"They can charm humans, and you can get trapped in their world. I am going to charm my way into them. You don't have the same abilities, and I can't protect you there. I am going to get something that will help us all, so I should be able to do this on my own," I explained, and Annie crossed her arms.
"I-" Annie started, but I put up my finger to stop her.
"No. You said that you would follow my guidance, and this is me asking you to listen to me. If I thought that it would be okay for you to come, I would bring you. I can't stress this enough," I said, and Annie sighed.
"Fine, if you are going to get all worked up about it! I just don't want you to get hurt!" Annie said, looking away from me, and I nodded.
"I appreciate that, but I am the only one you don't have to worry about. I will be back before morning, and then we can start working on teamwork and coordination, deal?" I asked, and Annie nodded.
"Are you going to get changed first?" Annie asked, and I shook my head.
"Most of the Fae had a bad temper, so I will just wear these trousers for now. There is an excellent chance that I will come home barely wearing anything, but it will all be worth it in the end!" I smiled, and Annie shook her head.
"What do I tell Tracy?" Annie asked, and I shrugged.
"That I will be back, and not to worry," I said and turned north.
"You had better come back!" Annie yelled at me, and I waved.
The girl was right to worry, but I would be fine if I played my cards right.
This was far too good of a deal to pass up when it came down to it. I had a significant advantage, and I didn't have to put the girls at risk.
On top of this all, it didn't seem like that cow, Jessel, was able to stop me, but that didn't mean that I could relax. I took the trail that the old man had suggested, but soon into my trip, something got in my way.
Now when I say something, I mean an armored troll that was about four feet taller than me. There was no reason for something like this to be here, so that meant that it must be something sent by Jessel.
"That looks pretty strong," Annie said from behind me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
I whirled around to find that not only Annie was behind me but also Tracy. The troll still hadn't noticed me, so I started to shove the girls back down the path in the opposite direction.
"What part of don't follow me didn't you understand?!" I exclaimed as I forced both women away from the massive monster.
This would have been an easy fight if I had been alone, but now I was screwed with the girls here!
"It was possibly the don't, but I also ignored the other two words. Tracy also said that you were probably going to be seduced by Fairies, and she said that we needed to follow you! I said it would serve you right, but she said I had to come along!" Annie declared as I pushed her.
"It is true, the Fae love human men, and as a friend, I can't let you go alone!" Tracy declared, and I guess that was a reasonable excuse.
That was the reason that I didn't want them to come along, but now I was going to have to abandon that. There was no way that I could take the girls into a Fairy Ring and expect to return with either of them.
"Fine, let's go back. I will have to forget about it," I said with a sigh, and both the girls stopped me from pushing.
"Wait! We came to help! Why are we going back now?!" Annie asked, and I sighed again.
"Because if you are with me, there is no way that I will be able to get what I am going for and keep you both safe. There is also a very good chance that Jessel will prevent me from protecting you. All reason for us to turn back," I said and pushed them forward.
I had really wanted to get us some Familiars, but it wasn't worth putting my friends at risk. I would have just gone in my past life, not worrying if anyone tried to follow me.
"I am sorry. I know that you are trying to do this to help us, but I don't think it is a good idea. You can teach us, and we will learn fast, but I don't think you should try to take shortcuts. We just found you, and neither of us wants to lose you," Tracy explained, and I nodded.
Tracy's words rang true, and maybe I was taking more risk than I had first assumed. When I calculated the risk, I didn't factor in what kind of damage I could cause to my friends if I were to get hurt or die.
This entire time, I only considered how I could keep them safe, but I was also important to them as a friend. I would need to consider this in the future for making choices.
"No, I am the one that should be sorry. I have only been thinking about myself, even if I meant to protect the two of you. I will make sure to be more considerate of how my choices will affect you both going forward from here," I said, and the girls both slipped from in front of me, and each grabbed one of my arms.
"Good. I think that we should make the choices together, that way we can all give our opinions. You might have been the Hero of another world, but you really suck at communication," Annie said as Tracy and her linked their elbows with mine.