After Skele and Amilios had said their goodbyes,mostly consisting of Skele wondering where he was supposed to store all these gifts,they prepared to depart. Some of the items were even foods. He couldn't possibly eat all of that, even with three stomachs. So, after eating all he could first he shared the rest with everybody.
On the other hand, Amilios was being celebrated like a hero who had won a war and nearly died. His young bee siblings were about to taste something called freedom, and they were ecstatic. Amilios didn't mind his siblings' shenanigans. From what he had heard from Raiz, it was better to let loose at times.
After their respective send offs, the two of them finally walked out of the forest. The first question that hit Skele was,where in the world was this prison, and how was he supposed to find it
"Since we don't have the answer, let's just pick a direction and start walking. Hopefully, we will be able to find clues in one of the cities," Amilios said calmly.
Skele decided to follow Amilios's advice. As they traveled from city to city, nobody seemed to know the location of the high security prison. Well, it made sense to Skele,if the prison was designed to hold super criminals, its location would be a secret. Though he seriously questioned its purpose if the authorities could use political moves to lock up an innocent person like Zion.
As they continued their journey, they came upon a village. It seemed perfectly normal to Skele, and he would have forgotten it entirely if he hadn't seen that.
Yes. That
An old man. There was nothing wrong with his looks, he was just a normal, poor old man in a poor village. The thing that caught Skele and Amilios's eyes was what he was carrying in his hand,a metal, circular ball.
When he put the ball down, it was so heavy it made a dent in the sand and sank into the ground before finally stopping. Having sunk so deep, it was barely visible on the surface.
Now, if you think a poor old man should be able to carry such a weight, you are absolutely wrong. This was especially true in a poor village like this, where there weren't enough nutrients to build that kind of muscle.
Skele and Amilios thought that perhaps the old man was a special case. But that theory vanished when they saw that all the villagers seemed to be just as powerful. Age didn't seem to matter,from the youngest to the oldest, they were all the same.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was going on in this village. An alert went off in Skele's mind. Survival 101: don't ever relax while traveling in an unknown place. And certainly don't stay in a village where everyone seems to be powerful for absolutely no reason.
Yes, Skele was still stronger than them. He was, after all, at the peak of the mortal realm, capable of easily destroying a whole houses. There was also Amilios, who was in the Myr realm. His safety was guaranteed or so a normal person would think.
But not Skele. As the cautious man he was, he would rather overestimate everyone else than underestimate the danger and be killed easily.
He immediately told Amilios they should leave the village and continue their adventure. Curiosity? Excitement, maybe, at the prospect of finding a treasure? Skele had zero interest in all that. He was determined to get out today or so he thought, until he saw the sun was already descending.
He calculated the risks in his mind. Venture out now and potentially encounter something dangerous while blind in the dark, or stay here in the village. The village itself was dangerous for the reasons he'd already noted, but that danger was at least still manageable.
Skele and Amilios looked for an inn and finally found one, which turned out to be owned by the same old man who had dropped the heavy ball. The owner was already familiar, which made him all the more creepy. At this point, Skele was seriously considering fleeing.
"Calm down, Skele. At worst, I will fly us out of here," said Amilios, who had been using mana to coat himself and remain invisible to others. It would be odd, to say the least, for the villagers to see the human form of a bee. Neither he nor Skele wanted to get chased and targeted by humans.
The old man startled when the monster came into view. Seeing this, Skele calmed down even more. It would have been far scarier if the old man had acted calmly after a so called monster appeared before him. Now, he just had to convince the old man that Amilios wasn't a threat before it was too late.
"We didn't come here to harm you, him included," Skele said, pointing at Amilios. Amilios cooperated and lifted both hands in a peaceful gesture.
The old man, still startled, didn't know what to do. He certainly didn't feel he could stand against the human, let alone the monster, which he felt would kill him if he tried something.
"W-we still have your room ready... It'll just be a minute. It's just me and my grandson here. Just for your knowledge," the old man stammered, his voice gaining a sharp edge. "I'll fight you to the death, whether you're human or monster, if you so much as touch my grandson!"
The old man's killing intent was no joke, especially to Skele, who felt he was stronger. But he wasn't so sure he'd win if the old man was ready to discard his own life.
"We don't eat humans," Amilios stated clearly. "As bees, we only eat honey. Maybe other animals, but humans aren't something we want to eat. As long as you don't touch us, we won't touch you." He made his stance perfectly clear.
