turned to Animal. "And clean him up first."
"...Are you certain, sir?"
"Yes."
Animal paused. Then—
"What a line, sir." He began clapping slowly, genuinely delighted. "That deserves applause."
"Please stop." Jhed felt heat rise in his face. "That was just — I heard it in a movie somewhere."
Animal was still smiling as he approached the warrior and placed one hand on top of his head.
Light poured from Animal's palm — clean, sharp, spreading down through the armor. The rust faded. The dust lifted. The figure beneath became visible properly for the first time.
Then — movement.
A hand. Fingers curling slowly, like someone waking from a very long sleep.
The warrior stood.
"Your product, sir." Animal stepped back with a small bow.
Across the table, the other adventurers watched.
The warrior's eyes — one black, one split — were wet.
He had heard everything.