Chapter 11
Title: A Sparring Match
I whistled the entire way back to the house, walking with a bounce in my step and a faint smile on my face. The townspeople noticed me again, but this time, their looks were different.
"Wow… that guy's handsome. Is he a local lord or something?"
"Dad, how do I get that muscular? Is he a Guardian?"
"Probably, son. But I bet he eats his greens." a dad said while messing up his sons hair.
"Sister, close your mouth. It's wide open." A woman said to her sister standing next to her.
I paid them no mind. My focus was entirely on fixing Gyra's roof. I wanted to repay her kindness.
"Things sure have gotten expensive. I used to be able to get room and board for six gold. Now it costs thirty just for wood and nails. That emperor must be one greedy person." I muttered to himself as I walked up the familiar stone path.
Inside, the house was quiet.
"She must be at the tavern," I guessed.
I grabbed the roofing materials and climbed up to the top of the house. The repair wasn't elegant, but my father had taught me the basics when he used to help the townspeople back home.
I hammered away under the sun.
*** a few hours later.
"Well, Dad… it's not as good as your work, but she'll do."
I stood up and wiped the sweat from my brow, admiring my handiwork. It was rough around the edges and probably wouldn't last forever, but it would hold.
"Guess I'll wash up and go see what Gyra's up to."
I cleaned my work area and headed to the bathhouse.
"Now… how did she do this again?"
I squinted at the faucet, deep in thought.
"Pour mana into here and water comes out… I think that's what she said."
I placed my hand over the faucet and trickled in a small amount of mana. A few drops of water dribbled out.
"Huh… guess it needs more."
I started pushing in more mana. Within seconds, water gushed out like a geyser, blowing the faucet clean off and soaking the room.
"Oh shit."
I scrambled, slipping and sliding, trying to get the faucet back on. After a messy struggle, I forced it back into place with brute strength.
"She's gonna be pissed when she sees this…"
Dripping wet, I finished my bath, dried off as best I could, and made my way to the tavern.
Inside Gyra's Tavern, the woman herself was behind the bar, cleaning a glass and chatting with an older dwarf perched on a stool.
"And then after all that, the brat tried to haggle me. Me! Just who does that youngster think he is?" the dwarf huffed, clearly flustered from drinking.
Gyra rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he sounds like someone else I know."
"Well, how's that young man you picked up the other day? Bet he's mighty grateful. I'm honestly surprised you don't have him in here working as free labor, considering he's staying at your place rent-free."
Gyra paused. She blushed slightly.
The dwarf raised a brow. "Oho… looky here. I guess that silver-haired brat's got some competition."
"It's not like that, Sabet. He's just… a nice person. You don't see many like that nowadays. Besides, I'm pretty sure he sees me as a little girl" she looked off into the distance for a moment with sorrow written on her face. "and what'd you bring up Lace for anyways, you know how I feel about that subject?"
Her voice trailed off, a glum look crossing her face.
Sabet smirked. "I told you that brat has feelings for you. Always hangin' around like a dog in heat, that Lace"
"He's just… worried about me. Like a brother!"
The tavern door creaked open. Basil walked in, strolling toward the bar with a bright smile.
"Good evening, Gyra!"
"H-Hi, Basil," Gyra said, suddenly nervous and smiling wide.
"Hey, I know that annoying voice," Sabet grumbled, turning around in his seat.
The two men looked at each other and simultaneously shouted, "Ah! It's you!"
"Wait a minute… Gyra. Him?! You can't be serious this is the guy you lik—"
Gyra clamped a hand over Sabet's mouth, laughing awkwardly. "Haha! Anything I can get you, Basil?"
Sabet shoved her hand away and cleared his throat.
"Get him one of these. Put it on my tab," he said, gesturing to his drink.
"Oh, you don't have to do that. I still owe you one for working on my gear after all that haggling…"
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Ha! Who said I was paying?"
Sabet slid a small sack of coins across the bar.
"There. I figured you're not from around here, payin' with gold and all, so I did you a favor. Got it exchanged at the guild. One gold's worth five GC. After I took my fair share, there's about 3,000 GC left."
He winked. Rubbing his fingers together.
My eye twitched. Realizing I still paid 1,000 GC anyways "So gold is no good here then?"
"Nope! Gold isn't the common currency anymore. After that ruthless Empress took over, she changed all twelve kingdoms to Guardian Coins as a show of her new authority. Gold's still good, but only through exchange."
"Huh. Good to know. Thanks, old man."
I took a sip of the ale that Gyra placed in front of me.
"Anyway, your gear's almost ready. Come by tomorrow and pick it up, ya brat!"
Gyra chuckled.
"You guys act like the same person, it's so funny."
We looked at her, blinked, and in perfect sync said, "Me, act like him? As if!"
Then burst into laughter again, Gyra joining in.
The night carried on with stories and laughter, Sabet and I exchanging tales like two old retired Guardians. Gyra eventually closed the tavern, and I carried the drunken dwarf home on my back.
*Hic*
"This guy said he couldn't get drunk…" I said stumbling a bit as I walked.
"You're the one who kept buyin' drinks, ya brat…"
Gyra giggled. "His house is right here."
we laid Sabet in bed and returned to Gyra's place.
