Chapter 422: Sickness of someone
Back in the outskirts of Haven
Amy stood over a mountain top, looking at the valley below, now littered with the corpses of dacoits with a frown.
This was the sixth lair of Apate's followers she had cleared since yesterday. Yet there was still no sign of the man she was trying to track. Gyandel Moffiosa, the noble killer, the favored chosen of the goddess of lies, seemed to have gotten the news and went into hiding, all his traces disappearing in the wind.
"Did you get him to talk?" She asked when she saw 3 petite figures walking towards her.
"We did." Erza replied, and passed her a map with a few new circles marked on it, in the middle of the ones which were already crossed out. "This group of his is too thinned out. They don't gather, they don't meet. Whenever there's a new order or mission, or a new task or play they have to be a part of _ they get notified through one time tokens."
"That'll give them the location and details about the mission, and once they finish it, they get their rewards and a new token for the next time."
"And even he doesn't know how to track it?" Amy asked.
Erza nodded her head, and pointed towards the twin girls standing by silently, "I made sure he wasn't lying, and they acquisted to his truth."
Amy turned her attention to Cassie and Massie, the twin shadows of her best friend Becca, and seeing them nod their heads, she just clicked her tongue in displeasure. "So we still have nothing?" She asked.
"Not really." Erza shook her head, and passed her a token, "This is the new mission these guys were given."
Amy grabbed the token and poured her mana in, and started reading the details magically becoming visible now.
[Go to Harendale. Tell our friends it's time to pay their dues to the demons. Tell them it's time. _ GM.]
"Harendale, so that's where you're hiding." Amy said, as she stared at the familiar initials at the end, and turned her head, "Make the preparations, we'll be going there."
Erza nodded her head and walked away to make the arrangements for their travel.
"Harendale? Are we going there?" Rebecca, who was standing aside with a calling crystal in her hand, heard something and suddenly spoke up.
"Yes, after we finish the pests hiding here." Any replied, giving her the map.
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But Rebecca threw it in her ring without looking, "He's there too, you know?" She said, walking side by side to Amy, while her shadows followed them from a little distance.
"Brother? Why?" Amy asked, her expression getting a little confused and complicated as she remembered what happened 2 years ago and what she was doing now.
"He said there was some incident at the Eisjer domain, and Finn asked for his help." Rebecca replied, and seeing her best friend shake her head, she added confidently, "And before you say it, I know he's lying too."
"Well, I'm sure whatever it is, brother can solve it soon." Amy said and added, "Anyway looking at all the scattered groups here, it'll still take us more than a couple of hours to clean them. We'll reach there by noon tomorrow if we're lucky."
"By noon? No, that's too late, we need to hurry."
"Meaning?"
"Rio said he'll enter the dungeon by dawn, and that it'll take him 2 to 3 days to come out again."
"That's understandable, since it's Eisjer." Amy replied while asking herself if she should still go with her revenge plan and anger Apate or Nyx, when he's in a dungeon again.
[I told you before and I'll say it again, what happened back then had nothing to do with you. Nyx isn't that petty. As for Apate, your brother can handle her.] Gauri's soothing voice rang in her ears, calming the storm of thoughts in her mind.
Yet that wasn't enough for Amy, as she asked again, "But what if some accident.."
Gauri, who had explained the situation back then seventeen times already, sighed hearing this. And knowing that she would give up halfway and stop her own growth_ too afraid to risk his safety, after few seconds of silence, was forced to give another proposal.
[If he's in any mortal danger, I'll protect him this time. Just this once.]
Hearing the promise, Amy finally let go of her worries. Even though her relationship with her goddess had been strained in the past due to her refusal to interfere in Nyx's affairs, they had been growing close since he came back safely from the crash.
Plus she knew Gauri wasn't the cheating type. If she didn't want to help, she would've just said it directly. Instead of lying to her now and then going back from her words later on.
"Thank you." She said gratefully, and then steeled her resolve for revenge again.
"Hey, are you even listening to me? Ground to Amy?" Rebecca shouted as she pushed her shoulder, and woke Amy from from her thoughts, "Seriously, you're getting the same disease as him nowadays. Can you two siblings stop your thought trains of silent dreams and focus on reality instead?"
"I feel like an idiot sometimes just talking to you two, only to realise you don't even listen."
Amy heard her best friend's complaints and couldn't help but chuckle, "Sorry, what were you saying?"
"... You're worse than him."
Hearing her question, Becca snorted, hunting atleast Rio doesn't ask her to repeat anything.
"Well, if you don't want to tell me again, then let's just hurry." Amy straightforwardly replied as she moved her mana and chose to run.
She looked over her shoulders at the speechless princess, and added confusingly, "Didn't you just say that we need to rush and reach Harendale by morning. Don't worry, I'll let you two lovers meet before he charges in for the dungeon raid."
"Stop guessing, I'll just tell you again." Rebecca said, hearing her words. "I told you about how he's planning to enter the dungeon alone as some test given by Nyx. And before you go on all worried and silent again, he said not to worry, as some followers of hers will follow him to assist and monitor his progress."
Seeing Amy's frowning look go away, Rebecca just shook her head and continued speaking, "And how he met that ice-machine girl again and is taking her with him as a guide."
"You mean Katherine?" Amy asked hearing the new nickname this 'jealous' princess came up with.
"Yeah, that one." Rebecca replied, and slapped her best friend's shoulder after seeing her weird expression as she looked at her.
"So now you want to rush to Harendale before he enters the dungeon, just to interrupt their date?"
"It's not a date. It's a dungeon raid." Becca clarified immediately, before realising this girl was just making fun of her. So she just raised her hand to slap her, _how dare she make fun of her like this.
