Walking out on the street, Kenneth wondered what Kovoto had planned and how he was going to procure the… second ingredient.

  However, the more he thought about it, the more Kenneth realized he didn’t really want or truly needed to know any details, just as long as it would work.

  ‘What should I do now?’ Kenneth wondered as he looked up at the sky, noticing the sun starting to hang a bit lower. ‘The party is tonight, and they're probably preparing in the great hall right now.’

  ‘I suppose it wouldn’t be in bad taste to just show up since I do need to talk to Solk about the swords, and I should probably tell Hali about the grill and see if he’d gotten a bit better.’

  His decision was made, and Kenneth started to walk toward the great hall when, out of nowhere, he felt something latch itself onto his leg.

  Slightly startled and a bit confused, Kenneth looked down to see a pouty-looking Kolu.

  “Kolu, why are you hanging on my leg?” Kenneth asked, bending over to get a better look at him.

  “They say….” Kolu mumbled, adverting his gaze.

  “Who says what?” Kenneth asked.

  “They say I’m a liar,” Kolu said, looking like he was about to cry.

  “Why does someone call you a liar?” Kenneth asked as his back started to hurt a little.

  “They say arrowdikanicks isn’t real, and nothing can fly,” Kolu pouted as he clung to Kenneth’s leg more tightly.

  “You mean aerodynamics,” Kenneth said, noticing the people around him starting to stare. More than they usually did. “Well, it is real.”

  “I know you showed me, but… they say nothing like that is real, and I’m lying,” Kolu said, starting to get teary.

  “Hey, hey,” Kenneth said in a calm and kind voice. “There’s no need to cry. You are telling the truth; just because the others don’t believe you doesn’t mean you should feel bad.”

  “But they keep calling me a liar,” Kolu sniffled a single drop of snot running from his black nose.

  “Well, then, would you like it if I showed them a bit of proof?” Kenneth asked before wiping away the snot.

  Kolu nodded excitedly and slowly let go of Kenneth’s leg before showing him the way.

  Kenneth followed along, still noticing a lot more staring than usual.

  ‘Why don’t you all take a picture? It’ll last longer,’ Kenneth thought, slightly annoyed.

  Kolu walked for some time, turning left, right, and around almost randomly, and as far as Kenneth could see, he probably didn’t know his way around the outpost at all.

  “Do you know where they are?” Kenneth asked.

  Kolu seemed a bit startled by the sudden question, but after a bit of nervous tittering, he answered. “Near the big open area where the men fight.”

  “Oh, you mean the sparring area,” Kenneth uttered. “That’s the other way.”

  “Yes, that,” Kolu exclaimed.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Do you want me to guide us?” Kenneth asked.

  Kolu looked around for a bit, turning his head as if he was trying to remember on his own where he needed to go. However, after a bit, he seemed to give up and nodded affirmatively to Kenneth.

  “Well, then, it’s this way,” Kenneth said, turning around and leading the way.

  It did take a bit of time, and all the way there, Kenneth did occasionally notice Kolu looking a bit nervous, but eventually, they reached the sparring area.

  Like before, there was still a large group of people watching someone fight, but Kolu quickly pointed to a group of younger and smaller Aki on the roof of a house.

  “Are those the ones who called you a liar?” Kenneth asked.

  Kolu nodded, seeming a bit angry but also nervous.

  “Okay, let's show them a bit of aerodynamics then, shall we,” Kenneth said before pulling out some pieces of paper and making a few of them into paper planes.

  And so, with a bit of time spent aiming and making sure to be a little closer, Kenneth threw the plane toward the group of Aki, where it landed right in front of them.

  The one closest to it yelped in surprise and jumped away, and Kolu couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

  The small group of Aki looked at the paper plane, and one cautiously approached it.

  Glancing to his side, Kenneth noticed how excited Kolu now seemed as he mimicked Kenneth’s throwing motion, and with a slight chuckle, Kenneth asked, “You wanna throw the next?”

  Kolu looked at him with big, excited puppy-dog eyes, which quickly faded away. “But it’s too high.”

  “Perhaps I can help with that,” Kenneth said as he got down on one knee. “Just jump on.”

  Kolu hesitated for a moment, but it didn’t last for long as he excitingly jumped on Kenneth’s back and, held onto Kenneth’s head, and positioned himself until he was sitting on his shoulders.

  “So high,” Kolu happily muttered, having suddenly grown two and a half times his size. He looked around as if the world he saw was suddenly completely new to him.

  Kenneth handed him a paper plane just as the Aki picked up the one Kenneth had thrown. “Let’s make believers out of them.”

  “With a big smile,” Kolu drew back his hand and threw the paper plane. It darted from side to side and nosedived just before it made it to the top of the building.

  However, either due to luck or divine intervention, the paper plane suddenly changed course and flew up, hitting one of the Aki in the group.

  Once more startled, all of them started to look in the direction it had come from, only to see Kolu throwing another paper plane.

  All stood slacked-jawed as they watched the paper plane glide in the air, going up and down. Most were so stunned they didn’t even react when the paper plane flew into one of their mouths.

  “ That is arrow-dynamics!” Kolu yelled triumphantly while laughing his ass off.

  “Aerodynamics,” Kenneth corrected, slightly chuckling himself.

  The Aki that had the paper plane in their mouth quickly pulled it out with a disgusted look while the others seemed to laugh at their misfortune.

  However, it wasn’t long before the now pissed-off-looking Aki started to climb down the building, and it was at this point Kenneth thought it might be fun to just run away.

  And before the angry Aki could even get too close, Kenneth and Kolu were gone. Disappeared into thin air like a ghost in the night.

  Or that was just how it looked from the Aki’s perspective. In truth, Kenneth had just run behind a nearby building with the still-laughing Kolu.

  “Did that make you feel better?” Kenneth happily asked.

  “It was so funny,” Kolu responded, still laughing with a happy smile.

  “So, are you excited for the party tonight?” Kenneth asked, walking without a care in the world.

  “Yes, I’m gonna drink so much floor juice,” Kolu excitedly responded.

  “Umm… Kolu, it is actually bad to drink that stuff at your age,” Kenneth responded, still happy but a bit worried.

  “But Father said I could drink as much as I wanted,” Kolu countered.

  “It’s not that you can’t drink it. It’s that you shouldn’t. You see, alcohol is fine if you are old enough, and even in small amounts, it isn’t too harmful, but if you drink a lot, especially at your age, it can cause your body problems later in life,” Kenneth explained.

  “Like what?” Kolu questioned.

  “Well, it can affect your bones and even your internal organs like your hearts,” Kenneth explained.

  “So I shouldn’t drink it at all,” Kolu said disheartened.

  “Well, I’m not saying you can’t have a little. When I was nine or ten, I drank a cup of something similar to floor juice, and I turned out fine,” Kenneth said. “All I am saying is that you shouldn’t drink too much.”

  “Really,” Kolu said, sounding a bit cheerier than before.

  “Yes, and remember to drink some water, too,” Kenneth recommended. “It should dilute it nicely.”

  “I will,” Kolu said cheerfully as he rested his body on Kenneth's head.

  Kenneth walked for a while with Kolu on his shoulders, more or less randomly passing a fair few people who once more stared at Kenneth. Though that time, it was a bit more earned than just existing.