Coincidental Encounter

"Do you know her? Who is she?" Iris had a billion questions in her mind. Who was this person that Kies was looking at? "Hey, answer me!" Iris jumped in front of Kies and started waving her hand in his face.

"Stop!"

"Who is she!?"

"She's the guard captain whose request we took yesterday."

"Oh, phew."

"Phew?"

"Ah! Never mind!" She suddenly pushed Kies and shyly turned her head in the other direction.

"..."

Kies took off his mask and walked into the store. "Hey, wait for me!" Iris saw that he was going in and entered the building as well after him.

It wasn't until he stepped foot into the building that he saw it was a smithy. Nell was talking to a man who looked like the blacksmith of the place. The two of them looked like they were talking about something important since they were so immersed in their conversation that they didn't notice Kies and Iris entering. Kies looked at the table and saw the rusty old sword he had been using yesterday.

"Oh, hey! I didn't think I would run into you here! And oh! You brought someone else with you!" Nell tilted her head sideways to get a better look at Iris who was standing behind him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, though he had a pretty good idea of what she was doing here.

"I'm having this sword repaired," she pointed at the sword on the bench.

"What for?"

"I mean, don't you need a weapon?"

"Yes, but are you sure you want to give that to me?"

"Sure. I mean, why not? Don't you need this for the tournament? It's not like I had the time to train you two today after the sudden change in schedule. It's the only thing I can really do for you. Speaking of which, since you're here, does that mean that you got past the first round?"

"Not yet. We have some time before our fight."

"Oh. Well, this is good anyway. Since you're here, you can tell him if there's anything you want to change about the sword."

"Howdy young lad. Any preferences for your sword?"

Kies went over to the sword and looked at it. There was some steel next to it which was going to be used for repairing the weapon. He picked up the weapon and felt it out. It would be nice if it was a bit bigger. It would be impossible for the blacksmith to change this sword to the same shape as the one he used since it would fall apart if he tried. The only thing that he could really ask for is to make the sword thinner and longer to better match the black sword.

"Can you make this thing a bit longer and also thinner?" Kies asked the blacksmith.

"Longer and thinner? That's not a good combination..." Just doing one of them would make the sword a lot less sturdy. Doing both would basically cause the sword to be super fragile. And that isn't exactly a good trait to have on a hard-hitting weapon.

"I know, but is there any way for you to make it like that?"

"I'll see about it lad, but don't expect too much. Your request is a tough one."

"Thank you."

"No problem lad."

"How much is it?" Kies asked. He reached for his pouch where his money was but Nell stopped him.

"Don't worry about the price. I'm paying for it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I mean, I did kind of force you to join this tournament, didn't I? It's only fair if I fix this weapon for you."

"Um... I was going to join the tournament anyway," Kies told her.

"You were? Then why were you so reluctant to accept my mission? It's killing two birds with one stone."

"Because we're looking to win the thing. We don't want to get distracted by anything else."

"Ah... Well, you should've told me..." Nell felt a little guilty now that she knew that she kind of forced Kies to help her.

"Well, it's fine since we agreed to help you already. Speaking of which, I found someone suspicious at the tournament. They were covered from head to toe and was hiding their face."

"So like you?"

"Yes, like me."

"Interesting... Tell me more."

Before Kies could continue, the blacksmith interrupted them. "Ahem, would you like to take this conversation outside? I've got work to do," he pointed at a pile of weapons on the table that needed maintenance.

"Oh sorry. Let's go outside first." Nell brought them all outside. "But before we continue, do you want to introduce me to your little friend?" she excitedly asked him.

"No! Keep me away from her!" Iris stood behind Kies, using him as a shield to keep Nell away.

"Huh? Did I do something wrong?" This was the first time the two of them met so Nell didn't know why Iris was acting like this.

"My sister told me what you did to her."

"Your sister?" Nell's eyes narrowed as she tried to remember who it might be that she was talking about. "Wait... Are you Wompa's sister?"

"Yes!"

"Oh! Wait, but you two look nothing alike though!"

"We don't have to look alike."

"Ah... And here I thought that you were his... Er- Nevermind. Or maybe you are."

"I'm what?"

"Nothing. So, can I at least get your name?"

"It's Iris..." she hesitantly told the woman.

"Iris? Wow... Just who were your parents for them to name you and your sister after the princesses of Otane. What's next? Do you have a third sister whose name is Jenabas? And by any chance, did all your brothers die in battle as well?"

"Wha-" Iris looked at Kies. "How does she know?" she asked in a panicked whisper.

"She's just joking. She doesn't know who you two really are. She just thinks that you two have the same names as the princesses."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Kies assured her that their identities were safe. If Nell really knew who they were then she wouldn't be talking to them in this manner.

Nell caught the two whispering something to each other and asked them, "What are you whispering about?"

"Someone unimportant," Kies answered. "But back to what I was talking about. The suspicious person is still there right now. They're waiting for their turn in the arena I think."

"Really? Then we better head there right now... Actually, can you go there first and keep an eye on him? I need to report this to everyone else."

"Will do."

"Great. See you there. And remember, under no circumstances are you to engage them. They're all dangerous," Nell gave them a final warning before heading off to report this to the guards.

"Okay."

After hearing the answer she wanted, Nell ran off, leaving Iris staring at Kies and wondering what the heck the two of them were talking about.

"What was all that about?" she asked Kies after Nell left.

"Did your sister not tell you about it?"

"No. She just told me that it was something important."

"Well, it's complicated. But in short, there are these thieves that are trying to do something bad during the tournament and she wants us to stop them," Kies explained everything as simply as he could to Iris about what was going on."

"And you think you found one of them?"

"Yes. We better go back and keep an eye on them until she and the other guards arrive." If they can catch that thief right now, then it would save them the trouble of having to deal with them later. This way, they can focus on the tournament since they wouldn't have to worry about anyone messing it up. So it wasn't that bad of a deal after all. Wompa did really make the right choice of agreeing to help out them.

Iris scratched her chin. "So, if we get this thief, then does that mean that we will get a reward?" she excitedly asked.

"I guess." It wasn't much of a reward but it was something.

"Then what are we waiting for!? Let's go back!" Iris grabbed Kies' arm, almost making him drop the mask in his hand. She started pulling him back towards the colosseum to which Kies let her. He threw the mask to his free hand and put it back on his face and told Iris to do the same.

Iris stopped for a second and put on her mask as well before continuing with what she was doing. She grabbed Kies by his arm again and dragged him back to the colosseum like this without stopping. Once they made it there, they entered it and found Sirks and Wompa exactly where they left them.

Sirks spotted them coming back and waved. "That was a short trip. What'd you do? Use the bathroom?"

"No. We went for a stroll," Kies told them while looking around the seats for the suspicious person. He also found them sitting in the same exact place waiting for their turn to fight in the colosseum, or so it seemed. They could be waiting for something else. Whatever it was, they couldn't be sure. But what they did know for certain is that they needed to keep a close eye on the person until the guards arrived.

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