Useful information.

A man moved out of a tavern, and two people rose from their own seats a few tables over. James found it odd no one had questioned his decision to follow Mary for this mission.

He didn't mind though. He had to take his mind off things for a while. His motivations, his ambitions, they seemed so shallow when you looked at all the world's problems. He sighed.

Mary stared at him with her blank face. They were pretending to be a couple of some sort, and she was pulling it off somehow, even with her insociable countenance.

"You have the sigh of one who carries all the world's problems on your shoulder," she commented.

James startled dramatically. "How could you tell?!" he cried.

She only stared blankly, her features not showing any sort of reaction.

"Sometimes it is easy to forget you're but a child," she sighed. "Why did I even agree to a challenge from someone who can't focus on a mission?"

James shrugged. "Professional pride, I guess. And besides, I am good at compantmentalising. I can think of all the world's problems while keeping an eye on the target."

She kept her eyes forward, effectively terminating the conversation. Watching the target pretend to be a normal lower town resident -greeting his neighbors, flirting with girls and the like- was interesting and all, but James didn't want to give his thoughts free reign just then.

"Wait, you can't do that? And here I thought you were one of the best—?"

Her flat look in his direction was able to shut him up, but not for long.

"It's wonderful how you can communicate so much with the same exact expression."

"Do you want to die?"

His grin fell off his face. He sighed. "Maybe," he said.

Mary's eyes might have bugged just a little.

"So that's why you came with me tonight, is it?" She sighed when he didn't reply. "What's on your mind then?"

"What did you think, about the kids? The ones you guys rescued?"

She hesitated, stared at his face, saw something there perhaps. She faced forward again, though James had noticed maybe a muscle in her face ticking.

"It only reminded me of things. Things I'd rather forget about. From your horrified face, I'm guessing it showed you possibilities?"

James smiled ruefully. "A friend once told me, you know, that often those who seem the most emotionless are best at reading others."

He hesitated, staring at her walking to his right.

"I really want to talk about it."

Her eyes flicked to him briefly, she studied him again, then sighed.

"Fine. I won't promise to participate, just so you know."

"That's alright. I just... Maybe saying it all will help me make better sense of what I'm feeling. So I just, I feel scared, and furious, and importent too.

"Those kidnappers, the whole damned revolution. I want to kill them all. And that scares me. That's one of the reasons I've always feared to have power over another person's fate. And yet, what if it had been Crest or Harry or Lily. It had been Nino and Eno once. I can prevent these fools from hurting anymore children, and yet someone else might take their place, and someone else after that in an unending loop. And I'll want to kill them all. And-and—"

"Relax," Mary said, and she laid a hand on his forearm.

She wore a frown of concern in a rare show of exercising her facial muscles. James realised he'd started hyperventilating.

"Perhaps we can put the mission on hold for now," Mary suggested.

James was happy she'd been considerate enough not to just send him back to the mansion for holding her back. But he was the self appointed leader of their little party, so if he didn't see the mission through—

"No it's fine. The guy just entered that there tavern," James pointed to their perpetrator.

Mary frowned, clearly undecided.

"We'll have to split up to cover all the exits, perhaps one of us could go in. But I don't think you're in the right frame of mind to—"

"It's fine. Are you sure they are not going to have the clan meeting in there tonight?"

"The girl said the meeting will be in another location," Mary said with a shrug.

"Then I can try out something I've been thinking of since last night. Its an experiment, mind you."

"It might give us a chance of completing the mission without you having to weigh me down?"

"You're back to being mean already? That was superfast," James pouted.

She looked away too fast, James couldn't tell what he'd done wrong. He shrugged, then activated his divine treasure so that he could run around the building and try out his plan.

Mary frowned when he stepped back to her side.

"I think you mages are kind of unfair."

James smiled. "I guess you're right. If you want, there are magic items that can help taje your craft to the next level."

"Hmm, I guess you've never paid me for my services, have you?"

James shrugged. "You're saying that as if you're some kind of employee."

"I'm not?"

James spotted an outdoor eating joint. He was already feeling furmished even after all the mystery meat he'd eaten in the tavern. He linked elbows with Mary, pulling her in that direction.

"With you, I'm not really sure. You basically only agree to do the jobs you want. Is that really what an employee would do?"

"But you want to buy me magic items? Very expensive ones, nonetheless. Only those who were favoured by our guild master got stealth tools."

"Perhaps I just want to tie you down."

"You want to make me an official employee?"

He huffed our a laugh. "I suppose if that's all you can be, then sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mary frowned more deeply than before.

"Your face is more exoressive tonight than I've ever seen it before. Anyway, what I is, I don't know, perhaps I'm lonely, perhaps instead of surbordinates, I want friends."

He looked at her face, which had gone back to its customary flatness. He snorted.

"Listen to me, going on about friends and families and the like. Pathetic."

She touched his hand, but she couldn't look up when he tried to read her face.

"No, that's not... You're not pathetic for thinking like that."

"Ma-Mary?" James spoke in shock.

"I've never told anyone this, but when I was a girl in the guild, I suffered a lot. Not because the hierarchy is evil, although it is, and not because I was weak, but because I was strong. I was the strongest. Even stronger than my seniors. So they, they—"

"They hated you for it?"

"I could only bare it because I had a few friends. They killed them all, one by one. You know how the guild can be."

He squeezed her hand in solidarity. He empathised with her, a lot.

"In the end, I had to distance myself from those who survived. I survived on my own for years. Until they found another weakness to exploit."

James's blood turned cold. She was shaking, remembering whatever it was she was remembering. The novels he'd read hadn't gone quite this far in most of these characters' back stories. That's why he only knew so much about the former saint Delia as well.

After questing for what to do for a few moments, a plethora of memories stormed him. His own depression, his own spiral after his betrayal, which he had never forgotten up to date if he was being honest. What had ge needed back then? Perhaps...

He moved before he could think better of it, and suddenly he was holding her to him. She didn't resist, didn't show him her face. Her body didn't stop shuddering though. He held her tight for a while, but when it wasn't enough he patted her hair slowly.

And then the floodgates opened up. This was the wrong way to stay inconspicuous. What with them being exposed the way they were. The waitress hesitated in bringing their orders. James winced at the reminder of his hunger, and his belly growled.

Suddenly Mary's sobbing was done, and her body was back under her control. She pushed herself away, wiped at her eyes, and set her face back into the stone it had always been.

James winced again, but then the waitress brought his food and he ate his fill. He was still trying to wrack his brain for what to say though.

"You don't have to say anything. I... don't know what came over me back there. I'm —"

"No. No, just don't. I may look young, inexperienced, but I do know what it's like to be betrayed by comrades," he hesitated. "And also what you'd consider parent figures. I'm guessing even the high table kind of helped your enemies?"

She drew her sleeve to her head again. "Yes, they, uh—"

She sniffed. It had been a weird night, full of surprises and the like. James hadn't gotten over his own fears, but he supposed those needed more than one night to unpack. Too bad their night was already drawing to a close.

"There are two trails. One to the left, the other to the right."

Mary stood up at once. She hadn't eaten anything, the weird meat having been enough for her.

"Right," she nodded, and made to walk away.

"Wait," James held her callused hand. He'd only been holding the upper part thus far. "I know me saying I've experienced something similar to what you have doesn't make sense, but humour me. What I needed back then, what I need right now, are friends.

"You can lean on me, Mary. We can lean on each other."

She didn't look back though. When he let her hand go, she took one direction and he took the other.