"I can hear you just fine from where you are standing, thank you." Robin replied. "Speak."

"Well, you see-" The man began.

"It seems we meet again." The other man said.

Robin swung her sword sideways to face the second man, who had quietly stepped out of the shadows of the tree. The light of the full moon was more than enough to illuminate his face. Robin's eyes narrowed. It was that prodigal merchant guy! The other one was most likely his cohort from back at the meat stall.

"Once was a coincidence. Twice was an accident. Now that there's a third time, it's definitely no coincidence." Robin said, looking fiercely at the two. "Who are you, and what is your business with me?" her blue eyes seemed to glow in the light of the moon, which was further accentuated by her short-styled black hair.

"Erm, well it's difficult to talk with a sword pointed at us." the merchant's companion said. Robin aimed her sword back at him. "Talk." She said.

"R-right. You may have noticed that sword you're holding onto is a really good sword, right? Well, there's actually something special about that sword-"

"Wait." Robin interrupted. "Just for future reference, Even if I have pulled out this sword, I refuse to become king. If this sword comes with such a responsibility, then I refuse."

"No, the sword which indicates who is king is already in the king's hands, so no problems there." The man replied, quickly, eyes glued to the sword point not far away from him.

"Then, what is it that is special about this particular sword?" Robin asked.

"Well, the thing is, there's only one person in the world right now who can pull that sword out." The man replied.

"...Which..is?" Robin asked slowly, hoping that this conversation wasn't going where she thought it was going.

"The Hero." The Merchant cut into the comversation. "Only the Hero can pull out the Hero's blade. It has always been this way, ever since the dawn of time. The one who can pull out this blade will be the Hero that can save us all."

"...Just for future reference, if the Hero was a girl, would you still call her the Hero?" Robin asked.

"The Hero is the Hero, no matter the gender." The Merchant replied.

"Got it. So, you're saying that...I'm the Hero?" She asked, feeling highly conflicted.

"Yep. As soon as I saw you draw the sword out, and witnessed your beautiful sword form, I realized that you had to be the Hero." The merchant nodded in affirmation. "What I didn't expect was that you would run away so quickly."

"Er, well I'm not the kind of person who would steal things is all." Robin felt a bit embarra.s.sed. She was also secretly pleased at his compliment to her sword form. "I've had quite a few misunderstandings with people who would rather believe I was stealing than anything else."

"Those sound like a rather over-suspicious bunch. I can see why you would act that way, now." The Merchant nodded with understanding.

"I do have one last question, though. Are Heroes here summoned? Or do they simply appear out of nowhere?" Robin asked.

"Hmm? Why do you want to know that?" He asked.

Robin grinned, her eyes turning to crescents as she said. "Well, there's not much I can do if it's a random event. But, if it's a summoning, then I'm gonna punch whichever idiot summoned me here in the face!!" She raised a clenched fist, and one-handedly cracked the knuckles on that hand..

The merchant coughed twice. He decided he was never going to reveal that it was him who had initiated the summoning.

"Well, the records on that are not entirely clear on that. It could be either way, the way I see it. Now, have we answered all your questions to your satisfaction? Or will you keep pointing that sword at us?"

Robin considered things, and lowered the sword to her side. "Since I am the only one who can lift the Hero's sword, then can I consider this to be my own weapon?" She asked.

"Of course you can!" The merchant's companion sighed with relief. He didn't like the feeling of having that sword pointed at him. "The Hero's sword can only become the property of the Hero. This is the second law of the kingdom."

"Hmm? Incidentally, what's the first law?" Robin asked.

"He who pulls out the king's sword becomes king, of course!" the man replied. "Well, they use the fiddle-faddle high court way of saying it, but that's what it means."

"Ah, that reminds me, I heard that the person who pulls out the sword will get the reward of one gold. Is that true?" She asked.

"Of course! We can't have the hero lack for money when it comes down to equipment." the man replied.

"Ahem! Hold up, Keith. Perhaps we should do introductions sometime soon?" The merchant asked. "My name is Christian, and this is my companion, Keith. Might we ask for your name?"

Robin paused for a moment. "Robin." She replied.

"So it is Hero Robin, is it? A good name!" Christian replied. "About the gold coin. That would have been distributed to the person who pulled out the sword out of the stone tomorrow, but, since you've pulled it out already-wait, what are you doing!?" He exclaimed as Robin placed the sword back into the stone in the exact place she pulled it out from. She even nodded satified that she had replaced it.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm putting it back until tomorrow." She replied.

"But, why?" Christian asked.

"Partially because I need the capital, but also partially because there are a lot of people looking forward to tomorrow's event. It would be a shame if everything was over before it even began, after all." Robin said. Then she began walking towards the entrance, waving her hand in farewell.

"Well, good night. I'll be competing fair and square against everyone else in tomorrow's ceremony."

Both watched as she disappeared through the entranceway. Keith suddenly burst out laughing as if he couldn't hold it in anymore, smacking his hand against the trunk in mirth.

Christian pinched the skin between his eyebrows, beginning to feel a headache coming on. "If you already know that you're the only one who can lift it, can this compet.i.tion even be called fair anymore? I was going to say that I can just give you the money right now!"

Keith laughed all the harder. "Hahahahaah! AH, We've got a real ringer this time. Pahahah! That one's a smart one, he is!"

"I don't see what there is to laugh about, KEITH." Christian's voice took on a somewhat more threatening tone as he glared at Keith. "Perhaps you can explain it to me?"

"He doesn't believe us. Haha! He doesn't believe that only he can lift that sword. Therefore, -Puhahah!- He's going to watch as everyone tries to pull out the sword ahead of him! Hee heee heee! Oh, I can't! I just can't breathe anymore! Kahahaahaah! The Hero doesn't believe that he's the Hero!"

Christian's eyes widened with surprise. Then he turned to look at the courtyard entrance. "A Hero that doesn't believe he's a Hero?"

To be sure, the thought had never occured to him. He thought that perhaps, the Hero would be like a great general, comandeering the army, and expelling all the intruding demons and monsters. from the outside. Or perhaps he would be like a Paladin: graceful, strong, protecting everyone like a s.h.i.+eld. He hadn't expected this time's Hero to be so...hesitant.

He looked up at the round full moon. Perhaps, he should observe the Hero for a while? The silence in that courtyard was heavy with thought that night.