She looks at me, her eyes dancing about looking everywhere but my eyes. Her fingers fidgeted about.

  “I-I’m sorry about what I said. You know, before? I honestly expected a C-Ranker like you to die to the first orc you came across, but you really did save us even when our guild abandoned us. Thanks.”

  “Oh.” I don't really know how to respond. You're welcome and bye? Actually, something in her words caught my attention. “C-Rank? Wh-where did you find that?”

  Had I accidentally actually said something? Now way they would have followed me had I said that.

  She looks at me weirdly. “Support csses are able to see certain information about allies and enemies. It allows us to know who to prioritise with buffs and debuffs. Things like rank, hit points, mana, names... not much of a hero, are you?”

  It scares me that such a skill is so common. Does that mean Jake already knows?? Is that really why he wants me to live with him? So he can keep an eye on me? Had he sussed me out when he found me in the alley?

  “A-anyway,” I say, desperate to end this conversation. “The portal is th-there. See… you.”

  I patiently wait for her to leave.

  She doesn't.

  “Oh, I'm not leaving you here. You think just because you saved us that you're able to kill the boss on your own?” She paces back and forth, her arms adding extra emphasis to the emotion behind her words. “There's a reason guilds exist and coordinate raids. B-Rank dungeons are–”

  I move forward, grab her shoulders and shove her through the portal.

  Except she twists her body, arms swinging up like a graceful dancer, and I nd hard on my back, my arm pinned between her knees.

  [HP: 19/20]

  [Chosen Creature Type: Orc -> Human]

  That bitch ruined my buff!

  “You can't even handle me! A verdammte support! How do you think a boss fight will go, hmm? Du bl?de Idiotin!”

  Anger wells up inside me, and I go to activate [Berserk]. But I stop myself before I do. I take a calm breath, or try to while my arm feels like it’s being wrenched from my socket. Once again, she’s completely correct. Even the words I didn’t understand were likely right. I do one thing well: stacking buffs and hitting hard. But when I can’t do that? Well, I’m just as useless as Timmy.

  “C-can you l-l-let me go?” Her pin on my arm is actually quite painful. Even with superior strength, I can’t move.

  “Will you try to shove me through the portal again?”

  I shake my head and she releases me. Gosh, that hurt, I think to myself as I sit up, rubbing my shoulder. I rotate it back and forth, checking to see if it has been dislocated or something. Nope, I’m just a whiny baby.

  “What are you even hoping to accomplish?” she asks. “Do you have a death wish? You look like the depressed sort.”

  “W-well… I wanna g-go home and sleep on… heated floor. B-b-but the portal fucks with th-the electricity, so… yeah…?” Quite a pathetic excuse, if I do say so myself. But I've experienced underfloor heating for a few minutes in my life and already know we are inseparable. “A-and I want to w-w-warm up sagna for my… fr-friend when he gets home.”

  She sighs and runs her hand through her hair, like she's contempting throwing me through the portal instead. Her red hair is nice and silky, looking like it's well looked after. Maybe as an Alchemist, she makes her own conditioner. I wonder if it smells nice?

  I smack my cheeks. Hana! Seriously!

  “Well, alright then,” she says after a brief pause. “I doubted you before, but you did indeed save our ‘shitty lives’.”

  I finally find the energy to get up off my ass and pick my great hammer back up.

  “O-okay, thank you. Then see you!” I head back to the corridor.

  “But on one condition! I come with you, and when you die I will tell you I told you so!”