Chapter 23

  The next day, the group got together and after making their introductions, set off early, heading to Nevermore.

  Piral Bifa and Antin Jerio were the most curious about the two newcomers, but when Lior Gaunlet and Ril Lita answered their questions, its not like Font Seig and Winfra Loul were just standing there, they were quietly listening as well.

  At some point, it got to the matter of how the two first met Drakkel and so Ril Lita happily started recounting the story of ‘Sylas’ from Dragon’s Dwelling.

  As he spoke, the disciples said things like,

  “Senior Drakkel really did that?”

  “Wow, is it true?”

  “I knew he was strong, but I didn’t know he was adaptable as well!"

  Hearing their words caused Drakkel to feel a certain way.

  Ril Lita gave more details than the rumors from Dragon’s Dwelling revealed.

  He was at the Sword Epiphany stage and a previous head disciple, but at that moment he felt like a child overhearing adults speaking about their shortcomings.

  If it were possible for one to disappear from embarrassment, he would have ceased existing a while ago.

  When he was in his Sword's Clan, he endeavored to maintain a clean and spotless reputation. In the eyes of his clanmates, he should have been dependable and strong.

  After everything that happened, reputation didn't mean so much to him, but... he had limits too.

  The things he did in Dragon’s Dwelling, well, shameless wouldn’t even explain half of it! Some might even go as far as to call it depraved.

  Ril Lita knew the full story, but in the end, he only gave a few additional pieces of information about rumors his clanmates may have already heard, then took them all and framed them as lies.

  With not much left to doubt, even if they thought there was more to the story, Drakkel only had to deny it.

  He was happy that Ril Lita hadn't betrayed him, but he was surprised to find out another fact.

  There was someone else that seemed captured by Ril Lita’s stories. Although he kept a stoic and bored expression on his face, sometimes his eyes darted to the side when a particularly scandalous thing came out of his mouth. When the stories were finished and revealed to be false, everyone seemed disappointed. But the person in question held an inscrutable expression.

  Drakkel noticed that Rillian Adore had been paying close attention to the stories as well. And for some reason, even though others were listening, knowing this affected him the most.

  After nearly a day of travel, they finally made it to Nevermore. Being an outer town and the one closest to Densai Forest, the place was nearly abandoned. To call it an outer town was even kind of a stretch. Although it's build was like one, since it had been mostly abandoned for a long time, many of the structures had either already fallen apart or were in the process of doing so, making it seem more like an abandoned village.

  In the town, there was only one inn and this inn was nearly void of people. Downstairs, there were only two people eating at a table, so of course, the innkeeper who wore a bored and tired expression, couldn't help brightening up when the large group of people entered.

  When they approached the desk of the innkeeper, he said, “Welcome esteemed guests. How many rooms would you all like? There are four available.”

  From outside the inn, they saw six rooms total.

  Although they had the pick of the remaining rooms, because of the size of the inn, they still had to share.

  “We’ll take all the available rooms you have for a night’s stay,” Aurien Wavel answered.

  The innkeeper smiled and nodded, happily giving them all the keys to the room. He requested only four copper coins total, one for each room. But Drakkel saw the state of his business. It really wouldn't be fair to give him that amount.

  After his ventures in Dragon’s Dwelling, he had plenty of money to spare. He fished a golden coin out of his pouch and handed it to the innkeeper.

  “Thank you for your help,” he said.

  The innkeeper looked down at the coin and then up at Drakkel.

  With a grateful smile, he hurriedly and discreetly placed the coin in his robes and bowed. “Thank you, esteemed guest!”

  Once they left the desk, it was time to decide how they would all be splitting up. The obvious choice was to split up as they had before, but someone wasn't having it.

  “Will we split up as before?” Aurien Wavel asked, holding the keys.

  Ril Lita shook his head and grabbed onto Drakkel's arm. “Of course I'll be rooming with my new friend, Drakkel!”

  The whole group froze and looked at him wide eyed. Save for Lior Gaunlet and Rillian Adore whose expressions fell.

