On Black Wings Ch 13 preview

“Ahhh, now that is a drink. Waiter! Another one!”

Bahamut couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose at the sight of the woman’s - ‘Dimaria’ he reminded himself - enthusiastic drinking. He was certain that they made quite a sight: a boy and a girl drinking juice with an older woman drinking ale like no tomorrow. He might’ve laughed if the situation wasn’t so bizarre. And from the looks she shot her, he felt that Kagura was thinking the same thing. 

The blonde chugged down another mug and slammed it down on the table. “Whew, I gotta say, you Fiorians know how to make good booze. Way better than the swill I used to chug down. You sure don’t want any?”

The green-eyed mage gave her a weird look while his companion narrowed her eyes. Dimaria just grinned. “I kid, I kid. You don’t look old enough to want to try and drink stuff like this.”

The two didn’t relent from their looks. “Come on, what’s with the cold reception? After I saved your little butts and brought you to the best joint in this town?”

Bahamut gave said establishment a cursory glance. It was rather spacious, with three floors and glass chandeliers, and the food itself looked rather good. Definitely fancier than what he was used to.

“...yeah, it’s nice. It’s just…” he gestured to the laughing mass crowding over the bar and around the table, chugging down drinks like waterfalls. “Does it have to be this loud?”

She shrugged. “What can I say? It adds to the atmosphere.”

Kagura then cleared her throat. “Ahem. We thank you for the drinks, Miss Yesta, but-”

“Dimaria,” she said, cutting her off. “None of that ‘miss’ or ‘lady’ crap.”

“...if you insist. Again, we thank you for the drinks, but what exactly do you want with us, Dimaria?”

“No beating around the bush, huh? I like that.” replied the blonde, leaning back in her chair. “What do I want? I want in.”

Bahamut blinked. “‘In’?” 

“That’s right. I wanna join your little duo.” 

He gave her a strange look, as though she was speaking a different language. “...why?”

She shrugged. “You two are an interesting little group, much more interesting than the other morons around here,” she said, gesturing with her thumb at a group of drunkards. “I’m a girl who likes interesting things, so I figure if I go around with you two, I’m going to see a whole lot of interesting things.”

Kagura just gave her the same look before shaking her head. “I...I...there are a lot of things wrong with what you’re saying, but how do you exactly know who we are?”

Dimaria raised an eyebrow. “You really don’t know?” She pointed at Bahamut. “You’re famous, kiddo.”

“Famous?”

“Sure! A kid mercenary doing jobs better than some of the old-timers around here? That raises a lot of eyebrows in some circles. Even the mage guilds are startin’ to take notice. You’ve got one hell of a reputation. Hell, I’m surprised that you don’t know.”

Bahamut looked down at the table. This was...news. He knew that a lot of clients hired him and the traders in Crocus all knew of his skills, but for people outside Crocus to have heard about him? 

That felt...weird. 

He shook his head. Thinking about that wasn’t important right now; what was important was Dimaria and her rather blatant proposal.

The woman in question smirked. “You don’t trust me. I see that look in your eye. I get it, a badass stranger like me just showing up out of nowhere, saving your asses, and then suddenly asking to join you? If I were you, that would be ringing a lot of bells in my head too.” She leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. “But I’ve got a lot to offer you, so what do you say?”  

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

Dimaria’s grin widened, revealing a fang. “Don’t you remember how I hacked through those drunken morons? I can do a whole lot more than that.”

Bahamut’s eyes narrowed, his grip on his forearms tightening. It was hard to forget something like that; not only did she cleave through those men with no effort, but she was so fast. 

‘I didn’t even see her kill them. Is it magic? A spell that allows her to move really fast?’

The warrior woman noticed his expression and tapped her head. “Hmm...okay, you two are tough nuts to crack. There’s gotta be something…” she suddenly snapped her fingers. “I got it! How about a spar?”

“A spar?” asked Kagura, blinking in surprise.

“Sure! I show you some of my moves, then you’ll see how awesome I am, and let me tag along! It’s perfect!”

The ribbon-wearing girl turned to her partner. “What do you think?”

The green-eyed mage bit his lip. This was way too suspicious for his liking. Her word was dubious at best, and her insistence was rather off-putting. Not one of his merchant clients was ever this pushy, even when they requested him specifically. A part of his mind told him to just turn her down and walk away. A hunter doesn’t blindly go after a potential predator.

However, the other part, the part that desired a good fight, was urging him to at least check if she was as good as she claimed to be. He hadn’t had a good fight as of late, the various thieves and criminals they hunted down were barely any effort, and while Kagura was a great sparring partner, he felt like he needed a new challenge. 

It might have felt unreasonable, but Bahamut’s growing confusion and suspicion over Dimaria and her appearance made him loosen his guard.

He sighed. “Fine. We’ll spar.”