The Vanta Swordsman

The sun was about to set and the duo of friends decided to return to the shopkeeper.

They reached the mask shop and found the shopkeeper sitting in wait for his customer. He popped out of his seat the moment he saw his favorite customer.

"Welcome back Young warrior, I've been waiting!" He welcomed Eternus warmly.

Eternus felt moved by such a warm welcome. "Thank you" He nodded and took a seat.

The Shopkeeper noticed that his eyes were not as heavy as they were on the battlefield, "I see you've calmed down now, the lake sure is pretty relaxing..."

"Yes, It is a nice place to be." Eternus replied while glancing at his little friend.

"My wife prepared some good food for you, she made curry." The shopkeeper continued while cleaning his desk with a cloth. "I also brought some fish for your familiar beast over there..."

"Neko is not my familiar beast... Consider her my partner." Eternus replied as soon as he looked at Neko's infuriated face and an extended pair of claws, saving his face from being ripped off.

Hearing Eternus call her his partner calmed Neko down and her razor-sharp blades went back into the soft fluff of her paws.

"I see, this is quite a fascinating beast... I've never seen one like her, a black cat with two tails. She doesn't seem fearsome in battle like her master…" He commented in fascination toward Neko and winked as he continued, "but I do think she is pretty cute though."

Neko lost steam out of her ears when she heard this,

[This punk! Who's he callin' cute?! I'm the great Nekomata, I'll kill him!!] She yelled in Eternus's mind and her razor-sharp friends came out once again from her fluffy paws.

Eternus suddenly grabbed her from his shoulder and held her in his arms like a baby held by her mother.

[Let me at him!!] Neko kept on screaming while wiggling her tiny fingers at the shopkeeper as he laughed in adoration toward the cat.

It was time for dinner, The shopkeeper took them inside the storage room which he had just tidied up, and set a table for them to dine on. The shopkeeper seemed like a middle-class man who lived by selling masks and some equipment to adventurers who passed by the town.

However, the dinner was quite extravagant and the smell of it made both his guests drool.

Neko and Eternus both watered in their mouths at the sight of that amazing meal. The two had already started digging in, even before the shopkeeper comforted them to begin.

It was a rare occasion to have such an extravagant meal, especially for Eternus whose usual meal was burnt meat and possibly poisonous herbs.

Neko made sure to fill her stomach up to the brim. She had eaten so much that she was unable to get up and just lied down hopelessly like a fat ballon exclaiming,

"~worth it...~"

After dinner, their talk went on, which was mostly the shopkeeper thanking and praising Eternus while he replied in his usual and simplistically awkward tone.

"It has been too long since I had a decent homemade meal, Thank you, sir Merchant", Eternus expressed gratitude.

"Oh please... This is nothing compared to what you've done for all of our townspeople, we cannot thank you enough." The shopkeeper replied,

Eternus lowered his head out of modesty and asked with a hint of shame, "What is your name, sir merchant?"

The shopkeeper's eyes widened with surprise at his question, "Customers usually don't ask for my name, haha... This would be the first time in years that someone asked for my name…" He continued with a warm smile, "My name is Blaine Kanvar... You can call me Blaine."

"I see… Blaine." Eternus nodded.

In the context of asking names, Blaine curiously asked, "What is your name if you don't mind telling me...?"

Eternus took a moment to think and kept on pondering about whether or not he should tell him his name.

'Telling my name would put them in danger too… Considering that I might be recognized as a war fugitive of the Necron and Espodian Empires.'

With a bit of disappointment Blaine understood his reasons, "Very well... If you don't want to tell us your real name, you can at least come up with an alias that our town can remember you by, right?" He asked brimming hope that compelled Eternus to agree.

Eternus nodded in response, "Alright, I'll give you an alias instead." He looked at Neko for suggestions but found that she was fast asleep already.

Eternus took a moment to think of a nice alias for himself, running his eyes all over the room and back at Neko. 'I could really use some help from Neko…'

Finally, he settled with something,

"You can remember me by the alias… Vanta" He said with a plain expression on his face.

"Hmmm Interesting… But I think it could use a little tweat like… The Vanta Warrior who saved us all!" Blaine grinned, "Yes, that's perfect!"

Slightly stunned by Blaine's 'little tweaking' Eternus thought to himself,

'He really thinks that I'm a good person… You were right Neko.'

The next morning, loud cheering noises from the townspeople wake Eternus from his slumber instead of the nightmares this time.

