Chapter Two

The person took another sip. Gyne's body was taut, ready to run away the moment this person across him do something.

Time passed until he dropped back the now empty cup, he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and spoke as if nothing happened earlier.

"Kyle Baretta."

"…What?"

Gyne's forehead wrinkled as he tried to digest what the person had just said. It took him a considerable amount of time before blurting out another question.

"Hah?"

The person—no, Kyle Baretta closed his eyes and drummed the table.

"Hearing loss? At your age?"

"…"

The tension that was present at the table dissipated a little alongside Kyle's words. Yet bloodstains continued to spread throughout Gyne's body, a sign that his body was still tense.

Opening his eyes to the now almost red Gyne, Kyle muttered something under his breath and waved his hand.

"Relax, I won't harm you any further."

"…!"

As the words reached Gyne's ear, the tension built upon his body unwillingly relaxed. It was as if he was a robot, and Kyle had a remote controller in his hand.

With the strain leaving his body, Gyne tried to flick his finger once more. But before he was able to, Kyle grasped his left arm and squeezed it powerfully.

Pain spread throughout his arm and the energy he gathered dispersed like mist. While his mind was reeling with pain, a harsh voice resounded.

"Don't even try, you will faint at this rate."

Gyne knew very well that what he had said was true, the wounds that had just been treated had started to bleed again. If Kyle didn't make his body relax, he would've felt lightheaded by now.

Even knowing this, Gyne wasn't thankful at all. He wanted to run away from this dangerous individual as soon as possible, but apart from the temporary control over one of his fingers—he wasn't able to do anything.

In this state, he could only look ahead of him in hatred and pain. Kyle saw the look in his eyes and withdrew his hands.

"As I said, there is no need to worry. I have decided what your payment will be."

When the word "Payment" was mentioned, Kyle brought his right arm forward. With Gyne's eye stuck to them, he slowly lifted three of his fingers.

"Three, do me three favors in exchange for your life."

Slowly, the sensation of completeness returned to Gyne. He slowly raised the beer in front of him. And with big gulps, he downed it all and banged the cup on the table.

"And what are these 'favors' I need to do?"

This time, the disdain which previously existed in Kyle's gaze disappeared. And within its place, only interest and amusement remained.

"For now, I won't tell you."

"What!?"

Kyle brushed the saliva that landed on his robe with disgust and glared at Gyne. Looking at Kyle's wrinkled forehead, Gyne calmed down considerably and frowned.

"Sorry about that, but what do you mean?"

"…Has anyone told you about how slow you are?"

"Uh…"

Judging from Gyne's eye movement, it was almost certain that people have told him something similar in the past. Looking at his pitiful state, Kyle tapped the table once again.

"Do not ask any further, just know that I admire you quite a bit."

As if remembering something in the past—Kyle's gaze looked out of focus, as he continued to speak calmly.

"The actions you took earlier was…fascinating. You purposefully created a distraction so that everyone would focus on our table."

He added, "If I hadn't returned your body to normal, they would certainly notice the predicament you were in. And at that moment—people would be suspicious of the person nearest to you, which is me."

Kyle pointed to himself and chuckled, "Yet after all of that, you didn't even try to make them attack me. Instead, you solved it peacefully without even trying to put me in danger. Enlighten me, why would you do such a thing?"

Looking at the now crimson bandages, Gyne thought for a while before replying.

"Not to brag or anything—but even with my injured body, I'm confident that I will be able to beat all of them, with some sacrifices of course."

Although Gyne looked pathetic in his current state, he was not to be underestimated. He managed to escape those groups of bandits that were able to eliminate the mercenaries he was traveling with. And on top of that, fought creatures that reside at Blynth forest for hours before being rescued by the sunrise.

He was half-dead when Kyle arrived, but his resilience was good enough to not die while being dragged to the hospital.

All of this was enough proof to show how formidable Gyne truly is.

Yet that powerful Gyne was hopeless in front of Kyle.

