CHAPTER FIVE: The Swordsman's Tale

DAKU

A cacophony of laughter vibrated the walls of the guild. Most of them shared the same sentiment of me as a laughingstock. Laughter was supposed to be out of pure joy and happiness that a person like me could enjoy but these were quite the opposite. They were full of mockery.

"A Healer!" Kiero repeated for who-knows how many times and every time he uttered the word "healer" his fading laughter would again intensify.

"AND WHAT ABOUT IT!" Kenshi's voice roared the place, halting the hostile snickers of the crowd. I, on the other hand, jumped in surprise, dumbfounded by his sudden intrusion.

Succeeding clacks of a shoe's sole filled our ears and its intensifying loudness implied that he was getting nearer. I never bothered to watch him enter because I was too timid to reveal my face to everyone.

"Daku," Kenshi called and for the first time ever, it was the most sweetest and gentle voice I ever heard. Brought by his strange voice, I turned to face him.

His face held this stern look, telling everyone that he was not someone that they would like to mess with. However, beneath those orbs of vision was a soul expressing its concern to... me.

"I think it'd be better if we leave this place right now," Kenshi suggested and with hesitation, I nodded.

"Daku," Delilah prompted, turning my head to look at her. "Don't forget your card and your badge. Congratulations, you're an official member of the Adventurer's Guild," Delilah announced. On normal occasions, announcements such as those were supposed to be celebrated. But not in my case.

Nevertheless, I could see the sincerity in Delilah's eyes, saying that she was truly happy for me. Such a pure soul.

"Thanks, Delilah," I uttered.

"Call me, Lilah. My friends call me," Delilah, I meant, Lilah, insisted and even after the humiliation I received just a while ago, it was masked by the bliss upon hearing those words from her. "I'll see you soon!" And just couldn't believe it, I just made a friend inside the guild.

"Let's go," Kenshi invited who suddenly grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the door. I should be reacting differently. I should be telling him to stop and that I could walk on my own. But I didn't because strangely, I felt protected.

"Leaving too soon, Kenshi?" Kiero questioned stopping Kenshi in his tracks. "What is this? An exile and the useless making pact together?" Exile? Who? Kenshin?

"Are you done blabbering, Kiero, because the last time I remember, you still had some goblins to kill because you were too incompetent to kill them all in one go," Kenshi mocked earning an irritated noise from Kiero.

Kiero never said anything after that so Kenshi proceeded with his initial plan. I did nothing but let this man drag me out of the building.

Kenshi continued to drag me until we reached this path with fewer people. Kenshi slowed down and I followed through until we came to a full stop. Breaths of air could be heard and even I could listen to my heartbeat.

But then I noticed something — Kenshi was still holding my hand. But there was a difference in his grip now than then - now was much more gentle and loosened. Still, I could feel the accumulated callousness on his palm, implying his class as a swordsman. Only those who wielded swords could obtain this kind of trophy. It was a symbol of hard work and bravery.

"You can let go now," I mumbled and those words came as whispers and thus it failed to send a message to the man standing before me. So, I cleared my throat and said again, "I said, you can let go now."

Kenshi looked at me with his usual face and a hint of inquiry showed on his brows. I eyed his hand which was holding mine. Kenshi, without a doubt, unclasped his fingers around my wrist releasing it from his grasp.

Kenshi faked a cough and said, "Follow me. We'll buy you some stuff."

I never said a word, instead, just trailed behind him when he started walking. I was clueless about the place that we were heading to so, I let him lead the way. After all, he kind of saved me back there. If he never came, I'd probably just stood there while those adventurers laughed at me. If it wasn't for Kenshi, my feet wouldn't move on their own.

The walk was silent and I could already feel the tension building up. If I wanted this pairing up to work, we must at least be comfortable with each other. They say that communication is important on a daily basis but on the battlefield, communication is everything. One failure to establish communication, the whole plan would fall out and I didn't want to die just because of that.

"How did you know that I was in the guild?" I asked to ease the tension between us.

It was against my will to start a conversation with this man whom I hated for a week because of how persistent he was in convincing me to join him. I could already see him with a big head after realizing that I was here with him after I said that to him to never come back to the shop.

"Grosi told me," Kenshi's short reply.

"You went back even after I said to never come back. You really are persistent," I whispered but I knew for myself that it was loud enough for him to hear it.

But Kenshi never said a word after that and it made the whole trip almost impossible to withstand. With all this tension and awkwardness teeming between us I didn't think we would make a great pair of adventurers.

"You should've waited for me," Kenshi said out of nowhere.

Brows furrowed, I replied, "Sorry?"

"You should've waited for me before going to the guild. People there lack of the word respect and will think highly of themselves if they see new registrants like you. That wouldn't happen if I was there," Kenshi reasoned as if telling me that it was my fault that I put myself in that situation.

Offended by his words, I walked past him and stopped in front of him. Kenshi was a bit shocked by my sudden action but instantly returned to his usual composure, ignoring me who was fuming in pure irritation.

