Chapter 21.5: Clara’s Opinion of Marcus

Clara was confused about Marcus. On one hand, he was definitely a semi-reliable ally, who also happened to be really strong and well mannered. He was calm, collected, and unlike Bastille, didn’t tease her or bully her that often... Or rather, at all, really.

But on the other hand... He was... weird.

Unless Jacques shouts out a command to him, he never seems to stay still and play his role as front guard properly. These independent tendencies is the reason why she considered him semi-reliable.

He always runs off from their party formation, and slays monsters with such brutal, quick efficiency to the point where she idly thought if he actually enjoyed violence.

But no, unlike what she’d come to expect, he didn’t really have any particular attachment to violence. No blood lust, no craving for violence... Hell, he even kept completing mundane, yet helpful quests whenever they didn’t have anything to do.

That also didn’t begin to cover it.

She kept noticing the fact that Marcus was, by all accounts, really fixated on the weirdest things. It was only a mild guess – but after watching him walk for (more than) a few minutes, it seemed like he had never stepped in between the tile lines. At all.

And judging by his particular well-adjusted strides, it was almost as if he actually refined his line-avoiding steps and burned it into memory, to the point where even if he’s not paying attention to his steps, he just avoided stepping in between the tiles.

And whenever they walked around, he never seemed to look around or examine his surroundings aside from the quickest, briefest assessment, seemingly searching for any signs of danger or anything.

If there was none, then he just kept his eyes ahead on the road, and only bothered to look up whenever someone tried to talk to him. She also had never seen him stare at the massive portrait of the city which was located in the Adventurers Guild main hall.

Marcus is strange like that...

No, she wasn’t obsessed...! She was only – exercising her right as an Archer to keep her senses sharp!

That’s how Bastille explained his behavior, anyways. Free right of speech, or whatever he says... And then he uses that to tease her or point out her odd quirks.

But no, enough about that annoying Sorcerer.

She was trying to figure out why Marcus acted the way he did. Too efficient when it came to slaying monsters, yet there was nothing that indicated he enjoyed doing so. Too fixated on the strangest things, while ignoring the things people would find interesting. Too detached to ever bother socializing, yet he didn’t seem to mind talking to them when prompted to.

He was a strange, walking contradiction. There really was something... off about him, if nothing else.

But that was why she would observe him closely from now on, she decided. And for the last time, she was not obsessed, no matter how much she told herself that.

***

Marcus was too fast, and too strong for his age. The way he dispatched those Orcs... Even if he was surrounded by three Orcs about three heads taller than he was, he only calmly analyzed the situation, weaved and dodged through their strikes, and dispatched them in a way that made it look like such a feat was easy.

There was point in their Dungeon Delving where she felt like she didn’t really do anything, aside from firing a few arrows here and there to help out.

Because really... Marcus was an efficient monster slaying machine. Jacques was also a monster slaying machine by his own right – but he was also their leader and front line, so he wasn’t really allowed to shine too much because he still needed to protect Bastille while he cast his spells.

This is also what she meant when Marcus was a semi-reliable ally.

Because while he often went off formation on his own to kill monsters like there was no tomorrow – each sword strike was swift, lethal, and brought death. Whenever he killed or incapacitated an Orc, he would just move on just as quickly, repeating the cycle over and over again. He even managed to split apart a crude wooden shield with only his sword!

Well... to be fair, he was using a longsword which was supposed to be used with both hands, but he typically only used one hand to wield such weapon, so his strength more than made it possible... But that was entirely besides the point.

His reliability was from the fact that he seemed to rain down death on monsters, if nothing else... Marcus really was a Soldier, even if he didn’t act like one when it came to battle.

There was a point where Clara wondered if he was even human. She wouldn’t be surprised to know if he was a monster in disguise, trying his best to blend in human society...

***

When faced with an insectoid foe which made even Jacques hesitate and grimace, Marcus only rushed forwards and tried to dispatch it. It was a foe who did not die immediately – thanks to its hard, exoskeleton armor, but Marcus did not let that deter him. He only hammered blow after blow, and eventually, he killed such an insectoid monster with sheer strength of his blows.

But then... They got surrounded by insectoids.

Marcus was uniquely innovative in his own way. He must have realized that a sword’s edge was useless against such armored foes, so he decided to grip the blade of his sword, and use its cross-shaped guard as a pick axe...! Such technique was brutally efficient against their exoskeletons, as evidenced by the way his guard easily punched holes in the insectoids’ armor...

And after that, Bastille finished them off with his fire spells. The fact that Marcus realized his sword’s edge was useless and improvised like that quickly enough... He was definitely innovative, or experienced as well.

Again, Clara found that his calmness when it came to slaying monsters was too eerie and unsettling. He was without blood lust, without pride, and without joy. He was indifferent – as if slaying was as natural as breathing to him.

Clara, once more, doubted if he was ever human.

But then... Why would Marcus simply let that small spider go? Especially after he advocated slaying wolf cubs of all things, he decided to let a small spider live... Did he have an ounce of mercy, after all?

“Why did you let that spider live?”

“I think it looked pitiful. And besides, they kill flies and bugs at home. I think they’re useful.”

... Clara didn’t even know what went through his head at this point.

***

But no. Marcus is human, no matter how much he might seem like otherwise. He seemed to be delighted at sweet treats, and good food. Whenever they celebrated from clearing a Magical Dungeon or a quest, even if he might not seem to realize it, he was excited at the thought of eating delicious food.

He seemed to care about them recently, even if he himself didn’t seem to notice. But Clara noticed – she knew the signs to look out for them, and the way he relaxed his body language whenever he was talked to by them, and the way he tilted his head at any questions asked to him were all signs that he was human.

And after that, Clara decided that maybe Marcus was just a person who was an exception to one’s sense of normalcy, whose circumstances she didn’t know. Maybe it was wrong of her to judge him when she doesn’t know anything about him to begin with.

... But she would admit that it was nice to meet a person who was as excited as she was when it came to eating good food. Even if he was incredibly straightforward with his questions, and came off as nonchalant, she could see the sparkles in his eyes whenever they celebrated.

And the best part was – he wasn’t mean at all... and really, he seemed to not bother with expressing himself, and those kinds of things, really. But that’s alright. He was polite, and he was strong, and he was independent.

And besides, he might not realize it, but he really was opening up to them. His speech slowly became less stiff and formal, and more relaxed. He also started to speak about his thoughts and opinions more frequently, even if he wasn’t really asked.

Yes. Marcus was simply Marcus.

And maybe, Clara should try to befriend him at some point as well.