V3 Chapter 77

“How about Rain, Elder Sister? Is he okay?”

Lafetti was about to go out but still couldn’t help but turn around and ask. She looks at Zarda with an anxious expression.

“Yes,” Zarda nodded. She slithered toward her. She look at her with a faint smile, and stroked her shoulders; “He’s fine…at least for now. Does he seek for trouble, or trouble seeks for him? I really don’t understand him anymore.”

“Tell me about it,” Lafetti giggled.

Zarda smirked, “…anyway, the issue now is something else…”

Humans, huh… just who are they?

Her expression turned sour, and doubt flashed in her eyes.

Are they with that human princess…?

And if they are… isn’t this too much of a coincidence?

Are they scheming something…?

“Something, what? What is it?” Lafetti as she looks at Zarda strangely for her sudden silence.

“Nothing… just prepare, for now, Lafetti. We’ll depart as soon as possible. We need to catch up with Rain… I fear something might happen to him,” she said with a solemn expression.

Sarete look at them and said, “You know Rain’s not that weak anymore, Zarda. If you ask me, I think he might even defeat the entire Tribe alone before we arrive,”

Threia giggled, finding amusement in her words. Though, deep within her, she felt as if what Sarete said had a point. If it's Rain, there's indeed a chance he might be able to do it. Only, it might not be, of course, defeating all of the Minotaur’s could not possibly be true.

No matter how strong he had become. Not to mention, with the Minotaur King inside the Lair, that would be impossible.

Nevertheless, causing Minotaur Lair, great trouble and easily coming out of it alive…well, that’s another matter. With Rain’s ability, she doubted anyone in the Desolate Cave could easily hold him…much less, kill him. Only, this situation could grow into something even more troublesome. This might even start a war between them and the Minotaurs.

She’s worried about that. But, she can’t even blame Rain for this… she doubts anyone would. Scold him. Yes. But, blame him? No.

She might need to prepare something.

Threia turned her attention back to the three Lamians who were still talking and said, “Anyway, I had to agree with Sarete. He’ll be fine… we’re talking about him. He’s not a little child anymore. And I believe you know that more than anyone else here… even if he razed the Minotaur Lair to ashes, he can just walk it out with a smile on his face.”

“With his current ability, there are only a few monsters in the Desolate Cave that could threaten his life. Even Drova and Stagna said that his strength can already give them a difficult fight. That just shows how strong he is now.”

“Strong as he may be, the Desolate Cave is not some ordinary Monster Nest, and you know that. There are plenty of monsters that are still above him in power. Letting him roam around alone, is too dangerous.”

“Well, perhaps there are indeed many monsters that could defeat him here, but that’s only if he stands and fights to the death. Rain’s speed and escaping ability cannot be underestimated. If he wanted to run away, no one can stop him…unless it’s on the level of a Monster King of course.”

Sarete nodded her head.

“However, you also know that he is not stupid…in fact, he has one of the brightest minds I have ever known. Rain would not act foolishly and kill himself. He knows when to fight or run…and, well, he might like to dive into danger, but every time, he always returned to us, didn’t he? So you should relax,”

“Indeed. Rain is a little monster. His power growth was unprecedented. Something that is not even possible. Perhaps, he can even be said to be a monster and among monsters.”

“…that’s mean!”

Lafetti growled at Threia after calling Rain a monster. However, Threia was not bothered and smiled playfully.

“Just a joke…half of it… Anyway, what I’m telling you is that you should not be worried about Rain. What you’re worried is about what’s coming…”

“Threia. Are you blaming Rain?” Zarda stared sharply at Threia.

“No, I wasn’t.”

“You sound like you did.”

“Zarda,”

Zarda’s expression turned serious, and she stared at her sisters with a strong, determined gaze.

“His fault or not. It doesn’t matter. We can’t let anything happen to him…and you know that. Whatever the consequences are, only him alone cannot be hurt.”

“... …”

Sarete and Threia both let out a sigh. They shared the same feelings. Though Sarete felt it for personal reasons since she likes him, Threia was more thinking of the future of the Tribe that was related to his safety.

