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A mischievous idea came to the young mage’s mind as he held his staff forward, issuing a quick burst of water that splashed against Everett, knocking the moles off of his armor and causing them to flee by digging into the ground.

“Agh…ugh…” Everett caught his breath, trying to wipe the water from his face.

“Your welcome,” Emilio stepped over, carrying the badger.

Everett looked up with a disgruntled expression, parting his drenched, blond bangs, “…Thanks.”

As quickly as the shielder’s annoyance was present, it was swept away as a giddy, curious smile stretched across his lips as he noticed the carcass held in Emilio’s hand.

“Oh! What’s that?” Everett asked.

Emilio hoisted the large, red-striped badger up with a proud smile, “Dinner.”

“Woohoo! I’m starvin’!” Everett pumped his fist in the air.

In return for catching their meal for the night, Everett gathered firewood, which wasn’t difficult to find as he returned after a bit, dumping the flammable material on the ground.

“Alright…let’s get this thing cooking,” Emilio said.

Crafting a usable structure in which to cook the badger, he then skinned it and set it up above the flame.

The two waited for it to cook, sitting next to one another as the daytime glow of the trial grounds dimmed to night.

It was once again another unsavory meal as the two each took their portions of the cooked badger, which was a dark, stringy meat that hardly looked appetizing, even for their empty stomachs.

“…Bon appetit,” Emilio mumbled before taking the first bite.

They both bit into the cooked meat at the same time, taking hesitant bites of the unappealing meal, knowing it was necessary for sustenance.

“First thing I’m doing when I’m out of here is going to a nice restaurant and feeling my stomach with good food,” Emilio sighed, imagining his own desire.

Everett sighed out, “I’m right there with ya, man. There’s this place in my hometown…Grubby’s. It has the best chicken in the whole region. Right now, I’d do anything for a plate of that.”

“Just five more days…five long days,” Emilio breathed out.

As they sat there, slowly eating the stringy, hard-to-chew meat in the darkness of the valley’s night, the subtle sound of the campfire swaying filled the silence.

“Are you from Milligarde?” Everett suddenly asked.

Emilio was taken aback by how he so casually guessed that, nodding his head as he wiped a stray piece of meat from the corner of his mouth, “Yeah. Are you?”

“Born and raised!” Everett proudly answered, putting his hand over his heart, “‘Course us Milligardians would find each other in this trial–we’ve got a bond of blood!”

“I’m not sure that’s how that works…” Emilio lightly chuckled.

After a few more minutes of silence over the campfire, he looked over, seeing Everett without his helmet on as his shaggy, blonde hair cascaded down over his kind, blue eyes.

For some reason, he felt compelled to make small talk, perhaps finding himself warming up to the aloof shielder, “So, why do you want to become a world-class adventurer? It’s a pretty big deal, it sounds…It seems just being a local adventurer would be a whole lot easier than this.”

Everett was silent for a moment while smiling almost in melancholy, watching the flame as the orange embers reflected off of his gentle eyes.

The armorclad young man finally responded, polishing his helmet with a dirty rag, “To be honest, adventuring wasn’t my first choice.”

“Really? You seem pretty enthusiastic about it all,” Emilio responded.

Everett nodded, “In truth, I’ve always wanted to be a knight since I was a kid. As a boy, I’d see them gallantly marching through my town like heroes–beloved by everybody and praised by all.”

“Why didn’t you?”

Bashfully chuckling to hide his coming embarrassment, Everett scratched his cheek, “I wasn’t born into much. In fact, I fended for myself as a kid. So, getting into the knights off of name alone wasn’t happening. Still, if I was good enough with a sword, it’d be possible…but, as it turns out, I’m a total klutz with a sword.”

“Really?” Emilio smiled.

Everett nodded, setting his helmet between his legs as he brushed his intrusive bangs back, “I’m not big on hurting others, either. I know it sounds stupid, but when I’m holding a sword in my hands…my knees get all shaky and my mind gets hazy when I think about using it on somebody else.”

“I get it, don’t worry,” the young mage assured him.

“Becoming a knight was impossible for me, at least in the conventional way,” Everett explained with a smile, “I was born with a strong body though! I took up a shield and set out to become a world-class adventurer so that I can be a knight around the world–shielding people everywhere.”

Emilio found himself surprised by the admirable resolve held by his newfound friend, especially in comparison to his own motivations which he felt were a lot more self-serving.

“Enough about me!” Everett laughed, “What about you?”

“It feels kind of cheap after hearing your reason…” Emilio averted his gaze.

“Aw, c’mon! I told you my reason! Any motivation is respectable–I mean, you’re here, arentcha? That speaks enough of your will alone,” Everett assured him.

Perhaps it was the cozy, home-like atmosphere provided by the warm campfire and the crackling of embers amidst the quiet forest that he felt compelled to talk, but Emilio found himself coaxed by Everett’s good-natured self.

“Alright, alright…” Emilio sighed with a small smile.

Everett quieted down and looked at him with a curious smile, waiting for his follow-up to their campfire discussion.

“I want to see everything this world has to offer, and experience it all. I’ve just always had this insatiable curiosity inside of me. Whenever I sit still, inside of my stomach it just feels like that curiosity is itching away to discover new things…When I think about going to the places I’ve read about in books–like the elven kingdoms or the land of demons, I can’t stop smiling and my hands tremble,” he explained, looking down at his shaking hands.