The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo continued to think with his head tilted down slightly and two fingers rubbing against his chin. He completely ignored the clamor underneath him of people exclaiming in shock and calling him an angel.

Instead, Apollo was more interested in this sudden understanding he came across. His eyes started to drift upwards, looking up into the bright blue sky.

Then, simply out of curiosity, he tried something.

Apollo began to rapidly gather lightning, making his body glow like a lightning bolt. This sight made the people below gasp in astonishment once more.

"W-What is the angel doing?"

"Is the angel mad?"

"The angel must be punishing us!"

Eden herself began to cower slightly, ashamed that she didn't hold a stronger stance in protecting Apollo. However, Apollo himself didn't really care about all the commotion.

Instead, he raised his hand to the sky while his bokken pointed downwards.

Then, his figure flashed.

Suddenly, Apollo appeared nearly fifty meters higher in the air. Although he had flown fast before, it was still at a speed that could be more or less followed. However, this time, it was so fast that many people could misconstrue it for teleportation.

Apollo had his bokken pointed upwards, while his hand was downwards. Although it was hard to see, he brought his hand down and his bokken up.

Apollo was happy that he figured out a new technique, but found himself in a small pickle. The lightning around his body had completely disappeared, save for a single arc of lightning that discharged off his body.

From there, Apollo began falling as he relied on his lightning related power to fly.

However, he didn't seem all that concerned. Apollo even took a look downwards as he began plummeting to the ground and went back to thinking about his ability to fly.

Eden noticed he began falling, then hurriedly held out her hands to catch Apollo.

A loud thump filled the air along with a feminine groan of pain.

Eden caught Apollo, but was surprised by the amount of force she experienced by catching him. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have tried to force herself. However, this was for an 'angel' and there was also the shame she felt from not defending Apollo earlier.

The result was heavily straining her arms and collapsing to her knees.

Eden grimaced, but forcefully pulled that expression back.

"A-Apollo!"

Hearing this, Apollo turned to Eden casually, as though he just noticed she was there.

"Oh, hi Eden!"

Although Apollo was as friendly as can be, to Eden it was something completely different. Her arms were trembling both because of her emotions and the overexertion. She hung her head low in shame.

"Sorry for being so silent."

Apollo raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by what she meant.

"If you don't like being silent, then be louder."

Eden nodded hastily. A rather large crowd had formed. The clamor had been about the fact an angel had descended, but it got much quieter after Apollo's comment.

The various townsfolk began to whisper to one another.

"Did we make the angel angry?"

"Of course we made the angel angry, we said he was a fake!"

"T-The angel won't punish us, right?"

From that crowd, Bernard awkwardly walked up. It was as though he was a kid that did something wrong and wanted to apologize to his parents, which was a strange look for a middle-aged man.

Bernard cleared his throat.

"Sorry for doubting you earlier, angel. I am willing to receive punishment for my arrogance."

Apollo looked over at him, still not really understanding what anyone was really talking about.

"Um, it's ok! Sometimes people are dumb and it's ok! But it's better that dumb people don't exist."

Bernard bowed with his hands clasped in the prayer position.

"Understood, angel."

Apollo looked around.

"Who is angel?"

A few confused and nervous expressions formed on people's faces. Before they misinterpreted it as a sarcastic jab, Eden spoke up.

"From where Apollo is from, they aren't called angels! It is simply a term that we humans created. Please just call him Apollo."

The other people quickly came to accept this.

"Sorry, ang- er, Apollo!"

"Apologies, Apollo!"

"Thank you, merciful Apollo!"

Although everyone seemed to be very excited, Apollo was getting a little annoyed. He was trying to think about something, but couldn't focus because of the people around him.

"Can you be quieter, please?"

The crowd apologized and backed off, but many remained from a distance, still watching. Eden looked down at Apollo, still a little taken aback by the situation.

"D-Do you want me to leave too?"

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"I don't care. If you want to leave, then leave."

Eden held Apollo a bit closer.

"I won't leave! If you don't want me to, that is."

At that moment Bernard walked a bit closer. He didn't back off while the rest of the crowd did and was a bit nervous because of that. He spoke quietly.

"Eden, did Apollo really fall from the sky."

Eden nodded.

"Yes, he came through my roof."

Bernard fumbled around with his hands.

"This... are we supposed to report it to the council?"

Eden gasped.

"Ah!"

She furrowed her brows.

"But this isn't a blessing, but an angel!"

Bernard shook his head.

"Although they say they require all foreign blessings, I'm sure they mean anything that falls from the sky that isn't conventional."

Eden's lip twitched.

"But Apollo wishes to see the city. I believe the word of an angel should be fulfilled first."

Bernard frowned slightly.

"I see, but we can also do both at the same time."

He turned towards Apollo.

"Ang- Apollo! Would you like to meet the managers of the city as part of your journey?"

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"I guess so."

Bernard bowed.

"Alright, I will lead the way."

Eden held Apollo a little closer and didn't move immediately, almost like she didn't want to give him up. This prompted Apollo to look at her curiously.

"Why are you standing still?"

Eden jumped slightly.

"Ah, right!"