The Laughing Swordsman

The old man glared at the pair, demanding an explanation.

However, the two did not seem to understand the gravity of the situation.

Layla laid a finger on her chin.

"Well... we were in the blue world!"

Apollo nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, yeah! The sky and ground were both blue."

Layla giggled.

"Hehe, see? Friend agrees with me!"

Apollo held his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

There was a serious expression on his face.

"We were going like, really fast! I could hardly even see anything. Then, we were here!"

Layla's tail swayed from side to side.

"Wah! It wasn't that fast..."

The old man's eyelid twitched.

"...Stop fooling around!"

He let out a roar, emanating a wave of force purely from his lungs.

Apollo was knocked off his feet, flying back a few meters.

"Ahh, I'm scared!"

As for Layla, she was unaffected. The worst thing the roar did was blow her hair back.

However, when she heard Apollo cry out. She panicked.

"Oh no! I will protect you, friend!"

Layla lunged towards Apollo. She wrapped her arms around his chest and squeezed.

"Don't worry, friend!"

As for Apollo, he felt safe when Layla declared she was going to protect him. However, once she began hugging him, he panicked.

"Ow, ow, ow! Stop it hurts!"

Layla was slowly crushing his rib cage.

...She did not realize this fact.

"It's ok, friend! I will make sure nothing hurts you!"

Apollo twisted his body, rolling over.

"Gah! No, no, you are hurting me!"

The pair began rolling around in the grass. One declared they would be the other's protector while one screamed out in pain.

The old man had his fist raised, ready to attack.

Yet, he couldn't bring himself to follow through.

The sight in front of him just... made him lose his anger.

Perhaps it was an elaborate ploy from the two, but he couldn't be bothered to think about it too deeply.

The old man sighed.

"What is it that you desire? Are you simply here to sightsee?"

He chuckled.

"Though, I doubt it's that."

Layla let go of Apollo before turning to look at the old man.

"Ah, friend and I are hungry!"

Apollo was trying to catch his breath. However, when he heard what Layla said, he perked up.

"Oh, yeah! Can we please have some food?"

The old man was speechless.

Silence hung in the air for a moment.

Then, the old man broke out with a laugh.

"Alright, sure."

He pointed his finger to the ground, causing the space to ripple.

Two large berry bushes covered in snow appeared.

One of them held strawberries while the other held blueberries.

They were plump and bright.

Layla raised her hands in the air.

"Yay, gifts!"

Apollo clapped his hands.

"Wow! Thank you, thank you."

The pair ran over to the berry bushes and picked the fruits.

Apollo curiously looked at the blueberry in between his fingers.

He tossed it into his mouth without hesitation.

It was sweet, as a normal blueberry should be.

"Tasty!"

Layla giggled. There was already a food stain around her mouth.

She handed a strawberry to Apollo.

"Try this one!"

Apollo accepted it. He promptly stuffed his face.

"Also tasty!"

Layla smiled.

"Yeah!"

The old man watched the two eat the berries with silly grins on their faces.

Although he said he didn't want any visitors, it was pretty boring to live centuries without seeing another's face. What he really meant by visitors were people trying to take advantage of him or deceive him.

The old man did not truly believe that Apollo and Layla were innocent, however, he wouldn't question it for now.

It did not take long for the pair to finish the berries. There were large stains around both of their mouths.

Layla pointed to Apollo with a shocked expression.

"Wah! How did your mouth get bigger?"

Apollo looked at Layla and pointed back.

"Eh? Your mouth got bigger as well!"

Layla covered her mouth in shock.

"Wah! What do we do now?"

The old man sighed.

"Wash yourselves off with this."

He pointed towards the ground, causing the space to ripple.

A section of a river appeared in the ground.

The water was still while fragments of ice lined the sides.

Apollo rushed over to the river and splashed his face with the water.

"Ah! It's cold!"

Layla did the same.

"Oh, refreshing!"

The old man was in deep thought. He was wondering if he should reopen... that.

Long ago, when he still walked on the lands of the real world, he offered things out of the kindness of his heart.

He had written countless books, the kind that had countless insights on how to grow in power. He gave these books out for free, with the intent that anybody could read them.

However, not even a day after he handed them out, they were locked behind closed gates.

The people he gave them to forced others to pay exorbitant prices just to take a peek. It made him wonder if he had made a mistake. Yet, he still wished to spread his knowledge. As such, he tried ways to circumvent this. He opened a personal library, where anyone could enter, free of charge.

...Then people began stealing books. He did not like it, however, he continued replacing them without complaint.

Eventually, he was berated by the very people that stole his books.

How were they supposed to make money off them if he continued giving them out for free?

The old man thought at least those that he had given free access to would be on his side.

However, they criticized him for 'stealing' from the hard working authors, providing the books for free.

And so, he made his library disappear from this realm. Then, he made every extra copy wither to dust.

The old man shook his head.

Layla was eagerly slurping up the water.

"So refreshing!"

Apollo took a sip but instantly recoiled.

"Too cold!"

The old man cleared his throat.

"Come with me."