Chapter 166 - Neana and Rynold

Arriving at the entrance to where his friends stayed, Rynold braced for what Neana might say.

An over-the-top reaction, perhaps? Or maybe something a little bit on the passive-aggressive side. Either way, Rynold needed to tell Neana about what he planned on doing.

Whatever her reaction to the news may be, Rynold had no choice but to bore through it.

Entering through the automatic doors, Rynold headed straight towards the elevators. From there, he pressed the button to the floor where Neana had been staying for these past months.

On occasion, Rynold would walk Neana back to her room. Naturally, his intentions weren't anything that would raise suspicion. Rynold wanted to enjoy a leisurely walk with Neana.

With that said, however, Rynold never visited unannounced before. So, being nervous as he was right now would be completely understandable.

Ding!

As Rynold arrived on his desired floor, the elevator doors flung open. From there, he proceeded to walk down the nondescript hallway and stopped just before Neana's room.

Knock. Knock.

Rynold lightly tapped on the door with his bare knuckles and waited for an answer. Fortunately, someone was in the room as Rynold heard something shuffle from the inside.

In a few moments, Rynold heard the sound of the doors unlocking. With a rather subtle creak of the door opening, Rynold smiled.

"Hey," he said casually.

"Hey," Neana smiled back, "Is something wrong? You've never visited me before."

"Well, you spontaneously come to my place from time to time. I'd thought that I would return the favor."

Exchanging greetings as the two playfully conversed with each other, Rynold was soon invited into Neana's room. From there, the two continued to casually talk as if there were nothing important to say. Until that is, Rynold got to the point of his crude visit.

"I... uh...," Rynold briefly paused to form the right words, "I plan on following Oliver and Chris out in Ark City. I know jumping straight into action a week after my return is a bit too soon. But, it doesn't sit right with me to just be here and not helping."

Funnily enough, Rynold didn't actually plan to talk like this. It wasn't in his intent to speak on the presumption that Neana had cared about him. Or, to be more specific, speak in the tone of one in a relationship.

"Oh, that's fine. When are you planning to leave?"

Unexpectedly, Rynold was surprised that Neana responded so supportingly. Not only that, but Rynold thought the conversation would go in another direction altogether.

"Soon. Really soon," Rynold answered with a relieved expression on his face, "I'm surprised you're not more upset about this. Considering what happened last time, I could've sworn you'd be pissed."

"Why would I be?" Neana replied as her mouth formed a cheeky smile, "When I'm going with you."

His expression changing to utter surprise, Rynold stared blankly at the smiling Neana. It was clear that she had planned to do this all along. Whatever adventure Rynold would go on in the future, Neana wanted to make sure that she'd be there at every step.

At this very moment, Rynold somewhat regretted telling her his plans.

Despite that, however, Rynold welcomed this twisted surprise. Even though he hadn't expected this in the slightest, Rynold's bewilderment slowly turned into glee.

"Are you sure?" Rynold reaffirmed Neana's decision, "This isn't going to be a field trip to the museum, Nea. There could be moments where we would brush with death. I can't express enough how dangerous things might be."

Rynold wanted to make sure of Neana's determination. Although he welcomed the possibility of her tagging along, it was still a far cry from the potential danger they would face. Things could go south in a matter of seconds. And, Rynold wasn't sure he could protect Neana or not if ever things come to it.

"And," she answered with backless confidence, "That's the reason why I need to go along with you. If it's the two of us, then it wouldn't be as dangerous, right?"

'Damn, that's some flawless logic,' Rynold inwardly cursed as he watched Neana cheerily smile. It was as if she were entirely willing to go through hell with him.

"Fine," Rynold answered as he smiled back, "If that's the case, we're going to have to need to set some ground rules, alright?"

"Ground rules?" Neana asked.

"Yeah, just in case things go absolutely horrible and I'm not there to help out," Rynold reasoned.

Clearing his throat, Rynold then proceeded to give detailed instructions on overly specific situations. Most of which seemingly revolved around the situation in which Rynold wasn't present. And, the solutions were even more ridiculous.

"So, basically, you just want me to run away when things get hairy?"

Rynold's explanations were highly convoluted but only ever led to the same conclusion. If things got dangerous, Neana had to flee. This was the main point of Rynold's paranoia.

"Yes," Rynold said without even so much a blink. "Based on what happened in the past, you can't ever be too careful. So, if you have the option to live another day, I suggest you take it."

"You've got to be kidding me," Neana replied. But, just when she was about to express her disdain, Rynold interrupted.

"I'm not kidding."

His voice and expression were extremely serious; Rynold knew better than anybody else the dangers out in the world. And, without proper preparation, things would almost always go horribly wrong. Despite his over-cautious nature, Rynold was more often than not screwed over.

Even though he may not directly express it, Rynold didn't want the same to happen to Neana.

