Previously in NWC-
Reno finishes admiring Medusa's work, excited to show Kent the finished stock. Medusa, after being rewarded, begins making three more. Reno is given camping equipment by the the mayor, as well as an offer to legally purchase the land on which they made their FTG. Reno accepts, setting up a time for the mayor to come measure the lot for paperwork purposes. Reno discovers that the mayor used to be an adventurer. Reno returns and they begin setting up for their first ever campout...
Medusa continues to make progress on the gun stocks and Reno continues his sword practice. Luna watches them both from the warmth of the sleeping bag. It doesn't take long before Reno slowly becomes unable to swing his sword due to the effects of Medusa's medicine wearing off. "Ughh… It hurts more than before." Reno had climbed under their shelter and was now lying on the sleeping bag, clutching his stomach.
"I told you, reno. You needed to rest! What are you going to do if you continue to make your condition worse?!"
"Ughh…" Rather than responding, he simply groans and rolls over to face the other way.
"Seriously, you are the most irresponsible boy in history!" Luna prepares to go on a long-winded speech about self-preservation instincts but stops after examining Reno's pained face. She thinks to herself and sighs. "You could ask Medusa if she would be capable of producing more liquid for you. But you'd have to promise to rest. It's only going to get worse if you continue to exert yourself. At the very least until tomorrow when your body has at least recovered from the initial impact." Reno doe s his best to responds but only gives a quiet sigh in response. Luna finds the bowl and squeezes under it, flying up with it to carry it to Medusa. "Medusa, sweetie? Are you able to spit in the bowl again?" Medusa smiles and turns her attention to Luna but is shocked to find a floating bowl. It takes her a second of watching to realize Luna was carrying it before she takes it and produces more of the liquid, holding it over her head and rushing to Reno. Just like before, she feeds Reno the liquid which causes his to gag and choke as he coughs from the taste.
He finally pushes himself up, covering his mouth. "This stuff doesn't get any better… I feel like I'm gonna' throw up!" He sits up, his stomach churning before finally settling. "Ughh, I don't know what's worse. The pain is terrible, but the taste is almost as bad."
"Then lie on the floor and writhe." Luna speaks bluntly, causing Reno to stop and turn to her, his face showing his utter disbelief.
"Are you GOOD? That was pretty morbid for you."
"Am I good, Reno? Am I? Am I good watching you literally kill yourself just because you want to swing a sword? Am I good watching as both you, and even Medusa, do everything you can for the last place on this planet that believes in me as deity? Am I good sitting around feeling useless and not being able to do anything about it? Am I good, Reno?"
Reno stares in silence, his eyes widened with disbelief. Slowly, he nods with acknowledgment. "I get it. I'll take the rest of the day off." With that, Luna finally calms down, returning to her spot in the sleeping bag. Reno watches Luna, her silence causing him a bit of discomfort. Finally, he remembers something. His eyes light up as he begins rummaging through his backpack, pulling out the bag of cookies. He sets one right next to her and watches for her reaction. "Sorry, I gave one to Medusa earlier but forgot to give you one. You wanted something sweet, right?"
Luna looks up at Reno and then back down at the cookie before sighing. "If you think giving me sweets is going to make me feel better…" Luna slowly hovers over the confection, chuckling. "…you're only partly right. The two sit and watch Medusa before realizing it was getting dark. Reno starts a fire and begins boiling water with which to cook, making small talk as he does so. "So, the old man is coming out tomorrow to have lunch and get an estimate on the size of land of the Future Training Ground."
"Really? For what reason?"
"He's selling me the land for 200 gold that will slowly come out of what I earn."
"That's wonderful news! Then this area is to become our official new home!" Luna hovers around with glee, Medusa even cheering despite not knowing what's going on. "In that case, I shall take Medusa and we will hide in the barn tomorrow when he comes!" The two continue their idle conversation, discussing what they should do the place. Finally, the food is done, and they're ready to eat. They all sit around the fire, eating. After they're done, Luna sings a song, causing Medusa to try and sing along despite not knowing the words. The time passes joyfully, all three of them getting progressively more tired as they continue their thrilling night of camp activities. After being forced by Luna and Medusa to take another dosage of Medusa's liquid, he decides to take a walk.
