"Ah..." Indu's mouth hung open. What a pretty name it was. Simple, straight to the point. Brutish, like the way he killed the troll. She liked the name a lot.
"My name is Indu." Without a dress, she couldn't perform a curtsy, but she did manage to give a slight bow.
"Indu."
"Indu."
"Indu."
"Indu."
Axer repeated the name with a smile. His eyes shone brightly as if enjoying the pleasant sensation of her name rolling off his tongue.
"Indu, like the moon? What an accurate name. Your beauty does rival the moon."
*Thump*
What was that? Why was he saying that? She liked it, no, she loved it, but she knew it was false. Deep down, she knew. But then why was her heart reacting like this? It rapidly beat against her chest like a war drum, yet her mind told her it was a lie. It had to be a lie. No, it was a lie. He was complimenting her. Yeah, he was only complimenting her. There was no need to get worked up over something so simple.
Indu took a deep breath, letting the mysterious creeping upon her face recede. Axer gave her a confused look. He must have seen the myriad emotions flash across her face and was laughing at her internally. The only use for something ugly like her was to be laughed at and scorned.
"Thank you for the compliment, sir."
"What's with that stiff way of replying?" Axer raised his eyebrow. Indu looked away, realizing her regal attitude, which she used when interacting as the daughter of the town chief, came out. Her negative thoughts must have triggered her to use it subconsciously.
"Sorry. Thanks for your words, anyway." Indu meekly looked down.
*Groooowl*
The blush Indu worked hard to erase rushed back. She held her stomach in embarrassment. The last thing she had eaten was jerky; after all the excitement, her body begged for energy.
Axer covered his mouth, trying to stifle a laugh, but it was painfully obvious for Indu. He turned away and rummaged through a sack on the floor.
"Eat this." He pulled out an ungodly long piece of jerky, longer than her arm. It was round and girthy like a log, its width as long as her thumb, yet he split it in half like a twig. She knew it was jerky because of its rough texture, but the more she stared at it, the more she was unsure.
"I know it looks weird, but this has everything you need to survive in the wild." He handed her a piece while chewing the other half.
"Thank you." Indu gracefully accepted the food and leaned against the rough cave wall, ensuring the blanket didn't fall off. The outside chill that mingled with the campfire's heat cozied up the room. Although the shadows dancing along the wall from the flame's light seemed eerie, they were a pleasant distraction for Indu. For minutes, the two sat there without saying a word, enjoying nature's serenity.
"What business does a young lady have at this ungodly hour?" Axer broke the silence with his abrupt but justified question. Yet, Indu still felt uncomfortable.
What would he think when he heard his answer? An idiot? A gullible country bumpkin? He would surely ask her what she could have done if the monster were real, and she would have no response. He would be beyond flabbergasted and regard Indu as a being of lesser intelligence if she told him it was to satisfy her curiosity – who the hell risked their lives to satiate their curiosity?
"What do I say?" Indu panicked as she tried coming up with a somewhat plausible response. She could tell him that her father was critically ill and he needed medicines only found deep within the mountain, but who would believe that? Not only that, but Indu hated those lies – ones that placed loved ones as objects of misery. She believed using those lies would build up karma until the lie became truth. After losing her mother, she never wanted to lose another family member.
Unfortunately, Indu couldn't find any plausible explanation. A shame. Truly, what a shame it was. She had no choice but to tell the truth and suffer the gaze of a person staring at an idiot.
"I-I was searching for t-the mountain monster." Indu's head drooped, and her shoulders sagged as a barely audible whisper escaped her lips. Now she had done it. Not only did she admit an embarrassing decision, she hadn't even conveyed it clearly. She moved her bangs closer to her eyes. She couldn't bear to see his gaze.
"Mountain monster? What mountain monster? Are you referring to the troll?" Contrary to her thoughts, Axer asked about the monster or its lack thereof.
