'No.'
Davi's eyes snapped open, and he stared up at the roof of the tavern. He sat up and felt the cold sweat that clung to his body. His head was pounding, and his heart was racing, but he managed to lull himself back into his usual calm state.
He wasn't in the cold; he wasn't surrounded by a blizzard; he was in a nice warm bed.
There was no Dragon.
With a grunt, he stepped back out into the hall. The music from downstairs hit his ears, and he could already hear the people of Gladiolus, who were being quite loud for some reason. Olivia's door was still shut and locked, the girl most likely still asleep. Unlike him, she hadn't been able to get a good night's rest on the boat, so he imagined she was exhausted since she seemed to be sleeping through all the noise.
He made his way downstairs and was surprised to not see anyone. The inn was empty, the tables not containing anyone looking to get drunk, and even the bartender was gone. The noise outside got even louder, and it sounded like cheering.
Davi stepped out of the inn, and instantly he discovered why everyone was outside. The streets of Gladiolus had been filled the other day, but now they were tight and cramped. Everyone had left their homes or taverns and piled out onto the street, all celebrating when they saw what arrived in their town.
Davi looked out at the road that went through the town. It was the only part of Gladiolus that wasn't filled to the brim with people. Two figures casually walked down the road, having the entire way cleared out for them when they arrived.
The first figure stood tall and was wrapped in thick, rocky armor. Stone and jagged bricks shaped together, forming a powerful, sturdy suit shaped like a bull. The helmet had twisting horns, and the boots looked like hooves. Cracks ran along the stone armor, which had an orange glow coming off of it that might have been magma. Heat and power radiated off of the bull-looking Knight, who casually dragged a massive wagon behind them.
On the wagon were the piled-on corpses of dozens of different magical beasts. Most looked like dead snakes, but a few were apes that were way bigger than they should have been or lions with the tail of a scorpion and the wings of a bat.
The second figure walked next to the first one and looked a lot more reserved. Unlike the one in the heavy stone armor, this figure was a man in a suit. He wore a white button-up shirt, black dress pants, and a blazer. He had a red tie on and carried a briefcase with him. The man looked like an average bank worker and oozed an aura of wealth. He might have passed for a typical worker as well, if not for the fact that he had a sword hanging off his belt and radiated an aura of power that matched the stone Knight.
It seemed two Arcane Knights had just gotten back from a mission and were passing through Gladiolus. The entire town was celebrating and cheering them on, but the Knights remained silent and kept marching toward the docks, a boat already waiting for them. No doubt they were planning to head back to their guild and drop off the dead monsters for their reward.
As Davi watched them, he suddenly recalled what Olis had said. He was a criminal, unknowingly or not, since he had been pretending to be a Knight. It likely wouldn't be good for him to stand out.
Which was why he suddenly twitched when the man in the suit turned to look at him. Davi froze, and his eyes instantly became glued to the other man. The Knight had shaven black hair, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses, but Davi could tell they were peering right at him.
He thought that maybe he was about to have a fight break out or something, but the man eventually turned away, and he and the one in the bull-looking armor reached the docks.
The people kept cheering, even as the two Knights got onto a ship, which began to sail away immediately as if they were in a hurry to leave the town behind. It was only after the two Knights were gone that the mood in Gladiolus changed. Instantly, the people straightened up, and as if a switch had been flipped, they got back to work, going about their day as they usually would. The streets began to get cleared out, and Davi found himself standing all alone.
His plan was to just walk around the town until Olivia woke up and came looking for him. He didn't really have a particular destination in mind. He was always on the move, never settling down for too long. It had been ages since he got to just walk around and look at the building and people. He barely reached the town square before something caught his attention. A fantastic aroma that had his mouth watering.
Gladiolus lacked the wall that Lotus had. It was much more like an overgrown village than a town, with dozens of brick houses stacked on top of each other, and was created mainly to harvest wheat and breed cattle and other such things. A few large stone towers were scattered about the town, likely being the barracks, and the streets were bustling with people. There was also a large magic academy placed in the center. It looked just like the one Lotus had. A large tower was bathed in various runes that danced and moved across the stone.
A group of students were all exiting the school, all dressed in uniforms that were similar to the one Olivia was wearing, but their clothes were black instead of red.
None of the students even shot him a glance as they walked past him, and Davi did his best to ignore them for the most part.
What truly caught Davi's attention, though, was a food stall in the town square. It was loaded with various cooked meats, and a large man stood behind the counter, using fire magic to cook the meat and sell it to passing people. Amongst the meat was a large grilled catfish that had been perfectly cut into dozens of slices. Davi felt his stomach rumble, and he had to fight the urge to drool.
Now that he thought about it, he hadn't gotten any food since he was on the ship with Olis. That was over a day ago now.
