>You will never be the ever smiling, halberd wielding instructor for the heroes guild, training monster girl and human trainees alike.

>You'll never get a small following of a brash minotaur who can't handle how you can beat her in sparing, a centaur that's stoic to a fault, and a lamia who serves as the party mage.

>They'll never ask where you go every other month for your missions only to be met by your smile and an ever infuriating "it's a secret!", taunting them with the fact that you're missions are always super important.

>You will never go on a mission one day and have them unknowingly follow you.

>They'll never lose you for a bit only to stumble across you in a burning town, the corpses of demons unlike any of those they've ever seen before littering the ground while you are covered in deep wounds.

>They'll never finally notice that you're still wearing that same smile you've always worn, although now it seems fake and hollow, you're eyes empty.

>You will never seem unconcerned by their appearance and ask them how they are doing, telling them that practice may be a little late tomorrow.

>They're shocked at first by your nonchalance at the slaughter around you, the smoke darkening the sky.

>The centaur drops her act to ask if need to ride her instead of walking while the lamia mage tries to heal you.

>Even minotaur asks if she can do something to help out.

>You wave them off though, kicking into a small lecture about sneaking off to follow people on missions they aren't a part of.

>Around midway through the lecture one of the horned, red skinned demons roars back to life and charges you.

>It's an automatic reaction, your halberd swinging around in a vicious arc and catching the creature as it charged. The axe head biting deep into the creature's side with a sickening crunch before the impact carries it down do the ground, breaking the monster.

>It happened so fast that the girl's could barely process what happened, making them all the more horrified when you with drew the blade only to stab the point of it's spearhead through the beasts skull.

>And yet, you still had that smile as you turned back to them, continuing your lecture as if nothing had happened.

>After cleaning and wrapping your wounds, waving of any help because you don't need it. You return to the dour looking man outside town who'd hired you, collecting the payment for the cleansing.

>He was wary of the three girl's following you but eased slightly after you told him that they had shone up at the last minute, not involved in the events that had taken place.

>You'd dealt with the cult personally.

>The walk home was awkward as the trio tried to process what had happened, what those crimson skinned monster's had been, what had happened at the town, and why you were still unfazed.

>Eventually the minotaur asked what those thing's you'd fought were, the fear in her voice hinting that she knew the answer.

>"Demons" you simply told them, creature's from another plane of existence who cut their way into the world to slaughter, maim, and destroy.

>The lamia said that it was impossible of course, all monsters had been transformed into girls like them.

>A well read girl that one, earning a ruffle of hair as you told her that normally it would have been correct but these....things...had nothing to do with the demon lord, they were entities entirely unto themselves.

>It raised more questions than it answered but you just simply told them it wasn't anything they need to worry about, if they ever saw one they'd just need to put it down without hesitation. No words, no seduction (the trio blushing at that), just cold steel.

>It was the centaur's time to speak now, her voice trembling a little bit as she asked how you could still smile after that grim scene, telling you that there was no need to keep up with the tough guy act.

>Your response was on disinterest, simply murmuring "So that's what I'm doing." as you continued your journey.

>Upon your parties return to the guild, you brought them all to the head master, both to alert him of your success and to the little spies who'd followed you.

>It was a short affair, simply letting him know that you were alive and that the girls had followed you, along with seeing the blood red horrors.

>This did not please him in the slightest, the grizzled old man dismissing you so he could speak with you're little followers.

>He started off by asking them why they'd decided to follow you, something that was meat with quite a few averted gazes and blushing cheeks.

>MInotaur had explained how she'd wanted to see how you'd gotten so good at fighting while centaur said she wanted to aid you in combat, as any student should.

>Lamia was the most honest and said that she'd just hopped to get a little attention from you if she helped save you.

>She did get her hair ruffled so that kind of put her in the lead.

>With a sigh, the man told them that they will be punished with laundry duty for a month, drawing a collective groan from the girls before his tone turned serious.

>"Forget about the demons" he told them in that gravely voice of his "they are things that are better off handled by their instructor."

>This did not sit well with the girls, their voices rising as one only to be cut off as the guild master chopped with his hand.

>He told them how the creatures fed off anger, off hate, growing stronger the longer they were around them. It was what made them dangerous, it was what made Anon perfect.

>The trio was confused, understandable as the man was feeling vague today, so the guild's leader continued.

>Anon had lost his family to these creatures long ago, hiding beneath his bed as the village was laughter around him, the screams and meaty chops running day and night until a squad of heroes cleared the town.

>When they'd found him, the little child had gone, his mind shutting down until he was little better than a newly formed golem.

>He could use a sword and knew to eat but the sheer terror he'd felt, the overwhelming fear had torn at his mind until he felt nothing at all, a perfect warrior for fighting these horror's from beyond.

>"He wears that smile because he thinks it makes him approachable" the older man told them as he pointed towards the courtyard, Anon already teaching trainees about what to do "other than that there is nothing."

>There were tears in their eyes at this, denials ranging from the soft "no" of the lamia to the loud "Bullshit!" of the minotaur.

>The centaur remained silent, although the dew at the edges of her eyes and her grinding teeth hinting that she was not taking it well.

>"Deny it all you want," he told the girls, raising his voice a little "but the good instructor's little more than a shell at this point."

