Chapter 16 Part1 (1/2)
[PART 1]
Fairness
The sound of the babbling brook was cal Gentle rays of the early afternoon sun danced beautifully on the water's surface
The wind carried the sound of rustling leaves as it blew through the grove of trees
Kei sat with his back against a tree with his helh
It had already been a few hours since they left Tahfu
Kei and Aileen took into consideration the excessive weight that Sasuke carried and took a short break in the grove
Sasuke thrust his ulps before he lifted his head and took a huge breath of air with a puhaa!
Kei rustled through his backpack and began tothe paper that covered it He sighed, ”Riding for three… four hours sure is tough~”
Aileen was sitting on the root of another tree next to hiuess so… I do feel tired”
With a disheartened expression Kei washed the biscuit doater from his canteen His words only received a half-hearted response from the listless Aileen
Nothing had happened since they left Tahfu
They followed the brook a few hours east On their right was the forest, and on their left were grassy fields The whole way had been so peaceful that it was surprising
Usually, the most travelers would see was a rabbit in the fields or an animal in the forestIt was uncommon to run into passersby or e that was even sers looked suspicious as they waved They didn't go close enough to speak with them
The as so calm that they started to yawn
However, even in this situation Kei wouldn't let his guard down
No matter how peaceful it seemed, a ferocious hwayrass
Not knohen or where an enemy could appear, Kei held his bow, ready to nock an arrow immediately
It was the sa in sah alert for over three hours now Aileen sat behind hi their rear, but sensing bloodlust still fell into Kei's territory At any rate, it was necessary to watch all angles What's more, they felt the heavy pressure of their lives on the line
It was inevitable that they would lose focus
The break they took was as much for Sasuke as it was for Kei Even nohile he ate his biscuit, he stayed vigilant However taking note of the terrain as they le spot were completely different mentally
—I guess we'll start off in another ten ht to hi into the crystal clear water, he sensed Aileen stand up
”Are you okay, Kei?” Aileen looked worried as she brought her face up close to Kei's, as if trying to look into his thoughts
”I' constantly”
”Haha… Alright then,” she ain, her expression still dull
They sat in silence for a while, trying to figure out how the other felt
Kei tried to dodge the aard ataze wander and s over the white bandana over his face His old one wasn't fit to use after the battle with the bandits, so before they left Cynthia gave hile red patterned stripe Apparently she was good at sewing On the left side, where it came to his cheek, she embroidered cute floith a red thread
She said, 'This will make you look cute' The embroidery was done very well and it did look very cute However, it taught hi decoration on a bandana he would wear into battle
From Mandel's advice, when the time came for Kei to wear the bandana ht, but—
Kei sighed lightly and shook his head He glanced to the side and patted the bandage on his cheek, the ointment had dried up
Aileen sat on the root, squinting up at sunlight coh the trees and stretched her toes Her cloak shi+elded her, but her ponytail and scarf blew in the wind She wore black leather bracers, a leather vest, and below her beige tunic her slender legs rapped up in the black cloth and the shi+n guards of a ninja
Save for her bracers, shi+n guards, and the saber on her back, she looked like she could be a slightly dressed up village girl
”Hey… Aileen”
”Hm? What's up?”
”Are you sure you don't want to wear chainaps in his leather armor
—She was too unprotected
Right now, the thing Kei orried about the most was how poor her defenses seemed
Except for the leather, she didn't even wear light armor He felt that it was too defenseless of her to stay in just her normal clothes
Aileen's expression changed subtly as she replied, ”No… It's heavy, it doesn't fit right, it's heavy, and it's heavy…”
”Yeah, but what if you get hit by another arrow like before…?”
”I let e it or deflect it now!”
”Really…?”
”Really!”
”Really…?”
”What's with that look!? Okay, I know I don't sound convincing, but still!”
Aileen grabbed the hilt of her saber, asking him to test her
Kei groaned a ”No, no,” in an attempt to placate her
With Aileen's skill she could definitely react to an arrow flying at her if it ithin her field of vision without much of a probleh she wasn't good with Passive Sense, she could still sense a blatant attack Once she saw it, she had the reflexes to dodge it or deal with it Like a web, Kei's sense reached out in all directions, whereas Aileen had to focus on just one direction If it weren't for soround with him
He thought, but…
”Hh…”
”I get how you feel…but if you take away , do I? Now that I have a woth, too But it feels like I've gotten lighter;around feels better”
Aileen still looked listless as she stood up slowly, but she bent her knees and ju herself up, landing on top of it, alravity had no effect on her
The branch was too thin for Kei, it would have broken if he'd tried it However, Aileen barely shook the leaves on it The secret behind her physical finesse was in her lightness Her body was unexpectedly light for how strong her muscles were
During her character creation she chose the slender forest people One of her three crests was a ht, while the other two focused on strengthening her uarantee her some boosted power She also spent all of herher mobility
And so the uthter, 'Andrei the Ninja', was created Her defenses were paper thin, but no one surpassed her in terms of mobility She was the embodiment of the ninjas you usually read about in stories
In the galass cannon, capable of devastating dae However, it was a different story now that it was reality
”If your arame… But it won't be like that here”
”Yeah, I know that For argument's sake, let's say that the arh because it's too heavy, so they catch , you know?”
”Well…yeah It's a difficult situation…” Kei scratched his head and looked troubled The 'plaything' made him suddenly think
—If they were attacked by a highwaylance wouldn't they be irl?
Then he remembered, even when they were attacked on their first day, the first arrow the bandits shot was aimed at him
If the first attack won't be targeted at Aileen, thenmore mobility would be better…
As long as they h the first moments of an ambush, she would be able to escape or circle around for a counter-attack with her mobility If Kei continued to wear the chain her
”You're right… It'd be better if you stayed nimble”