Nes backed away slowly as he eyed the large eagle standing over Edol.
Throughout the entire fight, it had been standing by the side, observing without intervening in the fight at all. Nes had quickly forgotten about the bird despite being here because of it. With Nes's lack of attention toward Ghost, the fight would've been over the moment he stepped in.
"Well then. Your buddy here is definitely qualified to defend your secret. That kid is an amazing fighter!"
The eagle continued glaring at Nes for a moment, then nodded his head reluctantly.
"Wait, so you can understand me? Willow told me you couldn't even fly, but you can apparently understand human speech. You must've been hiding your skills… Hm. Is it having multiple legacies that's making you smarter? Beasts are generally smarter than their animal counterparts."
Ghost's face turned darker at the mention of his lack of flight- even after another week of practice, the massive bird was still unsteady on his wings.
"I'll probably have to wait for him to wake up-"
Nes motioned to Edol, who was still out cold from the earlier blow from the buckler, "- but I'm really curious. Are you from the West?"
Ghost didn't react, so Nes continued speaking.
"After Wi- uh, after I saw you use multiple legacies earlier, there was only one explanation I could think of. The Westerners' legacy spell. How can you use it, though? You are a bird!"
Still receiving nothing but a harsh glare from the eagle, Nes let out a long sigh.
"Well, I suppose I probably won't get out of this one alive. Heck, I'd almost rather I didn't. If you are traveling with Willow to Edain, you need to be better at keeping your secrets. If someone sees you, silence them. I'd rather die here and you learn your lesson, than me living and you getting Willow killed too."
Ghost finally reacted, nodding his head before pointing towards Edol.
"Ah, so you wanted him to learn. Hah. You're a bird, and you're trying to teach this kid how to act. I'd say I'm surprised, but I've seen stranger things before."
Nes slowly walked over to where he'd cast aside his spear earlier, lifting the previously brilliant weapon with a reminiscing gaze.
"I got this spear from a big relic tomb over on the west coast. Even with how much I used it over the years, it hardly saw any damage. Until today, that is."
Ghost's eyes fixed on the polished spearhead, admiring its shininess.
"That kid's magic is amazing. If he cleaned up his fighting a bit more, he'd be unstoppable in a duel. Using his earth magic to accelerate faster is an amazing idea, but he's using it a bit too quickly. The ground moves a bit when the mana reaches it, it gives away where he's stepping next."
This detail had been a non-factor when Edol and Ghost were dueling in hell, as any earth magic was easily seen through by the personal use of similar magic.
"If you still decide to have the kid kill me when he wakes, you might have a tough time explaining it to Willow. She knew I was coming to meet up with you… Ah! I, uh, told her I wanted to have a chat with you. About traveling and stuff. Nothing related to our fight or anything, of course. She knows nothing about this."
Ghost watched the aging man skeptically, seeing right through his words. Just then, Edol awoke from unconsciousness, gasping for a breath.
"Yo Edol, you lost to this old fogey. Ai, you would've died if I wasn't here. Thank me."
Edol jumped to his feet but quickly noticed that his enemy had dropped his dagger and was now holding his broken spear listlessly.
"Yo, Edol. Nice fighting! Your mana control is incredible!"
Nes gave Edol a thumbs-up, confusing the young Brit.
'What is going on? Weren't we just fighting to the death a minute ago? What did I sleep through?!'
"You tried to kill me!"
Nes shook his head and gave his best 'teacher' smile.
"Nah, I was just testing you. Wanted to make sure that you're strong enough to protect Willow on the trip to Edain. Haha, you passed!"
'Huh? That was just a spar? It certainly didn't feel like it. Also, why would he need to spar with me before we leave? I thought the trip to Edain was short and safe!'
"Yea, the old fogey is lying. He really was trying to kill you."
Ghost's voice broke through Edol's thoughts, confirming the boy's suspicions.
Edol angrily turned back to Nes, demanding to know why he was attacked. The next few minutes went past with Nes calmly answering all of Edol's questions, and the Brit began to calm down.
"Alright, but we still have a big problem. You acknowledged that our secret is dangerous and that we should silence anyone who knows about it. You know, and I think it's pretty obvious that Willow does too. She must've been the one who saw Nibbles use multiple elements, right?"
Nes finally nodded, realizing he couldn't convince Edol otherwise.
"So what am I supposed to do? Maybe I can believe that you won't tell anyone, but I definitely can't trust Willow to do the same."
Nes immediately answered, having come up with a solution to their issue.
"We just tell her you don't have multiple legacies!"
"Huh?"
"She's a trusting kid. We can just tell her what she saw was Nibbles using a flint-and-steel to start a fire, then him cleaning his beak normally in the river. She'll definitely listen to it if it's me telling her."
'Hmm… knowing Willow, that might actually work. Gaslighting for the win, I guess.'
"I guess we can try that."
Having come to a conclusion, Edol began preparing to head back to town. Nes was about to do the same, but Ghost jumped forward to block the aging hunter's path.
"What's wrong, Nibbles?"
Ghost's neck stretched, out, reaching for the polished steel speartip still fixed to the broken spear.
Nes pulled the spear tip away, cradling it in his arms.
"Nes, I think he wants it to use as a prop. Willow will be more likely to believe us if she sees Nibbles start a fire with a flint-and-steel, right?"
Nes looked down, a few tears threatening to slip out as he saw the large bird's predatory gaze still fixed on his speartip.
"But… my speartip…"
Eventually, Nes reluctantly removed the steel point and handed it to the gray eagle. Somehow, the glee in the bird's eyes only served to make Nes feel even more miserable at the loss.