>And with that he let them go, the girls' hearts hurting as they returned to the training field, greeted by the empty man's empty smile that never changed or faltered.

>The guild master's words became a challenge for them, the girls all doing their best to get something from Anon.

>Minotaur tried to taunt and tease during their sparring sessions, trying to get a rise from the man. But he always smiled, and won, telling her that she was improving.

> Centaur took to becoming his, self proclaimed, retainer, doing her best to aid him i whatever way she could. Not that she had much luck though, he would always wave off her attempts at aiding him by telling her to worry more about herself instead of him

>And lamia? She went for the more direct rout of trying to woo him with badly written poetry and heart shaped lights she made with a custom spell. Neither drew a reaction though, not one beyond 'it looks nice.' at least.

>Day in and day out they tried to get something, anything, out of him but always he smiled and did nothing more.

>Every time they'd watch with heart brake as he disappeared on his missions, returning every time with more scars, more wound, and that permanent smile of his.

>This only made them keep trying though, doing their best to help him.

>Minotaur's teasing became more friendly and she began bringing the instructor with her when she went looking for new arms and armor, chatting with him all the while, although his answers were never more than a few polite facts.

>Centaur began to schedule his daily routine and prepared everything he would need for the day, polishing his gear, and offering to carry him to his next destination, although he turned down what he could, telling his trainee that she needn't do this for him, he could handle himself.

>Lamia's new tricks became warm, homemade pastries, and clumsily knitted scarves to keep him warm, although these scarves tended to make their way into the hands of those Anon thought needed them more.

>Nothing stopped him though, the man's expression unchanging and only spurning the girl's onward until it all came to a head one rainy day.

>The instructor had returned one day from a mission, haggard looking and bandaged, only to find another mission awaiting him, another incursion nearby.

>He dropped off the gold, grabbed the paper and turned around to leave, thumping through the halls until a tale of the green scaled lamia wrapped around his legs and the strong arms of the minotaur and centaur pulled him back as the girls pleaded for him not to go.

>They told him how he'd die if he left, his body falling apart from the harsh battles. The begged him to let him help or just to let some one else handle it.

>This was the heroes guild wasn't it? Surely another could take it.

>For the first time since they knew him, the man's expression looked slightly confused as he asked them why they cared.

>Why did they care? An excellent question.

>For the minotaur it was because she'd found a rival she couldn't overwhelm with muscle. A rival she wanted to beat and ask a special question too. If he threw his life away now then she'd never beat him.

>For Centaur it was because she'd found a man worth serving, someone who was loyal to a fault and that she would follow into the gates of hell. But even loyalty can have it's limit, especially if it could kill him when he didn't need to die.

>And lamia? She just wanted to make him happy again, bringing him back so he could live a normal life. She didn't want to see him die now when he had so much life left to live.

>Their reasons were different but their end goal was the same.

>Live, live and laugh instructor.

>Sadly, he had his orders and his mission.

>With a surprising gentleness, the man pulled himself free from the girl's grasp, the trio groaning with effort and pleading harder or him to stay.

>He told them, to their dismay, that he could not, the guild needed him to remove the demons, that this was his life now.

>But as the tears flowed at the rejection, the girl's heard him speak in a tone he never used before.

>"I have my mission," he said, that smile containing warmth for the first time as he gave each of their heads a pat "but when I return I will speak with the guild master. Staying here and becoming a permanent trainer would be....nice?"

>Not even he knew what he felt but he made a promise regardless, this would be his last time facing the field.

>They said that they would wait.

>And wait they did.

>And wait.

>And wait.

>And wait.

>Days became weeks, weeks became month's until it became one year to the day since he'd left.

>Yet waited the girls did as they held out for Anon.

>The guild master told them to give up but they ignored him, awaiting their instructor and dreaming of the day that he would return.

>Minotaur trained until she was the strongest of all the initiates, her limbs corded by muscle and abs iron hard.

>Centaur studied tactic's and tested wits with the cleverest of rivals until she was an unparalleled tactician.

>Finally, the lamia devoured all books of arcane lore she could find, mastering spells long thought forgotten.

>She also became quite the accomplished cook but that was deemed less impressive.

>On that one year anniversary the doors of the guild opened and a figure in tattered rags stepped through, one arm ending in a stump while the other clutched a bag of gold.

>Guards and initiates watched him warily as he stalked the halls until he stepped into the guild master's room.

>The old man's expression briefly flickered into one of confusion before it swapped back into his normal, neutral expression.

>He told the new arrival that he hadn't expected him to be alive after all this time, the instructor should have returned four months ago.

>The man responded that he'd been too wounded to travel and any writing he'd done was illegible due to the wound.

>The guild master nodded and, without ceremony or pomp, removed the man from the list of active adventurers.

>"You're no use to us with only one arm," he said as a large bag of gold was handed over, the (ex)hero's retirement payment worth enough to let him live a quiet life "I suggest you settle down with someone. Goodbye Anon."

>And with that he was a hero no more, a lifetime of wealth held in his hand.

>He hadn't even left the room when the doors burst open and a trio of girls tackled him to the ground happily shouting that Anon was back.

>"Yeah," the man awkwardly said beneath a pile of muscle, scales, and centaur "I guess I am."