Sarah's Story Chapter 039 - Minor Revelations

They came to a stop in front of the table where Sarah and Sam were sitting, and Sam stood up, closely followed by Sarah.

“Gregory, everyone, this is Sarah. She’s a Brawler-Scout combo, and she’s been helping me out with sparring practice for the better part of a year.”

Sarah swallowed dryly, looking up at the faces of all the A Rank Adventurers peering at her with various expressions.

Congeniality.

Suspicion.

Obviously faked hurt.

Curiosity.

Inquisitiveness.

“H-hello,” Sarah began, already tripping over her words. She forced her mouth to work and continued. “I’m Sarah, nice to meet you all.”

The giant in front of her raised a hand and smiled handsomely. “I’m Gregory, the leader of the Golden Swan party. I’m a Spearman and usually fight in the front, with a Greatshield.”

Next, the Swordsman raised a hand. “I’m Arthur; Swordsman. Primarily in the Immortal Sword style.” Sarah’s eyebrows raised at that. It was the same school Nathan trained in, and that she had sparred in for a few days in the last week, raking in tons of cash. The corner of Arthur’s mouth twitched up the slightest bit, and his eyes narrowed happily. “I’m pleased to see you recognize our School.” Leaving it at that, he lowered his hand and settled into a relaxed, but ready stance. “I’m Clara!” the dark-haired white-robed mage said, the sound of her voice actually coming from where it should have. She grinned toothily. “I’m a mage. I can tell we’re just going to become the best of friends, you and I!” Sarah nodded and smiled tightly. Were all mages like this? She hadn’t met many before; they didn’t often come to any of the sparring sessions the Guild held weekly. At most she saw them at the Guild’s bar now and then.

There was a pause, and then the man in the back, the likely Lancer, nudged the distracted looking young woman dressed in armor. “Hey, Delphi,” he stage-whispered, and she started, eyes looking around the room again before settling on Sarah. “Nice to meet you. I’m Delphi, Scout of the Golden Swan.” Sarah felt her smile become more natural and replied, “Nice to meet you, Delphi.”

Lastly, the man in the back raised a hand, revealing callouses that gave away his Class before he even spoke. “I’m Lawrence, Lancer and Rearguard for the party. Looking forward to working with you, Sarah.”

“Well then, let’s head out ba–” Sam started, but Delphi interrupted him, staring at Sarah as though she was a puzzle.

“Are you really a Scout?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

Sarah suddenly felt four A Rank piercing gazes.

But Sam spared her the need to answer. “Ah, let’s go outside and talk about that once we’ve got some wards up. It’s a bit of a story, not quite something for the Gossips to spread around.”

Sarah followed Sam around the side of the buildings, feeling the Golden Swan’s gazes burning a hole in her back the entire way. They got to the center of the yard and Sam turned to Clara.

“If you would?”

“What wards do we need, exactly? Anything beyond what we already had planned?”

“As long as you’re doing anti-scrying, that should be plenty.”

“Okay.” Clara nodded professionally and raised her hands. Sarah felt her [Threat Awareness] skill respond, just slightly, and the air wobbled in a large dome over the training yard before snapping back into place, invisible. “Done.”

Gregory glanced at Sarah before turning to face Sam with a slight frown on his face. “So? What’s going on here? Why was I denied full access to Brawler Sarah’s Scout information?” He turned to Delphi who was still just staring intently at Sarah, not quite at her face, but somewhere around her neck and shoulders. “Delphi, what makes you say she’s not a Scout? She’s got the gait and the sensitivity as far as I can tell.”

He had been watching how she walked?

And he could tell that much? As a Spearman?

Sarah once again felt the gap between herself and A Rank adventurers.

Delphi tilted her head to the side and took a moment before she replied.

“It’s strange, like nothing I’ve seen before. Halfway between an adult and a child, immense potential on one side, and a lack of definition on the other. From one perspective, she’s clearly a fighter. From another, I’d almost say…”

She trailed off, then fully met Sarah’s eyes.

