The Unlikely Hero

Chapter 2: I'm not a Hero (By Circumstance, not by Choice)

Foren was a poor unfortunate individual who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The summoning circle was meant only for Misty and not him; his presence was welcome, but at the same time, he felt he was being ignored by everyone else.

Because, honestly, he was.

While the rest of the group was developing their powers with Reighland and the wizards, Foren could only watch with a hint of envy. He thought it would be cool to have some sort of magic power to use in his daily life. Fire magic could keep him warm and wind magic could probably make him fly. He would probably think of how the other elements would be practical in the meantime.

Not wanting to leave him with nothing to do, Reighland delegated the same tasks to Foren as she did to her acolytes, which is to say, housekeeping. Foren begrudgingly accepted this, not really giving much thought about it, but his situation escalated for the worse when he found out some acolytes were receiving additional training in developing their magic. Foren was just the unfortunate individual who did not appear to be attuned to magic.

"Feeling down, Foren?" Lydia, Foren's superior asked.

"That's an understatement..." Foren said tiredly, "I'm just pissed at the whole situation, and maybe at myself..."

"Foren, we all know your situation, but there's nothing anyone can do." Lydia sighed, "Look at all the girls here." Lydia pulled Foren aside and took him on a walk around the Temple.

The Light Temple was a large religious center with an all-female residency. In some cases, they allowed knights, both male and female, to enter the Temple in order to train them in the art of becoming a paladin. Those considered paladin candidates had a separate area dedicated to them, away from the rest of the clerics and acolytes. Foren frequented both areas of the Temple.

"Most of these girls didn't enter here by choice. They are here by circumstance, much like you. They have nowhere to go, no family to care for them, and no aspirations. But here, they have those things. We give them a future and a family, one that they can always turn to and rely on. Each one of us is a sister to the other, the older ones are more like mothers, but you understand my point."

"I don't mind the family aspect so much, but..." Foren's eyes were on the ground.

"Is it Misty?"

"Yeah..." Foren's relationship with Misty started off normally, but due to their differing statuses, they were often apart from each other. The two of them did meet on occasion whenever they had time, and Misty was always excited to talk about her day while Foren was less eager to do so. Misty was sympathetic to Foren's situation and reassured him that nothing would change between them (despite Ponce's constant advances toward her and the other girls in the Temple, all of which were either rejected or stopped.) and that Foren was being paranoid and clingy. Foren had brushed off the comments as a friendly joke and felt a sense of relief whenever he heard this, it made him have some hope that he could have a relationship for once.

"Foren, if she truly cares for you and cares about you, then you have nothing to worry about." Lydia looked like she was trying to suppress a laugh. "Even if she's better than you, she seems humble enough to not wave it in your face."

"Forgive me if I don't feel reassured by this."

"You're not forgiven."

Timeskip where Foren is sweeping away the dust.

Misty and Foren were sitting together at the table along with the other heroes at dinner time. No one else had objected to his presence. At least not very loudly.

"You know, it probably isn't my place to say..." Ronson started.

"Then don't say it." Ponce cut him off before letting out an irritated sigh.