Pride Of The Desert

Though the desert is dry with little water, Otane managed to survive because of a river that ran through the city. The first settlers built their houses and farms next to the river and since then, the area around the river has evolved into massive plantations with grand and luxurious mansions all around.

This place was the center of the city, sitting right next to the coliseum. Kies didn't notice the place before since the giant building had been blocking it. Even the air here was different. The smell of plants filled the air, giving off a somewhat jungle smell.

"So why did you want to bring me here?" Kies asked Nyana. The elf proposed that they came here after the tournament for whatever reason.

"You needed money, isn't that what you said?"

"Well, I guess I did say that." It was true that he needed money, but he needed the money to hire a cranky old lady that was supposedly an expert herbalist. If he could get her to work without the money, then he wouldn't care even the tiniest bit about the prize for winning the tournament.

"In that case, I brought you here to get that money," the elf told him.

"Um... And how am I going to do that?" It was true that this place reeked of money and screamed wealthy people live here, but so what? Even if the people here were rich, it wasn't like he was going to get a bunch of money by begging or anything. He was pretty sure that errands were out of the question too since the rich people had servants for that.

"I'll show you," Nyana waved her hand, indicating for Kies to follow her.

The two walked down the cobblestone streets, their shoes clattering against the hard surface. Unlike the rest of the city which didn't have a path, all the sand here had been replaced with stones and other rocks. They passed by a large mansion that reminded Kies of the Trevan family's mansion that he used to live in.

The elf noticed Kies staring at the mansion and asked, "It's big, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"Have you ever been inside one?"

"Yes... But it was a long time ago. What about you?"

"No. I've never been inside one of these before, though I'd like to if I have the time," she said.

"Oh. Does your home not have one?"

"No, we live in trees. They're all intertwined with each other... Actually, I guess you can consider the entire thing as a mansion with multiple rooms," Nyana said.

"Really? That sounds like quite the sight."

"Well, you'll get to see it once we go there."

"I look forward to that."

They continued the rest of the walk in silence. Kies didn't know what the elf was planning on showing him but he didn't ask about it. She wasn't the type to trick him or say something ridiculous so he trusted her to that extent... Now that Kies thought about it, were all elves like her? Nyana was practically everything that he envisioned in an elf: collected, polite, and refined. If all elves were like this then he wouldn't mind working with them. It would save him a lot of headaches, unlike what's going on now with a certain someone...

Kies touched his lips. He had left his mask with Sirks since he had nowhere to store it and it was annoying to keep wearing that thing as it would draw unneeded attention. He didn't get that girl at all. What kind of a girl falls in love with a guy that they've only known for a couple of days? Just thinking about it confuses him. He even told her his age, and although he didn't look it, he was a lot older than she was.

"Something on your mind?" Nyana asked.

"No, it's not much."

"I see. Well, if you want to ask me something or strike a conversation then feel free. It's going to be a long walk," she told him. The mansions and plantations were all so big that it took them a couple of minutes to walk past one of them. Kies didn't know where they were going but it was undoubtedly going to take some time.

In front of them, there was a person who was also walking on the cobblestone streets. He was wearing plain clothes and Kies found that a little weird. Did the upper class here not wear fancy clothes, or was he a servant. After thinking about it a bit, he was pretty sure that it was the latter case. Though... The man did seem familiar. His body, hair, and clothes... Where did he remember seeing that before?

At the speed they were walking, it didn't take too long for them to catch up. Kies and Nyana were only a few meters away from the man when he suddenly turned around, hearing footsteps behind him. He instinctively reached for his sword, causing Kies to do the same. Luckily, before a fight could break out, Nyana held her hand out.

"We're not thieves or anything," she informed him. The man stared at the elf for a good second before turning to Kies. When the two of their eyes met, it was then that Kies realized who this man was.

"It's you!" they both said at the same time, though the man sounded very surprised about it while Kies was just monotone.

"You two know each other?" the elf asked, also surprised. What were the chances that the person in front of them happened to be an acquaintance?

"We do," the man said.

"I owe him a favor," Kies explained to the elf. He was the mercenary that saved Iris and Sirks. Even though he 'paid' back that favor by agreeing to listen to his request, he declined it in the end which really didn't count as repaying a favor.

"Huh... What a coincidence to meet you here," the mercenary said.

"Same for me. But what are you doing here?" Kies asked him. He didn't look like someone who should be here. Surely, he wasn't one of the noble's servants, was he? Maybe he has a big shot friend here?

"Visiting someone," he answered. "What about you? What are you doing here?" he asked the two for their reason of visit.

Kies looked at Nyana. "Ground Line, we're going there," the elf told him.

"Ground Line?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow. "Wow... That's actually where I'm going too!"

"Really? Well, I don't mind going together," the elf said. She turned to Kies and he nodded his head. He didn't mind either. Though he was curious about one thing and it was Ground Line. That sounded like the name of a company or business. Why were they going there? But he had plenty of time to get that question answered.

"Well then... Let me introduce myself," the mercenary said. "My name is Bachi," he gave a polite bow to Nyana.

"Since you two already know each other, my name is Nyana. As you can see, I'm an elf," the elf also bowed to the mercenary.

"Nice to meet you. Let's talk along the way, but may I ask why you're going to Ground Line? What business do you have there?" Bachi asked as they started moving again.

"Money." Nyana gave a simple one-word answer.

"Money?"

"Yes. Well, not me, but him," Nyana clarified. it was Kies who needed the money, not her. Although it would be nice to buy some supplies for her village, she didn't necessarily have to. Her village was well off... Or rather, it was holding on. She wouldn't say that it was 'well off' at the current moment considering the situation, but it was fine.

"You need money?" the mercenary looked at Kies. He didn't look surprised at all about it. "Why didn't you accept my offer then?" he said disappointedly, shaking his head.

"I have my reasons."

"It's still available you know," he reminded Kies.

"Sorry, but I'm still not interested." Kies answer was still the same as before. He wasn't staying in Otane for long and therefore couldn't accept his offer no matter how nice it was.

"Offer?" Nyana asked, curious about what he was talking about. "What offer would that be?"

"It's to work at my acquaintance's mansion. He has a daughter around the same age as him and considering his skills, I thought it was a good idea, but he rejected the idea."

"I see... The same age..." Nyana glanced at Kies, a smirk creeping across her lips. "The same age?" She repeated the part that she found humorous.

"I didn't explain," Kies told her. It was too troublesome to try to tell someone that he was actually a lot older than he looked when he was this short.

"What? They are the same age, right? I mean, he's around sixteen to twenty, no?" Bachi asked for confirmation, confused about why they were laughing.

"Yes, we are the same age," Kies told him. He really didn't want to explain it to him. Nyana laughed a little, still amused about it, which caused the mercenary to scratch his head, but he didn't ask any further about it since it seemed like it was complicated to explain which Kies was grateful for.

"So, may I ask what the relationship between you two is?" Bachi suddenly brought up the question to Kies and Nyana. The two of them were very different from each other and yet they were walking together. Normally, elves hate contact with humans after what they've done and something like this was a rare sight to see.

"I wouldn't say we're that close..." It was Nyana who said that. She tried to find the right words to describe their relationship but it was difficult. "We're basically helping each other out," she explained it as simply as she could to the man. She needed Kies to finish his job here as soon as he could so that they could go to her village and solve the problem there. After that, she was to help him find what he is looking for there, which is the fragment. So to sum it all up, they were just getting the other person what they wanted.

"Got it." The mercenary had many more questions he wanted to ask but they made it to their destination. "Well, I'll save the rest of my questions for later since we're here. Welcome to Ground Line!"

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