Raymund Ballast folded his furry arms to buy time as he gathered his thoughts. Certainly, from the moment that they were given the task of kidnapping someone, he was comfortable. Yet as time went on, that discomfort had deeply taken root in his chest, slowly tightening around his esophagus. When his arms were completely folded, he looked down at the ten-meter-deep pit that DiOrtho had dug when they had arrived in the valley. “At what point do we liberate her from her current… predicament?”

“When she agrees,” An incensed Diortho Vant growled. Above them, the slightly luminous form the Class Lighthouse stood proudly erect. It was midafternoon and the high mountains around them kept the sun from illuminating all of the surrounding area. Yet before the Lighthouse, those shadows were quickly banished. Which gave the entire area, despite how far they were from civilization, a surprisingly neat and orderly feel.

There had been some individuals visiting the Class Lighthouse as the three of them had arrived, but as soon as those people had obtained their Class, they had departed. Raymund rolled his tongue across his teeth as DiOrtho’s words and looked again down into the hole.

Apparently, Raymund’s emotions were clear on his face, because DiOrtho sourly spoke another few sentences. “Look, hunger teaches lessons, alright? Once we break her, this job is going to get a hell of a lot easier. She will just follow around like the meek mouse that she-”

A shuffling noise from below caused both of them to pause. Raymund leaned together with DiOrtho to glance down into the depths of the pit, where the princess was scrabbling at the edge of the dug up ground. At first, Raymund assumed that she was trying to climb out, but the young woman was kneeling as her hands determinedly scraped more dirt from the wall. So he cleared his throat to attract her attention; the sooner this farce ended, the better. “Princess, have you decided to accept your Class?”

The woman stopped her frantic actions and turned her face upward. Her mouth was smeared with mud and when she smiled, small granules of dirt could be seen between her teeth. After a very obvious swallow, she spoke. “Heh, you dumb fucks. I’ll just eat dirt and kill myself to spite you. Why the hell would I get a Class? I don’t negotiate with inferior-species terrorists. Whatever fucked up plan you have, I’ll ruin it.”

Raymund was speechless. Did this young woman truly intend to eat dirt until she died…? But just as quickly as he had that thought, he turned to look at DiOrtho Vant, in case he needed to restrain his partner in crime. Over the past few hours, the princess had repeatedly infuriated the ram demon, to the point that he had dug an enormous hole and tossed her inside of it without food. Yet to Raymund’s surprise, DiOrtho’s face was rather placid at the woman’s show of defiance.

“You… don’t mind this development?” Raymund asked cautiously.

DiOrtho shrugged. “Well, seems the bitch has more spine than I expected. But does it matter? I’ll punch her stomach and make her vomit up all this dirt she’s stuffing into her fat mouth; even if she’s insane, she still is a princess. How much dirt can she really stomach?”

“Do you truly believe such actions-” Raymund was floored by that casual response. He pulled DiOrtho away from the edge of the pit, so they could speak without the princess hearing. Below in the pit, the shuffling noise busily resumed. “Your best solution is to simply punch away the problem? You are significantly more powerful than the girl; what if your casual fist shatters her organs? You need not continuously rely on violence to solve problems. In fact, you should not.”

“Oh? Then what do you suggest?” DiOrtho responded with a frown. “We’ve been waiting around for four hours here, while she dug in her heels. Time is ticking away. Besides, you cannot seriously expect me to let her hold her own life hostage; she will only get more spoiled if we don’t beat this out of her. Better to deal with this harshly.”

Raymund narrowed his eyes. His chest burned with his discomfort. “You so casually talk about violence against a girl barely older than a child.”

That finally earned truly malice from the eyes of DiOrtho Vant. He reached over and jabbed his finger into Raymund’s shoulder. The volume of his voice steadily rose as he spoke. “And you so casually forget why the hell we are in this mess in the first place. YOU don’t even fucking know what you want. And even when you find a goal, the slightest moral quandary leaves you helpless. You give away half your lifespan to any random shit who asks nicely. Is it any wonder why the current you is so weak?”

Raymund was so surprised he couldn’t even muster a response to DiOrtho’s words for several seconds. As soon as that surprise turned to fury in his chest, his tightly held control cooled those dangerous emotions. He spoke through gritted teeth. “While it is true that I haven’t reached my full potential-”

“Even now you are fucking terrified of yourself,” DiOrtho snarled. This time when he shoved the Vulpine, he smashed his palm against his chest and sent him a half-step backward. The ram demon stepped forward aggressively into that small space and pressed his chest against Raymund’s. “Why the hell do you deny your nature?!? You are a fucking fox, Raymund. Act like one.”

“My people are indeed noble foxes,” Raymund barred his teeth. “However, the implications of your tone-!”

From below, the princess’ voice drifted upward. “Don’t you half-breeds dare kill each other while I’m still stuck down here.”

