"Akashi... Akashi..."
There was a light call of his name as he woke up. Even though he is a heavy sleeper, he's always alert at all times whenever he's sleeping.
"Hmm?..."
Akashi started to come to and felt like his head was on a very fluffy pillow. Then he remembered that they were in a tree and woke up just to look up and see Syvis looking down at him.
"Good morning~"
He got up slowly and rubbed his eyes
"Why did you put my head on your lap?..."
"Well, you're the one escorting me, so I thought I might as well do something for you."
He gave her a small smile as he found that quite amusing
"You have quite the strange way of showing your gratitude, and with your status, I should be grateful to you right?"
"N-No! That not what I was going-"
She then caught on that he was messing with her and she puffed up her cheeks. He patted her head gently
"Thanks though, it was a very comfortable sleep."
He got up and stretched a bit and looked outside. The sky was cloudy but the rain has stopped. They were halfway through the forest and close to reaching the border of Elfheim. Although they haven't seen any monsters yet, they can't let their guard down. It was noon at this point and Syvis's clothes were still a bit damp. He took out her dried traveling wear and placed it on her head.
"You should change into a different pair of clothes. Get packed and ready to go, we are leaving once you're done."
"Oh, alright then."
She undressed and felt the chilly breeze, her skin was still wet from the clothes, and fully dried herself with the towel that Akashi gave her. She dressed in a new pair of clothes with the travel garment on top. She packed the rest of her things in her bag and got up
"He didn't try to even sneak a peek at me when I was changing... I guess he wouldn't because he already saw all of me... gosh I'm glad I keep my hair in check... I still didn't get an answer from him..."
She was deep in thought until she could feel tapping on her shoulder
"EEKA!"
She yelped in surprise and Akashi rose his eyebrow
"Are you ok? You're red behind the ears."
"I-I'm fine, just startled by your sudden appearance. Let's go."
She covered her ears and walked with Akashi. They were making fast progress to the kingdom of Elfheim. She then thought about how Akashi keeps his hair kept, he doesn't have a beard nor a mustache. It was a random thought but that kept her mind busy for a bit until she felt a sharp yank and she was pulled into the bushes with Akashi. He was staring at something and she saw it. A large monster that had to be at least a C-rank boss. She knew with the current power they hold, they can't attack it. She looked at Akashi and surprise arose when she saw him using a normal handcrafted sword, not the pitch-black sword that he had by his side at the academy.
"Why aren't you using that black sword?"
"I don't want to attract attention with it. I kept it under wraps at the academy except for you because you have crystalline eyes, I can't get around those eyes of yours. Which reminds me, are you the only one who possesses those eyes?"
She shook her head
"My father and mother possess them. My mother who is the successor when she was young didn't know that she was born with them until she met my father, who also had them, as you know, people with crystalline eyes can see the truths about people, whether if they have an honest or deceitful intention, whether they are telling a truth or lie and they can see the aura around the person. Your aura is much different than anybody else's though..."
"So you're saying that I'm out of place?"
She nodded and he lightly sighed
"I hope I don't run into your parents... which is unlikely if I'm returning with the firstborn daughter of the Elaris family."
"Are you sure that you can fight off that monster?"
"I am uncertain if I would be a good match for it..."
"I understand why you would be apprehensive about fighting that monster..."
"Though, I am curious why you won't use your bow that you have hidden in your bag. Not everyone is skilled with a bow, except for trained elves, and with you carrying one when we left with only important belongings, it's quite strange."
She clenched her hands into a fist as she was conflicted on what to say but she felt his hand on her head.
"You must have your reasons, elves do have an amazing talent with the bow, but for you not to use that talent right now must mean that you have a damning reason not to use it."
Then, an arrow came out of nowhere and hit the monster. It barely penetrated and two elves came out of the bushes while one elf was out in the open with a bow.
"Damn! I didn't even scratch it!"
The elf with the bow cursed as the two other elves charged at the monster.
Their attempts were futile as they both got slashed and killed. The blood splattered all over the lone bowman as he stood there in shock.
"T-This is a B-ranked boss... the information was wrong..."
The elf collapsed onto his knees and dropped his bow. Syvis jumped up and tried to run at the monster but Akashi grabbed her arm and prevented her from going.
"What's the matter Syvis?!"
She shook her head as a tear fell
"I have to save him! He's my brother!"
Akashi then loosened his grip and snapped his view to the monster who was now close to Syvis' brother. In an instant, time seemed to have slowed, Syvis was running towards the monster yelling out her brother's name, her brother raising his arms to block the monster's slash and looking at Syvis at the same time with shock and sadness.
"Damn... looks like I have to use it..."