To tease or not to tease, that is the question

Kai made his way around the large group of beasts towards where the people he knew was. He wasn't going to go near Noelle just yet, so he decided to not make things complicated for Sofia and John by just going to Aldred and Failure.

Kai really had no idea what to think of Failure. The man was an enigma in every possible sense. Willingly sacrificing beasts in the tunnel and then being so passionate about saving them. Unless he had a split personality, Kai could not understand for the life of him how he could change his ways so quickly.

Maybe that was why he sometimes seemed normal and other times like a living corpse.

Eventually reaching the wolf and man duo, Kai started walking beside them. After a moment of silence, he asked:

"Where exactly is the Mother Tree?"

Before Failure could answer, Aldred turned his furry head slightly and spoke in his signature gruff tone.

"Not far. A few hours on foot."

Kai's heart dropped.

"A few hours?"

A few hours of walking was not something Kai wanted to do today, or any day in fact. Wouldn't all the beasts and humans be absolutely wrecked by the time they got to the tree? How on Earth are they meant to fight when they've used all their energy to get to the battlefield?

Actually, in roman times and stuff they probably had to travel distances even longer than a few hours to engage their enemies in battle. So should Kai be complaining?

Probably not, but he was still going to.

The cogs in his mind start turning as an ingenious idea forms in his head. This idea was so incredible, so wondrous, that maybe Kai had been a genius all his life without knowing. Maybe if there was someone that could carry him...

Glancing to the side, Kai hid his grin as he finalised his target.

"Aldred, would you be willing to-"

"No."

Kai froze. Playing innocent, he said:

"But you don't even know what I'm going to say."

Aldred grunted.

"I do, and the answer is no."

Kai's heart broke as his shoulders slumped. Defeat found its way into his heart as he wallowed in self-pity. It seemed he wouldn't be getting carried on the gray wolf's back. But how did Aldred know?

Life is unfair...

Hearing a laugh erupt from the other side of the wolf, Kai glared at the source and said:

"You look like you don't have much to do, why don't you carry me instead?"

Failure continued to laugh as he walked close beside Aldred. His steps were swift and nimble, no room for extra movement. Even when it came to walking, Failure was perfect.

As I said, life is unfair.

"If you wish for me to carry you, all you have to do is ask. I'm sure the people around us would love to see that sight.

I remember seeing in your memories that a type of story that was popular in the world was 'BL'. I'm not quite sure what it is, but it always involved two men so we could potentially do it."

Kai sighed he shook his head. He gave up on the thought of getting a free ride while listening to Failure's obliviousness.

"No, we will not be doing that. And I'm sure if you knew the meaning then you wouldn't want to do it either."

Failure remained silent for a few moments before saying.

"How would you know what I do and do not want to do?"

Glancing to the side once more, Kai saw a teasing grin on Failure's attractive face. Either he knew more than he was letting on, or he knew that he could tease Kai by saying that. Or it could have been a mix of both.

"I give up. If you've seen so much of my memories, is there any chance of a car or something being here? That would be a great thing to have. Can't you just magic one up for me?"

Failure shook his head.

"No, my dear Kai, I cannot just 'magic up a car for you'."

Kai grinned slyly.

"So you can't?"

Failure threw a quick glare at him.

"I could, but it would take too much Mana so I will rightly refrain from doing so in favour of conserving my Mana for later."

"Excuses." Kai snorted.

Failure sighed shook his head.

"I could say the same about you. Even after my inspirational words of wisdom last night, you still don't have the backbone to apologise to Lady Noelle."

Kai blushed slightly. While it was technically true, it wasn't really excuses, it was more so...

"It's a tactical postponement to preserve my mental clarity so as to not hinder my performance later."

Kai then grinned gloatingly.

"You're not the only one who knows fancy words."

Failure chuckled softly. He then gazed up at the tree tops above and sighed wistfully.

"Fancy words are one thing, but words can only get you so far, actions are more important."

Kai blinked. Why was he being so philosophical all of a sudden?

"You want me to do actions for Noelle? What, grovel for her forgiveness or something? Then again, why should I be the one to apologise? It was technically her who caused this whole mess."

Failure shook his head and sighed.

"That's a very narrow way of seeing it. Think of it like this. There's a king of a kingdom. His wife, the queen, made a mistake when dealing with another kingdom. While it may be the queen who made the mistake, it would have to be the king, her husband, who has to apologise for the mistake.

While your situation and that one may not be that similar, you have to be the bigger man and apologise first.

As you know, I peeked into your mind at certain times, you were not the only one though. I went through everyone to see could they be a threat to our home when Aldred said there was a spy.

But Lady Noelle's mind... is very fragile. She's walking a small line over a large canyon that will lead to her death. What she needs is a pole to help her balance. While you may not be the best choice for the topic at hand, you would most certainly make a good enough stick in which she can use."

Kai blinked.

"So I'm a stick then?"

Failure sighed once more.

"You're missing the point-"

"No, no, I do get the point. I just thought I heard wrong when you called me a 'good enough stick'."

Failure remained silent for a few moments before a teasing smile tugged on his lips.

"Well what would you rather be?"

Kai remained silent in thought for a few moments. What would he want to be? If he had to make a choice...

"I don't know, a hot guy?"

Shrugging, Kai continued walking as he ignored Failure's laughter to the side. He didn't really know what he would want to be. It was a hard question, plus his answer could change at any given moment.

Like, a child could say thay they want to be a pirate, but then the next day they would want to be a astronaut. What Kai wanted to be was someone strong enough to not die at any given moment, but he knew that would never happen, and if it would it wouldn't be for a long, long time.

So he settled for something easier.

"I changed my mind. I just want to be me."

Failure stopped his laughing and threw a glance at Kai. A small smile formed on his lips.

"That's a good thing to want to be."

Kai nodded in agreeance.

"It is."

The scenery didn't change at all as they walked. It remained the exact same.

Gargantuan trees dwarfing over them like how a flower would to ants. Shadows following them everywhere they went. Blades of grass crumpling under war-going boots.

Kai continued to make small talk with both Aldred and Failure. One was calm and wise while the other just kept teasing him. Kai caught on that Failure was acting kind of strange, but he soon realised why.

The brown-haired man was trying to keep him calm. All the teasing, all the jokes, everything that came out of his constantly smiling mouth was in an effort to keep Kai relaxed.

It was heart-warming, in a sense. Kai knew that there was a high possibility that he died today, but with Failure messing with him and the effects of Nonchalance passively influencing his mind, he thought that maybe he wouldn't die today.

He would live to see his family. Then he would eat and sleep properly. Then... he would have to figure something out, he hadn't thought that far ahead.

But Kai appreciated the effort Failure was putting in. And it wasn't only Kai that he was trying to keep motivated. Every once in a while he would shout out to the army, telling stories or giving words of wisdom.

Failure truly was a master of manipulation. But what Kai had realised was that the manipulation wasn't malicious. No, Failure was a master at manipulating morale.

He was able to keep everyone in high spirits like it was nothing. Kai knew he would never be able to do anything like that, and he didn't know anyone he thought would be able to either. Failure was incredible in that aspect.

After around an hour passed in their journey to the Mother Tree, Failure leaned into Kai's ear and whispered:

"You should apologise now. Nothing good will come out of postponing it, you may as well just get it over and done with. What's the worst that could possibly happen?"

Kai didn't want to think about the possible answers for that question, but he knew that Failure was right.

So with a heavy heart and a self-depricating sigh to follow suit, Kai left Failure and Aldred to go find Noelle.