Both paused, balanced between annoyance toward their captured target and fury toward each other. Raymund once more reined in his emotions, lest he pointlessly lashed out. Fighting now was a waste of effort. And as much as he hated to admit it, DiOrtho was probably correct in his accusations. Raymund… too easily sacrificed his own pursuits.

Advisor Zauna also shared DiOrtho’s opinion about embracing his natural impulses.

Despite that admittance that the other side had a valid point, Raymund was unsure how the confrontation between the two trainees would have ended, had his instincts not begun tingling at that very moment. His ears snapped upward. From the way DiOrtho’s pupils dilated, it seemed his companion sensed the same approaching threat.

Without needing to speak, DiOrtho hopped down into the pit. Raymund could hear the princess yelping and scrambling backward away from the demon but ignored the noises. The Vulpine pivoted and looked toward the East. The only way into the valley housing the Class Lighthouse was through a thin game trail that meandered down the dense cluster of trees that had sprung up between the surrounding peaks. As a dull thump from the pit was followed by retching noises, heavy footfalls came from that innocuous dirt path.

Gradually, the hairs along Raymund’s arms began to stand on end. Each step of the approaching figure echoed strangely through the ground. It wasn’t an image, exactly… but there was weight to the resonance in the ground. Like there was more presence to the approaching figure than just physical mass and image.

Somehow, seeing the azure-haired beauty walking out of the forest with her hair done up in an elaborate braid didn’t ease Raymund’s nerves in the least. When she saw the Vulpine and her expression brightened, Raymund felt a chill running up and down his spine. Carrying an unconscious princess with a bit of bile dripping from her lips, DiOrtho clambered out of the pit and stood next to Raymund. They exchanged a long glance.

“You know you’ve really kept me waiting,” The azure haired woman grinned. That innocent smile immediately jogged Raymund’s foggy memory. Although he had been near dead with exhaustion at the time… this ominous woman was clearly the romantic partner of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound.

Suddenly, Raymund felt like the wind in the valley had completely died out. When Overseer Helen had mentioned that the plans for their training had changed…

“What the fuck is she doing here?” DiOrtho whispered. But from the tremors in his voice, it appeared the ram-demon was jumping to the same conclusion that Raymund had come to. Seeing Lady Vualla’s expression soften at DiOrtho’s words, Raymund had the urge to run.

Yet even with their powerful physical bodies, even if he could also utilize his image… he had no confidence that they would escape.

Either of them.

“Oh, don’t act so tense, you two. I don’t mind a little swearing and banter between training partners.” She waved her hand lightly. Then her smile widened and she looked at the duo carrying the princess with the eyes of a predator. “Because that’s what we are, right now. Ah, I should explain a bit. Due to Randidly’s circumstances… our stay in this world will be extended for a bit. Well, maybe more than a bit. We might be here for quite a while… so I’ll be helping Overseer Helen with your training. Exciting, right?”

Her smile slowly shrank into something small and poisonous. “But don’t worry, I’ll be under the same handicaps as you. I won’t use an image. And also… well, I was planning to wait until you got the princess a Class before revealing myself, but what is taking so long? I was starting to get bored.”

Once more, Raymund and DiOrtho exchanged a glance. Raymund barely suppressed the urge to growl in front of this woman. Her presence rivaled… no. In terms of the raw force of her person, she likely even surpassed the Head Drill Sergeant. Just by standing there, she almost pinned Raymund to the ground. Sparring against her seemed suicidal.

Yet paradoxically, despite the significant threat she represented, she also ignited his urge to fight. In DiOrtho’s eyes, Raymund could see that same desire mirrored back at him. A strong foe smiled at them and they both clenched their fists and narrowed their eyes.

Lady Vualla clapped her hands together, releasing a resonating pulse in the process that hit Raymund and inflicted a dull ache in the marrow of his bones. “I’m not relieving you of the responsibility of this task; the princess will get her Class from this Lighthouse, one way or the other. But I simply have to assume that you haven’t been taking this mission seriously. Perhaps its a problem of motivation. Digging a hole and threatening her…? And apparently without much effect. Tsk Tsk.

“See, I’ll help with your motivation; I’ll give you one more hour to finish this. If you manage to wake up the princess and get her to agree to receive a Class, that hour will be time for you to have a headstart on me. If you continue to dawdle… well, we will start fighting right here. Honestly, the prospect of being cooped up in this place… has me quite stressed. I think a few scrappy brawls will do wonders for my mood.”

As Lady Vualla continued to speak in front of them, both of their faces were solemn. Her humanoid form had every instinct in Raymund’s body screaming that she was extremely dangerous. When she casually cracked her knuckles, Raymund had to suppress the urge to shudder.

And her azure eyes… there was something else there, something that was bothering her. Yet it undoubtedly felt true that she wished to work off some aggression, to their detriment.

DiOrtho grimaced. “Might be about time to try this your way, Raymund.”

With a nod, Raymund Ballast took the princess’s body and did his best to rouse her to wakefulness. As he did so, his traitorous senses couldn’t help but detect that Lady Vualla’s smile widened.

She enjoyed this.