"Y-You don't know about the mountain monster?" Her confidence grew, and so did her voice.
"This is the first I'm hearing of it." Indu pushed aside her bangs to get a clear view of his face. Like his words, his face was twisted into a confused expression. It seemed he truly didn't know what she was talking about and wasn't simply messing with her.
"Do you not live nearby? The mountain monster is the talk of the town."
"Ah…yes, I don't live nearby."
He doesn't live nearby, yet he's in these mountain ranges? Indu wanted to ask what he was doing here but decided not to. Everyone had their reason for doing something, and it wasn't her business to pry into other people's decisions. Maybe he was trying to find medicines for his family?
"If you don't mind, would you explain it to me, pretty lady?" He flashed her a "charming" smile.
There he went again, sending her a fake smile with fake happiness. He was disgusted inside but hid it well. At least he was aware enough not to bring up the topic.
"Alright." Indu cleared her throat. "It started about two months ago. Merchants and mercenaries alike began to hear demonic howling and screams from deep within the forest. They were so horrific that merchants doubled and tripled the size of their caravans. The screams sounded like 'bastard,' 'despicable humans,' and 'I'll crush you.' I'm not sure what they're supposed to be. There are also rumors that the monster kidnaps and devours those who travel along the roads, though that rumor hasn't been verified. But what surprised me was the sudden appearance of the monster. Although there's a possibility of it emerging from the Iksha Plains, I think this monster has always lived in the Virgamau Mountain Range, but something suddenly awoke it. I think the death of Sobek at the hands of Count Vasilios a few months ago is causing many strange phenomena to occur. But in the end, none of these ideas can be verified until I confirm the monster is real."
Only when she finished did Indu realize how out of breath she was. Her mood had lifted, and a smile covered her face without her knowledge. She loved discussing mythical rumors and stories but was even happier to have found someone to share them with.
But for some reason, although Axer looked invested in her words, Indu noticed his creeping blush and wry smile growing on his face. His arms, folded across his chest, were clutched into a ball between his legs. His eyes looked everywhere, examining the cave walls, admiring the fire's light, gazing at the sliver of sky poking from outside the cave, but he never looked at her.
"Ah..." Her eyes darkened, and her bright smile faded. So that was it. Although he looked invested, he wasn't interested. He was only entertaining her to be respectful. How stupid of her. No, stupid couldn't begin to describe her idiocy. Just because Axer had saved her, she dumped her unnecessary thoughts onto him and vented everything appearing on her tongue. How uncomfortable had she made him? Was this how she was taught to interact with someone who helped her, much less saved her life?
"I-I'm sor-"
"Actually…the monster you've been looking for…." Axer scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I think it might be me."
"Huh?"
Indu stared at him, dumbfounded, her mouth ajar. Myriad emotions washed over her – relief, confusion, curiosity, and many more she couldn't describe. He wasn't acting like that because Indu bored him? So maybe he was actually interested in her words? But even more so, he was the monster? That terrible monster said to devour any human that came across its path, the one screamed so horrifically even battle veterans pissed their pants in fear?
"I-I don't quite understand what you're saying, sir Axer."
"There you go again with the sir. Drop it. I don't like it." He wagged his finger at her. "You call me Axer, and I'll call you Indu. Is that clear?"
"Y-Yes, s-" Indu swallowed the "sir" she nearly uttered. "…Axer."
"There we go. Now, as I was saying, the mountain monster of the rumors is likely me." Axer took a deep breath. "In truth, I have been in secluded training for the past few months to train myself in the way of the glaive." He picked up a weapon that looked like a spear and sword combined, its dual-edged blade straight and sharp. Its black handle camouflaged perfectly into the darkness, leaving only a blade that seemed to mysteriously float.
