My first impression on getting a closer look was that the fellow was practically a skeleton. In fact, he looked so thin that I thought for sure he had to be sickly or something. His face was bony and wan.
“Hm. What is it?” the man asked. “What do you want with me?” His answers were far more brusque and snappy than you’d expect from someone who looked so frail—at least outwardly.
“I was just thinkin’ that you look strong. If you’re all right with it, how about having a fight with me later?”
“Sorry, but I’m off work today. I’ll have to pass.”
Filia tilted her head. “Are you, by any chance, in the same line of work as us? We’re adventurers, but…”
Filia seemed hung up on the suggestion of a day off. Adventurers really cherished their holidays. Rest was actually a critical part of keeping fit and ready for requests. For myself, I often used my days off for muscle training, which made Filia ask if they were really days off, but that was another story.
Anyway, the man raised his eyebrow a little at that. Seemed Filia’s guess was right on the money. “Huh. So, I guess that makes you guys my juniors then or something? I’m the S-Rank adventurer Javagiir. Javagiir Garyundur.”
That was Filia for you—inspiring a sense of camaraderie with words alone.
“My name is Filia.”
“I’m Yuri.”
We both briefly introduced ourselves. But wow, this guy was S-Rank? Ashley was S-Rank too, but man, I hadn’t realized S-Rank people really did feel different. Even though Javagiir was only talking, the aura rolling off of him was totally different from that of a normal person. I could tell he was suppressing it, but…
Man, I just gotta fight this guy!
Javagiir looked at me and I knew he could tell that I was just itching to go, an uncontrollable excitement shooting through my veins. He gave me a wry smile. “Huh. You’re all hot-blooded while she seems cool and composed. You’re a good pair. I envy you.”
“Are you working alone, Javagiir?”
“Hm. I suppose you could say that,” Javagiir said vaguely. Then he opened his arms out wide, deliberately theatrical, and said something sincerely weird. “I mean, really, as long as I have donuts, then I’m good. You know what I’m saying, ladies and gents? As long as you have donuts, life is all roses…no, I guess I should say life is all donuts! Get it?”
“Uh, no.”
“If you don’t get it, I’ll teach you. All right. Are you watching closely?”
Javagiir searched around inside his coat pocket. From within it, he pulled out another donut. Now holding two different donuts, one in each hand, Javagiir raised them in front of his face. He peered through the middle of the donuts—through the holes—and stared at Filia and me with his sunken eyes. As he examined us through the donut holes, our gazes met. Javagiir nodded in apparent satisfaction and returned the donuts back to his pocket.
“And there you have it. Get it now?”
“Actually, I think I understand even less.” In fact, I understood zero percent of what was happening.
It made so little sense to me that even my desire to fight had died out a bit. I shot a sideways glance at Filia, wondering if she got it, but she looked just as baffled as I felt.
Javagiir sighed at our confusion and said in a disappointed tone, “What? You don’t get it? The world just glitters when you look through a donut, doesn’t it?”
“Uh, no, nothin’ looks any different,” I said.
“Hrm, I see…I suppose everybody’s got their own moral compass. Don’t worry. I’m not angry with you just because you don’t understand. I’m one of the guild moderates.”
“I see, so there are more laid-back people among the S-Ranked guild members,” Filia mused. “That’s a bit of a relief, honestly.”
“Of course, I suppose there are some things you could do that would just cross the line—that would really set me off—but anyway, it’s about time I head out.” Javagiir stood from his seat and moved to leave the shop, but then he stopped. “Oh, by the way: If you do happen to like donuts, then I’ve got a good place to recommend. Donuts really are profound.”
“Would you?” asked Filia. “Why, thank you very much for going through all that trouble.”
“It’s all right. I mean, it’s an old-timer’s job to look out for the greenhorns.”
Awww, even a skeleton-looking guy could be a bro. “You mean that? Good to hear! In that case, that means you’ll fight me, right?!”
“I withdraw my statement. Sorry, greenhorn, but I’ve got my limits. Not gonna go quite that far for that, yeah? See ya.”
With that decisive rejection, Javagiir left the store.
“That’s too bad,” I moaned. “And he seemed so strong too…”
“Yuri,” said Filia gently, “it’s no good forcing someone into a confrontation. If that man has no wish to fight you, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“Oh, I got it! Filia, instead, you and I could—also not fight, I suppose. You’ve only just gotten better, and we did just fight, and…” I sighed.
“Seriously, are you depressed? Come on, cheer up. How about we head on back ourselves?” Filia lightly patted me and pushed my back, ushering me out of the donut shop.
As I tried to find comfort in her soft touch, I wondered: Could I become stronger if I stayed depressed forever? Would someone come and challenge mopey ol’ me to a fight? No! The answer to both was a big, fat no! If I had time to be depressed, then I had time to be training as much as I could, even if it was just for one second more. Someday, that one second might mean the difference between life and death! Thinking about that naturally got me fired up all over again.
“All right, Filia, let’s hurry back to the inn. Then, training!”
“Where did this energy come from?” Filia snorted.
“It’s all because of you, Filia! Thanks!”
“I didn’t really do anything, though?”
“As thanks, once you’re fully recovered, I’ll teach you the most insanely grueling training regimen ever! It’s a training method that’s so secret, I never show it to anyone! Rejoice, Filia!”
“There’s nothing to rejoice about! I’m fine, really! I’m fine! Yuri, I’m perfectly fine!”
Filia vigorously shook her hands as she tried to turn down my offer. Ah, that was Filia for you: Even though she was so happy, she made sure to stay humble. Man, Filia was amazing!