Chapter 119: Help you
With Ren’s subordinates on the issue, it was dissolved fast. They managed to cut down every infected and every spider after hours. The town had turned into a bloody scene. It was a shady day for Raven Town after losing half their population in under a day.
Lia sat inside the sitting room of her manor with her fingers interlocked under her chin. Her eyes said it all. Even with the situation fixed, she knew there was no saving Raven Town.
Ren sat across from her, with Luna by his side. Everyone else was outside. He watched her closely and didn’t say anything.
[Side Quest: Aid Raven Town get back on their feet]
The system suddenly rang out with a quest. It gave no details about the rewards that he would gain from this, but the system had always given quite good rewards.
’Why would you want me to suddenly help them? Is there a reason?’
The system went silent.
"Tch, typical you," Ren muttered.
"What was that?" Lia asked.
"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to propose an offer that might help you out here," he said with a smile on his face.
She looked up, stunned for a moment. "Is this another means to gain something from us because you helped us?" she asked.
"Oh, come on, you should not be this jumpy about people. I want to help because I want to. And yes, I want to have an alliance, but I can’t do that if there is no town at all," he explained.
"So what did you have planned?" she asked.
"Well, we will help you rebuild, help you get on your feet, and probably even become better. That being said, you have to handle your people first and ensure that they don’t run off to another town.
I would suggest you properly grieve the dead and bury them all. They might have become monsters, but they were still human at heart," Ren said.
She clutched her fist when she heard that last part, and then she looked at Ren. "Can you help me with one last thing?" she asked.
"Hmm, as long as I can."
"When you find out the person behind this and want to stop them, can you take me along? I deserve to face them." She looked him dead in the eye as she spoke.
’Uhm, two things, I know the person already, and that person would rip your head off and use it as a basketball, but oh well, go off.’
"Sure, I can promise that," Ren replied.
"Thank you. You saved my town, and now you are going on to help me even more. I guess monsters are not mindless beings," she said.
"Oh, most of them are," Ren said. His words shocked her. She was sure that he would be happy that she didn’t see monsters as bad like other humans.
"What?"
"I said most of them are mindless monsters that only want to eat to survive. Then they evolve and get smarter. Your reaction to a monster should always be on guard. Be aware even for the smarter ones, you never know what you’ll get.
Monsters handle emptiness and feelings in a much different way. For instance, I don’t feel your pain or sympathize with you. I don’t have that feeling for humans. But I respect human life and human effort, and if you are a good human, I’ll respect that, just like you."
He got to his feet after he said that. "We should really be heading back, but expect to hear from us very soon."
"Wait, what about Luna? You said you can’t care for humans," Lia said.
"Well, yeah, I can’t care for humans. Well, aside from the ones I choose are special. Luna is special to me, and who knows, you might also be, Baron Lia." He gave her a wink and started walking. Luna waved enthusiastically before skipping behind Ren.
Lia watched them leave.
"What a weird dragon," she muttered and heaved a sigh of relief. Despite the fact that it did not show, she was still worried that if she pissed off Ren, he would do something to the town.
She saw his own subordinates in action, and she knew that he was definitely stronger, and even with her sword, there was no way she would be able to stop him.
She picked up the sword and looked at it. "I need to get stronger, even stronger than I am now, and you will help me."
She got up from her chair and headed to the basement, walking up to the door and stopping there. She stared at it, eyes burning holes into the large metal door as if she did not want to enter.
After what seemed like a minute, she bit her finger and dropped blood on the knob, causing the door to open. She walked in and saw her father on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall.
The moment he saw her, he leaped to his feet. "Lia," he called out.
"We handled the situation and ensured that the entire town is not lost. We suffered quite a bit, but everything is okay now," she gave a brief report as she walked toward him.
"That’s good, I’m so prou..."
"Save it. I do not want to hear anything else from you. You don’t get it, do you? The fact that you messed up so badly that your daughter had to become someone else in order to stop you."
She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Tell me, Father, why did you not take the sword and fight? A part of me desperately wants to believe that you are worth something, so tell me," she asked while looking him square in the eye.
He froze, opened his mouth, and then closed it. He did it a few times before finally looking down.
"There was no reason. I was scared. I’ve always been scared. Your mum, your mum was brave. She was the bravest woman I ever met, and I see her in you.
I’m glad you didn’t take after me. I really am, and I know you’ll never forgive me for this," he said.
"There is nothing to be forgiven. You are who you are. You can’t fault the weak. But you can punish them for refusing to acknowledge that."