“No, we are not taking a local in our team and that is final. We don’t have time or resources to look after a kid.”
Rita looked at Aurora and then at the arrogant kid who was looking her back right in the eye. The more she looked at the kid, the more she did not like her.
The kid had golden hair and blue eyes. They were different from Clove’s but they reminded Rita too much of the other female. The more she saw them, the more she wanted to tear the child apart.
“Rita, calm down. I was not telling you that we are taking the kid in but ordering you to take the kid in. I have a feeling that she would be of help to us.”
Rita turned toward Aurora at those words. She could not believe her ears and what they were hearing right now.
‘D-Did Aurora just say all that? I cannot believe what I am hearing right now.’
But that smiling face said it all. Aurora was 100% serious right now. The kid seemed to be surprised as well but she quickly hid behind Aurora’s legs.
Seeing that arrogant look of the child looking back at her, Rita could not help but rage even more.
“Stop it. You are behaving like a kid right now. I agree with Aurora that having a local would help us in our search for clearance. I have heard that there are places on these floors that only the locals know about.”
Quince quickly intercepted before the situation could worsen. It was times like these that his inner leader shined the brightest.
“But do we need someone like this kid? We have Ava with us and…”
“Hey, don’t involve me in this. I told you that I no longer know this floor. The only place I can even start guessing where the exit can be is the ruins.”
Ava quickly took her to leave the conversation. But her words were enough for the child to recognize what they were talking about.
She looked back at the group with sparkling eyes that made everyone feel uncomfortable.
“If you want to go to the ruins then I can take you with me. I know a lot of shortcuts since I spend a lot of time there. But the adults don’t want me to go alone since there are dangerous animals around.”
The kid seemed excited all of a sudden. The scared attitude she had shown only minutes prior was nowhere to be seen and Aurora was surprised at the sudden change in the kid’s mood.
Her excitement over the possibility of exploration had made her fear disappear.
“Oh right. My name is Angela and I am 11 years old. I can wield a sword and I can even use magic. I won’t get in your way so take you with me…”
Rita picked the kid up from her back. Angela was light and weak as she tried to break Rita’s hold on her.
“Let me go. I don’t accept this harassment.”
Angela yelled quite loudly but no one helped her out. The people that were looking toward them saw Ava and averted their eyes. Her influence was too widespread in this community.
“Yeah, sure kid. How are you looking forward to helping us when you can’t even help yourself out? It’ll be better for you to stay at home and be looked after by your mother.”
“I don’t have one. Don’t you dare make fun of me?”
Rita’s careless words ended up triggering Angela and her eyes watered at the teasing tone. The anger that was directed toward Rita made her let her guard down and Angela took the time to kick Rita away from herself.
Then in a flash, Angela ran away from the group with the knowledge of their secrets held close to her heart. She knew what they had discussed.
“You got outwitted by a child. What are you going to do about it?”
Quince asked a fuming Rita. the redhead was flushing, her face even redder than her hair right now.
“I swear I don’t like children. They are all troublemakers. Just wait until I get my hands on you. You won’t be able to open your mouth ever again and…”
“Let it go, Rita. I am sure that the kid won’t tell what happened here to anyone else.”
Aurora interfered before Rita could go after the kid. In her opinion, it was not worth chasing the kid right now.
“Right. Who in their right mind would ever believe a kid that young when she makes those claims? The best she would get is a cold indifference or some indulging smile. It is nothing you have to be concerned about.”
Ava agreed with Aurora as well. Since they knew the abyss’s culture, they were qualified to talk about it.
“Yeah, I guess you both are right. Angela is just a kid after all so she doesn’t know better.”
Rita failed to hear the undertone in her partner’s voice and took their words at face value but that was not the case for Quince.
He had a feeling that these two females were thinking of doing something drastic and he did not want to be a part of that plan.
“Listen Ur, keep as far away from Aurora and Ava as you can. Pretend as if you don’t know them when the time comes.”
“Kyuuuu~”
The dragon purred as if he understood what Quince was saying. Recently, Ur was becoming more and more like a human, and Aurora was sure that it was about time for his human metamorphosis.
All high-level beasts were able to achieve that but it would be the first time Aurora to see a dragon in its human form.
“Well, these local people will sort their problem soon so that is not something we need to think about. However, we do need to think of what to do next. We only have so much time on our hands.”
“So, shall we head toward the ruins right now?”
Ava’s words came out of the blue and her excited smile made it impossible to speak anything against.
Aurora wanted to rest first before going out but she had a feeling that Ava had a reason to go out right now.
“Yeah, sure. If you want to head out right now then we should not delay any further.”
Ava had a mischievous smile on her face as she skipped out of the settlement. They had not refilled their quota of food and other supplies yet but there was no need to worry right now.
Aurora could always do that when they came back to the settlement. And there was also the matter of finding local herbs on the way.
They had only been traveling for a mere fifteen seconds when Quince gestured toward the back of their group. It did not need the genius to figure out what he was concerned about.
Of course, as Aurora had expected. They were not alone to leave the settlement. A little animal had decided to follow after them and was even now following after them.
“This kid is daring. First, she runs away from me and now she is coming after us? Should I show her what a foolish decision she has made?”
Rita asked as she menacingly licked her blade. Aurora could tell that this was all done to intimidate the child following after her.
Angela had been following after them for a while so it was clear that she was not going to give up that easily.
“Nah. I think we should help the poor girl out by dragging her out in the open and making sure she shows us the way. Wasn’t that what she wanted since the start?”
Of course, Ava was not behind on her train of ideas. It was lucky for them that Angela had decided to follow after them on her own. It would save them the trouble of finding the entrance themselves.
“Ava, I will leave this matter to you. I know you are an expert in getting what you want to go and ask our stalker for the entrance to the ruins.”
Ava’s smile twitched just a millimeter but it was enough to convey to Aurora that she had been jabbed by those words.
Still, Ava stood up without complaint and walked to the side. The real show was about to start and Aurora wished she had a bucket filled with popcorn to enjoy all this.
“Are you sure it would be alright to send an overlooker over like this? That kid might die under the pressure.”
Quince’s words made sense but Aurora was not concerned about any of it. Even she knew that Ava would hold back when dealing with a kid so she was not worried.
Well, nor worried that someone would die. As for how things would go or how Angela would survive mentally? That no one knew and that was not Aurora’s concern either.
Above her, the moon was about to rise in the sky and the darkness of the night was seeping all around them.
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