“Have you not yet chosen a second Class?”

There was a stunned silence all around, and tension started to fill the air around the Golden Swan, but Sam simply nodded. “Yep, that’s right. But Sarah, even without a second class, is almost as good a Scout as anyone else. The only thing she struggles with at this point is trap detection, as I said in my letter.”

Gregory’s frown deepened, and he turned to Sarah. “And it’s been how long since your Choosing Day?”

“Eight and a half months,” she answered, lifting her chin to gaze back at him directly.

“Impossible,” Arthur hissed.

Lawrence hummed, and Clara gazed sharply at Sarah.

Delphi merely nodded. “Fascinating,” she murmured, continuing to stare at Sarah.

Gregory crossed his arms over his chest. “This is not what we expected.” He faced Sarah, looked at her appraisingly, and then turned back to Sam. “Sam… Exactly how long as Sarah been C Rank?”

Sarah’s heart sank. Sam had mentioned a letter. He must have sent it weeks ago. Is that why he wanted to get her rank up?

Sam raised his hands, palms up. “Two days, but listen–”

“Sam.”

A commanding voice rang out, filling the yard and leaving a silence in its wake.

Sam cleared his throat and looked sharply up at Gregory, who looked… disappointed.

“On my honor, Sarah is the trainer you’re looking for, and it has nothing to do with her second Class. It’s because she’s a Brawler.”

Gregory continued to look down at Sam, seemingly unconvinced, and Lawrence spoke up.

“We looked up Brawlers in the big book, but the branch hall’s book only had warnings about the class, nothing about what they can actually do, or even how to get the class.”

Clara appeared to nod. “Yes, are Brawlers magic sensitive? That wasn’t mentioned in the big book at all, and yet little Sarah here clocked me almost instantly.”

Sarah wasn’t sure what she meant by that, and looked questioningly at the mage. Clara smirked, and disappeared, instantly reappearing on the other side of the group, then some distance behind them, then, for just a moment, directly in front of Sarah, just long enough to see Sarah jerk backwards before she returned to her original position.

Sarah caught herself and stood upright again, eyes unfocused as she reviewed what had just happened. Teleportation? No, it was strange. There was no little gust of wind that presaged an oncoming attack, or even just the shift in air currents from someone walking around. And as far as she could tell from her various Skills…

The mage hadn’t moved an inch, even as she seemed to teleport around the yard.

“No, not particularly magic-sensitive, then…” Clara turned to Delphi. “If you asked me, I’d say she was a Scout. And a damn good one, too. Hey, Sarah, what gave me away?” she asked, grinning at Sarah.

Everyone turned to Sarah and looked at her expectantly.

“Uh…” Sarah began, “well, in the Guildhall, the sounds of your footsteps weren’t coming from where your feet actually were.”

Everyone turned to Clara, whose grin faltered. “Huh?”

“And then, just now, I could feel your presence was where you were, and then you started teleporting around, but your presence didn’t move. And when you got real close, the air was still.”

“Oh, come on!” Clara protested, but Sarah shrugged. “Normally when someone moves in close, there’s a little gust of wind that comes first.”

Clara turned to Delphi, upset. “Delphi, come on, is that a Scout thing? Is that how you do it?”

Delphi shook her head, a small grin on her lips. “No, I never noticed the sound of your steps nor the wind of your passage.” She faced Sarah again. “I can sense Clara because I perceive the imperfections in the world’s presentation, but that’s because of my Classes and Skills.”

“Aww, man. Illusions are hard enough, adding footsteps and wind is going to be so much more work.” Clara groaned, and Arthur clicked his tongue.

“Should you really be saying that?”

“Why not?” Clara pouted, “she already wasn’t going to fall for it, and if we’re going to work together, it’s best she knows. Especially when we take her into a Dungeon.”

“That hasn’t been decided yet,” Gregory interjected, but Clara smirked.

“Hasn’t it?”