Introduction

"You-...You will help us?" Fritz asked in a confused and perplexed voice as he stared at Blaze.

"Of course, thank Ariston for that, when he wakes up of course." Blaze said as he gently placed Ariston on the ground.

"Anyways, before we do anything, let me make this clear for you. Ariston has gained my trust, but none of you did. Right now, I still see you as those bratty kids that infiltrated my tavern and assaulted me, especially that demi-human girl who is on her period." Blaze stated as he pointed his finger at Lilith.

Lilith was grinding her teeth upon hearing Blaze's insult, but Dimitri already apprehended her before she could do anything repulsive.

"Anyways, right now, I want you to tell me your full names, your classification, and your role as a member of the scarlet imps," Blaze added before he sat on the grassy ground and rested his head on his fist.

Chiva proceeded to remove the protection spell and before she could collapse from fatigue, Fritz caught her limp body and gently carried her on his arms before he cleared his throat and started speaking.

"My name is Fritz von Apollo, an alchemist accredited by the kingdom's supreme guild and the vice-captain of the scarlet imps, plessure to meet you." Fritz presented himself in a calm and gentle voice as he slightly bowed his head in respect.

"Nice to meet you, Fritz. I hope you don't mind me asking, are you by any chance related to the royal family of Apollo?" Blaze curiously asked after narrowing his eyes, tilting his head, and resting his chin on his fist.

"Yes, sir." Fritz casually responded.

"Holy fuck! Then what the hell are you doing here?" Blaze exclaimed as his eyes widened in surprise.

"I-...Don't want to talk about that now, sir." Fritz averted his eyes and stared at the ground before he hesitantly answered Blaze in a voice that had a little hint of sadness.

Blaze stared at him for a few seconds before he cleared his throat, "I'm pretty sure you have your reasons, so don't be so sad, you must be happy for your leader and how he achieved an impossible task." Blaze said with a casual voice after he gave a friendly smile to Fritz.

"R-...Right. I am sorry for my sudden reaction." Fritz cracked a smile before he apologetically responded.

"No worries. Anyways, now that you introduced yourself, how about you introduce your girlfriend too?" Blaze asked in a friendly voice.

"Um-...Girlfriend?" Fritz wondered.

"The one you're carrying in your arms." Blaze replied as he pointed at Chiva.

Fritz looked down at Chiva while the latter looked up at him, their gazes were fixed at each other before they blushed and quickly averted their eyes in embarrassment.

"N-N-No, sir. We are just-...team mates." Fritz hesitantly responded as he stuttered many times throughout his phrase.

"...Oh. Hahaha, I'm sorry for my silly mistake. You both just looked so perfect for each other so I assumed that you were already-" Blaze erupted into cheerful laughter before he spoke in a friendly voice, describing how the two are such a perfect couple before he got interrupted by Chiva.

"A-A-Anyways…*Ahem*...My name is Chiva Tchiva, an archmage and also the team's healer, transporter, mage, and supporter." Chiva cleared her throat before she regained her calmness and casually introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Chiva. I hope your relationship with Fritz advances more, hahaha." Blaze cheerfully laughed as he provoked the two, making them avert their looks in embarrassment.

"My name is Ace Pyrolion, I am Ariston's brother and a magical adventurer, and the team's primary vanguard." Ace smiled at Blaze before he introduced himself in a confident voice.

"Ariston's brother? Then how come you have a different surname?" Blaze wondered.

"We grew up in an orphanage, sir." Ace answered.

"Oh, interesting. Well, nice to meet you, Ace." Blaze replied.

"My name is Dimitri Ivanov, I am an elemental mage, my element is earth, and I am also the main defense and tank of the team." Dimitri introduced himself in a nonchalant voice.

"Good. So, that leaves period-girl the last." Blaze stated as he gave a mocking smirk to Lilith.

Lilith wanted to jump towards him and strangle him to death, but she quickly regained her composure after taking a deep breath and started her introduction.

"My name is Lilith Mohund, I am a demi-human and the team's tracking expert and stealth specialist, and also the secondary healer, secondary vanguard, and secondary defense." Lilith placed her hands on her hips, and introduced herself in the most unenthusiastic voice she could manage.

"Well, who would have thought that the period-girl was an interesting character that has an intresting background." Blaze mockingly said to Lilith, trying to provoke her again.

Lilith wasn't angry but was shocked after hearing Blaze's words, "You-...You know the Mohund tribe?" She asked in disbelief and wonder.

