Chapter 21: Chapter 20: Conflicting Feelings

Ellie downed Mama Bear with a spell, watching in satisfaction as the charred corpse burst into rainbow haze.

“That was awesome, Ellie!” Ilmir cheered. “Keep it up!”

Ellie frowned. Ilmir had been laying it on thick with the compliments, and it just…didn’t feel good. Not with how she had treated Tess. If it had been, say, Ker or Jin, who obviously weren’t playing favorites, or even Eyfura who was clearly trying to help Tess, but given the vast difference in how Ilmir treated people…

“We could have taken care of this faster and profited more if Tess was here.” Ellie said sulkily.

“I’m not so sure. I mean, the monsters here are stronger than the ones in the other dungeon we were at, and she took a while in the boss there, so in fights like this we’d have to divide our attention trying to keep her safe. You really don’t need her, she’s just dragging you down.”

“Actually, she was being considerate.” Jin corrected. “From what Alice told me, she was able to take that boss out in one hit when she was on her own, she was just making sure Ellie was able to get a share of the EXP.”

The group had moved back into the lobby at this point, but Ilmir didn’t give the argument up.

“So? It’s still a goblin and she’s in the twenties. It doesn’t mean anything. When she’s able to do the same to something tanky like Mama Bear or something from a harder dungeon, then we’ll talk. She’s being carried by being way overleveled and that’s not going to last.”

“Yeah, but by then she’ll have way better Skills.” Ellie argued. “If we’re saying that, then I’m being carried by having way higher stats.”

“Her Skills can only take her so far.” Ilmir countered. “She’s got a lot of status stuff, but that doesn’t mean anything if she can’t do any damage. Alright, let’s say she paralyzes something. What then? If she can’t hurt it, she can’t apply her bleed.”

“At that point I come in and give a coup de grace. She’s not working in a vacuum.”

“Not if you’re busy trying to keep three other monsters from taking her out.”

“Theoretically speaking, that’s probably not even necessary.” Ker pointed out. “Only bosses or other smart things are going to target her, and if she gets over her fear of using her abilities to their full extent, she’ll have a couple of minions able to take heat for her.”

“Yeah, but from what I’ve seen she’s not going to get over it.” Ilmir said flatly. “She’s spineless.”

“She is not!” Ellie protested. “She’s just going through a lot of changes right now, and she cares about what other people feel, unlike you.”

Ilmir shrugged.  “I’m saving you both hardship in the future. It may hurt now, but, in a few years when you and I are in the harder dungeons, you’ll thank me.”

Ellie grit her teeth. “Grandpa and Aunt Eyfura believe in her, so why can’t you? I’m pretty sure they know better than you.”

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Ilmir opened her mouth to reply, but Jin cut her off. “That’s enough. Ilmir, you’re entitled to your opinion, but if you don’t refrain from voicing it, then I’ll have no choice but to call your grandmother. She told me to do that if you started causing problems, and I won’t hesitate. Understand?”

Ilmir gulped. “Y-yes, sir.” She replied, immediately cowed.

“Furthermore, you’re being an awful teammate. Causing dissent in the party like this is liable to get someone killed, and, in my opinion, is more harmful than even having a completely useless person on the team. Ker and I have escorted a couple of people who thought they could handle themselves in a fight and trying to protect them while they go up against something out of their league is much easier than dealing with internal strife.” Jin lectured.

“But…”

“But nothing. At the end of the day, you’re placing too much focus on raw combat ability and not thinking about other aspects of a team. Even if Tess couldn’t directly contribute to a fight by dealing damage, there are a myriad of other ways she can help out a team, both in and out of combat. By tomorrow, I’ll be expecting you to come back with at least five of those. Otherwise you’ll be given a punishment.”

Ilmir frowned. “You can’t–”

“I can and I will.” Jin replied calmly. “Eyfura gave me full permission to train you as I see fit. And, the way I see it, you’re too focused on fighting. Now, we’re going to go back in there and we’re going to finish this grind off, and I don’t want to hear another word about it. Understood?”

“Yes.” Ilmir pouted.

Ellie smiled inwardly. She couldn’t wait for Tess to come back so she could prove Ilmir wrong, but she would be lying if she said there wasn’t a seed of doubt being planted.  What if Ilmir was right? Everything she knew and had been told said that Tess would be strong eventually, but she couldn’t get rid of that nasty “what if” in the back of her mind.

She shook her head, clearing the thoughts away for the moment. All she could do now was believe in Tess and train herself so that when Tess came back, she could properly support her. Ellie hefted her sword, putting on a determined face. “Yeah. Let’s do this.”

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Ellie kicked her feet back and forth on the bed excitedly, holding her phone in front of her. She had just finished her first call with Tess and there was something…different about it. It was nice to be able to talk to the target of her affections every day but talking over the phone at night was…she couldn’t articulate it. It made her feel like she was really pursuing a relationship.

Still, she had to wonder why the sudden change in Tess’s behavior. She wasn’t the type to do something so bold without provocation, but Ellie couldn’t figure out what could have done it. She didn’t fully buy the whole “prove to myself” thing that Tess had been going on about. That might have been part of it, but it couldn’t be the whole reason; she wouldn’t be so sudden about it. It had to have been something to do with the visit from Jacob, but that didn’t make sense to Ellie either.

Tess didn’t seem like she had been bothered that much by the visit, and even if she had, then all she had to do was say she didn’t want to have any visitors. Furthermore, there was a determination in Tess that hadn’t been there before. That had not been the bearing of someone who was running away from her problems. So, Ellie was left baffled.

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