Chapter 44: The journey returns

"Master Young." Jason knocked on the door of the luxurious room that Strax had rented, but no one answered. Curiously, he thought the door might be unlocked and tried to force the handle, managing to open it.

"How strange..." He murmured. Strax wouldn't be foolish enough to leave the door open when he was being hunted by guilds aiming for his head... or would he?

Initially, he thought of ignoring it, after all, he didn't feel any sense of danger. However, upon entering the pseudo-apartment, he came face to face with a hallway leading to the bedroom. Jason began to walk around the place, passing through the hallway leading to a black door, presumably the bathroom, and another entrance, which was probably the bedroom.

For some reason, he started to be cautious and, as he approached, he heard a wet sound. *Smooch*

"It can't be, can it?" Jason questioned himself, but he already expected things coming from Strax. However, he didn't expect to find what he saw when he looked at the bed.

Samira was lying down, and Strax was almost engulfing her with his kisses. Thank goodness she was fully dressed, but that didn't change the circumstances much. "Damn." He let his voice slip, and they both stopped quickly, especially Samira, who pushed him back completely red while turning her face away.

"That's not very polite, Jason." Strax said in an extremely serious tone that made Jason's bones tremble. "What the hell is this? Why am I being intimidated!" He quickly thought, trying to regain his composure.

"You didn't answer the door, I thought something was wrong, so I opened it. Be careful next time and lock it properly." Jason said calmly, trying not to show any hesitation before his Young Master, who didn't even seem like the same person as before. "I'll be careful... when you're doing these things." He finished, trying to ease the clearly uneasy situation.

"Tsk." Strax bit his tongue and continued. "Is it time for us to leave?" He asked, and Jason nodded. "Lady Samira's subordinates wish to speak with her..." Jason said, being careful with his words as he felt that any slip-up and he could simply die. That was something scary he never even thought would happen one day. "Fine, we'll meet you downstairs." Strax nodded, and Jason left his sight.

"Damn..." he muttered. He was really angry about being interrupted. "Tsk, we'll continue later... sorry, I must have forgotten to lock the door." He said to the woman who had already fully recovered and was already standing. "No problem... just...

be careful next time." She replied. "My sunshine is so cute..." he said, stroking her head, but he couldn't stay much longer.

"We have to move on, my sister... is probably already waiting for me." Strax said. "Is there something wrong with that?" Samira asked, not understanding much about Strax's relationship with Xenovia. She only knew one thing: never speak, comment, or stare at Xenovia Vorah in her presence. A cold woman who kills without any scruples or discernment. If something bothers her, she just finishes it.

"You need to calm down," the black sword said. A woman with white hair paced back and forth in pure anxiety. "How am I supposed to calm down? They put a bounty on my little brother's head for nothing," she commented while biting her nails, pacing back and forth. In truth, she was extremely angry as well as anxious. She was having her fits she didn't show to anyone.

"Xenovia, calm yourself," the Black Sword said, materializing into a phoenix in front of her to try to stop the woman, who seemed somewhat desperate. "If he's someone you care about, why are you so nervous? He shouldn't be strong enough to overcome this?" The black phoenix questioned. "He's the weakest of them all," Xenovia commented, not even sure what to think, knowing her brother...

"He's a failure?" The phoenix questioned, and Xenovia could do nothing but ignore and continue biting her nails in constant motion.

"After all, if he's so weak, why did you call him back to the wolf's den?" She questioned Xenovia, who ignored her, while she continued to suffer from her anxiety.

"Lady Xenovia, I have a message from Jason for you." The voice interrupted her trance, and she quickly turned and went towards the man who appeared in her room. She looked like a dragon walking, and the soldier almost peed himself just feeling this woman approaching. Quickly he bowed and handed the letter to Xenovia and left desperately.

"What happened to him?" She commented, and the phoenix looked into her eyes with a look that basically said "Are you serious?". Xenovia, however, simply ignored and hastily opened the letter and began to read.

[We are currently in Lazune, we have already been attacked by bounty hunters, and Strax almost died trapped in a blizzard. We hired a mercenary leader from a guild named Samira; fortunately, she protected Strax during this incident while he was lost. We are leaving Lazune this morning, as this letter is being written. We will meet soon.]

Xenovia read the paper and began to crumple it completely; the edges began to be torn by the woman's nails that pierced the paper. "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you so furious?" The phoenix asked.

"They attacked my brother," Xenovia spoke, and everything began to tremble, while a black aura emanated from her body... "I think I should talk to my siblings," she said as her steps began to destroy the floor where she walked.

Xenovia was furious, so furious that the phoenix could barely utter a word; it was like a massive barrier, she had many things to do and many things to resolve, but just knowing that Strax had been attacked, she was already heading to personally address what was happening. "I'm going to have to start setting things straight; these bastards think I brought Strax back to be a target?

They are very wrong," she said heavily as she continued to walk, destroying the ground as her aura rose into the air, weighing down the entire atmosphere.

"Why did I accept such an irrational woman as my user..." The black sword muttered, seeing that Xenovia wouldn't stop.