"For the record and your information, mister, I didn't even know you were going to pick me up. Second, it was not my fault that people made fun of me. And lastly, I'm a full-grown adult capable of doing things myself. What happened back there was something I didn't expect to happen and I bet you did too. So don't you dare point your fingers at me," I lectured.

Kenshi averted his eyes from me. "I'm not the one who's pointing his fingers right now."

"You-" I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply. I quickly pivoted against him and started walking.

***

"How about this? This staff looked decent," Kenshi inquired while holding a sophisticated magic staff.

No matter how I tried to distance myself from this man, fate still found its way to make our paths cross. After leaving him behind earlier, I went to this shop to buy stuff by myself but guess what, he arrived not long after I got in. And now, he kept on showing staff of any kind that would fit my taste.

"I told you, Kenshi, I want something less handy. Something that I can use without holding onto it," I stated as I scanned through the glass display where the rings and braces were delicately placed.

"But you already have one, kid," the shop clerk butted in catching Kenshi and mine's attention.

"I beg your pardon?"

The clerk pointed his ear, implying the earring Grosi gave me. "That's not an ordinary earring, it's a magic stone just like on those staff and grimoires," the shop's clerk explained prompting me to touch the accessory he was referring to.

"Then, let's proceed to the robes," Kenshi informed as he moved his way toward the robes and armor section. "How about this one?" Kenshi offered as he showed me a robe that would make me look like a priest. I eyed him as a sign of refusal.

I never thought the shopping would be this tiring. As far as I can remember, when Grosi and went to do the same thing, it wasn't this exhausting. I ended up buying a much simpler robe but not an ordinary one. As what shop clerk had said, a magic thread was used on those robes to channel its magic onto himself. Kenshi supported that it would be great in times of protecting and healing myself.

We also bought a few stuff that Kenshi needed. It was my first time seeing that kinds of tools and thus I didn't know what they were and what they did. I just let him do his business while I did mine.

We found ourselves taking an unfamiliar path, at least for me. But I knew Kenshi knew this path well. For a full-pledge adventurer like him, knowing all the routes was a must. Now that I mentioned it, looked like I have a handful of stuff to catch up as an adventurer. Now that I was an official member of the guild, I would be called for a quest and I couldn't afford to jeopardize the whole mission because of my incompetence.

I raised my head to see the lilac sky. A hint of pink could be seen as well. A color of the setting sun. I never thought this day would come - me buying some stuff for my first quest or just being an official member of the Adventurer's Guild. It might not be the class I want but that didn't matter now. I already have a goal in mind. A goal that would make not just Grosis but Mom and Dad as well.

Speaking of Mom and Dad, something crossed my mind and it reminded me of the statement Kiero said back in the guild. It was about Kenshi being exiled. Was it true?

"Is something wrong with my face?" Kenshi asked and I realized that I had been staring at him for a while now. I averted my eyes and went back to sky-gazing. I wanted to know the truth about it but it was too personal. It was rude to ask him casually about it. "I was twelve that time when I and my father went out for a trip," Kenshi started catching my attention.

"It was just the two of us that time - a simple father-and-son bonding. Father is a renowned adventurer and he is known to be one of the most skilled swordsmen in the kingdom. Walking inside the Amber Forest for him is just walking down the streets here in the city. And having him by my side reassured me that nothing bad would happen to me.

"But then we stumbled upon a dungeon - an undocumented one. Not even my father knew about that dungeon and yet we proceeded to conquer it. I got worried that time that we might find ourselves in a very dire situation that could severely hurt us or worse kill us. But Father had already made his decision and as someone who didn't want to be left behind, I followed him

"The first few floors were easy. Monsters were so weak that even my imperfect swordskill was effective. But then as we descended deeper, things became difficult. Not only the monsters grew in size but they also became faster and smarter. Father did his best to defeat them all and he did but it made him weaker and mana-drained.

"The last boss appeared, a ghoul of some sort. Father was determined to give his last bit of strength and mana within him but the ghoul was not interested in a fight. Instead, he proposed a deal. A contract that could both save me and my father. But as the pride of the family and to protect his reputation as one of the skilled swordsmen in the kingdom, Father rejected the offer.

"I watched him fight every monster the ghoul sent him. I wanted to help him that time but I was no match for those monsters. And then, the ghoul's eyes and mine met, and for a second the scene changed. We were no longer inside the dungeon and Father was no longer fighting with the monster. He was confused at that time as to what happened.

"When I reached the age of twenty-one, I awakened as a swordsman but that also revealed the curse that was placed upon me. Father knew about it and he thought it would bring misfortune to the family. With my mother bearing a future member of the clan, Father was determined to cast me away to keep the baby safe... as well as the whole family.

"I could still vividly remember his words that day, 'I do not own a cursed son. A disgrace such as yourself must be exiled from this family."