[Ch.43] A Mouse in Wolf's Clothing

Ryu smiled as he spoke, "The rooms were wonderful! I've never slept better!"

Panzram glanced at Ryu out of the corner of his eye but did not give away anything. At first, he thought that Ryu would lie on purpose to hide the fact that he had snuck into Panzram's room. As Panzram observed him, he realized something.

Ryu really did not lie.

He would either answer vaguely and not give anything away, or he would just not answer at all. Perhaps Ryu was incapable of lying since he was not too bright.

Panzram sighed mentally at this thought.

It would be far more entertaining if Ryu actually understood the indecent suggestions he was constantly saying. Just the thought of witnessing the snow rabbit turn pink from embarrassment caused an unmistakable feeling to surge inside of him.

Unfortunately for Panzram, Ryu was dense and slow when it came to anything other than freeloading and using his chaos energy.

However, it wasn't just Panzram's suggestions that Ryu couldn't catch on to. Ryu also wouldn't realize if anyone else were making advances on him either. Luckily, Ryu was strong so he could easily swat away any pesky flies.

But strength may not work in every situation.

At this thought, Panzram decided that he had to protect his little rabbit from the wolves. So, he turned to glare threateningly at the wolf that sat across from him.

Nezu immediately felt his glare and tried to drink his tea calmly. His hands trembled as he brought the cup to his lips, forgetting to drink the liquid inside the cup. He had a knot forming in his stomach and desperately wanted to cry out his innocence.

He wasn't a wolf!

He was a mouse!

Tenma spoke to Ryu, "Where do you plan to go next?"

Ryu paused, "I actually have not thought about this…"

No one was surprised.

Ryu sat mulling it over. Where exactly should he go? It is not like he had a destination in mind, but he did have a goal.

He just had to figure out how to awaken Panzram's ancient blood. Perhaps there was a library that could help him find the answer?

Ryu liked to read books despite what you would expect. However, when he thought about searching a library for matter on ancient blood, he immediately felt discouraged. That task is almost impossible. Who knows how long it could take?

For now, he would have to wait to find a library with a librarian who would know how to help him. For the time being, the only thing that was important was that they kept moving. Who knows how long it would take for the mercenaries to track him down again. Although he did not really care about the destruction they caused in the previous town, he also was too lazy to deal with another fight.

Thus, he decided it was best if they avoided confrontation with the enemy for now.

Ryu's silky, messy locks slid down his shoulder as he turned to look at Panzram. His clear vibrant eyes reflected Panzram in them as he smiled gently.

His velvet voice asked Panzram softly, "What do you think?"

Panzram was momentarily distracted by Ryu's striking appearance next to him. He forced himself to look away, "I do not care."

Ryu shrugged and said plainly, "I guess we will go wherever the wind takes us."

Tenma smirked at this, "How about you travel with Nezu?"

Nezu looked at him in surprise, "What?!"

Tenma smiled back at him, "You said you were leaving to go to the next town over. If Ryu accompanies you, then I won't have to worry about your safety."

When Nezu heard him mention Ryu, he unconsciously turned to look at Panzram.

Nezu saw Panzram's death glare and forced himself to refrain from shrieking.

He wanted to cry out: "No! No! I value my life too much! Please do not make me travel with this madman!"

Instead, Nezu forced a smile, "T-That would be asking too much…"

Ryu smiled warmly at him, "Nonsense! We can definitely accompany you to the next town. It's not like we have anywhere else to be."

Nezu felt a cold chill on his back and could sense that Panzram's murderous intent had increased tenfold. Nezu began to wonder just how he managed to become so unlucky. Maybe he should write a will before leaving…

.....A few days later.....

After they had rested for a while, they set off on the road again.

Ryu hopped along the road with a joyful grin on his face. Panzram continued to glare at Nezu whose face was starting to turn green.

If the stress did not kill him, then Panzram certainly would.

Ryu turned to Nezu, "So why did you decide to travel to Nabashi?"

Nezu spoke in a strained voice, "I usually do not like staying in one spot too long. I had planned to travel to Nabashi for a while."

Ryu chuckled lightly, "You really are an Earth Tamashii user. I'm surprised you stayed in the other city for so long."

Panzram glared at Nezu, "Yes. I wonder why."

Nezu gulped and forced a smile, "I did not stay for any superficial reasons. I just felt like I should maintain that store some more. It is not as old as my others, so it still needs work."

"Hmm." Panzram did not believe this man one bit. Who wouldn't be entranced by his little snow rabbit?

Ryu nodded, "I cannot wait until I can see your other store. Does it have different varieties of snacks?"

Nezu lit up from being asked about the businesses he had dedicated his life to. He spoke animatedly, "Of course! Most of my stores are in different prefectures and cities which all have significantly different cultures and foods that they sell. So, my tea and snacks reflect that."

Ryu licked his lips, "I can't wait! I bet it is going to taste good."

Nezu smiled slightly, "But Ryu, most of my snacks are sweet. Before, you had only ever ordered tea. Since when did you start eating sweet things?"

Panzram was slightly surprised by this. He glanced at Ryu and waited for his explanation.

Ryu smiled while glancing at Panzram timidly, "Pan really likes sweets, so I started eating them more."

Nezu was startled and looked to Panzram.

Panzram was a huge, stocky man with a permanent scowl on his face. His skin was scattered with scars and his eyes held a frightening and dangerous look in them. He did not seem like a man who would enjoy eating sweets.

Panzram spoke, "It is getting dark."

They all looked up at the sky and noticed the sun beginning to set. Nezu spoke, "We should make camp then. There are no inns from here to Nabashi."

They had already made preparations for camping out because they knew the road was long and there were no settlements on it. Panzram and Nezu did not mind this because they were used to it. Panzram never had a home to belong to while Nezu spent most of his time roaming around like a nomad.

They feared that Ryu would not be suitable for this.

Little did they know, Ryu did not care one bit where he slept. He could sleep through rain, earthquakes, storms, and extreme temperatures without complaint. Although he acted like a pampered princess and was the young master of an influential family, that did not mean he could not withstand hardships.

However, if there was an easy way out, then he would definitely take the easy way out.