"Yes, but let's leave it for later, this isn't the time for it now." Blaze quickly changed the subject before he could get caught in a very long exposition.

He stood up, adjusted his attire, and crossed his arms as he eyed the scarlet imps.

"So, I guess it's time for me to do the same…*Ahem*...My name is Isaac Blaze, I am a tavern owner and-...that's pretty much it." Blaze casually introduced himself, as anti-climactically as possible.

"What?! What the fuck kind of half-assed introduction is that?! Even a toddler can have a much more interesting backstory!" Lilith complained as she pulled her hair from frustration.

"Just like you?" Blaze asked.

"Exactly! I am strong, beautiful, important, and also has a mysterious backstory." Lilith bragged in a confident voice.

"And other hilarious jokes you can tell yourself." Blaze said, trying his best to imitate a circus showman.

"... …" The entire gang stared at Blaze in silence before a loud screaming erupted from out of nowhere.

"Let me kill him! Let me rip his throat and show him how much of a hilarious joke I am!" Lilith kicked and screamed as she used all of her power to try and break from Dimitri's tackle, but the latter gripped with all of his strength.

"Alright, now that we know each other, back to my first ever question. Where are the wizards?" Blaze asked, completely ignoring Lilith's murderous rage towards him.

"That isn't possible, sir. The wizards predicted that you'd do that, so they placed a spell on us to stop us from revealing their location or write it." Fritz answered in an apologetic voice as he held his head down.

"Hm, of course, those cowardly retards would do that. Did they give you a deadline?" Blaze asked.

"Yes, three months," Chiva replied in a serious voice.

"How long has it been since they sent you?" Blaze narrowed his eyes and curiously asked.

"It has only been one week," Fritz stated.

"Wonderful, that means no rush. So, let's rest for today, you are all welcomed into my inn!" Blaze goaded as he gave a mocking smile to everyone.

"Finally! A good place to sleep in!" Chiva suddenly exclaimed.

"Thank you so much, Mr.Blaze. I don't think I can thank you enough." Fritz said in a sincerely grateful voice as he bowed his head down a little.

"Thank you! After a whole week of sleeping on the grass, I will finally taste the sweet touch of an actual bed!" Ace exulted as raised his fists in the air in a victorious pose.

"That-...honestly sounds good!" Dimitri was about to object but after a few seconds of thinking, he reached the conclusion that this was an amazing offer.

"Fuck that! I'd rather sleep in a stable than spend one fucking second in your inn, you shitty old man!" Lilith retaliated in a noisy voice as she started pointing at Blaze.

"Oh, what was that? Was it a retarded wolf trying to bark some arguments at me? Because guess what, I don't fucking care." Blaze slammed Lilith with his words as he cheerfully smiled, adding salt to the wound.

Lilith didn't respond as she clenched her fist and leaped towards Blaze to try to punch him in the face and vent off her stress, but the latter easily dodged it and karate chopped her neck and made her go unconscious.

Before Lilith could drop to the ground, Blaze carried her in his arms and gazed at her.

"My oh my, I like her already." Blaze stated as he playfully smiled.

"... ...What?" Dimitri was beyond confused as he asked Blaze.

"In fact, I liked her from the start. She always seemed lively, strong, confident, and doesn't take shit from other people. She somewhat reminds me of my daughter, hahaha." Blaze said before he erupted into cheerful laughter.

"But-...we thought you-" Ace inquired before he got interrupted.

"Hated her? Not at all. It's basically like seeing a child pouting at you, it's just so adorable that you can't stop annoying them. Hahaha." Blaze explained before he started joyfully laughing again.

"Anyways, let's get moving already. It's going to be a long walk to get from here to the tavern." Blaze stated before he took the lead and started walking.

"Of course, Dimitri?" Fritz responded before he looked at Dimitri and pointed at the unconscious Ariston, which the latter responded to by picking him up and carrying him in his shoulder.

"Oh, let me assure you, everyone, you'll have a great night in my tavern. There's a lot of drinks to choose from, there's a multitude of music being played all the time, a variety of food you can order from, we even have special events sometimes! I assure you that you will love it! Hahaha!" Blaze cheerfully stated before he graciously laughed.

Blaze was cheerfully talking to the imps like a bunch of old friends that he finally reunited with. The scarlet imps were a bit confused and skeptical at first, but Blaze was instantly praised by them after he recognized Ariston's efforts, agreed to help them, offered them a place to stay, and even admitted that he liked the member that he seemed to hate the most.

Blaze was genuinely happy for the first time in so many years.