The Laughing Swordsman

Layla's eyes widened like a puppy's.

She crouched down with a pout on her face.

"Please?"

Apollo sighed.

"No."

Layla looked to the ground and whimpered.

"Pleaseeee?"

The inner corners of Apollo's eyebrows lowered.

He was getting irritated.

"No."

Layla peeked at Apollo with upturned eyes.

"Pleaseeee?~"

Apollo clutched his head with his free hand.

"I'm not doing it!"

Layla pressed her lips together. She stayed silent but continued to stare at Apollo.

For a few moments, there was silence.

Suddenly, Layla let out a yowl and pounced on Apollo.

Both of her hands were outstretched as though they wanted to push Apollo over. Her eyes were closed and her head was lowered. It was as though Layla was a small child.

A smile spread out on Apollo's face.

His bokken traced an arc towards the ceiling.

...But once it hit Layla, it stopped.

It was as though Apollo struck her with a feather.

His smile froze on his face.

Although Apollo wanted to dodge, it was already too late.

His eyes widened.

Then, Layla crashed into him.

Apollo was sent flying across the room, slamming into the wall with a resounding bang.

His back was the first thing to hit the wall. Then, his head snapped backward, letting out a frightening crack.

Apollo instantly lost consciousness.

Layla covered her lips with one hand.

"Oops! Are you ok friend?"

Apollo did not respond.

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Mm... sleeping?"

She grabbed onto Apollo's shoulders.

...Then shook him back and forth.

"Wake upppp!"

Apollo's head repeatedly slammed against the wall.

It would be a miracle if he didn't suffer any traumatic brain injuries.

At some point, Layla stopped.

She puffed her cheeks and stared at Apollo.

As for Apollo, he was waking up.

...Somehow or another.

His eyes slowly opened, to see Layla lunging at him.

She angrily bit down on Apollo's face.

This made Apollo freak out.

"Ow, ow, ow! Get off, get off!"

He flailed his limbs in an attempt to get Layla off him.

Although Apollo wasn't able to push Layla off, she backed off when she noticed Apollo had regained consciousness.

Layla crossed her arms and looked to the side.

Her eyes were closed while a small frown was painted on her face.

She harrumphed.

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"Mm... mommy?"

Layla was unable to keep up her pretense.

Her arms fell to her sides as she looked at Apollo with her beady green eyes.

"Mommy?"

Apollo let out an innocent giggle.

"Mommy!"

He jumped towards Layla with his arms spread out.

To Layla's surprise, Apollo was hugging her tightly.

Apollo closed his eyes and smiled.

"Hehe, mommy!"

Layla patted Apollo's head.

"Who is mommy?"

Apollo looked up and tilted his head to the side.

"What do you mean, it's you!"

Layla pouted.

"But... My name isn't mommy! It's Layla!"

Apollo was distraught.

"Ehhhh? Where is mommy?"

Layla's tail swayed from side to side.

"I don't know!"

Apollo pouted.

"Aw..."

Layla lifted Apollo up. There was a bright smile on her face.

"But we can find her!"

Apollo jumped up and down enthusiastically.

"Yeah!"

Once he calmed down, his eyes scanned the area around him.

"Ah, where am I?"

Layla put her palms together like she was praying. Her hands and head tilted to the left.

"I don't know! This place is very weird..."

Apollo looked at the grey desk with a few parchments on them. He pointed towards them.

"What is that?"

Layla's furry ears twitched upwards.

"Ah, those are the rewards!"

Apollo gasped in awe.

"Rewards?"

Layla's tail stood up straight and stiffened.

"Yeah, yeah!"

She grabbed Apollo's hand and brought him over to the desk.

Apollo's mouth was agape.

"Wow!"

Layla proceeded to pout.

"Could you get this reward for me? Pleaseeee?~"

She pointed towards the request that had a reward of the 'Basic Elixir of Flexibility'.

Apollo was none the wiser. Without hesitation, he agreed.

"Ok!"

Apollo picked up the parchment, then proceeded to wave it around.

Layla hopped and clapped excitedly.

"Yayyyy!"

The parchment slipped out of his grasp.

Apollo looked at his empty hand.

"Ah, I lost it!"

Layla flailed her arms in the air.

"What! How did you lose it?"

Apollo was about to respond, but his eyes were drawn to the floating parchment.

"Oh, it's there?"

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Ohhh, yeah!"

Apollo's iron coin tumbled onto the table while the other parchments disappeared.

He raised an eyebrow.

"What is that?"

Layla giggled.

"That's your glorified name tag."

Apollo didn't understand but nodded as if he did. He picked it up, curiously turning it over a few times, then stuffed it in his pocket.

Layla scratched her cheek.

"Hmm... to get the reward we need to play with Kylan Noia?"

Apollo examined the request sheet.

'Rank: Copper Coin - Iron Lined

Target: Kylan Noia

Description: Resides in Obrad Empire. Prince. Estimated Level - True Mage, Stage 1. Young man. Short brown hair. Blue Eyes.

Requirements: Assassinate Kylan Noia'

The attached picture showed a young man with neat hair. There was a subtle smug smile on his face.

Apollo scratched his cheek with a finger.

"But it says assassinate, not play."

Layla giggled.

"Eh? That's the same thing, right?"

Apollo nodded in understanding.

"Ah! I see."

He looked around himself.

Apollo turned to Layla, blinking a few times.

"How do we get out of here?"

Layla's furry ears twitched upward.

A smile spread out on her face.

"Let me show you!"

Layla wrapped one hand around Apollo's waist, then tore open the space with her hand.

She dragged Apollo with her, bringing them to some strange blue world.

Their bodies jostled around like they were on a rollercoaster.

Layla was having the time of her life. While one arm was wrapped around Apollo, the other was raised high in the air.

"Waaaaaaaah!~"

As for Apollo, he was terrified. His eyes widened and his hands tightly held onto Layla's arm for dear life.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

With that, the two of them set off on their journey.