It's not like she's not thinking about him as everyone else does. She's quite fond of the boy as well and sees him as her beloved little brother…cute, adorable, dangerous, and a little bit reckless. But that makes him even more endearing for her. Still, emotion aside, it’s more for the sake of the Village and her Clan.

In any case, protecting him because he carries the future of the Tribe, as well as protecting him because he is Rain, has no conflict. So, protecting him no matter the consequences is true.

“The survival of our tribe depends on him…”

“...I don’t think that’s all, though,”

Sarete grinned at her, seemingly hinting at something. Zarda rolled her eyes, but her lips curved upwards.

“Don’t tease me, Sarete. I know that Rain is important to us, to me…very important. However, as you say, in moments like this, the well-being of the Clan is prioritized. As the Chief of the Tribe, I need to place the village first. Well, not like there’s any difference…as either case, Rain is truly too important for us to lose him- he’s someone we cannot afford to lose at any circumstances,” she said, her hand grasping her chest.

For the village, Rain’s importance is indeed big. However, to her heart, he’s much bigger. She turned towards Lafetti, and look at her. She was envious. She can openly and without concern worry about him. Something she cannot do. No matter what happens, the future and well-being of the tribe are still above anything.

She cannot act like Lafetti who doesn’t care for anything and could easily direct her worry at him without any fear. Zarda has responsibilities to bear. If she didn’t, then, she would have been like her, flying towards wherever Rain was now. She looks at the blue sky with a helpless smile.

But I’m more fortunate than anyone… since the future of the tribe is connected to the man she loves. So, there’s barely any conflict between her responsibility and love.

Taking care of Rain is already like taking care of the tribe as well. It’s really hard to believe that something like that could happen. However, that’s only why he is truly a unique existence of this world.

A being that stands above others.

An existence that gives hope.

That is Rain Revert.

That is the man she loves most in this world.

“…and you know this is inevitable, Threia. With what had happened in the past, I say, it’s just happened quicker than what we expected. That ‘idiot’ had been trying to start a war, for a while now, sending those bastards to make a mess right in front of our doorstep, with clear intentions. The only mistake we had, is that we had not even thought that Rain would be the one to light the fire… we had expected it to be, ‘someone’ else, who’s going impatient recently.”

“I know that,”

“Yes, you do… Anyway… I say it’s enough. We honored the agreement of the council, so we keep our silence. But he keeps on provoking us… and I believe, it’s time to take a stand.”

Threia shrugged and nodded her head. “Mm, yeah… I’m on the same page. And I’m not trying to blame our boy, Zarda. Never did. And standing up against the Minotaurs, beyond all odds, for the sake of doing what he believed is good… I’m proud of it. I won’t chastise him for what he was trying to do, and no matter what it is, I am prepared to shoulder the responsibility with him. But all I’m trying to say is that… this situation could put us into a more, problematic issue. And I believe we should prepare for what is to come.”

“Just what are you trying to say, Threia?” Lafetti glared at Threia, not liking the tone of her words.

Threia remained unbothered. “I know you’re all prepared to fight…but, I hope that you go there, not to make a mess of everything… but only to grab Rain and return here, as fast as you could. That’s all.”

“… …”

“Just a small group needs to go to pick him up. Leave most of the girls to prepare here, if needed. We have a lot of things to do… Sarete, Milana, Samia…others would be here so that if things went south, we are prepared.”

“And do you think that the Minotaurs would let him leave? Us?” Zarda asked with a frown on her face.

“Just like you said, Zarda… the Minotaurs are indeed intending to start a war with us. I don’t have a problem with that. But… we can’t take a bite on this. Really. You know the Council would not keep their silence.”

“… …”

“We can’t avoid the battle…it’ll be hard to avoid it. Judging from the Minotaur King’s personality, I doubt he would just take this quietly. But we can’t start a war in the South. And you know that. If a battle occurs, it would need to be in our turf… in our territory.”

“I hate to admit this, but she has a point, Chief.”

