NOVPUBTheo and the knight moved inside the forest and travelled further.
He only knew the way to the clearing they had been in, but other than that, he was fully dependent on the knight.
The knight, on the other hand, was wearing a set of shining silver armor.
It was nothing compared to the ones that the normal knights and guards wore; there were curves around vital areas, and even the thickness and sturdiness of the armor seemed good.
After a minute of walking, Theo finally let his curiosity come out, "Have you been observing us this whole time, Sir Knight?" Theo asked politely, yet the man only looked forward with a sleepy face.
Only after an unusual pause of a second or two did he speak back to Theo: "Ever since you started completing the missions, I have been observing you and giving reports back to your father." 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
Theo felt weird that he told him the last part, but it was okay. He already knew someone was observing him from afar; his father had already told him about it.
There was another pause when Theo felt like they should be hurrying right now. He tried increasing his speed so as to hint to the knight that they had to be fast.
But the knight kept walking at the same pace, making Theo move ahead on his own. He didn't even ask Theo to get back to him for safety.
Another few minutes passed, and Theo finally stopped. He did not know the way forward after this.
The knight just strolled forward and kept moving ahead without saying anything. The expressions on his face only told Theo that the knight just wanted to lie down and sleep.
Looking at his yawn every few seconds, Theo wouldn't even be surprised if he slept on the dirty ground if need be.
"Can we move faster, please? I don't know what situation my beast is in, and I really would like to move faster, Sir Knight."
After another pause, the knight spoke out, "… You don't need to worry… it is alright."
"Okay…" Theo wasn't too sure about it, but he still went on at the same pace.
After around five minutes later, they were in the same clearing again. The corpses of boars were all around it, making Theo think about all the ways they had defeated them.
"… Your beast fights good, young master." The knight, for the first time since entering the forest, spoke without getting spoken to.
"It has been training for a while now, Sir Knight. I am proud of its development till now." Theo said with a mild smile. There was even a bit of pride in his tone.
"Hm… an insect no greater than the palm of a human hand, defeating beasts triple or more than its size. It sure is interesting, young master." He spoke again, making Theo look at him.
He had started speaking a lot more now.
"I was lucky to find it, Sir Knight."
Another slight pause later, the knight spoke again, surprising Theo further, "If insects really are this strong… why hasn't anyone started taming them? This question has been irking me for a while."
The sleepiness on the man's face was still at the same level, but Theo could see beyond that now. Something told him that if he was not that interested, he wouldn't even bother to ask.
For some reason, Theo felt proud thinking that.
"Insects have been at the bottom for too long. They have been overlooked by almost every being in this world. The Benevolent Artifact has been kind to insects, too, but their size makes them unable to compete with others." Theo spoke and looked at the knight, who was unresponsive. He didn't even know if he was hearing him or not.
"But I have been seeing their potential for a while now, Sir Knight. And truth be told, my affinity is the most compatible with insects. Insects have a high potential, you see."
The knight side-eyed him for a second before they started walking silently again. After a few more minutes, Theo was in the part of the forest that was literally all new to him.
"Why did it travel so far?" Theo said to himself in annoyance.
"… To search for prey," the knight stated and went silent again, making Theo surprised. Having heard something like that for his small mantis in a territory of boar made him smirk confidently.
It made him wonder something—if the knight was with them for so long without even making them realize, then he knew how the mantis fought just as much as Clara.
"We will be there in another minute, young master. Be ready." He stated, and Theo saw a very small smile on his face. That smile felt foreign on that sleepy and bored face.
Just a minute later, Theo walked into the tall grass as usual, when suddenly, the knight moved a hand near him, wanting him to halt. He made the same gesture as when Clara always wanted him to stop.
Suddenly, Knight Geller took out his sword from the scabbard, making Theo see just a shiny and beautiful sword for the first time.
It felt so sharp just by looking at it, Theo couldn't even dare to think what would happen if even tapped on the blade.
Before Theo could even ask what he was going to do with a sword, and if enemies were near—
But the knight just swung his sword horizontally toward the tall grass, and it was already over.
Theo was weirded out. Did he just move his sword in the air? For no reason?
But then suddenly, a very satisfying sound of every strand of grass falling to the ground came to Theo, making his jaw drop.
For as far as the next tree went—and it was FAR—every strand of grass was on the ground now.
Theo froze completely. The knight just slashed slowly, and everything in the front had become a small clearing.
"This… h-how?"
It was the first time Theo had witnessed something like this, and it had made him rethink everything he knew of this world.
"Was that an ability, Sir Knight? Do humans also get abilities??" Theo moved toward the knight and asked with curious eyes.
The knight stepped a little back with an annoyed face. Yet Theo didn't care—for him, this kind of ability was like magic done by a human.
"… It's not an ability… just a technique…" The man said and pointed toward the front.
"You need to assess your surroundings before… being this lost in conversation…" he said with a frown, making Theo come out of his trance.
He looked in the front at all the cut grass with confusion before he started seeing something odd.
"Those bumps…"
"They are the boars your beast killed, and it's around here near one of them."
"How do you know that?"
The knight was surprising Theo one after another—first, he just slashed and cut a small part of the forest, and then he could now locate the mantis too?
"… Its aura is *Yawn* all around this place. I can smell it." The knight said while yawning.
Theo looked around too. He tried smelling the air too, but nothing seemed to come to him.
'Mantis, come back,' Theo gave a mental command and looked all around for anything to move.
He saw many parts of the grass rustle and move, but it was all due to the winds. Nothing about the place told him that the mantis was here.
But a minute of waiting, Theo finally saw something moving toward him, yet it was very small.
For some reason, Theo didn't seem to think it was the mantis, as it didn't have the habit to move without its camouflage.
But soon, when it came closer, Theo could finally see the mantis properly.
He crouched down and placed his hand forward for the mantis to climb onto it.
The mantis came forward with the same slow speed, which made Theo feel that something was wrong.
The mantis seemed to hesitate for a moment. Its antennae were twitching while it looked at Theo's outstretched hand.
Then, with a slow movement, it stepped into his palm.
The mantis's weight felt heavier, but the faint tremble in its limbs told Theo everything. It was the first time he had seen the mantis in such a bad state.
All the moss on its body was completely gone as if it had already eaten everything on it. It made Theo understand more than anyone who would look at the mantis.
"You're exhausted," Theo murmured, his brows furrowing.
The mantis's usually vibrant green exoskeleton was dulled, covered with dirt and dried fluids—its own blood or something else.
One of its forelegs was bent at an odd angle, which irked Theo the most, though it didn't seem to hinder its movement too much. It was still licking its forelegs the same way.
The knight, who had been silent until now, let out another yawn before speaking. "… It fought well. Seven boars. Not bad for something so small."
