Chapter 77: Ch 76: Rejecting the Rejection
"What do you think you are doing?"
That question caught Lyra off guard, and by the time she realized what had happened, she felt shell-shocked.
Kael was waiting for her answer, but she was looking for one herself.
’Darn it! I know I said I needed to protect this human, but there was no need for me to follow after him this time. Still, I guess it’s better that I came here to help him...’
Her own thoughts gave Lyra the answer as to why she had grabbed Kael in the first place—it was because she wanted to keep him safe and alive.
She tried to convey it to Kael, but he could not understand her words. This inability to communicate was getting annoying for her.
Sigh
"Well, since you are already here, I guess I will keep you around. But stay near me so that you don’t get into trouble."
Kael told her, and Lyra just scoffed.
Just because she was stuck as a small beast did not mean she was helpless. She had already taken care of some intruders, so she was sure she could handle anything that was thrown at her.
Kael started walking, and Lyra followed. Her sharp senses quickly picked up the sounds of fighting as well as Iris’s familiar yet irritating scent.
She almost ignored it before she realized that Kael had noticed Iris’s presence as well.
’Ah, since things have come to this, I better prove to him that I am the most useful companion he has.’
Lyra began to tug at Kael’s leg, and he followed her toward Iris’s location.
With this, he should be indebted to her.
__________
Kael followed Lyra’s lead, and she guided him to Iris’s location.
Iris was wearing a bothersome dress and was currently fighting full-sized beasts with her bare fists.
Her mana seemed to have been sealed, which left her at the mercy of these monsters. And without her sword, her movements looked clumsy.
And yet, she managed to take down the beasts quite efficiently.
’As expected of a Sword Master. Iris’s strength is on another level as well.’
Kael praised her in his mind as he watched her fight for a few seconds before deciding to help her out.
After all, no matter how strong Iris was, she would become helpless without her mana.
It was easy to form a magic barrier around Iris and blast the beasts away. Once he took one down, the others became frightened of him and quickly ran away.
Iris also noticed his presence, and the tension left her body. She almost sagged before realizing where she was and regaining her composure.
"Kael, what are you doing here? I told you that I would take care of things here."
Iris sounded relieved and bothered at the same time. Her desire to settle things on her own did not seem to have lessened. But her tendency to trust others so easily was something Kael needed to talk to her about.
For now, the most important thing was to restore her mana.
"I decided to come and get you once I felt your mana being cut off. Why would you put yourself at risk like this? Don’t you see how foolish it was?"
Kael asked, and Iris let out a small laugh. But it was not one filled with joy.
"Ah, I thought I could handle it even if things got tough. After all, I am not a weakling and can manage without mana...or so I thought."
Her tone became subdued, and Kael immediately decided to reassure her.
"It’s not your fault. Anyone could have fallen for a trap like this. Here, allow me to free you from this bind."
Kael broke the ring since it would not come off, and mana flowed into Iris once more.
She flexed her hand to see how she felt before creating a sword out of mana. Her control over it seemed to have improved.
"Hmm, it seems like I can feel my mana even better now."
It was nice to see that Iris was alright. But the situation at hand still needed to be dealt with.
"Iris, what do you want to do next? Should I burn down this mansion for you?"
Kael asked, lifting his hand and preparing to cast a spell around the mansion. But Iris shook her head and grabbed his arm before he could take revenge on her behalf.
Her eyes looked determined, and it made Kael obey the silent command she gave him.
"I already told you—I want to settle this incident with my own hands. Will you give me another chance?"
Usually, Kael would not have agreed to this. He had already given Iris one chance, and she had almost gotten hurt because of it.
But her request seemed earnest, and her eyes were looking at him with nothing but trust.
It felt impossible for him to say no at that moment.
"Fine! I will give you one hour to do what you need to do. After that, I will blow this place up if you are not able to settle things."
Kael told Iris, and she nodded with determined eyes.
"I understand. One hour should be more than enough for me to get things done."
She agreed before heading toward the mansion.
She had a determined look on her face, which made Kael silently cheer for her.
But this was her revenge, and he did not want to interfere with her actions.
"Lyra, it seems like we have an hour to roam around. Want to go treasure hunting with me?"
Kael asked, and Lyra immediately nodded in agreement.
Since Iris had claimed that she wanted revenge, Kael could not blast this mansion apart. But that did not mean he could not get his own revenge.
Mansions like these usually had hidden chambers where nobles and the rich kept their precious items. If Kael were to take one or many of those treasures as compensation, then who could stop him?
Sir Ridley would not even be able to speak out in public afterward if he did not want to be ridiculed.
So Kael was free to take whatever he wanted.
"Let’s see...I think this was the spell that allowed me to find treasures? Ah, it’s pointing toward something. Lyra, follow my lead and keep an eye out for monsters."
The treasure hunt had officially begun.
