John saw Fate go in as he left the room, and while he would’ve wondered why he was going in his head was preoccupied with other thoughts.

How had Elfin seen through him? Were there more that could see his true self like that? He didn’t like it, not at all. It gave away too much, too much of who he was and his real identity. No normal person acted the way he did.

John was someone who thought logically; who saw everything as something that could be used to achieve a goal. People weren’t people to him; they were “things” that could be used. If he ever made a mistake, he could just reset and fix whatever mistake he made. Besides, ultimately they were all just [Characters] in the end. They weren’t real. There were no connections to be made, no one to bond with, nothing to form a relationship with, and so there was ultimately no need for emotion.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t feel emotion; it was just that his heartlessness made things a lot easier.

But now that someone had called him out on it, was it something that needed to change? He rubbed his chin, deep in thought, and came to a conclusion.

No, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like anyone cared, anyways.

“John.”

Prota tugged at his sleeve, snapping him out of his train of thought.

“You should smile more.”

“...huh? I smile all the time, Prota. What are you talking about?”

“Not with your mouth. With your eyes.”

“...”

With his eyes? What did she… she didn’t know, did she?

“You know, you look really dense right now,” Zero laughed. “If you were a full reader, you’d look at yourself and say “what a dumbass.” Isn’t that ironic?”

John groaned. “You mean she’s been aware of how I’ve been this entire time, and no one bothered to tell me?”

He could see Zero shrug in his mind. “I really thought you were aware.”

John sighed and stared at the small girl standing beside him. Her face was completely neutral, but unlike John's, her eyes were full of emotions she just didn’t want to show.

“You want me to smile? A real smile?”

Prota nodded firmly. “You’ve done it before.”

“...before…?” John said hesitantly. Had he shown emotion? Ever?

“A few times. When we were at the cabin. You also sometimes sit by the fire. You look sad, but… it’s not really sad,” she tried to explain.

John thought back. Yes, there had been times when he’d started to feel emotions other than excitement or anger when he and Prota had lived together, but… he’d let it show? More than that, he’d always assumed she’d been asleep when he’d let his mask drop. His real face was like a robot’s, a blank face that unnerved most people who saw it. And yet, despite having seen it, Prota was still willing to stay with him.

He stared deep into Prota’s eyes. Was he getting attached again? He’d sworn never to do so again. So why was he bonding with her? There couldn’t have possibly been a reason good enough, right?

After all, she was just a character.

Right?

But then… why had he panicked so much when she’d been kidnapped, or when she’d been on the verge of dying during the test? Forget that she was a character, he could’ve just reset.

He slammed his fist against the wall, gritting his teeth in frustration. It bothered him. It was something he didn’t know the answer to, and that bothered him.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt a tug on his shirt.

“You should smile more.”

All the thoughts running through John’s head suddenly fell still. Why was he questioning it? What was the point in questioning something he didn’t know the answer to? He’d had enough experience in that field to know it would lead nowhere.

He looked down and smiled.

“...like this?”

Prota’s eyes shone as she nodded. “You should do it more.”

There was a tug on John’s heart. Emotions that had been barred up leaked out. It wasn’t a lot, but it was there. He blinked quickly as his eyes began to water up, and then smiled again.

“Yeah,” he said, partly to himself. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be too bad, I guess.”

What would have been an emotional moment was interrupted by the door slamming open. John’s face immediately snapped back to his old facade as Fate walked out of the office, his pet fox curled around his shoulders.

“Oh. Hello again.”

John nodded. “Hey.”

They stood there in awkward silence, one boy wearing a physical mask, the other wearing an emotional one. Some say that a fight is one of the ways to get close to one another, but in that moment neither boy knew what to say.

“So… what are you gonna do next?” John said hesitantly.

Thoughts of emotions disappeared from John’s head entirely. He had to focus on the task at hand.

Although his mind wandered constantly, he hadn’t forgotten the reason behind all of this: defeating the demon lord. While he’d told Prota otherwise, he wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to beat the demon lord.

There was a factor he hadn’t yet told anyone about that he wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about yet, but… getting the [Protagonist] on his side was a must. So while his attempt at a conversation starter was extremely awkward, it wasn’t just an attempt at socializing.

It was purely a step towards a larger goal. Unfortunately, that step would fail.

“Sorry. I have my own plans.”

John’s face masked his disappointment, but it was there.

“I see. Well, maybe our paths will cross sometime. If “fate” wills it,” he said, but no one laughed. There was an awkward silence before John cleared his throat.

“Hm… if we meet next time, let’s eat together or something,” John grinned. “I can cook.”

Fate hesitated, then nodded. “A piece of advice, by the way.”

“...?”