The old man guided them to their rooms. Oddly enough, nothing weird happened through the night, though Skele slept with one eye open. Amilios slept without needing to worry. His instincts would kick in if a threat arrived. Skele was jealous of anyone who could be that strong and sleep so soundly.
The next day came quickly for Amilios. The grandson, a young child, was preparing breakfast for the guests. Having been informed beforehand, he wasn't as startled as his grandfather had been upon seeing Amilios.
"The breakfast will be ready in a second," the boy said.
"Do you always help your grandfather with the cooking?" Amilios asked the busy child.
"Hmm, I try to help as much as I can," the child replied, "but Grandpa won't let me help as much as I want. He says I'm too young." He pouted, thinking of his grandfather.
"Such an admirable attitude. I wish my siblings had half as much initiative as you," Amilios said. The young boy was truly a good child,most kids his age weren't so mature.
"You have siblings? I wish I did, too, but..." The young child's expression turned somber. Being an only child was lonely at times.
"You are not alone. You have your grandpa," Amilios reassured him.
Skele, who had also come downstairs, heard their conversation and said half heartedly, "Why don't you just be his big brother, Amilios?"
The young child was surprised at first, then turned to Amilios with sparkling eyes, waiting for his answer.
Amilios truly hadn't expected the conversation to turn this way. "I am a different race than you. Are you sure you want me as your brother?"
"Yes!" The boy had zero hesitation, which surprised Amilios for a moment, considering how most humans looked at him like a beast.
"Then you can call me big brother from now on," Amilios confirmed.
The old man, who had been silently listening to their conversation, didn't have time to interject before his grandson gained a big brother. A big brother was fine, but a bee? As an old man, he had his prejudices about humans, let alone another race. But after seeing his grandson whistling happily to himself, he found he couldn't say anything to ruin this joy.
His grandson was a good child who did everything he was asked. If he wanted to have a "monster" as a brother, so be it. It wasn't as if the old man could fight Amilios and win. He might as well stubbornly accept this weird turn of fate.
"Old man," Skele began, not really expecting a real clue after being denied so many times, "do you perhaps know of the high security prison? The one on an island?"
"Actually," the old man said, surprising them, "our neighbor's son works as a guard on that very island. But no matter what we ask him, his mouth seems to be sealed shut on the matter."
Skele who was eating his soup almost choked on it when he heard this . Was he finally getting this so needed clue.
After Skele and Amilios had said their goodbyes,mostly consisting of Skele wondering where he was supposed to store all these gifts,they prepared to depart. Some of the items were even foods. He couldn't possibly eat all of that, even with three stomachs. So, after eating all he could first he shared the rest with everybody.
On the other hand, Amilios was being celebrated like a hero who had won a war and nearly died. His young bee siblings were about to taste something called freedom, and they were ecstatic. Amilios didn't mind his siblings' shenanigans. From what he had heard from Raiz, it was better to let loose at times.
After their respective send offs, the two of them finally walked out of the forest. The first question that hit Skele was,where in the world was this prison, and how was he supposed to find it
"Since we don't have the answer, let's just pick a direction and start walking. Hopefully, we will be able to find clues in one of the cities," Amilios said calmly.
Skele decided to follow Amilios's advice. As they traveled from city to city, nobody seemed to know the location of the high security prison. Well, it made sense to Skele,if the prison was designed to hold super criminals, its location would be a secret. Though he seriously questioned its purpose if the authorities could use political moves to lock up an innocent person like Zion.
As they continued their journey, they came upon a village. It seemed perfectly normal to Skele, and he would have forgotten it entirely if he hadn't seen that.
Yes. That
An old man. There was nothing wrong with his looks, he was just a normal, poor old man in a poor village. The thing that caught Skele and Amilios's eyes was what he was carrying in his hand,a metal, circular ball.
When he put the ball down, it was so heavy it made a dent in the sand and sank into the ground before finally stopping. Having sunk so deep, it was barely visible on the surface.
Now, if you think a poor old man should be able to carry such a weight, you are absolutely wrong. This was especially true in a poor village like this, where there weren't enough nutrients to build that kind of muscle.
Skele and Amilios thought that perhaps the old man was a special case. But that theory vanished when they saw that all the villagers seemed to be just as powerful. Age didn't seem to matter,from the youngest to the oldest, they were all the same.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was going on in this village. An alert went off in Skele's mind. Survival 101: don't ever relax while traveling in an unknown place. And certainly don't stay in a village where everyone seems to be powerful for absolutely no reason.
Yes, Skele was still stronger than them. He was, after all, at the peak of the mortal realm, capable of easily destroying a whole houses. There was also Amilios, who was in the Myr realm. His safety was guaranteed or so a normal person would think.