  Lior Gaunlet stated, “There's no time for jokes, Ril. Just stay with me so we don't have to bother them.”

  Ril Lita's hold on Drakkel only tightened. “We’ve been staying together every night since we left the capital and every night we argue. Let me stay with someone else today and maybe our relationship will be better. Besides, I want to have a deep and intimate talk with my new friend!”

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  Intimate?! Why did so many of his so-called “friends” sometimes lack decorum when speaking to others?

  Upon Ril Lita speaking these words, everyone looked to Drakkel for an answer. But what could he say when he was put on the spot? After all, this was the Emperor's confidant and brother to one of his favored consorts. If he wronged him and the Emperor heard about it, forget the Swords Clans, wouldn't the whole world be after him at that point?

  He sighed.

  Actually Ril Lita was good at throwing his weight around and could switch between personalities at the drop of a hat. This made his true motivations somewhat difficult to glean.

  He looked down at Ril Lita who returned his gaze with a look of innocence.

  Then again, he might have been thinking too much. If Ril Lita really wanted to make things hard for him, he could have done it earlier. Maybe he has other reasons for requesting to stay with him. It surely wouldn't hurt to hear him out.

  “Sure,” he said. “I don't mind.”

  Aurien Wavel looked at Rillian Adore and Lior Gaunlet, “Then you two?”

  Lior Gaunlet grumbled, “We’ll stay together for a night, I suppose.”

  Rillian Adore silently nodded, seeming displeased as well.

  Lior Gaunlet was obviously upset when he said these words, but Aurien Wavel still smiled. “Great! Then let's get settled in now!”

  Aurien Wavel divided up the keys and they all headed to their rooms.

  Drakkel and Ril Lita's room was decently sized. However for an inn that only has six rooms total, it wasn't surprising that this was the case.

  Two small beds sat adjacent to each other with a sliver of space left at the center. Ril Lita took a bed and set his items down while Drakkel took another.

  When they were both settled, Ril Lita asked. “Drakkel, since we're friends, I really want to get to know you better. Now that we have time, is it ok if I ask some questions?”

  Drakkel now knew why Ril Lita wanted to stay with him.

  He didn’t feel like entertaining him, but he also didn't want to say no when he was asked so sincerely.

  Anyway, he had already decided to hear him out. As long as he didn't say too much, it would be fine.

  After giving Ril Lita a nod, the man began to ask Drakkel questions about his likes, dislikes, relationships and the way he was raised.

  When they came to a pause, he asked, “Your sword, may I see it?”

  “Hm?” Drakkel asked.

  Ril Lita continued, “I mean the sword that I heard appeared at the Sword Summit.”

  “Oh,” Drakkel said.

  He thought he was speaking about his other sword, Swift Wind’s Breeze.

  At first, Lingering Regret seemed rather menacing. Made completely of black meteoric stone, it was cold and elegant. But, it's personality? Well, it was definitely the opposite of that. The thing was mischievous and playful, always making noise when out and about. It's just that Drakkel was the only one who could hear it and mostly drowned it out unless it got louder.

  Because of this, he felt fine unwrapping the sword and bringing it out of its sheath.

  As Ril Lita gazed at it, he couldn't help but exclaim, “Wow! It's beautiful!”

  He looked up at Drakkel. “Can I touch it?”

  Drakkel gave a nod and Ril Lita began to gently rub his fingers down the dull end of the sword’s blade. “Although it's sharp and made entirely of metal, it's surface is very smooth. It must be comfortable to hold.”

  Drakkel nodded, “It is.”

  Drakkel heard the sword gently humming in pleasure as it got touched. However, suddenly, the humming got louder and louder until it began to shake. Then it lifted into the air and became surrounded by a light so blinding that Drakkel and Ril Lita were forced to cover their eyes to prevent themselves from being blinded by it.

  When they uncovered their eyes, they saw that a small donkey now sat on Drakkel's bed, looking at Ril Lita with an excited glint in its eye.

  “What happened?!” Ril Lita exclaimed. “Is that?!”

