Before starting the mission, they stopped by a pharmacy for ointment and fresh bandages. Then, they rented an inn that allowed familiars. The sun suggested it was only past the second quarter of the day, so Maria had some time. He cleaned up, scrubbing off the grime and treating his injuries. All while Enanon, as usual, radiated disdain—whether through biting comments or looks that screamed "filthy human."
Would it really be that bad to rip out a clump or two of this jerk's fur? Maria thought, eyeing the divine wolf. The idea of running away sounded better and better, but then he remembered what Enanon was capable of. Yeah… not worth it.
He shook his head, stomach growling. Priorities. Food came first. Out of sheer courtesy (and maybe hoping for a break from Enanon's relentless insults), he asked, "Hey, you want to eat?"
Do divine beings even eat?
In response, Enanon rose and transformed. The air shimmered as four legs became two. The giant wolf morphed into a tall man with a glow that was just *too* dramatic for Maria's tastes.
Ah. So this was the red-haired guy he saw in his half-conscious state last night. Enanon's fiery curls framed his face and cascaded to his shoulders. His outfit was… surprisingly simple—just a white top, open vest, and loose pants. No fancy robes, no godly armor. Weirdly normal for a guy who was literally divine.
But, of course, Enanon *looked* anything but normal. He carried himself like some kind of noble, tall, muscular, and exuding that annoyingly dignified aura that just screamed "I'm better than you." Maria couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance that Enanon was taller than him. Figures.
"Well, guess that's a yes," Maria said, more to himself, and perked up at the thought of food. He announced cheerfully, "Let's go then!"
Enanon, as always, made no quip and silently followed him down to the lobby.
When their food arrived, Maria's mouth watered. The dishes looked amazing, and without wasting any time, he dug in, completely forgetting about his usual table manners. Or lack thereof.
"Disgusting," came the inevitable judgment. "I suppose the horrendous way you live leads to a horrendous way of eating. Show some grace, human."
Maria ignored him, shoveling food into his mouth. No way was he going to let this asshole ruin his meal. Enanon, meanwhile, ate like some kind of royal, his every bite precise and elegant, while Maria resembled… well, the opposite of that. But whatever.
Why judge someone's way of eating anyway? As long as it's going down the right pipe it should be fine. Enanon was talking as if Maria was shoveling food up his nose and into his airways or something. What an ass. Maria scoffs in his mind.
Soon, they finished and headed back to their room where Maria packed some supplies for the mission. Enanon had returned to his wolf form, thank goodness. Though, not without catching the eye of every girl in the lobby on their way out. None of them approached, though. Probably because Enanon's aura practically screamed *don't even think about it*. Maria was thankful for that. The last thing he needed was a swarm of admirers around his jerk of a companion.
After that, they made their way to the forest, heading for the Linmail tree. It wasn't long before they found it—a towering thing, with plenty of blue fallen leaves carpeting the ground. The leaves they needed were at the very top, still red in color and out of reach.
Maria sighed, already feeling his leg ache at the thought of climbing. He looked at Enanon. Maybe, just maybe, this one time the divine jerk would help?
"Hey, mind giving me a hand?"
Predictably, Enanon scoffed. "Earn your own keep, human. It was you who squandered the money the gods gave. I am here only to prevent your pathetic body from dying should unfortunate circumstances occur. If your leg pains you, consider it a reminder of your stupidity. Suffer if you must."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Maria says in his mind. Rolling his eyes when he was fully turned away from Enanon. He was already halfway up the tree, gritting his teeth every time his injured leg strained. He tried to tune out Enanon's voice. The last thing he needed was a distraction. One wrong move and he could stumble into a giant bird's nest or, worse, an aggressive hive of bees.
Five grueling minutes later, Maria reached the top. He carefully plucked the red leaves, stuffing his sack full, and began his slow descent. When he finally made it down, Enanon looked at him with what seemed like… acknowledgment?
When they head back for the inn, for once, no insults were thrown his way. It was rather peaceful. Maria found himself relaxing. He'll enjoy it while it lasts.
And it lasted until he was cornered in an alley on his way to the guild by none other than the man he stole from back at the guild and his party members. Maria decides to label the burly man as baldy. His head was indeed polished and shiny.
"You made a big mistake, rookie. Or should I say thief? You messed with the wrong people."
Maria dares a glance at his divine companion and immediately regrets it. Enanon is seething, and his fury isn't aimed at their attackers—it's all directed at him. Suddenly, a cold voice echoes in his mind.
"Foolish doesn't begin to describe your level of idiocy," Enanon's voice hisses, laced with barely-contained rage.
"The hell?!" Maria yelps. How is he hearing Enanon in his head? Telepathy?
"So, you still have the nerve to speak, thief? You've got some guts, I'll give you that."
The baldy still in front of him holding him by the collar sneered.
"Your limbs are not bound this time therefore, fend for yourself. I offer no help to a fool that brought this upon himself." Maria hears Enanon speak in his head.
After saying that, Enanon takes the sack full of leaves and abandons Maria in a sprint.
"Wait!"
Maria tried to follow Enanon, but before he could make any headway, a heavy shove slammed him into the wall.
"Go after the familiar," Baldy barked to his comrades, sending them off. He then turned back to Maria, his eyes narrowing.
Maria forced himself to meet Baldy's gaze, though he immediately regretted it. "H-Hey, I'm sorry, okay? Look, here's your pouch. I didn't even touch the contents. Promise."
He fumbled to hand over the pouch, his heart pounding in his chest. Baldy snatched it, inspecting it carefully, his eyes never leaving Maria's.
"See? Everything's there! Can you let me go now?" Maria tried to smile, but his words came out shaky, more hopeful than confident.
