"Who are you?"
Neoma asked without even thinking. He didn't recall that there was such a character in the novel "The Elven Hero". His appearance was unfamiliar to him.
'Is he just an extra? But that skill of his… He must be an assassin, so this means that he is definitely not weak. Wait… Or is it just me who's extremely weak and thinks everyone is too strong?'
The youth wasn't able to think any longer as the dark haired elf jumped off of the tree branch and began to walk towards the human.
Neoma's heart began to beat faster as he looked the stranger up and down.
'Is he the silent type? No, I shouldn't be concerned with that. Maybe I don't know him well because he's some enemy? Is he going to kill me?'
The white haired youth began to panic as he saw the elf approaching him, getting even closer to him.
'Should I just run? No, I don't think I can outrun an assassin yet.'
However, the dark haired elf didn't do anything to him. He just suddenly stopped walking and crouched down, picking up the small knife, which he had thrown, before glancing back towards the human in front of him.
"Pathetic."
Just one word came out of his mouth.
Neoma's eyelid twitched as he heard that.
'Oh. So he's that type of character.'
He couldn't help but recall the stories he had read which had the protagonist as an emo or cold hearted person.
"I know I'm not good, but your words really aren't great for encouraging others. What did you expect from someone who has never used a weapon or even fought before?"
Neoma couldn't help but frown at the dark haired elf. He wasn't afraid of him anymore. He was annoyed now because of that one little comment.
The elf let out a small 'tsk' sound and shook his head.
"That whip would've cut that pretty face of yours if I had not stopped it. You should be grateful that I was even around and was kind enough to intervene."
He spoke as his eyebrows furrowed when he looked down at the human in front of him.
"Hmph. And I am grateful. Thank you. But there really is no need to call my way of handling weapons pathetic. I know that. That's why I will start my training tomorrow."
Neoma answered, even more annoyed than before. He picked his black whip up again and glanced up at the stranger.
"You should go now before I accidentally hit you with my pathetic skills. You are in my way of training."
He added as he slowly raised his hand up, ready to strike with the whip again. The elf's eyes widened at that moment.
"Hey, hey! Put your weapon down before you break something or hit me. After seeing how dangerous you are with that whip, I can't just leave you alone."
He raised his arms up as if he was surrendering to Neoma.
The white haired youth scoffed as he lowered his hand and rolled his eyes. He looked around the training grounds and then back at the elf in front of him.
"I am alone here. It's not like I will hurt anyone. Just myself maybe… Most likely. Ehem, anyways. You better leave unless you want to get hurt."
He spoke to the elf as if he was threatening him.
After a moment of silence, the dark haired elf opened his mouth, his arms still raised up high above his head.
"I'm Juno."
He introduced himself.
'Juno… Juno. No, that doesn't ring a bell at all. Maybe he really was just an extra in the story. I'm sure I can remember all of the important characters. I even remembered Nora, that treasurer, even though she only made a few appearances.'
Neoma thought as he looked Juno up and down again.
"What? You into me?"
The elf asked with a completely serious tone.
"Huh?... No! Where are you even getting all of these ideas from!?"
Neoma quickly shouted back once he realized what Juno had asked him. A small sigh escaped past his lips as he calmed himself down. The elf lowered his arms and watched the human, amused by his reactions.
"Well… It was just that you kept checking me out. You know, you really cannot hide such things from an assassin."
'Nevermind, he's actually the annoying type.'
The youth couldn't help but roll his eyes at Juno's words.
"I wasn't checking you out because I'm interested or something. It's because I haven't seen you during the week that I stayed here. Well, I guess it's been more than two weeks actually. I just spent the last 8 days unconscious in my bed."
Another sigh escaped past Neoma's lips as he crossed his arms on his chest.
'Did I grow a gray hair? At this point, I will start to look like I'm 70 when I'm just 21.'
He thought and then couldn't help but facepalm himself.
'I already have white hair, why am I even concerned about this…'
Neoma gently shook his head and looked back up at Juno. He decided not to waste any more time and just introduce himself as well.
"I'm Neoma."
He purposefully left out the 'It's nice to meet you' part.
"I know who you are. You didn't have to introduce yourself."
Juno responded back and Neoma couldn't help but frown.
"Is my name already that much known in the capital?"
The white haired youth asked and the elf nodded in response.
"Yes. There is probably no elf in the capital who doesn't know that you are a human and that you saved the citizens by using a power which can eat magic."
Juno crossed his arms on his arms and Neoma couldn't help but frown again from confusion. He remembered things a bit differently.
"But I was disguised as an elf. One of the royal mages made it look like I have long and pointy ears. How can people already know that I am actually a human?"
He couldn't help but ask the elf out of curiosity. Many thoughts flooded his mind.
'Did someone from the servants reveal that I am actually human? Or did Kyros and Elin decide to reveal my true identity?'
As he was wondering, Juno slowly shook his head and began to clean the small throwing knife with a handkerchief he took out of his front pocket.
"Hmm… The disguise probably came off when you used your powers, since when the servants walked up to you after you had passed out, you definitely didn't have any pointy or long ears. You looked very human at that moment, I'd say."
He spoke as he put the handkerchief back in his pocket and the throwing knife back with the others. He glanced back at the human and saw his widened eyes. He couldn't help but laugh at him after seeing his reaction.
"Wait– you saw me that day?"
Neoma couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Of course. Why did you think I volunteered to train you?"
Juno asked and Neoma couldn't see it, but he could definitely sense that smirk on the elf's face. He sighed softly, thinking that this situation is going to get even more complicated. Especially after finding out that this assassin will be his mentor.
"So you better start calling me master and bowing to me."
The dark haired elf added in a completely serious tone. After a moment of awkward silence, Neoma parted his lips to reply to the nonsense which Juno was spewing.
"Are you totally nuts?"
The human asked as he looked up at his instructor. He frowned as he remembered the comment the elf made when he picked up that small throwing knife of his.
"As a mentor, I'd say you are already doing a pretty terrible job. You mocked your student and brought down his self-esteem. Now my learning process will definitely be slow because of you."
Neoma continued to frown at Juno as he just shook his head.
"Fine. I am sorry for calling your skills pathetic."
He apologised after hearing his one and only student complain to him.
"And why are you even here? Aren't the lessons supposed to start tomorrow?"
Neoma couldn't help but ask again out of curiosity. He didn't mind if his training began right here and right now. He didn't have anything else to do and his wish to get stronger was growing by day.
"The king decided that you should take this day to rest and relax. After all, you were quite heavily injured and you just woke up."
Juno explained to the human as he was just looking down at him.
"So… I'm assuming that we won't be starting the training today, but tomorrow as planned?"
"Yes. You need to first stretch your muscles."
The dark haired elf nodded as he responded to Neoma's question.
"Hey, you haven't answered my first question. Why are you here now, then?"
The human crossed his arms on his chest as he looked up at Juno.
"Hm? Why? Oh, it's because I'm interested in you."