We went over to gaze outside from his window. He noticed a crowd of people celebrating in the daylight singing and dancing. They cheered and whistled as the musicians sang melodies of freedom.

"LONG LIVE VANTA!!!"

"LONG LIVE VANTA!!!"

"LONG LIVE VANTA!!!"

The people cheered out loud for their Hero whom they would never know yet the evidence of his existence were the headless bodies hung as a sign of warning for any new threats that emerge.

Eternus snorted at this view, feeling slightly good after a very long time, 'The town of Dusk-wake will no longer be awake for too long after dusk.'

"Wake up, Neko... It is time to leave." Eternus tries to wake his two-tailed friend who was deeply in sleep making strange sounds that almost seemed like words of human language,

"Mew F-r..en!d" She spoke like a person while sleeping without the use of telepathy.

Eternus brought his head closer to make sure he heard it through his ears and not through his mind. 'She's asleep… so she can't use telepathy… I knew it! She really is hiding something!'

While trying to wake her up, he noticed her tails wiggle harmonically in a mesmerizing way.

Eternus extended his hand to touch those fluffy tails and just as he barely grasped them,

"WHAA!!?".

Neko jumped in alert with her fur fully erect like cactus thorns.

[Oh, So it's just you, Eternus... Can't you let me sleep for a little while longer... I was having a great dream, We were slaying dragons!] She said while yawning.

Eternus replied in a calm tone, "It's impressive how you can put up an act like that…"

Neko asked innocently while grooming her fur, [Did you say somethin?]

"Nothing, we should leave now..." Eternus changed the subject, not finding the right time or place to question.

[Alright alright... Let's go then... your horses are never on a halt.]

.

"That would be 20 Bronze coins, sir." The accountant downstairs said after taking his token.

Eternus dropped a silver coin on the desk saying, "I don't have any bronze coins, Keep the change as an apology for acting rudely earlier."

Just as they moved a few steps out from the inn, He found Blaine standing in front of his shop...

"I expected you would be here," said Eternus.

"I can't let the great Vanta go without seeing him off myself, can I?"

"Thank you for all your help... It is time to leave now"

"No wait, I'm not done yet…" He began removing his ring and continued, "I have something to give you."

Eternus felt guilty because he wasn't used to this kind of treatment, 'A nice dinner was more than enough for me… Does helping people really mean that much?' He wondered to himself. But he couldn't realize Blaine's emotions, who thought of him as the Savior of his entire town… which he indeed was,

"I can't accept any more gifts from you. You've done enough.." Eternus said trying not to spoil himself too much.

Blaine didn't listen and handed over his ring to him and said, "This is a storage ring… Safety isn't a problem for you, I'm sure. But handling a pouch of 50 silvers can be a pain. So take it."

"Thank you, Blaine... You've taken good care of me... I will remember you." Eternus showed gratitude with the best manners his mother had taught him.

"Remember me?" Blaine chuckled, "No, Vanta… I will remember you! All this pales in comparison to what you liberated us from..."

A hint of anger added to his grateful tone as he continued, "People were on the verge of suicide, living like poultry animals for those bandits and you helped us get rid of them when those knights who were supposed to protect us slept drunk…" He sighed off his anger and smiled once again as he bid his favorite customer a good farewell. "Again, Good luck on your journey, I can see you're looking for salvation... I hope you find it soon."

Eternus' eyes widened at hearing this..."I will not stop looking." He said with determination.

"Goodbye… Vanta." Blaine said his final goodbye in a sad tone and a slight wave of his hands,

"Farewell, Blaine Kanvar" Eternus finally walks out of Dusk-wake with Neko on his shoulder...

[The Vanta… So you came up with that yourself?] Neko asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Yes… You don't think I can come up with something on my own?" He raised a brow.

[No wonder, It's just as dry and gloomy as you are.] Neko made fun of his naming skills and continued with a consoling gesture, [I'll come up with your next alias when you save another town…]

"Fine.. Whatever." Eternus said while walking and after a distance, he suddenly stopped.

Seeing him stop suddenly made Neko wonder.

[What's the matter? Why did you stop?] She asked when she noticed him glaring at her with an unreadable expression.

Eternus took her from his shoulder and held her in front of his face.

"I have been noticing some things about you... It's time you tell me the truth about yourself" He narrowed his gaze and continued eerily, "What are you… Neko?"