After joining the Loki Familia, Ian realized that the members of this group got along so poorly that teamwork and camaraderie between comrades were nowhere to be found.
"What did you say, you pointy-eared bastard?!"
"Shut your mouth, you vulgar dwarf!"
"Ugh... They say birds of a feather flock together. Can’t you settle this with words?"
Whenever Riveria and Gareth bickered, Finn would chime in as if they were pathetic, and the two, provoked by that, would turn their arrows on Finn.
"That superior attitude of yours is what I hate most!"
"You insolent Pallum!"
"You want to go?"
Ian merely stared blankly at the scene from afar and did not join their verbal spat. Nor did he want to.
Arguments were common in the mercenary company, so part of the reason was that he did not understand whether this was truly serious.
"Agh... Ian! Go sort that out for us!"
"Don’t call me Yan."
Ian hugged his sword tightly to his chest and simply watched them fight, but Finn, Gareth, and Riveria did not like that either.
"Hey, Ian! Why don’t you say something to this pointy-eared bastard?!"
"You would do well to be quiet, human!"
"Why are you two shifting the blame onto innocent Ian?"
"You little...!"
Ian, who had remained silent as he watched the situation, finally rose from his seat.
Loki let out an impressed "Ohh" beside him, and Ian stepped between Riveria and Gareth in an attempt to mediate their fight.
Ian’s reasoning was that if the tallest member of the Loki Familia stood between them, they would at least stop fighting.
"All right, knock it off. Riveria is the one in the wrong here."
"Ha! What did you just say?!"
"You were the one who picked a fight with Gareth first."
"That is because that dwarf does not wash himself...!"
Ian waved a hand dismissively, maintaining a tone that said he could not be bothered.
Even when he had been raising Ella, that attitude had caused them to fight more times than he could count, yet Ian still had not fixed his indifference toward everything.
"Well, Riveria. I understand that you are upset because your friend is sick."
"...Watch your words, human."
"Ah, fuck... No. Just be quiet and get along, yeah? We’ll be in Orario soon."
Ian had the temperament of a wild dog and would throw a punch the moment something displeased him, yet he did not strike Riveria despite her rude and arrogant attitude because her close friend Aina had dropped out of the journey with the Loki Familia due to illness.
Her friend was sick.
Having lost a friend himself, Ian could gauge that pain and tried to deal with Riveria as gently as possible, but he was nearing his limit.
"That is right, Riveria. It is not that I fail to understand your personal circumstances, but it will be a problem if they disrupt the Familia."
"...Fine! Do whatever you want!"
"Good grief... That went to hell."
Unable to contain her resentment, Riveria was the first to leave, and Loki’s sigh followed.
Watching the elf princess’s back rapidly recede, Ian grumbled.
"Hah. Was I in the wrong..."
"Not exactly, but..."
You did put it rather thoughtlessly.
Loki, who had come up beside him before he knew it, added to Ian’s complaint.
This is seriously irritating.
Throwing his head back with a groan, Ian placed a hand atop Gareth’s head and pretended to pinch his nose.
"Still, take a bath once in a while. You stink."
"What...?!"
"It’s true."
Before Gareth could retort, Ian gave his head a light shove, then returned to his spot and sat down as usual, cradling his sword in his arms.
It was a day that left him with much to think about.
And much to worry about.
*
The sun had already been setting when they began arguing, so night fell quickly.
They did not light a campfire.
It would be troublesome if it attracted bandits or wild beasts, and Ian’s night vision was keen enough that he could easily make out anything happening within several dozen meters even without a light source.
Late that night, with everyone asleep, Ian was standing watch when he turned his head at the sound of someone tossing and turning.
The sound came from Riveria’s bedding.
"Hah..."
Well, it made sense that she could not sleep.
Her friend was sick, and she could not be by her side. That had to be quite painful.
After pondering for a moment, Ian grumbled as he got up and walked toward Riveria’s bedding.
His footsteps made no sound, so no one, including her, noticed Ian’s approach.
Ian lightly tapped the bedding, which was rustling more restlessly than before, with his finger and whispered quietly.
"If you can’t sleep, you can sit over there. At least it’ll be more comfortable than the ground."
"...You."
"Ah, sorry about what happened this evening. So let’s not talk about it anymore."
Riveria, who apparently had been unable to sleep, rose from her place.
She had no need to respond to Ian’s suggestion, but continuing to lie in her bedding would have been awkward as well.
...
...
Of course, simply sitting facing each other did not lead to much conversation.
They were not close, nor did they have much in common.
It was Ian who broke the long silence.
"Your friend... will be all right."
"...That is obvious."
After that, they exchanged no further words until the morning sun rose.
When Loki woke early in the morning, she raised the corner of her mouth and tried to tease them about what was going on between the two of them. But since they both consistently ignored her, Loki’s interest quickly cooled.
Then, at noon that day, the Loki Familia entered Orario.
It was the monumental moment when the Familia that would someday become the strongest in the Dungeon City first revealed itself to the world.
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