"What are you looking at, boy?" The man behind the food stall barked out, causing Davi to flinch slightly. "If you want some, then come get some. Just stop standing there with that creepy mana leaking out of you! You're scaring away all my other customers." The man was tall, easily over eight feet, and he was bald but had a bushy beard. He wore brightly colored purple clothes, likely to get people's attention so they'd come and stop by his stall. He had a toothy grin, a few of his teeth even covered in gold, and his wand was twisted and black, looking more like a jagged piece of coal. Fire dripped out of the tip of it, and he swirled it over a piece of beef, perfectly cooking it. "Best meat in Gladiolus."
Davi approached the stall and looked down at the catfish. He felt his stomach rumble. "Sorry, I don't have any money. I don't suppose you'd be willing to trade?"
The merchant snorted and gave a toothy grin. "No. We don't do that here."
Davi folded his arms. "Guess I'll have to come back next time then."
"You a Magical Mutant?" The man asked bluntly.
Davi shook his head. "No."
"Your mana feels inhuman, like a mutant's." The man's grin just grew, and he shivered slightly. "You're new here, right? I saw you come in yesterday on that cargo ship. If you were on a boat like that, you must have done some jobs or something, right? Don't tell me you blew all your money gambling or something."
"I didn't earn any money from that ship. I helped them out, but that's just because I owed them."
"You did a bunch of work for free? Did you even think about asking for any gold from them?"
Davi gave a shrug. "They needed the money to fix their ship. Did you see the state their boat was in? They needed it more than I did."
"Well, I beg to differ. You're flat broke, and judging by the way you keep staring at my grub, you're starving, too." The merchant snorted. "So now you're broke and hungry. I'd say you're in need of full pockets."
Davi fought his stomach, which was trying to growl. "I guess. I'm used to it, though. Sometimes, I can be on the road for days, so I've learned to go without food."
The merchant nodded. "You said you had things to trade? You also a merchant?"
"Not really. Now that I've learned more about the world, I don't know what I am. I guess you could say I'm a Dragon hunter."
"A Dragon hunter?" The merchant gave him an odd look, and the man's smile only seemed to grow. "Well, then, a word of advice. Look, lad, there's nothing wrong with being a good person and helping those in need, but doing so at a cost to yourself is… Well, there's a fine line between noble and foolish, especially when it comes to someone like you. I've never felt mana as cold as yours before. It chills me to the bone. I imagine most mages won't be keen on going out of their way to help you. Even that Arcane Knight glanced at you. You should remember that and not let people take advantage of you just because you're so nice."
"Oh, I'm not a good person." Davi turned away and looked out at the town, watching the people bustle around back and forth. "I get tired of saving people. I feel like I do it so much that it annoys me sometimes. That's why I try to make sure that whatever is causing them the problem won't happen again, and they can save themselves."
The merchant gave him an odd look and raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like being a good person to me, lad. You one of those guys with a complex who doesn't like taking credit for the good they do?"
"No," Davi said emotionlessly. "I was just raised to think that way by my dad."
"I don't really get it, but whatever helps you sleep at night, kid."
Davi watched a few kids play with a ball, tossing it back and forth, and several farmers returned from the fields, bringing carts full of crops. The town was lively, and he felt much more at ease than he had in Fri. "So, what's this place's deal?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" The merchant questioned, cooking up a slab of pork.
"The last few places I've been to all had something weird about them," Davi explained. "First, I went to this town that was haunted by these ghost-like monsters and had to fight them off. I ended up helping the town mayor find the bodies and put the ghosts to rest. After that, I went to this city that was taken over by a bunch of bandits and had to fight their leader in one-on-one combat. I got the city to rebel against the bandits and throw the leader out. Then I found this village that a salamander was attacking. I killed it and gave the people the supplies to build a wall around their land so a creature like that wouldn't be able to get back in. Oh, I also kidnapped a girl from that place, which is pretty cool."
The merchant blinked, losing focus on his spell and burning the meat he was cooking to ash. "A-are you an Arcane Knight?"
"See, I also came to that conclusion, but apparently I'm not." Davi balled his hand into a fist and lifted his arm, flexing slightly. "I guess I'm about as strong as one, though, since I've been doing their job. They can't be all that special if someone like me keeps getting mistaken for one." He was a little annoyed that he wasn't actually a Knight. Sieg and he had always talked about becoming one when they were kids. He thought about maybe taking the test, but that would take too much time. As long as he could keep chasing after the Dragon, Arcane Knight, or not, he'd be content.
The man silently shook his head, deciding it was best to just move on and pretend he didn't hear this stranger admit to committing so many crimes. Impersonating an Arcane Knight, accidental or not, was illegal after all. "Look, Gladiolus ain't as exciting as those other places you went to. If you're looking for trouble, you'll find it, though, so keep your nose out of the dirt. You especially don't want to get the attention of any Knights."
"Why are you letting me know about this? You worried for me or something?"
The merchant snorted again and folded his arms. "I believe that good deeds shouldn't be punished. Bad people deserve that kind of treatment, and good people deserve rewards. You did well, helped a ship out, so it's only natural you should deserve a reward rather than a punishment. It's the motto I live by."
Davi gave a lazy nod. "Sounds good to me."