“You’re really strong. Almost too strong, in fact. It would be good if you found a way to hide your powers. Just a thought. In fact, you might want to avoid fighting altogether, if you can, or use a weapon that doesn’t require a lot of skill to use.”

With that, the mysterious boy turned around and left, his golden eyes leaving a deep impression on John.

“...don’t fight, huh?”

“John, are you stupid? Of course you’re going to fight. It’s, like, the one singular thing you enjoy,” Zero smirked in his mind.

“...weellllll…” John grinned menacingly. He glanced at Prota. An idea was forming in his mind.

“What if I got someone else to fight for me?”

~~~

What Fate had said had helped John organize his thoughts. He hadn’t really thought about it, but if John fought for Prota all the time she would never grow. John couldn’t grow; it just wasn’t part of who he was. He’d reached his limits, broken them, remade them, then proceeded to ignore them.

Prota, however, was capable of explosive growth, and John had to utilize that to the max. Real combat was one of the best ways to grow, and so it was probably better if he left her to fight on her own.

He had to think about it one more time. Why was he doing this? What purpose did it serve? Realistically, John was someone who did things solely for results; if it didn’t benefit him, there was no point in doing it. It would probably be a lot easier to simply throw Prota into a life or death situation and let her grow through that. She was, after all, just a [Character].

Characters went through that all the time. So why was he taking such efforts to care for this girl?

He shook his head and shrugged. That was more than enough thinking. It served no purpose, and so it was an effort that would ultimately come to nothing. No point in doing more work than necessary.

“Alright, Prota,” he grinned. It was a fake grin, but that would change, maybe.

Hopefully?

“Ready for adventure?”

Prota clenched her hands into fists as anticipation shone in her eyes. John’s grin expanded in return until the door slammed open.

“Oh, by the way, do you guys know what you’re doing?” Elfin asked. He was dressed as if ready to go out, a brown cloak covering his expensive suit, a sack slung over his shoulder, but apparently he’d stop for one more conversation.

“...” John looked at Prota and shrugged. “I’m sure… we’ll figure something out?”

Elfin just sighed and shook his head. “You really are strange.”

He pulled a map out of a sack hanging on his back and handed it to John.

“I thought something like this would happen, so I marked the location of the nearest adventurer’s guild on the map. This location isn’t very good for adventures.”

John nodded and shoved the map into some unseen pocket on the inside of his sweater.

“Here, this too,” Elfin said, handing a sealed envelope to John. “This should help if you get into any… well, complications with the managers at that branch.”

John hesitated, but eventually took the envelope. He didn’t like the sound of “complications,” especially considering the world he was in, but in the end, there was nothing he could do about it. The envelope too went into his sweater.

“Oh, and one last thing…”

“I overheard Fate talking to you. I agree with him. It’s probably better if you don’t fight, or you should find another way to fight. I’m sure you have secrets to hide, and if you don’t want people poking into your past it’s best if you hide your current fighting style.”

He pulled out a staff as he was talking.

“Your sister has tremendous talent. That staff she has there isn’t very good for channelling mana, so I thought I’d give this to you as a gift. It’s much better than the one she has now.”

“Thanks, but…” John started, then stopped as Zero slapped his head so hard his chin hit his chest.

“Are you stupid?! Take it and sell it, dumbass!”

John rubbed the back of his head. “Shut up,” he grumbled. “Thank you very much,” he said to Elfin. “But… why help us?”

“...call it an investment,” the man said with a mysterious smile.

John shrugged. “Well, thanks anyways.”

He took the staff, and that too disappeared into the folds of his hoodie. The only problem was that the staff was longer than his hoodie. Prota stared.

“...what?” John said with a frown.

“...is your cloak a dimensional storage cloak?” Elfin said hesitantly. “You shouldn’t just… wear that so casually.”

“A what?”

“That-” Eflin shook his head and laughed. “You never fail to surprise me. Very well, I won’t question it. Go on.”

John smiled. “Thanks, old man. See ya!”

“Oh, and John?”

John stopped and turned around.

“Eventually, you’ll have to stop wearing that mask of yours.”

“...”

John nodded, picked Prota up and burst out the door, running towards his next destination. Elfin continued to watch from afar until he couldn’t see the boy anymore.

“An investment… I hope I’ll be able to recollect someday.”

~~~

“...this is really far away, huh…”

John had run about two kilometres before stopping to look at the map Elfin had given him. The destination marked was really far away.

“...was there a carriage that could’ve taken us? Or maybe we’ll find someone on the way…”

John sat down in the middle of the path, deep in thought. There wasn’t a lot running through his brain, but he had to think and so think he would.

“Theoretically we could just run the distance, but that’s kind of annoying… is there any other way?”

