?"I''ll have you die here," (Lyan)


    The temperature seems to have dropped, and the air around him had turned absolutely different. Both Loris and the cloaked guy realized how dangerous the situation is.


    "All of you!! Halt him even if you have to lose your lives!! Protect us!!!!" Shouted the cloaked man.


    "You think I will let-" Lyan is ready to dash and chase them over as he had warmed up Griselda''s lightning mana inside him. But-


    *Whoosh!*


    Dozens of arrows smeared with poison were shot and aimed toward Surena.


    *Tch!*


    Lyan stopped in his tracks and swing his ive powerful enough to send a powerful wind that stops the arrows. But that single moment is an enough opening.


    "Take this!!"


    "Die!!"


    "Eat this!!!!"


    The other members of [Crows] desperately rushed with their weapons, but their aim is not him, but Surena that is behind him. They are aware that Lyan won''t be able to chase Loris over if Surena is being attacked in her current state.


    "How annoying..." (Lyan)


    Sparks started toe out of Lyan, and before the members of the [Crows] couldnd their blows.


    *Rumble!* Rumble!*


    Sound of thunder ps appeared together, and in less than one second, dozens of men rushing towards them lost their lives and have their bodies either shed or burnt into cinders. He managed to defeat the members of the [Crows], but-


    "They got away, huh..." Lyan stared into the distance. There is no longer a trace of Loris and the hooded guy. They totally took the chance given by the sacrifice from the members of the [Crows].


    "Hobu," (Lyan)


    Lyan''s shadow suddenly spread and stretched, showing several figures that seems to be kneeling towards him.


    "Sent two to follow them both," (Lyan)


    Hobu replied with a nod, and two of the shadows left Lyan''s shadow and quickly went over the direction where Loris and the cloaked guy had gone.


    "What a mess... Even though I was hoping for a fun and leisurely trip, here..." Lyan let out a sigh. But when he shifted his gaze towards Surena, his eyes turns cold for a brief moment.


    "Surena, are you ok-" (Julius)


    "Don''te near me!!" Surena that lost the strength of her knees fell to the ground.


    "Don''t you dare act friendly to me," The bloodlust Surena emitted is not a bluff. If Julius approached her now, she might really attack him aggressively with whatever she could.


    (She''s lost in her emotions, huh) (Lyan)


    "If not for you, if not for you! Everything-" (Surena)


    "Surena," Lyan approached Surena and lift her up in a princess carry. He did so while hiding his presence and approached her from behind.


    "You must be tired. You did great. Have some rest," Lyan said gently as he cast some rxing mind magic to calm her a little bit.


    "....Nn," Surena shut her eyes close and bury her face in Lyan''s chest. Without wasting any moment, Lyan put her to sleep with his magic before shifting his gaze towards Julius that is staring at them with aplicated look.


    "Looks like this is where we part, Julius Tergimand," (Lyan)


    "Y-Yes..." Julius replied as his eyes remained glued to the sleeping Surena.


    "Focus in what is most important. If you''re a man, saving the ones you love even if it means sacrificing yourself is obvious, is it not?" Lyan walked past him after leaving those words.


    At the moment when Surena failed her attacks, Julius''s position is closer to her than Lyan''s. But he doesn''t seem to be moving as his face got painted with hesitation, making Lyan irritated.


    Lyan take a look at the girl in his arms before shifting his gaze towards Emilia that had already fainted on the ground behind the pale-looking Alice.


    "Let''s go," (Lyan)<novelnext></novelnext>


    **********************************************************


    After parting with Julius, Lyan carried both Surena and Emilia in his arms while Alice sticks to his body to be support for her walking bnce.


    Lyan then summoned Hobu and his three goblin champion shadow servants after putting the three valkyries to rest inside the wagon to protect them and went to some stores to buy the things they will need on their journey, especially food.


    "Hobu, I''m counting on you to couch the wagon," (Lyan)


    With a nod, Hobu took the coachman''s seat and hold the reins. Actually, the aggressive ck horse could still walk and pull the wagon without any difficulties and could go the desired track just by a verbal instruction. But it will be a strange scene for onlookers to see, so Lyan left Hobu to coach the wagon whenever he didn''t.


