Chapter 106 106: Sara's Betrayal [Pt2]

"SARA, ARE YOU OUT HERE? COME OUT BECAUSE IT IS SAFE NOW."

Amelia called for the kid with her voice full of worry. Keith sighed as he followed Amelia with a sullen expression.

They were wasting a lot of time looking for Sara. She was an intelligent child and her spot on the map was still secured. So, Keith was sure she would make it to the next round without a problem.

"Amelia, I know you are worried about Sara, but won't it be faster for us to look for the three remaining red slip people and take them out? It will ensure that we see Sara during the next round."

Keith offered an alternative to Amelia but she looked angry with him for his sensible suggestion. Her eyes were wet but tears did not fall from them just yet.

"How can you say that? What if Sara got injured? Or worse, was robbed by someone during this competition? Her loss will be on my head, right?"

Keith shook his head as he registered Amelia's words. He did not get her logic and how she thought at all. Why would it be Amelia's fault if something happened to Sara in this competition?

It had been Sara's choice to participate in this competition and it was also her choice to run away too far while not trusting Keith and Amelia to take care of the competition. Why would anything be Amelia's fault?

"Amelia, has anyone told you that you are too soft and kind-hearted? If not, then let me tell you. This much kindness is stupidity and it will cause you to lose something important soon."

Keith did not want to be a party pooper but he wanted Amelia to be a little more sensible. She was his key to living a long and healthy life. She needed to be alright for Keith to survive the future encounters with other protagonists.

His words had the opposite effect on Amelia. Instead of looking thoughtful, she just looked angry at him.

"I am neither soft nor kind-hearted. I just do not want a kid to die uselessly. I am just doing what I wished someone did for me when I was young. I know how it feels to be desperate and needy for something."

Amelia's words caused Keith to fall quiet. But despite her heartfelt words, he did not agree with her confession.

Just like Amelia, Keith had a desperate time in his original life as well. But his experience had been different from Amelia's.

Amelia had somehow managed not to lose her innocence but Keith's words had been shattered early on in his life. From then on, Keith had become a great judge of character.

And when Keith looked at Sara, he did not see the innocence of a kid, but the shrewdness of someone who would take advantage of you in whatever way they could.

"Fine, do what you want to do. But I hope you never lose your innocence and kindness, even in the future no matter what you face. Otherwise, this world will become too much for you."

Keith's words had taken a turn for the dark. He had not meant to say this much but his mouth had continued to speak once he had started.

Amelia was a little taken aback but she decided to ignore Keith and his disinterest in looking for Sara. If he did not want to put in any effort, then he does not need to. Amelia could look for the kid herself.

'I know Sara is just an unfortunate soul looking for someone to come and save her. I will be the one to extend this hand to her and then bring her back to the guild with me.'

"SARA, WHERE ARE YOU?"

Amelia yelled once again, this time with even more desperation. And Sara finally stumbled out of a nearby bush.

She looked startled to see Sara and then her look turned to glee and gratitude as soon as she saw Amelia. The child ran toward Amelia and Amelia opened her arms to catch Sara.

'See, I knew Sara missed me and was terrified. I cannot believe Noah was suspicious of such a sweet child.'

"Sara, are you alright? No one got to you, right? You can tell me if something happened to you. I will help you out."

Amelia offered her help, now seeing herself in Sara. She was just doing what she wanted to make Sara feel better about her situation. Sara was too young to participate in this competition.

"I am alright. I found something fantastic so I wanted to show it to you. Amelia, lean down so that I can tell you something."

Amelia leaned down without hesitation but before Sara could speak, her body was picked up by Noah and held away from Amelia.

"Hey, what do you think you are-"

"Shhh, we are being targeted by someone right now. I can feel the presence of two powerful people in the vicinity."

Amelia tried not to tense up and give herself away. She also quickly felt around for another presence and was surprised to feel two well-fleshed-out auras.

'Why did I not feel these auras until now? How did my senses become this dull? This has never happened before to me. Then why?'

It did not make sense to Amelia why her senses had dulled this much but she quickly picked herself up and got into position.

"Do not worry. These people feel powerful but I am sure we will be able to take them out in a 2-vs-3. Sara, you go and hide-"

Amelia spoke but then she felt something sweet reaching her nose. It made her feel dizzy and she looked at Sara's impassive eyes.

The child had cold and unfeeling eyes without a hint of guilt and emotions. Even as Noah let go of Sara and the child rushed toward her side, Amelia could not shake off the feeling of 'wrong' she felt.

"Are you alright Amelia? It does not feel like you are alright. Maybe this competition is too much for you and you should give up now."

Sara spoke kindly but Amelia still felt like shit. She was leaning against the tree at her side and her body felt heavy.

Her eyes met Noah in a desperate attempt to convey that something was wrong. The man just sighed tiredly and walked toward Amelia.

"Here, chew on this and you will start to feel better. For now, just lay down and rest. I will find a way to halt the progress of our attackers."

Keith was a good helper to Amelia and she was not happy to see the burdens he had to carry for her sake.

"Thanks. Give me a few minutes and I will be back to normal. I do not know what happened to me all of a sudden."

Amelia had an idea that it had something to do with this sweet and pungent smell she was being subjected to for some time. But she could not be sure and she did not want to suspect things for no reason.

Sara looked started for no reason and Amelia put a comforting hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

Noah just looked resigned at her action and he took in a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Alright, take your time. But make it soon as well."

Noah was gone soon after that. The sound of something metallic clashing reached Amelia's ears and she was startled to see herself flinch.

She had never felt this bad in her life before and the smell was just getting too much for her.

Amelia had a suspicion about who was behind this sudden smell attack but she did not want to make assumptions based on her suspicion. She needed to be certain of her feeling before she could start suspecting people.

"Amelia, everything would be alright. But maybe you should have over your slip to me for now. What if you cannot run away when the time comes?"

Sara's words sounded logical and Amelia was almost handed her yellow slip over before her arms paused and alarm bells rang in her ear.

She had a sharp sixth sense and Amelia often relied on it to do things. And currently, it was telling her not to part away from her slip.

"What is wrong Amelia? You can trust me. Or did Noah say something to you when I was gone? Do you no longer trust me?"

Sara begged with her round eyes full of tears. She made Amelia feel sorry for her circumstances but Amelia could still not bring herself to hand her slip over to the other female.

The sound of footsteps reached Amelia's ears and she decided what to do.

"Sara, run away. You will not be able to do anything if you stay behind."

Sara looked angry and disappointed. She also looked hesitant to leave Amelia for safety reasons but Amelia pushed her back to make her go away.

And as soon as Sara left, Amelia started to feel better.