As I helped the wounded Rose up from the ground, I asked her

  “Are you alright?”

  She looked at me angrily

  “Do I fucking look alright?”

  Kind of taken aback by this I softly replied

  “No, no you don’t.”

  The archer glared at me intensely.

  “If it wasn’t for you helping us earlier I would've kicked the shit out of you for that comment.”

  she said with her face still contorted from the pain. I decided it was no use arguing so I changed the topic.

  “We should get you and your friend patched up and out of this forest.”

  I said while handing her my first aid kit.

  “I luckily didn’t get hit by anything, so I'll help your friend in a more comfortable position. Oh, and I assume you know how to bandage yourself?”

  I remarked.

  “Well normally I'd use healing spells, but I suppose this will do yes.”

  She said as she started the bandaging process. In the meantime I was busy dragging Tiana toward a tree. With all the armour she was wearing it wasn’t easy. Looking closer at the armour it was well made and had served its owner well. But it was clear that the battle had worn it out. There were several places where the demon's claws had dented the armour and some of the chainmail was ripped to pieces. Luckily however there was no place where the armour had failed to protect. As I propped the still unconscious knight against a tree I asked the archer out of curiosity

  “Archer lady, how long were you guys fighting before I arrived?”

  There was as brief silence as the archer kept bandaging her wounds. She didn’t look up from her task when she replied

  “I’m honestly not sure…”

  As the adrenaline started to wear out and the realisation set in of what had just taken place Rose started to cry. I was slightly taken aback by this and didn’t know what to do. I wanted to comfort her in some way, but I couldn't find the words myself. I’d seen what had become of her classmates. Most of them were dead, at least I didn't see any that were still alive. Besides she didn’t seem like the type that wanted to be consoled while emotional, that would just make it worse. After thinking for a second I remembered that some students looked quite cold when I had stopped for my snack hours earlier. So as I walked up to her I undid my thick coat and draped it over the shoulders of the archer who’d finished up bandaging her wounds. She grabbed the large coat and completely covered herself in it before softly whispering

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Thank you…”

  I nodded and remarked. “We should get you and your friend out of the snow. You stay here and watch over your friend, I'm going to go and get my cart that's a bit up the road. Once I come back we can transport her with it.”

  The archer nodded in agreement but didn’t speak. I felt bad about leaving her there, but there was no other choice. I had to go get the cart so we could transport her friend. So I walked down the road, rifle in hand.

  As I reached the end of the forest and moved out of the tree line I could see movement near my cart. There were 2 men clad in their white guard uniforms. From the looks of it, they were deciding on the same thing I was earlier. Move back to the Academy and get reinforcements, or head into the forest with just the 2 of them. When I reached the 2 guards they looked concerned and confused. The first guard, a tall and buff man with an eye patch and stylish beard, called out to me.

  “Boy, are you alright?”

  Even though I didn't get hit by the demon, I must've not looked to be in great shape after the exhausting fight.

  “I’m alright, however there are 2 wounded students in the forest, one of them is unconscious.”

  The tall guard nodded, then the second one spoke up as he twirled his mustache.

  “What the hell happened here, do you know boy?”

  I answered as I walked past him to my cart.

  “I’m honestly not entirely sure myself. I came back from delivering muskets to the Academy, then I came across your dead colleague. As I moved into the forest I came across 2 students who were fighting a demon, so I helped them out.”

  The guards' faces went into shock.

  “A-a demon you say? Here, are you sure kid?”

  the second guard said as he finally let go of his mustache. The second guard put his hand on my shoulder

  “Oi boy, is it dead?”

  I turned around and assured him,

  “Yes sir, I'm quite sure it's dead.”

  The first guard looked at the second, and concluded.

  “Very well, Randal report to the commander and get our healers and guards to secure the area. Boy what's your name?”

  The second guard named Randal nodded and started running back to the academy.

  “I’m Theo sir, Theo Strikte.”

  I answered him. As the guard took my cart from me he said.

  “Very well Theo, you may call me Tradan. Now please guide me to where the students are.”

  As we walked towards the tree line Tradan asked me something with a somber face.

  “Say Theo, do you know what happened to the other students from my class?”

  I looked him in the eyes and saw the look of a concerned father figure.

  “You see, as their class’s teacher it's my responsibility to return them all home safely.”

  I stayed silent for a bit, this man had a genuine concern for his students as any good teacher would. So I should answer him fairly.

  “Sir Tradan, I'm afraid that none of the people I passed while on my way to the clearing were alive.”

  Tradan nodded as a tear slipped from his eye down to his cheek into his beard.

  As we reached the first body Tradan kneeled before the lifeless corpse. Now that I looked closer the shock of death was still visible on the young boy's face. Then Tradan who with his large figure sat before the dead body began to shake and cry. As he closed the boy's eyelids and hugged his student one last time. For this moment I looked away, up at the sky. The sun was starting to go down on the silent pine forest. The day was about to end as if nothing happened. Tradan stood up and gave a salute to the dead boy. As we moved on we passed several more bodies, as we did Tradan closed the eyes of many and shed a tear for them all. Today's events got me thinking.There were so many people in this world who would fight for others. Often they’d do this without second thought. But when these warriors failed, when they cried. Who was there for them? The archer Rose had fought heroically as a true warrior. But once the demon was dead, she was crying her eyes out. The scene wasn’t that much different from any other teenager losing their loved ones. Who could a warrior fall back on to help them? Sure other warriors could give their advice, but they were stuck in the same fight.

  Tradan and I worked our way through the bushes and got into the clearing, his eyes that were red from crying lit up. He dropped the cart he’d been carrying for me and sped off toward where his 2 students were sitting against the tree sharing the big coat I'd offered. From the looks of it, Tiana, who passed out because of mana exhaustion, had woken up while I was fetching the cart. Tradan embraced the 2 like a father who got to see his children again after months of being gone. I still wasn’t sure if I was the answer to the question of who’d help a warrior. However I did at that moment realize that if I wanted to try and be that person.