"Ughh, that stuff tastes so bad… why am I being punished with this stuff after being hit at Mach 5? Ridiculous…" Reno decides to walk back to the barn to change clothes after all of their activities today. As he's about to leave, he stops. "Hmm, Luna said she get's cold pretty easily… I wonder if Medusa gets cold too? She's a plant, right? Except plants are capable of doing anything but grow basically… what the actual hell is Medusa, anyway?" He barely manages to shake off his intrusive questions and get back to his original thought. "Maybe I should give her one of my shirts?" He grabs a spare shirt, coincidentally matching the one he just put on. "This one looks good. I should get back before they think something happened." Reno returns to the campsite, holding the shirt behind him. "Her, Medusa! Guess what I got?"
"Muh?" Medusa tilts her head in curiosity, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Reno quickly pulls the shirt out and holds it out to her. "I got you a shirt!"
"Ree!" Medusa jumps with joy, the notion of receiving a present enough to bring her excitement to it's peak. She quickly takes the shirt and all her vines make their way through the openings. After putting it on, the shirt almost reaches the ground.
Luna watches, joyfully taking in this scene. "Aww, it almost appears like a dress!"
"Hey, you're right!" Reno nods his head approvingly, happy that the shirt fit her without any alterations. Medusa does a small twirl, her new shirt swaying like a true dress.
"She seems to be more than pleased with the present."
"She'd be happy even if I gave her a stick." Reno watches Medusa run around and twirl herself for a bit before deciding it was time to go to sleep. "Alright, I'm going to bed, 'night you two." Reno puts out the fire and crawls in the sleeping bag, Luna follows soon after. Medusa continues to run around until she notices. She quickly rushes over, squeezing in the sleeping bag with the other two. Reno cracks up, laughing as he adjusts to the new lack of space. Although cramped, he doesn't find it uncomfortable. Sleep quickly overtakes the group, taking them into its embrace. The party's sleep is relatively undisturbed, save for one member.
"Muh…" Medusa slowly wakes up in the middle of the night. She yawns and slowly turns around to face outside the shelter and look out. While she's lying there, she hears a strange sound. She slowly crawls out of the bed, walking to the perimeter of the FTG. She looks out further into the forest, searching for the noise. Finally, she discovers it. Closing her eyes and mouth to cover up her eyes, she listens to the 2 individuals walking in the forest.
"Look man, I never said I wasn't going to do it, I just feel kind of bad, Y'know?"
"Feel bad all you want but keep it to yourself! If the boss hears you showing sympathy he'll get of you faster than you can say 'sorry'!"
"The boss wouldn't actually kill someone for feeling bad, would he?"
"You've never seen the boss angry. One bad choice and he'll get rid of you without a second thought. That's what happens when the person paying you is rich nobles, there's no room for mistakes."
"I get that, but haven't we been harassing this place for long enough?"
"Look, kid, I like you. That's why I'm having this conversation with you instead of letting you be cut open by the boss. You're pretty new, but its time you started seeing the world for what it is. You're a criminal, kid, and having sympathy will only get you killed. The world is survival of the fittest. You can refuse to attack these people this time around, but you'll just be disposed of and replaced and the attack will happen anyway." Medusa peeps her eyes slightly to see a tall bald man with a scar on his right eye having a heart-to-heart conversation with an average sized male with black hair.
"I know, I just… it feels wrong."
"Why did you even become a bandit if you were going to just feel bad for the people you're robbing?!"
"I… I needed money, and I couldn't get a job. This was my only choice. I didn't want to be homeless!"
"Look kid, you got six days to figure it out. If the boss sees you hesitate, then being homeless will be the least of your problems." The two men make their way further into the forest, disappearing from sight.
"Muh?" Medusa, uncertain of what was going on, simply returns to the shelter, crawling in the sleeping bag with Reno again. She wraps her vines around him, gentler than the previous night, and falls back asleep.
TO BE CONTINUED...