Amy chuckled as she dodged and jumped away, "Yeah, yeah, dungeon raid." She said and grabbed Becca's hand so she'll stop beating her, "Though when was the last time he took you for one, I can't remember.."
"You… ."
"Hey, I was really asking about a date.. Ahhaha."
"Don't run, you foodie rat, let me catch you and see, if I don't spank you till you're swollen." Becca shouted angrily as she saw Amy running away while laughing at her.
"Don't worry, since you agreed to help me with my mission, I'll arrange a date for you." Amy's voice came from afar, making Becca smile in relief, only for it to freeze, after hearing her next remark. "Sigh, I'm pimping my brother out. I really am the best friend ever."
Rebecca clenched her fists in anger, cursing her element for not being space so she could rush and slap this snotty brat. Though as she stood there in place, her thoughts couldn't help but remember Amy's previous comment and wonder, when was the last time they went out on some date _ cough cough, mean dungeon together.
"And you said, I'm the one who got his sickness."
Suddenly the voice appeared behind her, as Amy placed her hand on her neck and basically lied her head on her shoulder.
The extra weight pressing on her did wake up the princess from her thoughts, and she couldn't help but smile sweetly and think, 'That lazy panda really is a bad influence.'
But then she looked at Amy, and couldn't help but remember how she made fun of her few moments ago.
"I didn't quite hear what you said after going far, why don't you say it again. What was it about pimping and being best friend..." Becca said, while cracking her knuckes and rolling up her sleeves.
"Hey, hey, hey, I was just joking. I didn't say anything." Amy hurriedly said as she stopped her movements and fixed her sleeves again for her.
"Humph." Rebecca humphed in response, her anger just for show, as it quickly disappeared.
They both started walking together again, and after some steps further, Amy broke the silence. "Stop feeling insecure about other girls, or him. I know my brother, and if he didn't like you, he wouldn't have said yes to you."
Hearing the serious words, Becca froze for a second, before shaking her head with a self disappointed look, "But he didn't say yes, he just said he'll give it a try, and see if it's working or not."
"And the fact that he did that alone is a proof enough." Amy comforted her best friend and explained, "You know how he's like, you've always known. You said me yourself that it was going to be hard winning his heart, so why are you mulling over your first big step not landing like how you hoped it would."
"..."
"In my eyes, all I see is progress. You can talk freely now, spend time together, smile all you want, and act how you like around him, _ without overthinking if it was too direct, or what his reaction would be."
"Hell, you even got a perfect kiss that's like whole world famous with those pretty pictures at the party. In my opinion, you're the top contender, the number one in this race."
…
Rebecca kept listening to all that her best friend had said attentively, her emotions going up and down like a wave, her expression changing from sadness, to understanding, and then to smile and a blush when it reached the kiss part, "Yeah, she's right.
That was a perfect kiss." she thought to herself, her eyes gleeing in the joy of a high, as she tried to remember the warm taste of what it was like. Having him so close, her lips on his, his tongue on hers.. She was feeling hot just reminiscing about it, when like a bucket of cold water, Amy's next words poured over her.
"In my opinion, you're the top contender, the number one in this race."
Her expression changed back to her usual, and she turned to look at Amy, "Wait, wasn't the whole point of you starting this pep talk supposed to be that there was no race, or no contender for his heart. That I should just have confidence?"
"...." Heh, __ now it was Amy's turn to be silent. Did she say that? Fuck.
"Uhmm umm, (cough cough) yeah, you're right. That's what I mean. Of course there's no race. That Lisa, or Katherine, or Saisha _none of them are your opponent. You go girl. This sister shall support you on."
Amy tried to cheer her up and cover her mess so she doesn't get beaten, only to spout something that made Becca raise her eyebrows once more.
"Saisha? The elf one? I get Lisa and Katherine, but why her? Where'd she come from?" Becca asked, looking at Amy with face filled in confusion.
'Ahh fuck, did I say that.. Again.' Amy couldn't help but slump down, wanting to slap her blabbermouth, thinking she really should punish it by giving it no sweets for a week. _ a week is too long though.. How about half _ a day. _ yeah, half a day sounds nice… ..
"Hey, I asked you something? Does she like him too? Did she tell you that?"
Becca's question broke her thoughts, and she couldn't help but curse herself again, she really was getting the sickness of her brother. Why was she thinking so much. Seriously… .. No, shut it, brain. Stop thinking.
"Ohh look, a rainbow." Amy suddenly said as she pointed her hand at the sky, and then disappeared from her place once Rebecca looked away.
"..." Becca looked at the empty space around her, and the figure speeding away hundreds of meters far, and couldn't help but curse her element once more. She really should've gotten space instead of water. Then she could teleport right next to him, no matter where he went.
Maybe even hug him from the back, or better surprise him by a kiss out of nowhere, _ as this thought came up she couldn't help but imagine it in her head and then blush inwardly, _ only to stop and shake her head violently.
"His disease is really infectious. It's all his fault I think too much." She said, throwing all the blame of her wild fantasies onto the poor Rio, and then speeded away to follow Amy.
…
Far away in Harendale, Rio, who was sitting on a chair, watching dear protagonist's villain uncle suffer painfully under his torture, couldn't help but sneeze.
'"The hell, who's cursing me behind my back. They don't want their life or what." He said, before looking at the angry eyes of the idiot in front of him, and then kicking him one more time, "Or is it you, how dare you look at me like that. I'll gouge out your eyes and feed it to my ravens believe it or not."
"....." The poor fellow rolling around in pain, could only response with silence. It wanted to tell, it was just staring at the ceiling and not him, but before he could do that, the intensity of his torture increased suddenly, and he could just cry and scream even more.
[.....] <The system> munch munch <is feeling speechless> munch munch ummm.
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Author note - the twins first appeared in chapter 133 during birthday event