Travel Buddies

Kies refused to tell them his name since the last thing he wanted was for someone to hear it and recognize him. Though he didn't know many people, this was a risk that was better of not taken.

Iris got a little upset that Kies wouldn't tell them his name when she told him theirs. "This isn't fair. Why can't you tell us your name? Wait... Are you a dangerous criminal or something!?"

"Believe what you want. I'm not going to open my mouth. And say I am a dangerous criminal, then you better sleep with one eye open. I might kill you during the night and take the necklace."

"I'm joking, I would know if you were one. You wouldn't do that to us... Would you?"

"Who knows."

It was only an hour into their trip and Kies was already tired. Sirks and Wompa have been quiet the entire time, and were listening to Iris as she bombarded Kies with questions.

"Hey, why do you wear that cloak? Isn't it hot out? You also have the hood on. Aren't you sweating?"

"..."

"Also, that big black sword you summoned, is that magic? Or is it a magic tool? Can you summon it again?"

"..."

"Come on! Just say something! No one here is talking. It's so boring!" Iris began to throw a fit to which her sister and Sirks did nothing about and just watched. It looked like it wasn't their first time experiencing this. Was this how Ammine felt back then when Kies kept asking her these questions? By God, the girl was beyond annoying. Kies was starting to regret accepting the offer.

"How old are you?" Kies asked Iris.

"Oh finally! You want to talk now! I'm twenty. I'm turning twenty-one very soon!" she answered with a big smile. "What about you? How old are you? Judging from your voice l, I'd say twenty as well. Well, am I right? Am I?"

"..."

Iris is extremely talkative. Was someone like her really a princess? Weren't princesses supposed to be... more refined? Her young sister was the perfect example of a model princess. She didn't speak and looked more like a princess than her older sister.

"Answer me, please! It's not fair for you to ask a question when you won't even answer it yourself!"

Kies sighed. It really looked like she wouldn't stop unless he answered the question. He gave up and told her, "Thirty."

"What!? Tell the truth! How could you be thirty?" The princess didn't believe the Kies is thirty years old. "Come on, what's your real age?"

"I'm not sure, but it's around thirty. Maybe more, maybe less. It's around that range." What Kies said was true. He had lost count of his age a long time ago and had no idea how old he really is. Age meant nothing to him when he didn't age at all. He isn't human, so why should he care? It isn't like he can die of old age or something.

"Wait, you're serious?"

"Yes."

"Take off your hood. Let me see your face." The princess still found it hard to believe what Kies was saying was true and wanted to see for herself but Kies pushed her arms away. "What's the problem with showing us your face? We're going to be traveling together for a while so we're going to see it eventually."

"Then wait until that "eventually" to happen."

"Hmph." Iris suddenly grabs and tackles Kies again and pinned him to the ground. She then tries to take off his hood which was covering half of his face. Kies grabs her arms and struggles with her for a good bit before the other two grow tired and stop them.

"Let go of me!" the princess protested as Sirks pulled her away from Kies. "Aren't you curious too!? You should be helping me, not him!"

"..."

Kies gets up from the ground and dusts the dirt off his clothes. This "escort" mission was less of an escort than it was babysitting an annoying princess. He definitely regrets accepting the deal. Was it too late to get out of this?

Kies was thinking of just taking the fragment and leaving on the spot right now since he couldn't stand being with Iris any longer but he had his morals. If he made a promise then he had to keep true to it until the end. Kies takes a deep breath and calms himself down before the four of them continue down the road again.

Kies kind of missed Ammine and the others now. Though they didn't do anything outside of completing the tasks that were assigned to them, it was definitely much more enjoyable than this.

After walking for a few hours, the group decided to take a small break. The sun had peaked in the sky and the day was at its hottest. It was best if they waited until it dropped a little before continuing. They found a single lonely tree on the side of the road and went into its shade o take cover from the sun.

"Ugh, I wish we took more supplies with us," Sirks says while going through what they had. After scavenging what they could from the carriage (which was practically nothing since it was empty other than for the two passengers) they found a single pouch of water and barely enough food to last a day.

"By any chance, could you magically make a bunch of food and water appear like you did with that sword?" Iris asks Kies. She was still intrigued by how Kies made that sword appear out of thin air.

"No." He really didn't understand why they didn't loot the soldiers' bodies if this was the case. They probably have plenty of supplies on them since it looked like they had been camping on the side of the road waiting for the three for days.

"Oh, that's a real shame. Looks like we have to find a village by night or else we will starve."