He looked at Prota. “Can you fly?”

Prota looked back up at him and shook her head. John brushed her hair out of her face and sighed.

“There’s something else I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

She cocked her head to the side, confused.

“Prota. Will you… uh, fuck, how do I put this… will you be my “protector”?”

“...Protector?”

John scratched his head. “Well, I don’t really need “protecting,” per se. But I’ve been thinking about what that old man and the masked dumbass were saying and I think they have a point. I probably shouldn’t fight. Well, except when I use that…” he trailed off with a mischievous grin. “Anyways, back to the point. Will you “protect” me?”

“...?”

“I’m saying I want to avoid fighting. Will you fight for me?”

Prota looked down, deep in thought. She was touched that John trusted her enough, but… did she trust herself? She needed something to help her make her decision. Ultimately, she found it in John’s normally blank eyes, now shining full of hope. Hope and trust. If she could keep that look in his eyes, then… well, it would be worth a shot.

John smiled. “Well, “Protector,” I’ll be in your care then.” He looked down the path and sighed.

“Well, let’s keep going. I’m sure we’ll figure something out along the way.”

As John picked Prota back up, he was secretly hoping a carriage would come along and pick them up, resulting in some sort of miniature adventure, but as much as he knew the world was merely a story he didn’t really expect it to happen.

~~~

The carriage didn’t show up.

“...” John looked up at the sky with a frown. Normally he’d stop and admire the scarlet sunset and the trees, but this was a bit of a concern.

“You ok, Prota?” he asked. Prota was riding piggyback and had fallen asleep during the walk. Her head nodded once, then fell back down as she mumbled something incomprehensible.

“...” John grit his teeth. It was mildly annoying, but it was possible for them to set up a tent and a campfire-

“Hey! Over there! Need a place to stay tonight?”

John’s head whipped around in surprise to see a man in a cloak standing near a cluster of trees. His facial features were indistinguishable, and his body size was hidden as well.

“...I guess?”

He started to make his way over, shifting Prota into a position where he could access his bag easier. There wasn’t actually anything in the bag, but no one needed to know that.

“Many travellers on their way to the next town get caught out in the night. There’s a lot of monsters in this forest, you know,” the man said conversationally as John got closer.

“Monsters?”

“Mana beasts, if you prefer. Quite a few dangerous ones if you happen to be unlucky enough to run into one. Thankfully, me and a few pals have a small cabin out here in the woods.”

“You just… happen to have a cabin in the woods?”

The question seemed to catch the man off guard. “Well, it’s a lot nicer than in the city. No responsibilities, less people, lots of fresh game… it’s a lifestyle for a few.”

John nodded slowly. “Uh huh.”

This smelled of setup. John could already see potential scenarios running through his mind; they were bandits and would catch them while they were off guard and demand money, or were secretly monsters in disguise, waiting for another meal. Something like that. It was just how stories went.

“We’re almost there,” the man said. However, there was no cabin in sight.

“...we are?”

“Yeah, just up ahead.”

John frowned. It was so obvious a trap that he wondered if anyone else had ever fallen for it. People probably had.

“Now!” the man yelled, throwing his cloak off and revealing a full set of light leather armour and a sword. A hooded assassin leapt out from the trees and flung a barrage of knives out.

“What the-” John managed to gasp out before jumping out of the way. He managed to dodge nearly all the knives, but his shirt was slit open by one he couldn’t dodge. He let out a yelp as a line of red was drawn across his chest, waking the girl on his back up.

“Mm… mm?” Prota mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

“...” John looked back at the small girl before looking back up. There was a third bandit (?) now, the three of the surrounding the two. He almost reached into his pocket for something, but then thought the better of it and left it alone.

“Hey, Prota,” he said. “We’re uh… in a bit of a situation.”

She looked up, then looked back to John with a look of confusion.

“...we’re being attacked, Prota.”

Prota’s eyes went wide, then looked back at the men. They certainly didn’t look like they were here to be friends.

“Bwahahahaha! That’s your plan? You’re gonna wake up your younger sister?” the first bandit laughed. “What kind of man puts a child first?”

“This man fucked your mom last night,” John said smugly.

“That’s it, you…” the man in armor said with grit teeth as his sword burst into flames. He charged forwards, slashing away.

John simply stood still, making no move to dodge or get out of the way. The man was confused, but as he got close he thrust forwards, expecting the blade to plunge into John’s body like a hot knife into butter, but was surprised to find it missed.

“...huh?”

He looked down and saw a bush of ice thorns which had pushed his blade out of the way. The man looked back up and saw Prota’a eyes glowing bright blue, her hair like white lightning as she channelled yet another spell.

An intense look burned on her face as she stared down at her opponents.