Myths

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

The old demihuman said as he turned his back and stepped towards the Adventurer’s Guild. The two watching could only pray that things would go well. If they went along with him, they would bring more attention to themselves, increasing the chances of being caught.

“Good luck.”

Aliza stared and hoped that a ruckus could be avoided. She took a deep breath and sat on the bench; her hands linked together.

Mr. Legot looked back, then gave a small wave accompanied by a warm smile that only elderly people could produce. He turned once again and continued, entering the Adventurer’s Guild.

• • •

--I can’t look bad in front of these young’uns. I’ll get my stuff quickly then exit. Hoho, I wonder if it’ll be that easy... Let’s hope...

He pushed his hand along the door, which gave a small swing, allowing the old man inside. Mr. Legot brushed the door before letting it release from his fingertips, swinging back in the other direction.

“Welcome! How can I help you?”

A young male clerk with feline features called out to Mr. Legot as he entered and made his way to the counter. Mr. Legot had not drawn any attention to himself yet, so this was a little annoying, but nothing out of the ordinary. He took soft, slow steps, just as an elderly would, towards the counter.

“Hello. I was told my belongings were being held here. My carriage burned down yesterday if that helps.”

The feline clerk received a small jolt, causing a twitch of his whiskers, and immediately recognized who this man was.

“...”

A nasty smile formed on the clerk’s face, thinking that this was his second lucky chance. The clerk already met Aliza and has now met her accomplice, joy filled him. He spoke in an unusually loud tone, wanting to gain attention from every adventurer present.

“Oh! Are you the man whose carriage burned down yesterday?! Yes! We have your belongings!”

Mr. Legot tensed up, knowing that it was going to go like this. He glanced around, seeing that everyone’s eyes were on him. One man stood up and immediately called out to Mr. Legot, a clear expression of anger painting his face.

“YOU! You’re the one helping the human?!”

There was no avoiding what would happen next. Every other adventurer would stand in his way, both physically and metaphorically. Mr. Legot sighed, then turned to face the inside of the guild, where every adventurer sat. He tried to speak his honest thoughts, which he knew would be useless, but was one of the only cards that he could play now that he was figured out.

“Yes, I am the man you speak of. They required assistance, and they looked like good kids, so I offered them my services.”

Mr. Legot spoke in a soft tone with a minimal smile, but with anger already filling up the demihuman, there was no reasoning with him.

“Old man, who do you think you are?! You’re a demihuman and helping a human, I ought to teach you a lesson.”

The burly demihuman, whose face was shaped similarly to that of a bulldogs’, raised a wooden club onto his shoulder and towered over Mr. Legot.

“I do not wish for a physical confrontation. Please drop your club.”

“Hahaha!! You think you’re in a position to be asking requests?! DIE!”

The bulldog demihuman raised his club over his head, and swung it down, with a force ready to smash Mr. Legot’s head in. As he swung, the adventurer smiled, feeling the satisfaction of being able to kill a human supporter.

“Hehheh...”

But the club grazed the mouse’s hair, smashing into the floor below. After missing the old man’s body entirely, the man was unable to stop the club swinging with such a force.

“Wha-?! I missed?!”

“*sigh* I believe I asked to avoid a physical confrontation.”

Mr. Legot stood a hair away from the damage to the floor. His thin eyes glanced up at the burly man, glaring.

“OLD MAN!!”

The glare lit a spark in the adventurer, making him feel a fury that burned him up inside. He wanted to obliterate this old man in front of him. The floor creaked as the club was pulled out and swung just as fast down, once again aiming for Mr. Legot’s skull.

“That was quite close. How many times must I tell you? I am not here for a fight, only for my belongings. Please drop your weapon.”

The other adventurers could only watch as their fellow adventurer swung into nothingness. They could not tell if the old man had been dodging, or if the club had been missing because of their friend’s terrible aim.

“AHHHH!!”

Once, twice, three more times the club was swung into the floor, sometimes hitting the same dent, sometimes creating new ones.

“Young clerk, could you please bring my belongings? You have known what I am here for, yet you have been standing there the whole time.”

Watching the scene, the clerk was immersed and did not hear Mr. Legot until he snapped out of it a second later.

“Uhh-- yes! I will be back!”

The clerk thought the old man would be beaten immediately; he froze up when being asked to do his job properly. He ran to the back to retrieve the belongings, not wanting to disobey the elderly man.

