Chapter 722: Feisty Raika |
It took me a few seconds to recover. I never expected Vargis to act in such a fatherly manner with me, he greatly reminded me of my biological father in this moment.
Not waiting for my response, he left with Darius in tow, intending to gather his forces.
"Future hubby…!!" Vex’s whimsical, whiny tone sounded next, and she looked at me with begging puppy eyes, which she then directed toward the gate and then back to me. In this manner, she kept whimpering like an abandoned pup as her gaze traveled between me and my portal a thousand times.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she wanted: my permission to see this mysterious settlement.
I wasn’t keen on this as I still struggled to trust her fully, but the fact that she asked for my permission instead of bullying her way to get what she wanted spoke volumes of her friendly attitude toward me. I wouldn’t have allowed her into my home, but perhaps Miri Town was okay.
"Fine, just stop your whimpering, woman. You make me seem like a sadistic wife-beater."
"Yay!" she cheered cutely, reminding me of Felicity’s chirpy tone.
As such, Raika, Ignis, Vex, and I waited for the final saved captives to pass through. Interestingly, none remained behind, not even the dozen dwarves. I expected them to say something dumb like "We don’t go where the elves do!" but no, they were good boys and girls who went with the rest.
The last to pass through was Elirya, the elven mother who refused to leave behind the body of her daughter. Now it was our turn.
Raika, despite the dark circles under her eyes and the obvious wobble in her step, suddenly bolted after the departing general like a dog who spotted her favorite chew toy sprinting off into the distance. "I want to fight!"
"Oh no, you don’t!" Vex shouted, grabbing a fistful of Raika’s long, black hair with all the grace of a bouncer dragging a drunk out of a tavern. "You’re coming with us, little sis."
Raika didn’t take it lying down. She twisted, flailed, and stomped hard against the dirt, so much so that she was grinding a shallow trench into the earth with her feet as Vex dragged her toward the portal like a mother wolf dragging a very uncooperative cub. "Let go of me! I don’t want to go sightseeing, you stupid bitch! I’ll kill you! I’ll feed your corpse to the pigs!"
"You can try," Vex cooed, giggling as she half-skipped backward, hauling Raika along without breaking a sweat.
As I watched them, something tickled the back of my mind.
Raika had gone all out in our last fights, which meant I’d seen her extreme feats of power: tearing through lionkin with her mere fists and overpowering warriors many times her size. Even exhausted, she should’ve at least been able to wrestle free from a simple hair grab, considering Vex wasn’t an overly physical fighter while she was. Hell, she probably could’ve flipped Vex over her shoulder if she really wanted to.
But she didn’t.
She just kept throwing a boot that slid off her feet around like a toddler trying to escape naptime.
And that told me everything.
Raika wasn’t being dragged.
She was letting herself be dragged.
It was a tantrum, nothing more. A child who knew she couldn’t win against the adult in the room and decided to throw a little hissy fit on her way to the bed. She knew damn well that if she kept pushing, using her true strength to resist, Vex would go all out, which would end with her getting beaten into unsconsciousness and likely miss out on the siege of Lionheart as a result.
So, instead, she kicked dirt and cursed like a drunk pirate.
In this manner, we stepped through the portal, traveling to Miri Town.
Ignis let out a long, low whistle the moment we stepped through the portal.
"Well, I’ll be damned."
"Why do you keep shocking me?!" Vex whined as if I’d done something bad.
I just smiled, taking it all in. A few months ago, this patch of land had been nothing but wilderness. Raw. Wild. Untouched. When Blossom found it on one of her explorations, it had no homes, no fields, not even a name. Just rich soil and beautiful wilderness. We left it in the hands of the freed citizens—many of them peasants, laborers, or craftsmen—with Ayame serving as its makeshift governor.
And now?
It was a town.
Not a kingdom of ivory towers or marble palaces. Nothing like the opulence of noble courts. No, it was humble, but this place had character. Stone buildings lined rough-cut roads, and timber-framed homes with clay-tiled roofs gave the place a rustic, lived-in charm. Smoke curled from chimneys. Children ran barefoot through grass-lined alleys. Laundry hung between poles as wives chatted among each other while keeping an eye on their children. The men were either working around town or leveling up in the forests nearby as per my orders.
Though I’ll give credit where credit is due: a lot of women were also included in the ’leveling up’ squad. In this world, they had every opportunity to become combatants worthy of rivaling men.
Anyhow. What truly made this place special was the land around it.
The Katalin River flowed right through the heart of Miri, gentle and crystal-clear, its banks dotted with stones and soft reeds. A sturdy wooden bridge spanned its width, letting people cross into the other side of the town. And beyond the river stood Lumi Forest.
Tall, ancient trees reached toward the heavens. The wind sang through the leaves, and the sunlight filtering through turned the forest into a canvas of golden green. There was a kind of serenity to it that made even hardened warriors stop and take a breath.
Ayame stood in the middle of Miri Town with scrolls under one arm and a feathered quill stuck behind her ear. Her voice cut through the murmuring crowd as she assigned tasks to a small governing body she’d assembled from the townsfolk. Men and women who had proven themselves trustworthy and reliable.
She was already instructing them to prepare homes, food, and warmth for the newest arrivals. Efficient, sharp-tongued, and commanding without needing to shout. The peasants and craftsmen listened to her like she was their queen.
Ayame was flanked by Lucille and Aurora, who’d been working as her aides in this endeavor through the past months.
Meanwhile, Kitsara and Blossom were off having fun.
The moment they arrived, both of them began sniffing around, exploring the new place using their strong nostrils. Blossom seemed to be extra excited, evidenced by her high energy that made the foxkin flick her tails irritably whenever Blossom bounded around her in excited loops.
They moved in spirals, soaking in every scent of our first settlement. The fertile soil, the pine-laced breeze, the far-off baking bread.
But even as I smiled at the sight, a thought nagged at me.
Where was Seraphiel?
And what about the elves?
No matter where I looked, I couldn’t see them.