But not Skele. As the cautious man he was, he would rather overestimate everyone else than underestimate the danger and be killed easily.
He immediately told Amilios they should leave the village and continue their adventure. Curiosity? Excitement, maybe, at the prospect of finding a treasure? Skele had zero interest in all that. He was determined to get out today or so he thought, until he saw the sun was already descending.
He calculated the risks in his mind. Venture out now and potentially encounter something dangerous while blind in the dark, or stay here in the village. The village itself was dangerous for the reasons he'd already noted, but that danger was at least still manageable.
Skele and Amilios looked for an inn and finally found one, which turned out to be owned by the same old man who had dropped the heavy ball. The owner was already familiar, which made him all the more creepy. At this point, Skele was seriously considering fleeing.
"Calm down, Skele. At worst, I will fly us out of here," said Amilios, who had been using mana to coat himself and remain invisible to others. It would be odd, to say the least, for the villagers to see the human form of a bee. Neither he nor Skele wanted to get chased and targeted by humans.
The old man startled when the monster came into view. Seeing this, Skele calmed down even more. It would have been far scarier if the old man had acted calmly after a so called monster appeared before him. Now, he just had to convince the old man that Amilios wasn't a threat before it was too late.
"We didn't come here to harm you, him included," Skele said, pointing at Amilios. Amilios cooperated and lifted both hands in a peaceful gesture.
The old man, still startled, didn't know what to do. He certainly didn't feel he could stand against the human, let alone the monster, which he felt would kill him if he tried something.
"W-we still have your room ready... It'll just be a minute. It's just me and my grandson here. Just for your knowledge," the old man stammered, his voice gaining a sharp edge. "I'll fight you to the death, whether you're human or monster, if you so much as touch my grandson!"
The old man's killing intent was no joke, especially to Skele, who felt he was stronger. But he wasn't so sure he'd win if the old man was ready to discard his own life.
"We don't eat humans," Amilios stated clearly. "As bees, we only eat honey. Maybe other animals, but humans aren't something we want to eat. As long as you don't touch us, we won't touch you." He made his stance perfectly clear.
The old man guided them to their rooms. Oddly enough, nothing weird happened through the night, though Skele slept with one eye open. Amilios slept without needing to worry. His instincts would kick in if a threat arrived. Skele was jealous of anyone who could be that strong and sleep so soundly.
The next day came quickly for Amilios. The grandson, a young child, was preparing breakfast for the guests. Having been informed beforehand, he wasn't as startled as his grandfather had been upon seeing Amilios.
"The breakfast will be ready in a second," the boy said.
"Do you always help your grandfather with the cooking?" Amilios asked the busy child.
"Hmm, I try to help as much as I can," the child replied, "but Grandpa won't let me help as much as I want. He says I'm too young." He pouted, thinking of his grandfather.
"Such an admirable attitude. I wish my siblings had half as much initiative as you," Amilios said. The young boy was truly a good child,most kids his age weren't so mature.
"You have siblings? I wish I did, too, but..." The young child's expression turned somber. Being an only child was lonely at times.
"You are not alone. You have your grandpa," Amilios reassured him.
Skele, who had also come downstairs, heard their conversation and said half heartedly, "Why don't you just be his big brother, Amilios?"
The young child was surprised at first, then turned to Amilios with sparkling eyes, waiting for his answer.
Amilios truly hadn't expected the conversation to turn this way. "I am a different race than you. Are you sure you want me as your brother?"
"Yes!" The boy had zero hesitation, which surprised Amilios for a moment, considering how most humans looked at him like a beast.
"Then you can call me big brother from now on," Amilios confirmed.
The old man, who had been silently listening to their conversation, didn't have time to interject before his grandson gained a big brother. A big brother was fine, but a bee? As an old man, he had his prejudices about humans, let alone another race. But after seeing his grandson whistling happily to himself, he found he couldn't say anything to ruin this joy.
His grandson was a good child who did everything he was asked. If he wanted to have a "monster" as a brother, so be it. It wasn't as if the old man could fight Amilios and win. He might as well stubbornly accept this weird turn of fate.
"Old man," Skele began, not really expecting a real clue after being denied so many times, "do you perhaps know of the high security prison? The one on an island?"
"Actually," the old man said, surprising them, "our neighbor's son works as a guard on that very island. But no matter what we ask him, his mouth seems to be sealed shut on the matter."
Skele who was eating his soup almost choked on it when he heard this . Was he finally getting this so needed clue.