Heaven's Greatest Professor

It took another couple of hours for them to navigate their way out of the catacomb. The outside was a deep valley which looked more like an ancient heritage spot, not that it took away anything from the murky darkness of the place. On top of that, there was mist in the air, hampering their sight and other senses, providing evidence that this wasn't any heritage spot at all.

Moreover, the mist wasn't natural. Perhaps some old security hack or the power of the rift mutated the natural manifestation of mist.

Other than getting out of the catacomb, there was another good news. After tinkering with the longread for some time, Agnes managed to get in contact with the others. Thankfully, they all were together and safe. After telling them about the goblins and orcs, she asked them to not be hasty in joining up. To take their survival as the utmost priority.

The two of them were on the correct path, anyway. She told them they would wait for their arrival near a landmark.

Warden was roasting the meat when he found Agnes coming back after the call. She looked much more relieved now.

"We're resting two hours here," she said. Warden nodded. After thinking a while, she asked, "You'll be well-rested in two hours?"

He nodded again. Agnes sat on the opposite side of the fire, watching the slow flame roast their meal.

"It will only take a few more minutes," he said. "Are you hungry?"

"Well, yeah," she said with a sigh. "Did you have to roast so much, though? This is like enough for our entire team…"

"I have an appetite unusual compared to most people," Warden added.

"Of course," she said.

After spending some minutes in complete silence, Warden began to serve the food, cutting out from the roasted deer over the fire.

"So, let's do some bonding over the meal," Warden smiled, handing her the food.

"No thank you," Agness declined without thinking. "I have no intention of bonding with you."

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"That's cold," Warden said with a mock hurtful expression. "I thought the madame captain takes care of everyone in charge… my fragile heart cannot take this much coldness."

She snorted. "Has everyone ever told you it is very hard to judge which one is the real you?"

Warden raised an eyebrow.

"There's the one who's petty, acts rashly, who makes fun of their superior officer for the smallest reason," Agnes continued. "There's one who repairs their companions' tools and weapons for the simple promise of training. And then there's you, who becomes like a single-minded monstrous force in a fight…"

"I think you're not thinking it right," Warden said after some thought. "They all are me. Just different shades."

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Agnes perked at him, munching the meat.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Warden laughed. "Anyway, how's the meal?"

"Decent enough," she said.

"Only decent? Looks like I have to up my cooking skills."

"No, this is pretty good," she said. "It's hard to get even decent quality on a mission… Not to mention nothing lasts in the front lines for long."

"Ahh," Warden ate slower than usual, even though it would take him some time to finish up. "So, what you used to do before becoming the most revered captain of the 16th infantry?"

Agnes didn't say anything for some time, concentrating on her food.

"I… I guess I adventured, though that didn't last long," she said with a sigh. "I used to take open contracts and take care of people's problems for a few months… then land myself a spot in the 16th infantry. That was like… five years ago? Time doesn't really make sense with the dilation, sigh!"

"What did you do to get here?" Warden said, lifting his head to look at her. She didn't meet his gaze. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Agnes helped herself with some water, satiating her sore throat. "I killed a person."

"Did they deserve it?" Warden said. "I mean, you have some—"

"No, he was innocent," Agnes said, her face laced with deep regret. "It was an accident."

Agnes didn't explain more, and Warden didn't ask either. This seemed like a sensitive topic to be pried over on just a meal. Still, she opened her mouth after a while.

"I used to beat myself in my early days," she said. "Used to have nightmares of the accident… but now not so much… I guess time had healed it. Or perhaps I overcome that with darker, nastier nightmares from spending my time in the front lines."

"Hey, look at you now, you're a captain, and at iron rank at that," Warden said, unsure if he was any good at consoling anyone. "I don't know how many can manage such a feat, but you surely are one of the best."

Agnes snorted. "Do I look like someone who needs consoling?" she said. "I know what I am."

"And that is?" Warden perked up.

"A genius," Agnes said, grinning. "More than that. There's no one who can compare to me… Nobody brilliant enough to deserve me."

Warden looked at her flabbergasted. At first, he thought she was joking, but looking at her impression, it was clear she meant every word of it. And somehow, it didn't sound wrong with the sheer level of confidence she was radiating.

"Well, there are better traits than narcissism," Warden said, meeting her grin with his own. "But it does look good on you."

"It's nothing but the truth," she snorted. Finishing up her meal, she cleaned up the plate with her darkness power and settled it next to him. "I'm going to take a quick nap. Don't ogle at me when I sleep, or my impression of you will revert to day-one."

Saying that, she moved a few steps away from the fire and wrapped herself in a blanket to rest. In no time, she was asleep.

Warden stared at her with an odd smile.

"Hey, I'm watching you," she said in her sleep, eyes still shut. "I'll give you another week of cleaning of toilets if you don't look away."

Captain Agnes was surely a peculiar thing.