Sarete who was listening quietly in her seat couldn’t help but say.

“No matter how the situation develops… we can’t indeed start a wildfire in the South, where everything would be against us. There’s still the Fishmen to worry about. And the Wormen. Fighting them all at the same time would be stupid. And the Council would surely put this on our heads. So I say, we do this fast and quickly… get Rain out of there, and leave. Avoid any battles, or worst, the war, if possible.”

“That sounds easier than doing it. The moment we arrived there, the war has already started. The Minotaurs would surely not leave us that easily.”

“And that’s why we need to reach him first before he gets there. Rain is alone. And he doesn’t know the Desolate Cave as much we do…not to mention the Southern Region he had not even visited once. I doubt he can even reach the Minotaur’s Lair before we do. That’s why, don’t do anything, start any fight, just pick him up…and no matter what he said, tie him up and drag him back.”

“And what if he does…?”

“Lafetti-”

“Yeah, I know. Rain doesn’t know much about the Southern Region, as much as we do… but, this is Rain we are talking about. As long as he wanted it, I doubt getting a little lost would stop him. I would not even be surprised if he’s already there as we speak,”

“… …”

Lafetti mentioned it with a bit of playful teasing. Just a little bit of a joke on her part. But for some reason, Threia and the others started to frown and could not find any words to say about it or refute her. And as they started to think about it, it started to feel possible.

Just like what Zarda said before- either Rain is good in looking at trouble, or Trouble always finds him, one way or another- he always arrived right at where the trouble is.

“Oh my God…” Threia let out a sigh.

“Hahahahaha, I think that’s, hahaha possible, hahahaha,” Sarete started laughing crazily, feeling that what Lafetti is true. “It seems like this war can’t be avoided.”

Zarda didn’t say anything, but her lips curled into an amused smile. The situation is serious. But, somehow, she just can’t help but find those words funny.

Threia rubbed her temple for a moment before letting out a helpless smile, “Whatever the case is, just bring him back…no, fine… on a second thought, I’ll be coming with you.”

“That’s out of the question.” Zarda turned at Threia and shook her head.

“And why is that out of the question…?” Threia frowned. “You can go there, but I can’t? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“It’s not necessary.”

“Oh, it does. I need to stop any war from happening…mind you if I could. And going there myself, and personally dealing with this, is much more reliable.”

“Nah, I’ll get that. Just as you said, if things went awry, we need to prepare for war. So I need you to stay here and possibly prepare for the worst. The Village needs someone to manage it in my place…especially, the winter season is already on the horizon. There’s still a lot of things to do.”

“Well, even if you say that there’s barely anything to do in terms of managing the village and preparing for the Winter Season. Rain is currently doing it as we speak,” Threia said with a wry smile on her face.

“Even without him here in person, he was still doing the preparations himself. The warehouse is filled with food, so there’s no worry of starving even without hunting. There are thick clothes for everyone as well so the cold would not bother us anymore. Even shelters that could protect us from rain and cold had been built as we speak. This time, we would not need to gather and hole up in the mines… we can still live here even in the Winter Cold. And the security has also been improved. With the Tolants patrolling around and is ready to be deployed at any moment, there’s no danger to the safety of the village.”

“... …”

“Unlike a few months ago, the village is developing as we speak, going into a brighter future.” Threia looked at Zarda with a gentle look in her eyes.

“And all of this is because of one person, I know…and that’s why I can understand how important Rain is to us. Though we won’t say it directly, deep in our hearts, he is like a God for us. That’s why we can’t afford to lose him…or even start a war, that might cause that to happen,”

“I won’t let that happen.”

Zarda replied with a grim determination. There was no hesitation in her face.

“That’s why we need to go as fast as we could… I’ll leave the village to you,”

Threia look at her before letting out a sigh. She knew that look on the Medusa's face. An expression that says she would never back down. She shook her head and surrendered, “Hm…fine, let’s go your way. Just bring him back as soon as possible. And if you need to, tie him before he can do anything reckless again,”

“Leave that to me,”

… …