The Laughing Swordsman

There was a bright light up ahead, shining on their faces.

Apollo didn't know how he didn't notice it earlier.

"What is that?"

Layla giggled.

"I don't know! Let's go take a look!"

The two of them ran towards the overbearing glare from their front.

They got over the crest of a hill and had a look.

They saw a small village.

Black wooden walls about three meters high surrounded the place. There were countless holes in these walls that had been patched over.

It was clear this village had suffered through countless battles.

At the center, was a giant white flame. It rested upon some strange monument and tyrannically lit up the surroundings.

Apollo furrowed his brows.

"There are people living here?"

Layla giggled.

"Yeah, come on!"

Layla grabbed onto Apollo's wrist and dragged him along to the village's entrance.

The village entrance was composed of two gates. It was almost like an airlock, but a rudimentary version.

Layla waved her arms around.

"Heyyyy, is there anybody there?"

Apollo cringed. He felt like there were countless better ways to tackle this...

However, he remained silent.

The two of them waited for quite some time.

Apollo sighed.

"It looks like there is no resp-"

"Who goes there?"

A deep, but raspy voice came from above the walls. Although this person was willing to talk, he didn't want to show himself.

Layla jumped up and down.

"It's Layla! My friend is also here!"

Apollo sighed.

"My name is Apollo."

There were a few seconds of silence.

"You are not from this village."

The voice became solemn.

Layla did not seem to notice this, giggling happily.

"Of course not! Why are you so silly?"

The corner of Apollo's lip twitched.

"...We are simply wanderers."

The person clearly didn't trust them.

"Wanderers? Out here? Stop trying to fool me, monsters! I am not so naive."

Layla pouted.

"Ehh? What is a monster?"

Apollo facepalmed.

"We aren't monsters..."

The person scoffed.

"What else could you possibly be? For what reason would a person come to these lands?"

Apollo had a sudden realization.

He smirked.

"Didn't your village hire someone to kill the shadow monkeys? We are those people."

The voice went silent.

The person cleared their throat.

"...Very well."

The first set of gates opened.

Layla skipped inside, then turned to Apollo.

"Wow, you convinced him to be our friend so easily!"

Apollo's eyelid twitched.

"I guess?"

Once they were inside, the first gate closed. Just a few seconds later, the second gate opened.

It parted to reveal an emaciated man.

His hair was black, but it was a dull black. One could even mistake it for grey hair. On top of that, he had grown out a messy beard that made him look primitive.

However, the most notable thing about him was the fact he only had one arm.

The man spoke.

"How is the progress with the monkey extermination?"

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"We've already dealt with quite a few, but there are way too many of them."

The man nodded.

"Yes... it really is too much. That was why we gave our most precious heirloom for this request."

Apollo raised an eyebrow.

"Your heirloom consists of food pellets?"

The man furrowed his brows.

"What? No."

Apollo's eyebrow twitched. He realized something.

The Shadows obviously wouldn't be so generous to give the entire reward they were provided.

Even though he was performing the job, he only got the leftovers. The association was the true earner here.

Apollo cleared his throat. He changed the subject.

"Anyways, my name is Apollo. What is yours?"

The man sighed.

"Galileo."

Galileo turned to Layla.

"And what is your name?"

Layla was staring off into the village, filled with curiosity. Once she heard Galileo's remark, she snapped out of her stupor.

"Oh, my name is Layla, friend!"

Galileo nodded.

"Alright. Is there anything you need?"

Layla hopped over.

"Friends! Oh, and show all the cool things here too!"

Galileo shrugged his shoulders.

...Wait.

He was missing an arm, so... I guess he shrugged his shoulder?

"I do not mind showing you around the village. Come."

Galileo turned around. He walked forward with slow and steady steps.

Layla hopped around while Apollo matched Galileo's pace.

Apollo took a deep breath.

"...So, why did you want all these shadow monkeys dead?"

Galileo sighed.

"These monkeys... take from us."

He stopped next to a penumbra tree.

Galileo stroked the bark with his remaining hand.

"We depend on valiant scavengers to live. They brave the wild to bring us our needed fruit of light."

His head slowly lowered to the ground.

"But... These monkeys keep taking from us. Because of them, the scavengers could hardly get enough."

Apollo raised an eyebrow.

"How many fruits of light do you need?"

Galileo rubbed his chin with the knuckle of his forefinger.

"Well... Each fruit of light can feed someone for three days. That is why we split them up into three pieces, letting each member get one."

Apollo looked up to the penumbra tree next to him.

"But don't you have these trees here? Surely the monkeys don't steal from these..."

Galileo sighed once more.

"It is simply not enough. Our village has quite a few trees, but the fruit of light simply takes too long to grow."

Apollo nodded silently.

The houses of this village had only one floor. They were made from black wood and held together by twine. The houses were sloppily made. This was clear from the countless gaping holes that could be seen from the outside.

There were few people walking down the streets. Those that were, did so aimlessly.

Galileo was not surprised by this fact.

He led the group to the barracks, where the scavengers lived.

The barracks were roughly the same size as the house but were clearly more polished.

Not only were they clean, but they were made with care. The snow that fell on the roofs would not be able to pass through. This held true for rain as well.

Galileo gestured towards the barracks proudly.

"This is where the hope of our city lives. The scavengers."

Layla gasped.

"Wow, they must be so cool!"

Galileo smirked proudly.

"Why of cour-"

"I SAID TO GIVE ME THE FRUIT OF LIGHT."