The forest was quiet except for the rustle of leaves in the breeze and the soft crunch of twigs underfoot. Sunlight peeked through the tall trees, making small patches of light on the trail.
I glanced at the thick trees ahead. "Are you sure this is the right way?" I asked Livius, who was at my back.
"Yes, my lord. I've been here several times. I know the way very well," he replied in a soft voice.
Well, he should be! This forest may be part of Mistyvale but it is located beside Sarrafort's villa. Therefore, this is their property. I do not know this part of the estate, I don't want to get lost in here.
I scratched the back of my head, stepping over a mossy root. "Hey, you sound creepy right now," I said, but I didn't bother to look at him.
"Ah—m-my apologies, my lord." He wrung his hands together, fingers twitching. "I didn't mean to scare you."
I couldn't help but laugh, the sound breaking through the stillness of the woods. "I'm joking!"
Around us, the forest seemed alive, with birds flitting between branches and sunlight shining on leaves covered in dew. The trail twisted ahead, disappearing into the shadows, but the air felt light with laughter.
"Hey," I speak again, though I am still not looking at him. "Are you saying you're going here deep in the forest alone?"
"No, my lord," he answered, still in a calm voice. "My friend Kaiden accompany me everytime I need to visit the forest."
He already told me earlier that he is forced to visit the forest to gather more herbs if there are still no herbs ready to be harvested in the greenhouse and he badly needed it.
Also, there are some herbs like the moonveil bloom can't be planted; they grow naturally in this forest. So, whenever he needs those, he has to come to the forest. He also mentioned that he comes here twice or once a month just to look for it.
I looked up to think who the heck is Kaiden. "Ah! The acting hero kid! The one who once dare to look at me with a death glare when we we're still kids," I said.
Kaiden is Livius' childhood friend and the only person who sticks with him before he becomes a villain. I remember that he shows up in Livius's backstory when I watched the series.
"M-my lord, please forgive the rudeness of my friend. He just did that back then because he's trying to—"
I raised my right hand as a gesture to halt him talking. "I know, I know. It's my fault, you know. He sure is a good friend to you, he defended you against me without fearing my position because he know bullying is wrong," I explained.
Yeah, I now remember clearly that kid. If he is not there, maybe Livius got in more serious casualties because of me and my mean friends back then. Every time I started making fun of Livius, he immediately came to rescue him and he always succeeded.
Then I realized something just now. I looked at him and asked, "Where is he now, by the way? I visited you twice but haven't seen him yet." A grin flashes on my lips. "Does he become embarrassed with his cringe actions and decide to quit being a hero?"
He gently smiles at me and looks down as we still walking. "It's not like that, my lord," he said in a low voice. "He just… maybe… got sick of protecting me and… decided to live away from me. After all, I'm a hindrance to his dream."
My eyebrows narrowed. "Huh, what are you talking about—" I couldn't finish what I was saying because I tripped over a branch blocking my path. "What a nuisance!"
I looked straight ahead while frowning to watch my way. But when I turned, a spiderweb ended up right on my face. "What the—!"
While waiting for him to speak, I remove the spiderweb on my face. But until I finished cleaning my face and put my hands in my side pocket, he still kept silent.
Even though I'm itchy to ask if Kaiden is out of the picture if it's either he is forced to go inside the forest alone or hasn't come again since he left, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
I can't bring myself asking that because his expression tells me he's not in the mood to tell me the details. I felt like I didn't want to bother asking what happened to Kaiden.
It's been half an hour since we started walking in the forest but it's felt like ages because no one between us dared to speak again.
And I can't remove Kaiden from my head. As if there is something I need to remember about him, I just can't figure out what is it.
I even tried to use 'blueprint' if ever it may help me by now but still, it's locked.
"My lord."
I stopped walking and looked at Livius when he called me. "What?"
His eyes widened and he immediately bowed his head. "P-pardon, my lord… but… I wanted to stop by here. I found some herbs… that I wanted to gather."
I looked at the spot where he was looking and confirmed that he was right, there's a plant there. I don't want to ask what kind of herb is it but I still bother to come near him.
"Okay, but I will head straight a little to check further the surroundings. And also I want to find a place where I can do my solo training," I said.
Well, it's now true. I just realized last night that I wanted to try the new skills I gained from the previous quests I completed when I won the duel and saved Livius from imprisonment.
He nodded. "Yes, my lord. Just… be careful… on your way. There's monster… that linger around here."
My mouth slightly opened when he mentioned monsters. I only seen one of those in the bunches of anime series I watched and manga I read but of course, I never had the opportunity to see it in person.
I admit I'm curious about what kind of monsters can be found here, but I don't want to see them now. Yes, indeed, I'm here to test my skills and to take a chance to complete quests as many as I can but I don't intend to fight a monster here. Especially, alone.
I wave my hand at him. "Don't worry, I'm going to be fine. Have you forgotten that I possess elite magic? One monster is not enough to take me down!" I said while holding my chest gesturing that I was strong.
Oh, the cringe of acting as a hero flows in my veins. This is going to be the last time I will say it. Screw you, Ralph!
But before he could react, I just thought that it was not me who needed to be careful. "Hey, buddy," I call his attention. "The thing is…" I scratch the back of my head. "You said yourself that there's a monster in here and we need to be careful, right?"
He nodded and I continued speaking. "I wanted to make sure that after we separate our way for the meantime, you will be safe here too. I don't know how Kaiden make sure you are safe while you both in here but I also have my ways…" I explained.
He never breaks his stare at me as if he's interested in what I am going to say. "But before that, I wanted you to promise me one thing…" I said as I pointed my right index finger upward.
His eyebrows furrowed at me. "What is it… my lord?"
I take a deep breath as I speak. "I've got a trick that will keep you safe from monsters. Let's just say it's a spell and leave it at that. You don't need to know the details."
I put down my hand and spoke again, "And even when I am away from you, I can sense if ever they attacked you as long as they hit the barrier… and if that happens, I will surely come to save you," I explained.
"So, I will cast that spell to you to make sure you are safe. Just promise me that you won't tell about this to anyone. Are we clear on that?"
The furrow in his eyebrows never fades. "Barrier… you say… my lord?"
Of course, he will be confused and he may not understand what I am saying because spells like that do not apply to my elemental magic. The barrier I am talking about is a unique skill from CC called 'aegis' that I received from completing a quest to save him from imprisonment.
According to CC's description, 'aegis' creates an invisible barrier to safeguard an ally from harm. And I wanted to try how it works, it's one of the reasons why we're here in the forest.
I smirked at him. "Yeah!" I say energetically. "You don't need to know how I managed to possess that kind of skill…"
I glared at him. "But I am warning you…" I see him look down as he swallows hard. "The moment you speak about this to anyone without my consent, the days where I used to bully you might not just come back… you can say that much worse than that. Do you understand?"
He immediately nodded. "Y-yes, m-my l-lord!" he answers rapidly.
The smirk on my lips never goes away. "Good!" I said. "So, here it is…"
I raised my hand at him and cast the skill, "Aegis."
Then a transparent magic encircles him and seconds later, it becomes invisible like what the description said.