"Ah! A glaive! Are you a fan of Count Vasilios?" Indu asked with bright eyes, her previous sadness gone. It was a well-known fact that Count Vasilios, the slayer of kaiju Sobek and ruler of the lands Ambrose Town resided in, used a glaive as his main weapon. It was an unorthodox weapon with few followers, but after Count Vasilios's rise to fame with the weapon type, the glaive's popularity soared. It wasn't uncommon to see mercenaries and knights alike use glaives to pay homage to the revered hero. The man in front of Indu seemed no different.
"A fan of Count Vasilios…?" Axer squinted, his lips partially curved in a smile before chuckling. "I guess you can say that. Yeah, let's go with that."
Indu frowned at the weird response, but she brushed it off. The admirers of Count Vasilios were a strange bunch with myriad personalities. Axer probably had something like that as well.
"As I was saying…" Axer licked his fingers clean of the jerky he had finished eating (Indu had barely eaten a third of hers) and leaned against the cave wall comfortably. "My training was quite arduous, so I screamed louder than a banshee on some nights."
Indu raised her eyebrow in suspicion.
"You were screaming so loud you had to scream 'bastard' and 'despicable human'?" Indu looked at him with a disbelieving expression.
Axer blushed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"…I had certain circumstances."
Yeah right. Although Indu was confused, she had no choice but to believe him. After all, what did he have to gain from lying? Wait, maybe…
Indu looked at Axer with a terrified expression. He was going to eat her when she fell asleep, right? Maybe he was a monster that could disguise itself as a human, and it was only waiting for delectable prey to fall into its trap.
"Has anyone ever told you how obvious your facial expressions are? I can practically read your mind." Axer cupped his chin in his palms as he leaned forward, his elbows on his lap. His beautiful hair coiled around his arms like a serpent.
"O-Oh, really? I'm sorry about that." Her father had always told her that, but hearing it from a stranger hurt Indu. She was a lot more incompetent than she initially thought.
"Who said that's a bad thing?" Axer practically had a twinkle in his eye. "It's refreshing to see it on a woman's face."
Refreshing? That was new. At least it wasn't an insult, but it was a lie. Why did he keep lying to her, getting her hopes up for no reason? It was starting to get on her nerves.
"Oh, really? That's nice." Indu dully replied. After that, Axer didn't reply and remained silent. Indu didn't look him in the eye, so she couldn't see his expression.
"…did I do something to offend you, my lady?" He suddenly asked.
"Ah! Oh, no. Oh no, no, no, I'm sorry." Indu barely restrained the slap she was about to give herself. He was her savior. HER SAVIOR. He risked his life to save her, and she gave him the cold shoulder for no reason. What the hell was she doing?
"I'm glad then. I felt really bad." Axer's lips were curled in a genuinely happy grin.
"I'm sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment."
There was no need for her to be disrespectful. Axer was complimenting her as was the courtesy of a man. There wasn't any deeper meaning behind it, negative or positive. It was only her negative mind that overanalyzed the situation. She would be okay if she took everything he said at surface level. There was no need to open her heart only to be let down again.
"If the monster was real, I was thinking of submitting a subjugation request to Count Vasilios and the Lunar Knights," Indu said, trying to dispel the uncomfortable atmosphere.
Although the atmosphere did change when Axer began chuckling, it became weirder when his chuckles turned into full-on howls of laughter. His grin was so wide that Indu worried his facial muscles would tear. But none the less, his laughter began to anger her. Was what she said really that stupid? Her face must have reflected her anger because, in the next moment, Axer replied.
"Ah, don't get me wrong, Indu. I'm not laughing because your proposition was stupid. Actually, that's perhaps one of the smartest answers I've heard. Many people I know would have recklessly charged the monster in hopes of recognition and valor." Axer's laughter finally died down.
"I can't tell you what amused me as of now, but just know that it wasn't to ridicule you."
Indu chose to believe him. His explanation made sense; although he didn't tell her what amused her, everyone had secrets. She couldn't force him to spill them now, could she?
"By the way, Indu, do you live nearby?"
Wait a minute…
"I have to go home!"