  Drakkel sighed. “Yes… it's my sword.”

  Actually, during the Sword Summit most people were too busy fighting to observe the true origin of the feared demonic sword. Those who observed it though wouldn't believe it and probably would have kept their mouths closed to avoid being seen as crazy. So what Ril Lita saw was new to him.

  Before anyone could make a move, the donkey rushed towards Ril Lita and started nipping at the side of his robe.

  “Hey, what..! Stop!” Ril Lita screamed.

  Drakkel grabbed the donkey by the torso and tried to pull him off.

  “Stop it right now!” He shouted.

  However, the donkey resisted with unbeatable force and with his demonic energy suppressed, Drakkel didn't have enough in his body to utilize his demonic strength.

  He was beginning to wonder how they would get the donkey off, when Ril Lita suddenly started giggling.

  Drakkel's eyebrow raised as he stopped fighting the donkey and turned his attention to him.

  Then, he caught a glimpse of something poking out of Ril Lita's robe. It was a closed bag that the donkey seemed very interested in.

  Ril Lita grabbed the bag and opened it near the donkey.

  “I see. He wasn't attacking! He just wanted this!”

  The donkey was too busy eating what was in the bag to pay attention to them anymore.

  Drakkel, curious as to what could make a legendary demonic sword act so crazy, asked, “What is it?”

  Ril Lita's smile widened, “Sweet roasted peanuts.”

  Drakkel nearly laughed.

  Of all the things for the sword to favor, it had to be a food that he liked as well? Actually, the sword had more personality than his other sword and was not nearly as obedient. Perhaps while wrapped up and in its sheath it felt abandoned and alone.

  Drakkel frowned as a dark, rainy night came into his view. He had stretched his sword energy to the limit and could no longer stave off hunger. That day, a man found him. The man gave him his cloak and a bag of sweet roasted peanuts which allowed him to survive until he earned more money.

  He shook his head. “So that was it? Well, I apologize for it's behavior. If you want, I can return him to his sheath.”

  Ril Lita shook his head and began to pet the donkey. “He’s just hungry and lonely. Besides, I really like him. Can you keep him like this for now? I think he enjoys it!”

  Drakkel smiled. “Sure, if that’s what you want.”

  Ril Lita nodded as the donkey continued to eat.

  “By the way, why not name him? Surely you won't keep calling him by his sword name in this form? It's too depressing!”

  Drakkel couldn't say he agreed with the man but he could see where he was coming from. Yet, he couldn't come up with a name now and really didn't want to think about it at this time. “I’m not sure what to call him. Why don't you name him?”

  As Ril Lita looked at the donkey, he said thoughtfully, “Well, he likes roasted peanuts so why not just name him Peanut?”

  Drakkel's mouth twitched. He didn't know what he was expecting, but certainly not this! Yet when Ril Lita asked him, “How do you feel about being called Peanut?”

  The donkey brayed.

  He really did seem pleased.

  So, Drakkel had no choice. He didn't come up with a name and the donkey liked it. So why not just call him Peanut while in this form?

  When there were no more peanuts left, Drakkel called the donkey over. “Peanut, come here.”

  Peanut flicked his ears, showing that he heard, but he didn't move.

  Then Ril Lita said, “Peanut, you should listen to your owner. Don't worry. He won't put you back in your sheath.”

  That was when Peanut looked up at Ril Lita, brayed and then finally made his way to Drakkel.

  Drakkel's spirits fell a bit.

  His own sword listened to someone else before him.

  But then again, he had been neglecting it all this time. Maybe it was what he deserved.

  Drakkel slowly placed a hand out. When Peanut lowered his head, he knew he was fine with being touched. So, he began to scratch his chin.

  As Drakkel's hand scratched Peanut’s chin, his ears swiveled back and he brayed softly.

  Who would have known that the great legendary demonic sword wielded by generations of demon kings, including the most infamous Demon King Fael, was just an ordinary donkey at the end of the day?

  He smiled.

  Now that he knew it, he would make sure to pay attention to his sword’s mood from now on.