24. That Will Leave a Mark

Few were able to see how that final strike played out. In an instant, the sharp blade of Nima's dagger cleanly cut Yumino's arrow in two.

Now, Yumino was recovering on his bed. The knife had cleanly pierced his chest, and it was thanks to the healing potion and the arrow that took most of the momentum that he didn't die on the spot, but the wound was still too deep to have him continue.

"Winner, Nima!" were, however, the words that ached even more than his wound.

"I'm sorry, but that's gonna leave a mark. That girl was really trying to do you in."

Garron, who usually kept things to himself, was doing a great job at chatting up the wounded elf.

"Such an innocent little elf, what did you have done to Nima to get her to hate you that badly? No, hate is not the right word here... Hate would have had you in less danger than what that was."

Yumino, still applying pressure on the wound located near his heart, shrugged his shoulders at Garron's question.

"I mean... I won't deny I've messed up, but I've done nothing that would be worth getting killed over, I think?"

At this point, because of Nima's twisted personality and the rules of this complicated world, Yumino had given up on assuming anything. At least according to his reasoning, he had done nothing that would deserve capital punishment.

"But I don't know anymore..."

"How about you tell me exactly what happened with the two of you? Maybe there are some hints there," said Garron, trying to be helpful.

Yumino related the story in detail with no interruption. Once it was over, the man opened with loud laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA! So that's what it was! Yumino, to be honest, I'm surprised she didn't do you in on the spot! You've gotten yourself a kind one!"

Yumino shook from every joint upon hearing the words coming out of Garron's mouth. "Unreasonable" didn't even begin to describe what he said.

"Isn't that a bit too much?"

"Not at all. She's an elf, after all. Elven women's pride is through the roof. They just act all shy and cute until they feel they have the higher ground; there is no reasoning with them after that. Shouldn't you know that already?" Garron said with a straight face, as if it were a matter of fact.

"Ahh, that reminds me of the old days—the days when I also got to learn about this side of the elves," he said in a boast of nostalgia.

Getting himself in the mood to speak, Yumino wanted to know more about the man next to him.

"Did you? When? Where? What were those old days of yours like, Garron?"

"Hm? Didn't I tell you? Oh, that's right! It's the first time we get to speak like this, haha!"

Until now, Yumino had plenty of chances to speak with the others, yet his relationship with Garron has remained a huge unknown. He was always kind and helpful, but he never expressed his feelings. However, witnessing that fight got him exceptionally excited, and he became deeply involved in the recovery that followed soon after.

"You see, I was a gladiator back in the day. Not here, but on the Eastern Continent. That's where I met a feisty lady, an elf. I've had my fair share of fights with her, and I can tell you, after she'd gotten her first win, things between us were never the same."

"Wowowow! Slow down there! That's a lot to take in! First, what's that about another continent? And how did you get to meet an elf?" Yumino asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Hm? Didn't they teach you anything back in Alenrius? Of course, there are more continents around! There are three of them, and there are plenty of elves on the others."

"Three continents? Let me guess, East, West, and Center?"

"You got that one right!"

Although Yumino hoped he would be wrong.

"Pretty lame, huh? But there is a reason for that. We don't really get along. The best-case scenario is when the continents ignore one another. So there wasn't really a need for a name. It's just our continent and the other two."

Yumino was getting more and more confused as the explanation progressed. The more he learned about this world where people had weird, unexplainable powers, the less sense it all made.

"It also depends a lot on where you get your maps from. Since we don't interact too much, every continent calls itself Central. It gets really confusing once you move from one to another, haha!"

"Garron, I think that's enough geography for now. Thank you. I can't get over one thing, however. You said there are elves on the other continents..." said Yumino with a spark in his eyes.

"Of course! What difference does that make? It's not like there are any diplomatic relations between us... They would have lent you a hand long ago if they cared."

Yumino's hopes were smashed to pieces before they could even properly form. The sheer amount of emotions made him stop and stare with glassy eyes at the man who kindly asked him to "stop that."

"Anyway, I totally see why Little Nima would act like that now. You've done it to yourself, my guy. Ah, that's nostalgic... I wonder what she's up to now. Such a fine warrior, that girl..."

Garron seemed to slowly drift into reminiscence, but that didn't last long, as the sound of a girl's screams had them both snap out of their dreams.

*****

"Ah! How can I get so careless? Velmira! I thought your potions were the best in the kingdom!"

"Hey now, don't jump at this frail witch like that~ I can hear my heart cracking..."

On the other side of the door, Nima was walking around the room with no clear goal in mind, just trying to tire herself in hopes that her worries would go away. Velmira, who was responsible for Yumino's emergency treatment, kept the girl company so that she would not break down the house.

"Calm down, cutie! I told you he's fine."

"Yeah, but that scar!..."

"Scars are a sign of lessons learned. Wasn't this your goal? Didn't you want to teach him a lesson?"

"I did! But..."

Not knowing what to say, Nima finally stopped in her tracks.

"Besides, don't you find it pretty alluring~?" the sorceress whispered in the girl's pointy ear.

In an instant, Nima's ears turned bright red. No, bright crimson.

"Velmira!"

The witch took a step back and laughed.

"Just kidding~! Ah, but now I'm jealous... You went and pushed me even further away from Yumino... Leaving your mark on him like that..."

"Velmira!"

The red from her ears had spread all the way to her cute face, her fingers soon to follow.

"Let's stop at that, Velmira!" Garron said, laughing as he opened the door. "He's fine now. Let's leave those two to talk it out the rest of the way."

"But—"

The crimson sorceress tried to protest, but Garron didn't give her a chance.

"Come on! Didn't you say you wanted to test me out? The arena is waiting!"

After all, nothing would stop the gladiator once he set his mind to something.

With no way to prolong her welcome, Velmira sighed and followed Garron, both of them leaving behind a wink as they left out the front door.