While Elmo had expected for them to continue catching up when he came down in the morning, it was clear that it wasn't going to happen then, as both Heather and Sonya were working as waitresses again.
Elmo felt like a dunce, in that since they had been working the night before, that he should have realized they would likely be doing that again in the morning. However, he was a little surprised to see that he was the first one down there.
Jonas was still sleeping when Elmo had gotten up, but that wasn't too surprising, since Jonas had still been awake when he'd gone to bed. However, Elmo had expected at least Elin to have been up, especially since she'd been the one who wanted to catch up most, or at least as far as Elmo was able to tell.
Yet, it wasn't until he'd finished his breakfast that she came down with Kim. The look she had on her made Elmo realize that she'd stayed up most of the night. As he wondere why that might have been, he glanced at Kim and, seeing the same look in her, he realized to his embarrassment what it was that they likely had been doing.
He also made sure not to say anything to either of them. He definitely didn't want to accidentally say anything to agner Kim. Which he was confident he'd do if he said anything.
Instead, he got up and went outside. He couldn't be sure why Jonas hadn't come down already, but that wasn't his business. While he still had a crush on him, he was starting to suspect that Jonas wasn't going to return his interest and was starting to give up on him. It hurt, but he couldn't think of anything else to do about it.
Especially with how things had gotten. While he had appreciated Jonas taking the time to talk with him throughout their journey back, he didn't get the sense that there was really anything behind it other than trying to keep the team together.
After all, he didn't make a move on Elmo and he didn't show any signs that he'd be interested in any kind of relationship with Elmo, other than a teammate and friend. It wasn't what he'd have liked, but rarely did life ever let him have anything that he liked.
The morning air was refreshing. Especially since he knew that he didn't have a walk ahead of him for the day. He'd be able to return to the inn any time that he wanted and wouldn't have to worry about having to continue on when he started to get tired.
That was certainly a drawback of having to be in this world, doing this ridiculous competition. There weren't any motorized vehicles and there wasn't any electricity. As such, there wasn't much to occupy Elmo's mind when he wasn't moving and he couldn't stay moving because he only had so much energy to put into it.
The sooner he was able to win this, the better. Especially since he couldn't imagine what he'd do if he ended up being stuck in this plae. While it was nice to have magic and all that, it still didn't compare to being able to stay inside on his computer.
He wasn't much of a gamer, but that was only one small aspect of the internet. He would be able to read when he felt like it, look up things that caught his interest whenever he wanted, listen to music or watch movies when it suited him, and turn it off so he could sleep when he got tired.
In this world, he either had to embrace discomfort in many things or live a life of working a job that took up most of his time and not receive much in return. Or at least that's the best arrangement he could see getting himself.
Not that working to assist the cook in the inn was unpleasant. It just wasn't something he'd rather do for the rest of his life if he could help it. It certainly didn't provide the same level of interest that working as a web master for a few small websites had provided him.
Elmo was starting to consider heading back to the inn, when he realized that he wasn't alone. At first he thought it might have been someone from his team, but when they didn't approach him, he started to get suspicious. He doubted that it was one of the other competitors in the competition, but he couldn't rule that possibility out.
He did what he could to casually make his way back to the inn, hopefully not getting himself in trouble in the process. Especially since he hadn't a clue as to what it was all about. He certainly couldn't think of anything he'd done to spark this kind of interest in him.
He also hoped it didn't have anything to do with the competition in any way. Right now all he wanted to do was rest and relax. If there was to be any problems, he'd much rather those problems involve regular issues, such as someone being upset at another for saying something the wrong way or using the wrong word or whatever. At least there it would feel normal to him, rather than something that felt like it'd be right out of a book, comic, movie, TV show, or web novel.
Yet, as he turned around the smith shop, he noticed a group of people spread out across the way before him. Unlike the others walking along the street, these were clearly waiting for something. Elmo pretended like it had nothing to do with him, while a sinking feeling in his stomach said otherwise.
They all were wearing a hooded outfit that were browns and tans. Elmo wasn't sure how best to describe it, as he really wasn't very good at identifying fashions in the period he lived in, let alone from older periods.