"I get that you want to help out and come with me, but there are going to be moments where you have to act on your own. I know your magic is strong enough to deal with whatever small fry that comes up. That doesn't mean it is always going to be that way. I need you to understand this first and foremost."

As Rynold stared directly at Neana with eyes of unblinking sincerity, she felt the need to reassure Rynold that everything would turn out alright. Unfortunately, her words betrayed her well-mannered intent.

"O-okay..."

She didn't know what had just happened.

Neana always knew that the bond between Rynold and herself was special. However, this might have been the first time Rynold had openly expressed his care for her.

But, despite her confused feelings in the situation at hand, Neana fully understood what Rynold had meant.

"Okay. Good," Rynold said as he nodded in approval. "Let's go."

"Wha- Now?"

"Sorry, is it a bit too soon?" Rynold asked, "I was planning on leaving right away after I told you. But... I guess we can leave a few hours from now."

It was Rynold's original plan to leave for Ark City once he had informed Neana. From Rynold's perspective, whatever time he spent waiting was time wasted on helping Oliver and Jack.

"You need to relax a bit, alright?" Neana said as he pulled Rynold to sit down on the bed next to her. "I'm sure those guys can handle themselves. There's no need to rush."

Rynold sat back down and sighed. He didn't really want to be staying here for any longer than he should. However, Neana had a point as well. Overthinking things may be the opposite of a good thing.

"Fine, fine," Rynold said defeatedly, "Oh, yeah. Did you talk to Lissa by any chance? I told her to find you. I hope she didn't cause you much trouble."

Asking what Rynold to be a harmless question, Neana suddenly shot him a glare.

"Yes," she answered with a tinge of annoyance, "Why did you tell her to come here of all places? Shouldn't she be asking approval for somebody else?"

Hearing Neana's thoughts, Rynold couldn't help but scoff and chuckle a bit. Then, he replied with a friendly speaking voice.

"I told her to look for you because you're the most sensible one out of all of us. I can't tell her anything without making it seem personal. Her brother's all physical and blunt. And, she doesn't really know anybody else in the Tree. If anything, you're my best choice."

"Still, it was pretty weird trying to talk to someone you barely know," Neana expressed her disdain. "The interaction with that girl was beyond awkward. She even said that she wanted you. In those exact words, no less."

"Huh," Rynold felt stumped, "I thought she'd be over that by now."

Suddenly feeling a glare coming from the side, Rynold swallowed a mouthful of dry air. He had just said something that he should probably never say.

"Ehem," Rynold cleared his throat to ease the tension, "Is there anything else she mentioned?"

"Don't change the topic!" Neana exclaimed in anger, "You never bothered mentioning this other girl had feelings for you? And, not to mention her looks, she's got this whole prim and proper thing going on too!"

In his infinite wisdom, Rynold then proceeded to say something incredibly ingenious.

"First of all, she doesn't have feelings for me. I'm pretty sure she just said all those things because she didn't know any better. Second, the whole prim and proper thing is all an act. And, lastly, I don't care about this random chick who likes me. I only like this person sitting right next to me!

"Geez, I don't even know what else to say. Nea, you shouldn't compare yourself to her, you know! Besides, I like people for their substance rather than their appearance. It's -"

Even though his tone was aggravated, Neana knew better than to focus on how Rynold talked. Despite that, though, Rynold didn't know what he had just said. He was too ramped up to actually filter the words coming off the top of his head.

Before he could finish what he was saying, however, something interrupted him.

"You need to learn how to read people, you know," Neana calmly responded.

Then, out of nowhere, Neana leaned her head over Rynold's shoulder. Then, the two remained silent for a little while. In spite of that, however, the atmosphere surrounding the two wasn't awkward in the slightest.

No, it was comfortable.

The next few minutes of remaining silent, Rynold had no idea what else to say. He felt a bit tired, but having Neana next to him somehow filled him with unending warmth. It was as if he were in the safest space in the world.

As the two remained perfectly still, Neana soon fell asleep. With that, Rynold laid her down on the bed as he left her room quietly. He had arrived in the residential district at around dusk and realized that it was way past sunset now.

Realizing that he had spent a longer amount of time than he had originally planned, Rynold left to go where he had parked his personal Floating Platform.

In the next few hours, Rynold conducted his duties all in one go.

He first gave the Summoning Orb of Prominence Alpha to Lissa without much trouble. Then, he headed off to the forges to check on X. Following that, Rynold went to the Library to inform Margareth of his plan. Then, finally, by the end of it, he headed back to his room in the penthouse.

As the day have gone by rather exhaustingly, Rynold rested in his bed as soon as he entered his room. And, as soon as he laid down, Rynold passed out.

The next morning, Rynold woke up to a light shining over his face.

"Uh..."

Groaning as he got up from his bed, Rynold headed to the shower to quickly rinse himself before the journey ahead. Then, he started to pack clothes that he had lying around by shoving them all in his inventory. The whole process took about 20 minutes.

After which, Rynold left to find Neana and head to Ark City as soon as he could.