"Elyon, why do you think my speed is lacking? No one ever caught me while I pickpocketed them," Eve asked as she kicked a rock out of the way, her eyes focused on the ground.
Elyon's sight focused on the tiny buildings of Scholar's Rest in the distance.
"Well, to tell you precisely, I don't know. Yes, you are fast, faster than any normal human. But you lack something—something I can't put my finger on."
Eve took off her hood and looked at him.
"You know, for someone who's supposed to be my trainer, you are doing quite an awful job at it."
"Hey, to be fair, you are my first student." He broke his gaze from the buildings to look at Eve.
"Whatever you say, fake master. Whenever the time calls, I will rely on you to increase my speed." She closed her eyes and then stretched her arms behind her head while humming a light song.
"You seem to be in good spirits. What happened? Did my training actually improve your mood?" His gaze went back to the road.
"Hmm? No, your training was... shit. I'm happy because I'm getting free food from you."
Elyon's expression turned shocked. "Since when was I treating you to free food?"
"Well, you asked before we left if I wanted to eat. That means you were offering and I accepted. Plus, I'm broke, so either way, you are paying."
"You can't do that. I mean, you can't just—ugh, fine, you win this time."
They kept walking in silence; the only sounds that broke the peace were the chirping of the nearby birds and Eve's cheerful humming. This continued until Eve and Elyon entered Scholar's Rest. Once inside the outskirts of the city, Eve put her hood back on.
"So, where should we go?" asked Eve.
"Well, I know a restaurant that has quite good food. It's not the one we met in, don't worry."
"Ah, that's what I'm talking about. Thank you for not being a cheapskate and choosing a normal restaurant."
"You're the one to talk."
Eve shot him an annoyed side glance. They continue walking in silence until the restaurant came into view.
"So what do you want to eat?" Elyon asked as they made their way inside. The inside of the restaurant was quite fancy, with brown wooden tables and leather chairs, and with many types of plants scattered across the whole place. Surprisingly, many were white lilies, which were quite rare in this region.
"Hmm, doesn't really matter as long as I get something in my stomach. But since you are offering, I will go with my usual beef stew, but this time I want a glass of wine. Haven't tasted some good wine in a while."
They took a seat at the table, and then Elyon pulled out his pouch. He opened it, only to see just a single coin.
"Ah damn, wait, I will be back." He got up from his seat and made his way to the bathroom. Eve didn't look at him, her eyes beaming over the menu even though her mind was already made up.
After a couple of minutes, he came back looking quite weak. His pouch was almost exploding with golden coins.
"Uhm, so you decided what you wanted?" Elyon asked, his voice quivering.
"Yeah, I will just get the stew and wine."
She called the waitress over and ordered her food. Elyon ordered the same thing as her.
"So, any ideas on what type of training you will put me through once we go back to your home?"
"Haven't thought about that. Who knows, maybe I will make two clones of you this time. Or five, or maybe ten. Like a deathmatch or something—everyone for themselves. You for yourself, my bad."
"You know, for the first time since I've known you, you've made a great plan. Good job." She started applauding sarcastically.
"We've known each other for a day. But thanks, I guess?"
They kept talking about random stuff until their food hit their table. Elyon didn't waste a single second before diving into his food, while Eve took her spoon and began to play with her food.
"You know..." Eve spoke while looking at the stew.
"Hmm?" Elyon asked with a mouth full.
Her gaze left her food and went to his face.
"No one has ever bought me food before. Hell, no one even talks to me, except this damn sword. I never had the chance to be... good with anyone. Once I take off my hood, they avoid me like the plague. But you are different. You actually care about me, in your way. So thanks for that, and thanks for being my only friend."
To Elyon's dismay, Eve gave him a bright, awkward smile.
Elyon's spoon remained suspended in the air, his eyes wide. When he tried to talk, he nearly choked on his food.
"You are welcome?"
He went back for another bite, but his bowl of stew suddenly disappeared from the table. Gone, into thin air! The only thing that was visible now was the hardwood of the table. But before he could react, Eve burst into laughter. He had never heard her laugh before, which made him kinda happy for once.
"What happened to your food? I would be absolutely pissed if that happened to me," she asked while wiping her tears from the laughter.
"I'm not sure, but that's what I was telling you about earlier—about the world having different types of weird magic."
"Well, I guess you are right. But in my defense, if I saw magic, I would just run away. Anyway, let's share my stew." She pushed the stew into the middle of the table.
Elyon's eyebrow shot up in confusion.
"Never took you for the type to share."
"I'm not, but that's what friends do, right?"
He didn't say anything else and just dived into her food. They kept eating silently. Once they finished, they paid and left the restaurant. After they left, Eve spotted a poster. It was her wanted poster; she gestured for Elyon to come closer and look at it.
"Hey, look, I'm quite an expensive girl, aren't I? And this drawing—they really went overboard with it."
"In this poster, you actually look quite dangerous."
She didn't say anything else, but spotted something else with her peripheral vision—a poster, this one different. She turned her whole head towards it:
The 7th annual Grand Colosseum tournament. Come and see for yourself the amazing battles that are going to take place.
"Look at this." She pointed toward the invitation poster.
"Hmm, that would be great training for you since it's only with criminals. Let's do it; let's go to the Colosseum."