“Now that the young man is gone, an old man needs to sit. My legs get tired quickly.”

Where the bulldog demihuman sat minutes earlier, Mr. Legot took a seat. Three other adventurers sat next to him, breaking into a cold sweat at the sight of the mouse.

“AHHH!! DIEE!!”

Furious, he rushed to the table, not giving anyone any time to react. His club dropped, his aim the same as earlier, Mr. Legot.

“Woah, please watch your surroundings.”

Across from Mr. Legot, a rabbit demihuman was pushed from his stool, only for the seat to be obliterated a millisecond later.

“WHA-?!”

The man could only watch in shock as the adventurer with who he shared a drink with tried to kill him. His eyes seemed bloodshot, only filled with the desire to murder.

He felt himself being pushed from his seat, and he thought of only one person who would have pulled such a stunt. He quickly glanced at Mr. Legot.

“---!”

A glare. A quick red glare, staring into his eyes.

“AHH!!”

This old man was a demihuman helping a human, unforgivable. The rabbit demihuman clutched his sword, raised it from the floor, and swung at Mr. Legot, slamming his sword into the table,

“Another one, eh? Much too lively these days.”

Mr. Legot sat and sighed once again. He closed his eyes and thought to himself for a second, completely ignoring his attackers.

“Seems like time will run out soon.”

He raised himself from his seat to face the pair of furious men. One raised his sword from the table, and the other a club from the ground.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? My old age is catching up to me.”

A smile appeared on the mouse’s face as if he was ready to enjoy what would come next.

“AHH!!”

The club struck first, now on target to hit the old man. The burly man’s eyes were still bloodshot, but he could feel this strike going to connect. He swung down, ready to finish Mr. Legot off.

“Ah...”

--Black...? Ah... My vision’s fadi...

The bulldog dropped to the floor, the club rolling across the ground, a few meters away from Mr. Legot.

The swordsman felt the same sensation of his strike going to connect, only for--

*THUD*

The bunny to drop to the ground, resting next to his canine friend. Mr. Legot took a deep breath and walked over to the counter, waiting for the clerk to return.

“OLD MAN! WHAT ARE YOU?!”

Five other adventurers were present, and one called out, wanting to know the old man’s secrets. Mr. Legot glanced and shot him a warm smile as if he was just another old man.

“You’re him, aren’t you?!”

His fellow adventurer’s question not answered, another man spoke up. He hesitated before speaking next, but let the words out, feeling that there was no way out either way.

“Togel Turif, the sixth.”

Mr. Legot’s smile stayed present, but his gaze turned towards the new man. The man’s hairs stood on all ends, unable to control his fear after identifying Mr. Legot and receiving his gaze.

“Hoho, didn’t think I’d hear that name in a while. Young man, how did you know?”

He had no choice but to answer. His life was in this mouse’s hands, there was no point in staying silent. Once again hesitation, but the words flew out of his mouth.

“A mouse who plays with emotions... you’re a legend. I heard you used a sword, so I wasn’t sure... but it’s confirmed now. What are you doing helping hum--?!”

Unable to control himself after hearing this legend was helping the enemy, he was stopped with a stretched-out hand in front of his throat, ready to end his life if needed.

“I asked how you knew, not for additional questions. But since you had the courage to ask, I will answer. They are good kids, so I helped, that is all there is to it.”

Fearing for his life, the man could only nod, shaking his dog ears along with his head. Mr. Legot lowered his hand and stood in front of the counter, waiting for his belongings.

The man had a few thoughts going through his head. An encounter with a legend of his stature would only come once in a lifetime. An adventurer’s life did not mean much in front of this man, he needed to get his questions out.

“You are waiting for your belongings... will you let me speak for a little?”

Mr. Legot, also known as Togel Turif, glanced once again at the man, who he had lost all interest in. The old man was slightly bored, so he played along.

“This is a public place, speak your mind.”

Completely dropping the threats from earlier, Mr. Legot now acted as if he abided by society’s laws. The man froze up, wondering if this was another threat, but took his chances.

“Why did you not fight for Felona? With your help, a different outcome could have been reached.”

He tried to suppress his emotions and fight the urge to yell so he would not lose his life. Mr. Legot did not think too much before responding, his voice still calm as he did.

“I am not emotionally attached to any country, nor do I care for political affairs. That is all.”