"What sounds good?" Davi turned when he heard the voice, finding Olivia standing behind him now. The ginger-haired girl looked half asleep, her hair a mess and her eyes nearly closed. She also had a hungry look on her face, staring down at the food on the table, her stomach rumbling a bit. "I'm hungry." She mumbled.
"We don't have any money," Davi said flatly. "We'll just have to starve or become cannibals, whichever happens first." His detached way of speaking made it hard to tell if he was joking about that last part or not.
"Here you go, little lady." The merchant tossed an apple over to Olivia, who caught it. "It's on the house!"
"Traitor," Davi sighed sulkily. "I want a free apple."
"No."
"Curse you, may your bald spot double."
Olivia bit into the apple, letting out a hum as she began to wake up. She rubbed sleep out of her eyes and felt a few of her muscles pop. "So, what were you talking about earlier?" She asked, eating over half of the apple. She offered what was left to Davi, whose mood had soured more than usual.
"Nothing really." Davi swiped the apple, but there were only two bites left for him. He finished the apple off and dropped the core into his shadow. His other hand lazily wiped at his face. "I was just making chitchat until you were up and ready to leave."
"Where are the two of you headed?" The merchant questioned.
Olivia fought back a yawn and stretched, her tired body still taking a moment to respond. "We're heading to the capital." She said after a moment. "So I guess we're walking north."
"I thought so." The merchant ran his fingers through his beard and tugged on it a bit. "In that case, do the two of you think you could do me a favor?"
Davi folded his arms and let out a hum. "Depends. What's the favor?"
"Directly north of here is a town called Daisy." The other man explained. "It's the first town you'll run into if you head down the road. See, the thing with Daisy is that the Baron who runs it is kind of a cheapskate. He's bad at paying for and maintaining certain features, so Daisy is always going into bouts where they have no power or internet."
"Reminds me of the duke who runs Lotus." Olivia snorted. "Lazy bastard still refuses to build proper roads."
"I got a buddy there; he's a blacksmith, the best in his town, in fact." The merchant continued. "I'm guessing Daisy is in one of its blackouts because I haven't been able to get ahold of my friend in over a month. Usually, the blackouts don't last this long, so I've gotten a bit worried. Daisy ain't an important town like we have here, and so unless something really bad is happening, the kingdom likely won't investigate it, and I'd rather not have to hire a couple of Knights since they're expensive, so do you two think you could just check in on the place for me?"
Davi and Olivia glanced at one another, and then Davi shrugged. "Sure. If it's on the way. We can do that."
The merchant's crooked grin returned. "Thank you kindly, sir. One more thing." The merchant pulled out a rather large crate and set it on the table. The crate was a magitech minifreeze that could keep products cold and fresh. "This here is a crate of fish I've been meaning to give to my friend. Would you two be able to deliver it to him while you're there? As I said, he's the blacksmith of the town, so it shouldn't be hard to find him."
"Hey!" Olivia pouted slightly. "You just tricked us into being your errand runners, didn't you?" The merchant just chuckled again.
Davi folded his arms and gave the man a skeptical look. "You're just trusting us with this? What if we just steal the crate you're giving for ourselves and not turn it in? You were saying not to be too nice earlier. Isn't this breaking your own rule?"
"Well, to be honest, I've always been good at reading people, and I don't think either of you are bad." The merchant chuckled. "People put too much stock in how a person's mana feels. Think of this as a reward for helping that ship. Not to mention, if you two did run off, I'd just blacklist you."
"Blacklist us?" Olivia shivered slightly as the man's toothy grin grew. "What does that mean?"
The merchant lifted his wand and tapped it to the side of his head. "We merchants all stick together. You piss one of us off, and you've gone and made the rest mad. Just as magicians all have their way of communicating, so do we merchants. You run off, and I find out my buddy didn't get his stuff, then I may have no choice but to let every other merchant in Estiria know that you ain't good people and not to help you out."
"Couldn't care less what merchants thought of me." Davi picked the box up with one arm, tucking it away. "Sure, though, we'll drop this off."
"Thank you kindly."
Davi casually stuffed the box into his shadow, which swallowed it up. Once he was done, he turned to look back at Olivia. "You ready to hit the road?"
Olivia nodded, and she took one last look at the town, watching as the farmers got ready for another hard day of work. Her heart ached a bit once more, a bit of homesickness seeping back in, but she crushed it down.
"Ready as I'll ever be." She forced a smile and gave a nod to Davi. The two of them began to walk and head for the outskirts of the town. "I want to ask, though, why'd you agree to help that guy? If it's for the money, couldn't you just find a bounty board in a hub somewhere and do a quest for more cash?"
Davi seemed indifferent and shrugged once more. "I can help him out, so why not?"
"You seem to really like helping people, don't you, Davi?" Olivia teased. "I mean, you helped my village out for free, just like you did for Olis and his crew. You're a nice guy. Everything an Arcane Knight should be."
Davi looked away. "Yeah. Everything a Knight should be."
He had forgotten one fact. He still hadn't told her he wasn't an Arcane Knight.
'Whoops. My bad.'