"Do you even have money?" Kies asked Iris. He didn't see any on the carriage and it didn't look like any of them were carrying any.

"Nope! Do you?"

"No."

"What!? Do you have anything? How do you survive out here with nothing!?"

"I have my ways." And those "ways" meant not needing food or water or even rest since he isn't human.

"You have your ways?" Iris tried to think of what Kies could mean by that. "Wait... Are you a cannibal!?"

"..."

"If you are, don't eat me! Sirks tastes much better."

"Just what in the world goes on in your head?" Kies asks the princess.

"In my head? Hmm... You know, just the normal things that every girl my age thinks about. Like who I'm going to marry, what will I do when I get older, and if the person in front of me is actually a psychopathic maniac hiding his identity and is planning on roasting us when we're asleep. Yeah, just the normal stuff."

"..."

Kies doubted that anything that was going on in his girl's head is normal. In fact, it was probably anything but normal. Well, except maybe for who she is going to marry. That was a problem that everyone worried about regardless of race and gender. But... Maybe not him. In the first place, could he even marry someone? Kies couldn't age and unless he found someone who is immortal just like him, he would be destined to be alone. Ah, whatever. That isn't important. He had time to figure out what to do with his life after saving the world, and that is assuming that he lives that long as well.

"Anyway, can you show me that sword? I promise I won't bother you for the next few hours if you do," Iris begged Kies. He thought about it for a moment. It was definitely worth it. Kies was tired of her asking him questions nonstop. Getting her to be quiet for just a moment is exactly what he needed right now.

Kies held out his hand with the glove out and a sword flashed into existence before their very eyes. "Woah!" Iris wasn't the only one who was interested in the sword. It also attracted the other two's attention and they were looking at it as well. He planted the sword into the dirt and sat down next to the tree. While they did that, he was going to close his eyes and rest a bit. Of course, this was to heal his mental fatigue and not his physical fatigue.

"Ouch!" Iris picked up the sword and fell backward, landing on her bottom while doing so. It wasn't that the sword was too heavy for her and she couldn't stand up with it. It was because the sword is too light and she used too much force to pull the sword out. She overestimated the weapon's weight.

"Hey, why does this thing weigh so little even though it's this huge?" Iris asked Kies. The sword was bigger than her and yet it weighed even less than a normal-sized sword.

"Don't know." He had no idea why that was the case either.

"What does this button do?"

"Button? Wait, don't touch that-" But it was too late. Iris had already pressed the button on the bottom of the hilt and the sword split in half. Half of it spun around until the massive greatsword became a two-sided sword instead. In the process, Iris almost sliced off everyone's heads with it. Kies had completely forgotten about that function since he never really used the sword in that form that often. It was only useful in situations when he is surrounded since he could slice and dice all the enemies in a matter of seconds with it.

"What the bloody h*ll happened!?" Sirks had the tips of his hair trimmed by the weapon when it opened up. He looked back at the sword and saw that it had become two swords. There was a blade on both ends of the handle. "It can transform!? Woah! Hey! Watch where you swing that thing!"

Iris was playing around with the sword now and trying to figure out how to fight with a weapon like this. And because she has no idea what she is doing with the weapon, he accidentally swings it at Kies, almost cutting his head off. Luckily, he threw his head down in time as it went over his head, sending splinters of wood flying into the air as it gashed the tree.

"Sorry!" But Iris didn't look sorry at all. Instead, she looked excited to try out the sword.

"..."

"I'll go over there," Iris points at a patch of empty dirt close by them that is still under the shade of the tree but just far enough that they wouldn't get caught up by any of her attacks. That amount of distance should be fine. If the sword gets too far away from him, more specifically, the glove that is on his hand, then it would disappear. She was close enough that the sword wouldn't disappear.

"Where in the world did you get something like that?" Sirks asks Kies about the sword.

"It's complicated."

"I can see that. A sword like that has to have some sort of history." Sirks pauses for a moment before asking, "Are you willing to sell that?"

"No," Lies replied almost instantly. "I'm not selling that sword."

Sirks looked a little disappointed but he understood why. A sword like that is a one-of-a-kind weapon and it wasn't easy for someone to get their hands on something like that. "Well, if you ever change your mind, let me be the first one to know."

Sirks walks away from Kies and starts to harvest some of the nearby plants which were edible. Wompa watched her sister play around with the dangerous weapon. Kies finally had a moment of peace after what felt like the entire day when it was really just a few hours. He closed his eyes and let his mind infuse with the winds. While they were doing that, he wanted to scout out the areas ahead.

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