Not wanting to push his luck, the man decided to take answers at face value and not ask further questions about a topic that’s been answered.

“What about the other three Myths...? Do you know anything about what they were doing...? I know two of them participated in the war, one for... Zineen... and one for Felona, but what about the other three?”

“Myths?”

The mouse was clearly confused at a term that he did not recognize. The man quickly corrected himself, not wanting the conversation to slip away.

“The Felonian Myths. The six legends that are referred to as living Cirtos. Monsters that could wipe out many beings if they wanted to, without having to break a sweat.”

The feline man’s sweat dripped as he spoke about these Myths, but the confusion on Mr. Legot’s face was clear to see.

“I am still not following. Could you name a few of these ‘Myths’?”

“Umm... sure...”

The man thought to himself before deciding to speak. He chose the names to pick, and his face went through a few phases as he thought, as if some names were not even an option.

“One of them is obviously you, Togel Turif, the sixth. Starting from number one, there is Prentil Refragon. He is said to use a sword heavier than a tree, slashing multiple enemies without letting them get into range to attack. I will skip over number two, for safety reasons. All I can say about them is that they fought for Felona during the war, acting as one of their main forces. Number three is Iltoria Rosé, a fierce woman that fights using poison, not letting anyone that’s seen her live. Number four is another one that I am unable to say, due to safety reasons. Finally, number five.”

The man took a deep breath before continuing, as if he wanted to avoid this one. His sweat could not be avoided, his fear following along, or was it anger?

“Number five, the traitor. The main force of the Zineen army. Slaughtered thousands of soldiers on his own, killing the men from the country he was born in. A reason for his actions has never came up, but he deserves punishment, the highest kind, even if there was a reason...”

The man stopped speaking, staring at the floor with his hand clutched to his chest as he spoke about “the traitor”. His emotions calmed, remembering that he was talking to one of these ‘Myths’ and that one slip up could get him killed. His face raised, along with his cat ears, to glance at Mr. Legot.

“Hoho, I don’t know about the others, but I certainly do know Young Illy. I watched that kiddy grow up, how nostalgic...”

His eyes gazed into a distance that was not there, as if remembering an old memory. The old man’s smile grew even warmer looking into the past, but he responded to the man’s question.

“Young Illy also does not like wars or any of that, so she would never participate. Oh, how I wish I could see her. She used to call me grandpa... how they grow up so fast...”

“I see...”

The man felt a little disappointed after hearing the response that felt a little lacking. Watching the old man reminisce made him seem like a regular old man, not some legend, but he continued.

“You may know of the other two I didn’t speak about, but my life could be in danger if I speak their names, so I will avoid it.”

“Sure, sure.”

The old mouse stood there, answering his questions. He did not care for the man’s fear or any of that, he just decided to answer his questions to pass the time.

“As a reward for making me remember Young Illy, I will--”

Feet came rushing towards the other side of the counter, the man breathing heavily as he stopped to catch his breath. The clerk from earlier returned, interrupting what seemed to be a reward from a ‘Myth’, making the man disappointed. He already got to speak with one of these ‘Myths’, so he was satisfied, but hearing that he may have gotten a reward of some sort made him wonder what it could have been.

“Sir! I have brought your belongings--”

The clerk glanced around, seeing two adventurers knocked out on the floor, then looked back at Mr. Legot, who stood without a scratch or speck of dust on his clothes. He tensed up, twitching his cat ears, and chills running down his spine.

“Here... they are...”

Scared for his life, the clerk slowly placed the bag on the counter, not wanting to make any sudden, life-threatening movements. He had already risked his life twice now, once with Aliza and once earlier with Mr. Legot, but seeing this scene left a genuine fear in the clerk’s eyes. This old man could probably slaughter him and everyone else present whenever he wanted, and the clerk was only now realizing that.

“Your Llorse Helen... is behind the guild, perfectly fine...”

A young, beaming smile that was unordinary for an old man, was shown glowing up the room as Mr. Legot heard the news about his longtime partner. This only scared the clerk further, wondering how the man could smile so genuinely when standing in the middle of a situation like this.

“Thank you. I will take my leave.”

Everyone in the guild stared with their breaths held, not daring to take their eyes off the old man as he slowly stepped walked towards the swinging doors, taking his leave.

*SWING*

He exited the swinging doors, and the oxygen released from everyone’s mouths simultaneously, feeling free from the cage they were placed in.