    And since the valkyries brought their horses when they caught up with him, there are now four horses pulling the wagon, reducing the amount of weight the aggressive ck horse must pull.


    Inside the wagon, Lyan is busy nursing the three valkyries.


    After finishing making simple dishes, he serves them the food. But since Emilia''s and Surena''s state of mind is still at the rock bottom, they don''t really respond when he told them to eat or to wash themselves. So he feeds them personally and washes their bodies with a towel himself, the two girls don''t even show any hint of getting flustered when he does so.


    While for Alice, she''s not in the same extreme state as the two, but she was also very pale at first. Just like the other two, she vomited and got weak for a while, but after eating, she regained some of her strength and could clean her body herself.


    "They finally fell asleep soundly, huh," Lyan folded his arms as he alsoy on one of the futons inside the wagon.


    Inside the wagon, Lyan made three simple decent-sized futons with a decentfy feel. The three girls are lying at the two futons, while he lies at the other futon that has some space from the two.


    "Today was quite tiring," Lyan muttered as he stretched his body.


    "Hm?" Suddenly, he felt the nket he was using move. And together with the sudden sensation of a person''s weight on top of him, a blonde-haired head popped out from the nket.


    "Alice... This is my bed," (Lyan)


    "...." The blonde girl remain silent and hugged him even tighter as she bury her head in his chest. Her body is still slightly trembling, and she''s somehow cold.


    "It''s fine. It''s already fine," Lyan strokes her head gently with his right hand while embracing her body with his left hand.


    "It''s not your fault, nor was it the fault of your friends. The moments of coincidences ovep with each other, producing such a misfortune. It''s beyond your control," Lyan continue to soothe her with his words without stopping his right hand.


    The body then trembles more for a while. Even though she tried her best not to let out any voice, Lyan could feel the wetness of his shirt. Lyan stopped his words, and respond by tightening his embrace.


    (How warm...) (Alice)


    Alicia Alvis. She''s usually the calmest and only has either an indifference or a frown as her expression. Because of her calmness and her high intellect, she possesses the great talent to be amander and a strategist of an army.


    Throughout her life, she never really open up to anyone other than her family and her best friends. She started to open up and show her other expressions to Surena and Emilia only after they have became closer for 4 months.


    But right now, she''s feeling a strange sense of closeness with the person that she only knows for less than three weeks. But it''s not like the feeling just appeared randomly.


    (His warmth and presence feel like father...) (Alice)


    Alice''s intellect came from her bright mother, but her calmness and skill in swordsmanship came from her father''s genes. He is a doting father that always treats her like a child to the point that she sometimes became annoyed. But even so, he''s one of the biggest pirs of her confidence that have always been her mental support.


    (But his eyes made me remember Lady Wilhelmina...) (Alice)


    After losing her family and master, Alice could only suppress the dark emotions twirling inside her. She knew that amongst the three, one must be the calm one that soothes the other. To make sure that her two friends could still have a grip of hope, she must not show any sign of despair.


    "It must be hard keeping those emotions inside, so just let everything out. Your secret is safe with me," (Lyan)


    ___________________________________________________________________________


    Name: Lyan Arkanium Evocatore


    upation: Mythril-ranked Mercenary


    Money: 3,798,710,950 Elnes / 3798 gold 71 big silver 9 big coppers 5 coppers


    Weapon: Magic ive, 1 (Decent) One-handed Sword, 2 (Good-Quality) One-handed swords, 1 (Decent) bow


    Equipment: ck leather cloak, Leather Armor, Breastte, 2 Health Potions, 2 Poison Vials


    Grimoire''s Companions: 8 High Spirits, 3 Valkyrie, Shadow Goblin Lord (Lv. 5), Papilio Slime (Lv. 45), Galewing Butterfly (Lv. 45), Rock Golem (Lv. 50), Deadlight (Lv. 63), Moonlight Butterfly (Lv. 45), Ice Golem (Lv. 50), Acid Ant Queen (Lv. 9), Magma Bear (Lv. 1)


    Grimoire''s Army: 6 Shadow Servants, 800 Skeleton Army