"Tonight was fun," she said. "I don't think I've ever seen Sabet that drunk before."
"Yeah… been a long time since I got that drunk too."
We reached the front door.
"Oh, by the way. I fixed the roof. It's not perfect, but it should hold."
"I'll make breakfast tomorrow as a thank you!" She beamed.
I paused for a second. "Right. Anyway… I'm gonna head to bed."
"Um… Basileus?"
I turned.
Gyra twiddled her thumbs, took a breath, then grabbed his shirt and quickly kissed him on the cheek.
"Thanks for carrying Sabet home!" she blurted, then spun around and rushed to her room, slamming the door.
Inside, her face was beet red.
"…Um. Okay?"
I stood there for a moment, shrugged, and went to bed.
The Next Morning
Sunlight barged through the windows like an unexpected kiss. Birds sang their songs of joy.
*BANG BANG BANG*
Knocking rang through the house like a church bell going off at an unexpected hour.
"Ahhh… who the hell's knocking this early…" I groaned as I shuffled to the door and swung it open.
A tall, well-groomed man with slicked-back silver hair stood outside, a deep frown on his face formed when he saw that it was me who opened it.
"Is Gyra home?" the man asked sharply.
I narrowed my eyes. "What do you want with her?" Thinking he was one of Garthens men.
"Lace? Is that you?"
Gyra's sweet voice floated from behind me.
She peeked out from behind my back and smiled. "Hey, Lace! Come in, I was just about to start breakfast. Want to join us?"
Lace's frown melted away. "Sure."
He brushed past me with a smug look.
The two of us sat at the table while Gyra hummed in the kitchen. A tense silence filled the air.
"You look oddly familiar…" I said studying his facial features. "Have we met before?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Lace replied.
"Hmm…" I pondered. "Nope. Guess not."
Gyra returned with two plates of food.
"I hope it's to your liking!"
Lace smiled warmly. "Your food is always delicious, Gyra."
"So, what brings you here today?" she asked as she sat with them.
"I heard Garthen was giving you trouble again. Came to check on you."
"Oh, Basileus here took care of that," she said cheerfully, pointing to me.
Lace looked over, frowning again as he watched me devour my food like a pig who hadn't eaten in 600 years.
"So… why's he staying with you? You two aren't… dating, are you?"
Gyra flushed. "N-no! It's not like that. Sir Basileus just didn't have anywhere to go, that's all!"
Lace let out a breath of relief.
"I see. Well, please be careful. Strange things are happening lately, and I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Oh, Lace, you worry too much. You of all people know it takes a lot to hurt me. Besides, I've got Basileus here. He's surprisingly strong."
I licked my plate clean.
Lace scowled. "Basileus, was it?"
He leaned forward. "Care for a sparring match?" A sliver of malice woven in his words.
*SLAM!*
"Lace!" Gyra snapped. "Quit it! You always do this. Besides, he doesn't even have a sword how—"
"I'll be fine," I said, cutting her off with a calm smile.
We stepped outside into Gyra's beautiful back yard that had a small garden of sunflowers growing, shading the walls of the house.
I picked up a wooden stick roughly the length of a short sword and faced Lace in the backyard.
"A stick? This isn't the time to joke," Lace said, hand resting on his sword.
"I'm not joking."
"Fine. Here I come."
*SWOOSH*
Lace moved like lightning, unleashing one powerful downwards strike. I quickly dodged spinning around him and held the tip of the stick at the back of his neck.
Lace froze. Then slowly sheathed his sword.
"I concede," he said. "I'm glad to know Gyra has someone this strong watching over her."
He turned to leave. "If you're not busy later… I have a favor to ask. You'll find me at the Church of Death. I'll let them know your coming"
He walked away without another word.
"…Lace," Gyra whispered as he passed her.
Gyra watched as Lace left. Then went up to me and punched me in the arm "you could have at least let him get a strike in."
I chuckled and stretched. "Not how I do things. Besides, it was cute the way you stood up for me at the table."
I patted her head.
"Let's go inside. I could use some more breakfast."
"Mmhmm…" Gyra muttered, blushing.
Over breakfast, I asked, "So how'd you two meet?"
Gyra smiled.
"We grew up together. His mom and mine were close, so we spent a lot of time together. With no dad around, Lace was picked on a lot, so I'd always step in. When I got older, my parents sent me away for real-world experience. Lace thought it was unfair, so he ran away too. We traveled for a while, then found this town. I fell in love with the people, demi-humans and other races all co-existed. Lace and I became Guardians, I eventually got bored of it and decided to open a tavern until I have to return back to my kingdom. Lace on the other hand decided to join the church of death."
I nodded. "Sounds like he has good intentions. He's just terrible at expressing them. I once knew someone like that. She was a headache."
Gyra laughed. "Yeah… I think so too."
"Well, I've got errands to run. Don't wait up."
I stepped out, shutting the door behind me.
"Okay… see ya later," Gyra said, awkwardly waving as she sighed to herself.
'I've never seen Lace get beaten like that… except when he sparred with my father.' She thought.
A/N
1 gold can be converted to 5 Guardian coins