"Now tell me, what'll be the result of them going against you?"

If those drunkards fought against Gyne, then naturally…

"Total destruction is what I would assume."

Even though this resilient man had come to the same conclusion, the overwhelming confidence and indifference in Kyle's voice made him shudder. It was as if they were discussing something insignificant like the weather.

His train of thought was interrupted when that steady voice rang again, "Then why not let them meet their end? You would have been able to at least create some distance by sacrificing those brainless people, and the uproar that will occur would also hinder me for a while."

Under his questioning eyes, Gyne swallowed his saliva and stared back.

"It's because I don't want to."

Kyle's pupil widened and his breath halted. For a brief moment, it looked like he had transformed into a statue. It might have just been an illusion, but Gyne saw a glint of happiness in Kyle's eyes.

When his breathing returned to normal, a corner of Kyle's mouth lifted upwards—and he put an arm to his chin.

"Strong yet weak, intelligent yet stupid, uncouth yet interesting, and that useless sense of justice you have," Kyle caressed the badge on his chest. "You remind me of someone."

Somehow, the tension that had appeared just earlier dissipated with Kyle's smile. Unlike his previous arrogant appearance, he now appeared cheerful and younger.

When the oppressive atmosphere finally disappeared, Gyne finally felt as if the shackles he didn't know he was bound to were finally shattered. He gasped and breathed deeply multiple times.

As his breathing subsided, he finally said something that appeared on his mind.

"…So, can I leave now?"

He felt that judging by the mood this person was in—he could finally leave this place and continue his travel. But his question was answered with a chuckle.

"Truly similar…Fine, I will allow you to leave this place."

Upon hearing those words, Gyne tried to stand up. The only thought he had at that point was to get the hell out of this place as quickly as possible. But once his legs stood, they turned into jellies—and he dropped back down to his seat.

Ignoring the hatred directed at him, Kyle continued to talk, "No need to rush, you can leave after answering some of my doubts."

"You lied," Gyne spoke while the vein on his forehead bulged.

"I would not call it as far as lying, 'ambiguous' is what I would prefer."

"You lied."

Kyle shrugged and took off the badge on his shirt. Pointing at the intricately engraved symbol, he spoke, "Do you recognize this pattern?"

At first glance, the badge appeared to be five circles overlapping upon one another at the center. But on closer inspection, one would realize that the outlines of the circle were made with lines of small complicated runes—and that the center was filled with words too small to be properly read.

Gyne was dumbfounded when the badge was brought to his eyes, but he observed it nevertheless. The base of the badge was gold, and the shining luster slightly blinded his eyes. He felt something tug at him from the corner of his mind, like he had seen this symbol before.

'Where have I seen this before?'

Seeing no progress on Gyne's part, the arrogant teen sighed and put it back to the place it stayed before.

"It doesn't matter, just know that this badge practically proves that I am a trustworthy person."

"Uh…okay?"

Even though he didn't know where he had seen them before, but he somehow agreed with what Kyle said.

'That badge must've meant something important then,' Gyne assumed.

"In the future—assuming that I didn't approach you directly—if someone brought this medal with them and used my name, consider their words as one of the favors I ask from you."

"Sure."

For the umpteenth time, he regained full control over his body. And this time, he wasn't going to let Kyle mess with him again. The just youth hastily moved his feet and left the bar, occasionally glancing behind him.

"…What a guy," Kyle shrugged.

He then glared at the people staring at his table, and they shakily drew their gazes. Gyne's bloodied bandages attracted some keen-eyed people, but Gyne didn't even realize due to the pressure he felt while speaking to Kyle.

After confirming that no one seemed to be looking at him anymore, he brought a piece of paper from his back pocket and opened it.

Unfurled, the piece of paper was revealed to be a map—it was a map of Karland. A red circle was drawn in the middle of the city…just that it covered almost half of the map. Seeing this, Kyle massaged the bridge of his nose and muttered, "Should've also used the information."