n

n

nI waited for a while as I watched Nathan pillage all the valuables of his dead comrades. He did it so skillfully that I'd believe it if someone told me he did this often.

nAfter some time, he finally finished.

n

"All that's left is to bury them. Sir Rio... May I?

" He asked me.

nSo it's now he's just thinking of burying them? This guy...

n

"Sure

" I forced a smile.

nI'd feel bad for this guy's comrades If I was human, but fortunately I'm not. I'm pretty sure he's burying them mostly to hide the evidence of his pillaging. Even if he might have had some sort of friendship with them, it definitely wasn't very deep.

nThen there's Marie, his lover. It will definitely be interesting to see how those two end up.

nIt didn't take him very long, with his greatsword he was able to quickly dig the large hole he needed to bury them.

nAfter dumping their bodies in the hole and covering it back with dirt, he heaved a heavy sigh and glanced at their grave with a sense of nostalgia and a sad smile.

n

"See you on the other side, comrades

" He muttered.

nI don't get this guy.

n

"I'm all done sir. I'm so sorry for delaying and inconveniencing you

" He said to me with a tired smile.

n

"It's alright

" I replied, returning his smile with mine.

nI carried Marie, since Nathan seemed pretty exhausted and we walked toward where we camped. It took us nearly an hour to finally see the pathway and I pointed out where the others camped at to him.

nAs we got closer, from thier distance Ana and Talia spotted me.

n

"Hexa-

" Talia almost blurted out.

nI shot her a glare and immediately she noticed I was with company.

n

"O-Oh...

" She suddenly realised her error.

nShe nearly made the mistake of revealing my real name to Nathan. Fortunately I stopped her midway.

n

"Rio... You're back!

" Ana quickly said.

nI smiled. Smart girl.

nWe got closer until we were finally in their company. Shamac and the Coachman were fast asleep, with the latter snoring in an irritating manner. How did the girls put up with this?

n

"I'm back

" I smiled to them.

n

"Um...

" Nathan didn't know what to say as he felt awkward around my servants, though I didn't reveal their identity to him.

nTo make matters worse, the girls totally ignored his presence and focused solely on me.

n

"R-Rio, who's this that you're carrying?

" Talia quickly asked, loomking at Marie, but still not used to my new alias.

n

"Well, she's actually my...

" Nathan tried to get into the conversation.

n

"Why don't you wake everyone else up? It's quite a bit of a story so it's best if I tell everyone

" I told the girls, cutting him off.

nHe gave up after that.

nAfter Talia and Ana woke Shamac and the Coachman up, I briefly explained the incident that occured in the forest. Of course, I edited some details, like me watching as the Adventurers got brutally slaughtered.

n

"Kyaaa! Lord... I mean Rio is such a noble man. You're truly the best!

" Ana said with an excited smile filled with reverence and awe.

n

"Y-Yeah... That was a very good thing you did sir. I'm surprised. I didn't know you were so strong

" The coachman said with a nervous smile.

nTalia and Shamac looked at each other with surprise. The fact that I did a good deed, the fact that my story painted me to be some sort of hero... Of course they didn't buy it.

n

"Wowwww. That's so amazing.

"

n

"Exactly. It's a good thing you got there right in the nick of time

"

nShamac and Talia said sarcastically. They must have figured out I was telling a false story. No matter, what matters is that I've introduced them to the ones I saved.

n

"In any case, they'll be traveling with us to Lamar. Since we'll be traveling together, let's get along.

" I told everyone.

nThey all nodded in agreement. I smiled, turning to Nathan and nodded.

n

"Welcome to the crew Nathan. It'll be a short journey since we're close to the city already, but... I hope you'll be happy to join us

" Ana said to him.

n

"Yeah. A friend of Rio is a friend of ours. You're welcome

" Talia added.

n

"Yeah bro. You're lucky to be alive. Heh...

" Shamac let out a light chuckle, but after the glare from both girls, he stopped laughing and gave an apologetic look for being insensitive.

n

"T-Thank you for having me... I mean us

" Nathan said with an awkward laugh and looked at Marie who was still unconscious.

nHe let out a bright smile at Talia and Ana as he blushed.

nDon't tell me... This pervert. He's already smitten by Ana and Talia. I know they're both attractive by human standards. But for him to be so attracted to them, and have no qualms about showing it so openly... Not only is he irresponsible and a jerk, but he's also unfaithful? Oh well, not my problem.

n

"Well then, we should start heading to the city. It'll be better to get there while the sun is still out

" The coachman said.

nI nodded in agreement.

nBefore long we packed up and were soon on our way to the city. Since the carriage had limited seat spaces, I told Shamac to seat with the coachman, allowing Nathan to replace him. He didn't like it, but it's not like he has any choice in the matter.

nMarie was placed at the back of the carriage, wrapped in a comfortable duvet.

n

"She'll be fine

" I told Nathan when we placed her there.

n

"So, Nathan. If you don't mind... Tell me everything you know about Lamar... And the adventuring system there

" I said.

nNathan, who was distracted by the beauties he was seeing for the first time, quickly stirred himself at my words and faced me.

n

"Y-Yeah. No problem with that

" He said, feeling embarrassed that I might have caught him drooling on my 'comrades'.

n

"But why do you ask? Is it that sir Rio wants to be an Adventurer?

" He added.

n

"Yes. Before leaving Artia, I desired the thrill of adventure and so I decided to venture to Lamar to obtain it. As you can tell, I am not one of a normal background. But, I was willing to leave my privileged background to become an Adventurer. That's how much it means to me.

" I responded.

n

"Wow, how incredible

" Nathan responded, moved by my words.

n

"Unfortunately, my knowledge of Lamar and it's system is limited. Plus, I lack the experience you possess. So, if you don't mind...

" I said.

n

"Oh, no no... Not at all. I'll tell you everything I know. After all, I have a big debt to repay for you saving our lives.

" He said with a determined look.

nWhat an idiot. As if just telling me a few scraps of information is enough to even scratch the surface of what he owes me.

nI could easily use Memory Drain on him and have only his lover survive the entire experience, after all I need only one of them. But since that will be too much of a bother, I have decided to just let him run his mouthnand tell me what he knows willingly.

nIf I'm dissatisfied with what he says, I always have that option.

nFortunately, since I have the appearance of a 19 year old person, I look young. With this, he'll be able to let his guard down and divulge whatever he knows.

nIt has been nearly three weeks since my revival, yet it feels longer than that somewhat. Unlike Artia, I plan on spending longer in this city. Of course I already have plenty information on Lamar, but that is all surface and official knowledge. The information I require currently is one only an adventurer can provide.

nAs we draw closer to the city, my plans get closer to fruition..... And the world gets closer to it's destruction.

n