“I…uhm…yo~”

“…!”

Just as I thought. He wasn’t pleased to see me, I could tell from the lifeless death stare he greeted me back with.

The shield impost—I mean Veldor, wasn’t the nicest-looking guy around. He had large bags under his eyes that further sent him into that ‘bitter-looking guy’ category that I placed him in.

I was at a loss for words, I just stood there wondering if he wouldn’t say something so I didn’t have to. He didn’t, of course.

The awkward silence soon surrounded everything between us, to the point that it became louder than any sound outside our little bubble. It felt as though a heavy black fog had encompassed me and left no room to squirm or move out of, completely trapping me inside.

“I…heard you respect Mister Ed quite a lot.” I forced out.

After the longest pause in history, I finally managed to come up with something, I just hoped it would go over well. Of course, it didn’t.

Veldor looked over to me with a grim expression, as if he knew exactly what I was about to say, and wanted no part in hearing any more of it.

“Yeah, I’m sure you did but do us a favour and stop right there, yeah? I couldn't care less about this agreement that you and the master came up with, I don’t like you one bit.”

A moment of silence overcame the black fog between us and suddenly—it was gone!

“Huff~ I don’t know what I was thinking, coming over to talk to you. You’re as hard-headed as the shield on your back, aren’t you?”

That last remark must have hit home a little too much, it caused a large vein on his forehead to prop up and twitch.

“You wanna go again, kid?!”

I realised that I had gone a little too far and quickly raised my hands to show that I meant no harm. If I didn’t act quickly, he might have taken a swing at me.

“I didn’t come to fight—I swear!”

“Tch! Seriously, what was Master thinking letting you two into the Hollow? You’re protecting that little dragon girl like she’s a human.”

I paused. There was a lot I wanted to say and even more I could have yelled but…I chose another way.

“She would have let you kill her, you know?”

Veldor seemed thrown off by my comment and softened his eyes.

“What are you on about?”

“When she stood between us, back in the cave. You had a clear shot on her and she didn’t move a muscle, I’m sure you noticed it too. That she didn’t plan on moving.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

It was the first time Veldor didn’t have a reply, not even a sound escaped his mouth. He turned his baggy-eyed scowl off to the side and went deep into thought, probably on the event we were talking about.

“She might not be human but she isn't a monster. That’s the agreement Mister Ed and I have come to.”

He turned back to me, looking ready to scream his dispute.

I was waiting for whatever half-assed response his hard head could come up with but nothing, he didn’t say a thing. No words left his mouth, I wondered if he hadn’t realised it himself.

Then he spoke.

“Tch—either that or she’s just stupid!”

“…you don’t say anything nice, do you?”

I wasn’t too far off, he really was a bitter guy. Not the worst though. What I said about Alice brought something on, I could see himself debating it in his head. Any longer and I’m sure steam would have erupted from his ears.

Veldor crossed his arms and raised a brow in suspicion, I could tell from that look alone that something bad was coming.

“I’ve been wracking my brain for a while now but what was that? Those abilities you were using, they’re not anything a rust rank should be able to do.”

Veldor stayed a distance away but it felt as though his glare was right in front of me, towering over me like a prison guard probing for answers.

Damn it, I knew that I did too much…I might have to explain myself here or he won’t trust me!

“I…uh…it wasn’t anything special, really.”

He wasn’t having it, I could tell that any measly excuse or lie that I threw at him would have just been beaten by that cold stare of his. He wasn’t dressed fully in his armour, only the undershirt and chainmail beneath but it still felt like I was up against a ready-to-go warrior.

His stare looks oddly familiar…isn't it kind of like the one that Mister Ed uses?!

I let out a heavy sigh and gave in.

“Huff~ Fine then, you win. It’s a unique skill, one that I only got recently.”

His dull blue eyes grew larger, I was actually able to see their finer detail for the first time since meeting him. They were normally so small and faded that I could barely make out their colour.

“So it was a unique skill…I thought as much.” He repeated to himself while rubbing his chin.

He didn’t look all too excited, more just conceded at the answer. Like he knew all along and wanted the answer repeated back to him for confirmation. I didn’t want people finding out in the first place but I was a little disappointed by the reaction he gave.

I would have thought that something like a unique skill would get a little more hype.

“So then, where were you when you received the skill? What floor was it on? How long ago was it that you received it? I’d like to learn a bit about it since you’re going to be under our noses.”

His questions followed one after another and left barely any time for me to think of a response.

I know everyone in their guild saw me in action and like Veldor most of them probably had their suspicions about it being a unique skill but I wasn’t exactly pleased with the idea of spilling all the info I had.

As silly as it was at that point, I still wanted to keep it a secret as long as I could. Especially the part about Ellios and Uriel. I’m not so sure how well that would have gone over with everyone else.

“That’s uh…I’m sure it isn't as interesting as how Mister Ed got his abilities—yeah I’m sure that is a much better story, ha-ha-ha~”

I was grasping at straws—I just hoped that he knew the story—Mister Ed being his supposed idol and all.

The suspicious glare Veldor was shooting at me finally lowered, something else took its place altogether. I couldn't believe my eyes—could it be—a smile formed on his face?!?!

“You’d be right in that, it’s possibly the greatest thing you’ll ever hear!” He howled back.

Right on the money!

Veldor opened up about his idol, sparing no detail as he shared all he had come to learn over the years with more enthusiasm and excitement in his eyes than I thought was possible.

Veldor stepped closer, extending out his arms to further emphasise his explanations.

“It all started, in the Tower...”