Joining Venix
Given all the benefits, Minos made up his mind. Fear never stopped him, it only made him more excited, and besides, Venix was taking the bulk of the risk, and he was only staying in the shadows.
"Let's do it." Minos said, reaching out for a shake.
Seeing Minos's extended hand, Venix couldn't help but laugh, feeling this friend of his was the most reliable.
Just like that, the two shook firmly, deciding to work as partners once more. Looking at each other, they couldn't help but laugh, reminded of old times.
"So when are we leaving?" Minos asked as the two stopped laughing.
"A week's time, Amber Wood Forest. The two plan on hunting an Amber Beast, which will only come out of hibernation once the leaves stop falling."
"A week is a bit tight, but I think I can do it."
"Good, then a week later, let's meet here." Venix said.
Just like that, the two said one more goodbye before separating. A man's friendship was often like that, quick with words, but reliable in even the most dangerous of times.
Minos headed back to the mansion quickly. He only had a week left, and he still planned on visiting Tinka, meaning his time was actually quite limited.
Upon arriving back in the mansion, he noticed another familiar face among the crowd, Zatiana's.
Zatiana who was sipping tea looked up, slightly freezing as she saw Minos. She didn't say anything for a moment, instead just flapping her lips as if she was trying to find the right words.
"M-minos?" Ultimately, that was the only thing she could say.
"You're the first one to recognize me at first glance." Minos said with a laugh.
Hearing Minos's deep laugh that was completely different from his old one, Zatiana was shocked even further, feeling like he was a completely new person.
"My heavens, how did you change so much?" Zatiana said with a deep blush, appreciating Minos's handsomeness.
"Growth spurt." Minos said with a smile.
"It's like you became a man overnight." Zatiana said with wonder as she came face to face with Minos.
Seeing him up close, she couldn't help but further appreciate his appearance that had completely changed.
Suddenly a thought came to her mind, causing her face to flush a deep red. With a sudden twist of her head, she looked away from Minos before coughing and trying to change the subject.
"Where have you been the past year, I missed you."
"I've just been training my weapon refining skills." Minos answered.
"Well it's good to finally see you again, hopefully we can spend more time together this time." Zatiana said cheerfully.
"Uhh, about that, I've actually got more business, so you probably won't see me again for a while." Minos said, destroying her good mood.
"...Can we at least spend the time you do have together? A new restaurant opened up, I want to take you." Zatiana proposed.
"I'd love to, but I plan on meeting up with my girlfriend and she lives quite a distance away, so I'm not sure I'll have the time." Minos said.
"G-g-g-g-girlfriend!? You're in a relationship?" Zatiana uttered, as she felt an unexplainable aching pain in her heart.
She had never quite understood the feelings she had for Minos, whether she just liked him as a friend, or something more.
However the second she heard those words from Minos, and felt the pain in her heart, it became abundantly clear exactly how she felt about him.
With that realization, a tremendous sadness swept over her, causing her eyes to go red, tears beading in her eyes.
Worried that Minos would see her, she quickly turned her face away, rubbing her eyes harshly to remove the wetness.
"You okay?" Minos asked with worry.
"I'm fine." She said with a fake laugh as she turned back to Minos.
Unfortunately all the rubbing did was make her eyes redder, causing Minos to look at her with even more concern.
"You can tell me the truth." Minos said sincerely.
Hearing Minos's genuine voice, Zatiana couldn't help but burst out into tears, hugging Minos fiercely as she cried into his shoulder.
"It's alright." Minos said as he patted Zatiana gently on her back.
After crying for what seemed to be hours, Zatiana finally calmed down. Pulling herself back from Minos, she took a deep breath to calm her still shaky mood.
"Feeling better?" Minos asked.
"Yes, a little…"
"So can you tell me the truth now?" Minos said.
"...I have feelings for you…" Zatiana whispered in a weak voice. Had Minos's senses not been improved, he wouldn't have been able to hear her.
"I see…" Minos said, scratching his head slightly awkwardly. While he was smart, he had little experience when it came to things like this, causing him to not know what to say.
"Zatiana, you are a good friend, and a beautiful woman, but I'm already in a relationship, and I take them seriously, so I'm sorry…" Minos said in an apologetic voice, somehow feeling this was his fault.
"No no, you shouldn't feel sorry, you haven't done anything wrong. Just blame my bad luck for getting to you late." Zatiana said with a pitiful laugh.
"Given your beauty and talent, there will definitely be plenty of men fighting tooth and nail to have a chance to be with you, so I'm sure you'll have no problems." Minos said in an attempt to cheer her up.
"Yeah…" Zatiana replied absentmindedly, not feeling any better by Minos's words.
Seeing the silent Zatiana, Minos realized he had probably said the wrong thing. Despite having fought to the death plenty of times and gone on many dangerous adventures, this was the most stressful moment he had ever experienced.
He had no idea what to say, so he decided to say nothing. Instead, he sat beside Zatiana silently, giving her time to come to terms with things.
An entire hour passed like this with neither of them saying a word. It was only after Zatiana stood up, did Minos look towards her.
"Can we still be friends?" Zatiana said, her back facing towards Minos.
"Of course, we'll always be friends." Minos said.
"Pinky promise?" Zatiana said as she turned around, lifting her pinky towards Minos.
"Pinky promise!" Minos said, as the two hooked fingers and shook.
"Good, then let's just forget any of this ever happened." Zatiana said with a smile, but the sadness in her eyes hadn't completely faded yet.
"What happened?" Minos said with a smile.
Zatiana didn't reply, instead she just smiled back at Minos. Eventually Zatiana said goodbye, exiting the mansion, her forlorn shadow being the last thing Minos saw before she vanished.
He naturally knew that Zatiana was still incredibly sad, but he naturally wouldn't bring it up. He knew he couldn't help Zatiana with this, and she would have to figure things out on her own.
Letting out a long sigh, he collapsed back on the couch. He had no idea how he was going to face Zatiana in the future, so in a way, it was a good thing that he's going to be gone for a while.
It'll likely be another year before he ever comes back, which will give Zatiana plenty of time to accept reality.
While Minos was still thinking things through, the door of the mansion swung open, Beetus, Rubella, and all the children walking inside.
"Master, you're already here!" Rubella said as she jumped up onto the couch beside him.
"Take off your shoes before you jump on anything." Minos said as he slapped the back of Rubella's legs, causing her to collapse bottom first onto the couch.
"Hey, I could have fallen on the floor." Rubella said in annoyance.
"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Minos said seriously.
"Anyways, all of you guys gather, I've got some news." Minos said solemnly, causing the happy mood to slightly dim.
"Is something wrong boss?" Beetus asked as he took a seat across from Minos.
"Yeah, tell us!" The kids all asked in unison.
"Nothing wrong, it's just I've got some plans for the future, so I'll probably be gone for at least a year." Minos said.
"A year?! You were just gone for a year, and now you want to leave for another." Rubella said in exasperation.
"I know. I never planned on this journey, but sometimes things happen beyond control." Minos said apologetically.
"Beetus, I trust you to take care of things while I'm gone, make sure the children are going to all their lessons, and I don't want Rubella slacking either."