As it turned out, as he tried passing the group that were just standing in the street, one reached out to grab his arm. The person didn't say anything, but merely held him there. Elmo noticed others coming from behind him, all dressed the same, but Elmo felt calm. Maybe it was because unlike the goblins, these people didn't have any weapons drawn and so hardly felt hostile, but he still have a feeling that they weren't friendly towards him.
"Can I help you with something?" Elmo asked, trying to act casual while his mind raced with what to do. His frist instinct was to try to run for it, but with the man holding his arm, he didn't expect that to work very well.
"Where is Jonas McCain?" the man asked.
"He's at the inn?" Elmo asked, confused as to why they might be looking for Jonas. "Uh, what's this all about?"
"Who are you to him?" the man asked, clearly ignoring Elmo's question.
"I'm just a member of the group he's in," Elmo was starting to get a feeling that these people weren't going to be friendly much longer. If this could be called friendly in the first place.
"What do you know about what he's up to?" the man asked.
Elmo looked around him. The street was deserted now. Before there were a few people walking along, but now it was pretty mcuh deserted aside from Elmo and the people around him.
"Why do you want to know?" Elmo asked, his mind starting to sort through what spell to use. He didn't want to kill them if he didn't have to.
"Because we need to talk with him to learn how he knows what he knows," the man said. "If you're not willing to cooperate with us, then we're not going to have a use for you."
Elmo sighed. That felt like it should be a line out of a movie or something. Maybe he'd watched to many crime movies and the like but he hardly felt like it was very intimidating, despite the man's clear efforts to be intimidating. That was also without considering his system that gave him magic spells.
"Well, I already told you where I last knew he was," Elmo said. "Why bother with me still?"
"Because until we learn from Jonas what he knows and how he knows it, we can't be sure you don't know it too."
Elmo sighed. He didn't want to do any of this, but it was clear these people weren't going to be willing to let him mind his own business.
"If that's the case then I have no need to hold back, huh?" Elmo asked.
The man's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Elmo was glad all the other people had left the street. That meant there would be less of a chance for a bystander to get hit by any stray spells of his.
"It means that you better let me go or you're not going to be around to realize why I gave you a chance to save your own life," Elmo answered, kicking himself mentally after he made his statement with how cheesy it sounded. He certainly wasn't an action hero. If anything, he'd expect himself to be cast in the comdic relief, even though he was pretty sure he wasn't that funny.
"Alright, what can you do?" the man asked, letting Elmo go as he took a step back.
"Wind Shield," Elmo said, determined to first give them a chance to try to save their own lives.
As his spell took effect, Elmo could feel the wind rising up around him, creating a barrier between him and anything around him. Although, he wasn't sure if it was mobile or if he would eventually be made into a statue because his body would eventually turn to stone from not moving so much. He was confident that's what would happen, although he couldn't say he knew the reason things would turn out that way.
After a minute, the man merely laughed. "You think just saying a couple words is going to be-" the man started to say, but stopped when it was clear the wind that separated the two of them was also keeping the man's hand from passing through it.
Elmo had no idea how strong of a wind it was, but he was at least happy that it was keeping him safe. Plus, it wasn't really that noticeable. The man merely regarded Elmo for a minute before leaing.
"Don't you dare warn Jonas that we're looking for him. If you do, we won't be so lenient on you next time. Hell, you might not even notice us next time before we strike," the man threatened, and while the first part felt like a cliché, the rest sounded like a decent threat. Elmo had to admit that he was impressed.
Yet, despite that, Elmo kept the wind shield up. He couldn't say that the people might try something else, but he doubted that they would. Still, since he had no idea what that was about, he couldn't say that there weren't other groups that might try something like they did.
Fortunately, the rest of his walk was uneventful, and it wasn't until he reached the inn that he dropped his Wind Shield. Just entering the inn felt relaxing enough, but he also felt he should give Jonas a heads up about the issue that someone was looking for him.
Elmo wasn't sure if he liked the implications of that. It felt a little ominous.