Price

"Is this everything?"

"Yes. The girl called Mila made sure she finished making those last night."

Carla handed over a big leather bag full of something to Lyrica. The unexpected weight caught the girl by surprise. She looked at the woman with scarlet eyes who was carrying the bag the entire time.

'No sweat... It's as if the bag was nothing to her. Is she a monster?'

Shortly after that stream of thoughts, Lyrica dipped her hand onto the bag, trying to get something. She pulled her hand out along with a long and thick strand of fabric.

"Let's see..."

Lyrica wore the leather bag before trying to stretch the fabric wide with half her current strength, but the fabric appeared pretty sturdy and barely stretchable. Afterward, Lyrica swung the fabric onto the ground like a whip.

Wahtahk!

It left a clear mark on the concrete.

"Just perfect."

As Lyrica put the fabric back into the bag, she faced the woman with scarlet and requested her to say to Mila her thanks. And then, she advised Carla:

"Go hide with your family just like you did back then. And make sure their arms are restrained."

"All right."

With that, Lyrica and Carla went separate ways. And not long after they did, the girl arrived at where Aran and Kael are observing the town.

"Is that the thing you requested to the lady called Mila yesterday?" Kael asked the girl as she dropped the bag in front of him and Aran.

"I asked her to make them yesterday right before I left the town, although I didn't think she'd have time to create that many today. She has definitely outdone herself."

Kael took a single strand of fabric and tested its durability for himself.

"It's quite sturdy," Remarked Kael. "It should be able to last longer than normal or even anti-magic handcuffs."

"Now we have to distribute them to the Payapas and get everyone into position. They already know how to use them."

Payapas, or the knights clad in white and blue armor are of the same rank as the high commanders of Kruule. Just like their counterpart, they have command over a number of squads of Malayas.

"I shall take upon that task, Lady Lyrica."

"Thank you."

Kael took the leather bag with himself and immediately took off. On the other hand, Lyrica glanced over the town not far in the distance. And then, she shifted her gaze over to a certain mountain.

"Now then..."

She was about to take a step forward when suddenly...

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

The prinsepe of Reilaea, Aran, who was out there the entire time, startled Lyrica.

"Don't you think it's strange that we easily surrounded a town, considering what happened in these past few days?"

"..."

Having received no response from the girl, Aran turned his head towards Lyrica. Only to see the incredulous look into her eyes.

"Why are you looking at me as if it's an incredibly unbelievable thing that I'm here?"

"Well, who would have thought you and your skeptical as* are here?"

"I'm here because of my people, and I'm growing more against the idea because you are trying to lead them to an obvious trap!"

Lyrica turned away from Aran and thought:

'I was expecting an ambush set up for us while we were traversing around the Forest of No Return, as well as a large gathering of soldiers in Takkot and other towns, too. But apart from the two guards in the northern gate of Takkot, we haven't encountered a single enemy so far.'

No matter how you look at it, there's obviously something wrong with the less active soldiers in Takkot. That much is true.

"It's possible that this is a trap."

"It's not just possible because there's obviously one lying in wait for us!" Aran furiously retorted. "Why can't you see that?"

"Because it doesn't matter."

Lyrica's reply made Aran lost for words.

"Either it's a trap or not, it doesn't matter." Said Lyrica without a hint of fear or hesitation. "We've got no time to spare anymore. Hell, maybe they are already surrounding us as we speak. We've got no choice, if you want to retrieve the heroes just like I want to save the people of Kruule, we have to push through."

"You don't understand a thing, do you..."

Aran tried to approach Lyrica.

"Or what, do you want to pull back? Are you saying we should just abandon everyone in Kruule, even the remaining heroes?"

But the girl stopped him in his tracks.

"That's not what I'm saying."

"I know. You're just scared. You're scared of losing people, isn't that right?"

At that moment, Aran lunged at Lyrica and grabbed her collar violently.

"I'm not scared," He whispered menacingly. "I'm not scared of taking risks either."

"Oh, is that right?"

Aran wants to retrieve the heroes just like her mother. And if possible, he wants to save the people of Kruule as well. What he doesn't want to happen is for his people, the knights of Reilaea, to die in exchange.

"Did you know, soldiers are soldiers because they swore to protect the country they serve with their lives?"

That's right. They are willing to risk their lives if it's for the good of their homeland, their country, or their kingdom. The knights of Reilaea are trying to retrieve the heroes against the kingdom that turned against theirs and its own people because they know it's for the good of their kingdom.

"Being a soldier is a path full of pain and death, and yet they are here. Why is that? Because they are well aware of it."

Saying this, Lyrica slowly took Aran's grasp from her shirt.

"They know how it is, they know the risks because it's their job. And now you want to pull them away from the path they chose for themselves because you don't like it?"

Aran clenched his shaking fist.

"You bast*rd..."

"Now I get it. You're not scared, you just can't accept the reality of it. That doing things for good always requires a price."

Aran tried to land a punch at Lyrica, but the girl caught his fist rather easily, she barely felt any impact.

"You're weak."

But deep down she knew he was holding back with that punch.

"With the way you are now, you'll definitely lose the things you care about in the future. Then you'll despair."

At that moment, the image of a certain man flashed before his eyes.

"I know because I was weak too."

Lyrica shoved Aran's arm and sent him falling to the ground. Hiding the look on his face from the girl, Aran tried to resist the urge of his tears from spilling out.

"If you don't want to lose something, then be strong enough to sacrifice everything else for it."

Leaving behind the prinsepe crouching on the ground, Lyrica started making her way back to Takkot. This time, she's going to make her presence known to everyone.