But the grip on his collar didn't loosen. Instead, it tightened, and Maria felt the crushing weight of reality sinking in. He wasn't getting out of this without a fight.
'Great,' he thought. 'Can I even overpower a seasoned adventurer?'
His self-defense skills were... well, let's just say they were self-taught. Most of the time, he didn't stick around long enough for fights to escalate—he preferred quick getaways. His muscles came from scaling walls, dodging guards, and hauling loot—chests filled with gold coins— not from swinging fists or trading blows. Meanwhile, Baldy looked like he had years of combat under his belt, and plenty of muscle to back it up.
Before Maria could think of a plan, Baldy yanked him by the collar and threw him to the ground like he weighed nothing. Maria rolled, narrowly avoiding Baldy's boot as it slammed into the dirt where his leg had just been. He scrambled to get up, but the next thing he saw was a giant hammer being lifted into the air.
Maria shrieked and twisted to the side just as the hammer crashed down, splintering the cobblestone where he'd been lying. His eyes darted around—there was nothing in the alley to hide behind. It was barren, the perfect place for an ambush.
Baldy staggered slightly, his drunkenness showing in the wobble of his steps. Maria managed to pull himself to his feet, wincing at the sharp pain in his leg where the stab wound had reopened. This wasn't good. Every movement was making it worse, and running wasn't an option anymore. He had to deal with Baldy before his gang returned.
*Think, think!* Maria's mind raced as he ducked another swing of the hammer. Baldy was tipsy, and that was his only advantage. He had to use it.
Then, Maria's foot hit something thin and solid prompting him to glance down. A rope! Desperation turned into a plan. Grabbing the rope, he charged at Baldy, narrowly avoiding another hammer swing by the width of a hair. As Baldy staggered forward, thrown off-balance by the miss, Maria took his chance.
With a grunt, Maria swept Baldy's legs out from under him, sending the big man crashing to the ground. Baldy cursed, but the fall had disoriented him. Maria didn't waste a second. He jumped on Baldy's back, quickly winding the rope around the man's neck, pulling it tight.
Baldy thrashed, clawing at the rope, but Maria held on for dear life, putting all his weight on the man's back. His arms trembled, the strain almost too much to bear, but finally, Baldy's struggles grew weaker, his body going slack.
Maria, panting and soaked with sweat, loosened the rope slightly. "I didn't kill him, did I?"
Maria panics, but he has no time to put his concerns to rest. He needs to get away before the rest of the adventurers returns. Running as fast as he could, he returns to their inn. Entering and quickly slamming the door shut. Maria's knees buckle and he sinks to the floor, catching his breath. He finally looks up. Enanon still in his wolf form looks outside the window before turning to look at Maria.
____________
Enanon had anticipated that the human would succumb to his base instincts much sooner, given his nature. Yet to his surprise, the human had restrained himself admirably throughout their journey in the city. It was a display of self-control Enanon had never imagined this lowly creature capable of.
At the adventurer's guild, he expected the human to storm out of the building or erupt in his usual foolishness. Instead, the human, though awkward and clearly out of his element, had shown a degree of earnestness in asking for a job. When subjected to mockery by the other adventurers, the human managed to maintain a semblance of decorum, despite the insult to his dignity. It was a baffling sight, one Enanon had not foreseen.
Though Enanon took every opportunity to insult him, inwardly, he felt a rare flicker of acknowledgment. The human had not allowed his boundless idiocy to rear its head as it usually did. There was a certain measure of rationality—perhaps fleeting—that the human had shown. He had also, surprisingly, refrained from talking back to Enanon, which was an unexpected reprieve.
Still, this did not endear the human to Enanon in any meaningful way. His disdain for the human's habits—his atrocious eating manners, his crass speech—remained unchanged. After all, this was still the same wretched thief with an insatiable addiction to gambling, an embodiment of greed and folly. However, the fact remained: today, the human had not acted like the usual hurricane of chaos that he was. He had, at least for a brief time, held himself with a modicum of restraint. When they ventured out to retrieve the Linmail leaves, the human had completed the task adequately.
And so Enanon allowed himself to entertain the possibility that perhaps, against all odds, this human could change. Perhaps there might be a way to cooperate with less disdain between them.
That moment, however, was as fleeting as it was foolish. Mere hours after these thoughts entered his mind, the human had already proven him wrong. The fool had stolen an adventurer's pouch—at the guild of all places—and now they were cornered by the very same man and his band of miscreants.
Enanon's disappointment was palpable, his disgust immeasurable. Rage coursed through him, his disdain for this human now deeper than ever. The human was beyond redemption, incapable of learning from even the most immediate of consequences. He was nothing but a greedy, impulsive fool—no different from the wretched creature he had been the day before. The thought that Enanon's path to ascension was bound to this pitiful being was sickening. What cruel twist of fate had tethered him to such filth?
"Foolish doesn't begin to describe the depths of your idiocy, human," Enanon spoke, his voice heavy with contempt, his words conveyed telepathically.
With cold indifference, Enanon snatched the mission sheet and the sack of Linmail leaves before abandoning the fool to the fate he had wrought. Eluding the adventurers who had pursued him was effortless; they were no match for his divine speed. Once he reached the guild, he completed the task himself, handing over the leaves and claiming the reward with neither hesitation nor remorse.
Upon his return to the inn, Enanon allowed himself to simmer in his anger, awaiting the inevitable arrival of the human. It wasn't long before the door burst open, and the wretch stumbled in, breathless and disheveled, his face a mask of panic. Scratches adorned his skin, and the fear in his eyes was undeniable.
Enanon, without sympathy, turned his gaze upon the human, his lip curling in distaste.
"You look positively unsightly, human."