Chapter 149

149 Make a rescue plan, please! part “Miss Risa, we need to talk”

“You said that already, but I’m not interested”

Risa let out a sigh.

“Please, we don’t have much time!”

“I don’t care about your problems kid, just go play tea time with your friends or whatever you nobles do”

“I just want to grab a beer with you miss Risa, let’s go to the tavern”

Thea whispered the last part. Risa’s eyes were wide open and she quickly pulled Thea out of the guild while laughing heartily and pretending to be having fun.

Risa wasn’t a smart adventurer, she didn’t rely much on her int stat because it was low, in fact she wasn’t smart even when compared with normal people which was pretty rare for an adventurer, but one thing she knew for sure was that Thea would never drink with her, at least not in a tavern.

Thea thought that taverns were cheap, dirty holes were low class adventurers would drown their sorrows in tasteless alcohol and she would never set foot inside one of those places, but that was something only people who knew her would know.

.....

“What’s the matter kid?”

Risa dropped her facade and glared at her.

“it’s about Ryu, no, mister Ryu... he’s in trouble”

“Spit it out already, can’t you see I’m worried sick about him!? they said he was dead”

“No, he’s not dead, at least he wasn’t dead when I saw him last. We were caught by the goblins like they said, but not only they let us go, they also treated his wounds”

“Is it really true that Ryu killed Kinta and shortie?”

Thea nodded in response.

“Well, I’m sure he had his reasons...”

Risa didn’t know how she felt about Ryu, but she was indebted to him and even if Thea said something outrageous like he killed them out of spite or something, she would have convinced herself that he did it for a reason. Fortunately that wasn’t the case.

“They tried to enslave us and they... they did things to me”

Thea’s eyes became teary but she was holding a determined look on her face.

“Why are you telling me all this now? why didn’t you tell me before!?”

“I couldn’t... It’s been difficult for me after what happened. It took me days to gather enough courage to get out of my room. The only reason I’m telling you this is because Ryu saved my life”

“So, the thing about Sera hurting you, was that a lie too?”

“That’s a bit more complicated, but you need to know that the ones behind everything were the guildmaster and her daughter. They have some sort of connection with the sacred empire and they want Sera because she’s a mage”

Thea told Risa everything that happened, includings the parts she herself would rather forget. Her plan to betray her comrades and how it backfired, the abuse she suffered and even the fact that Ryu killed the guy while he was still inside her. She didn’t notice when she started crying but tears didn’t stop flowing from her eyes.

Risa was infuriated, but she managed to keep calm and listen everything from start to finish without muttering a word. Still, the only reason she didn’t kill Thea on the spot was because she was taken aback by the sincere tears that were trickling down her cheeks.

Thea felt somewhat relieved after coming clean and her pain was eased, even if just a little. Risa didn’t say a word and simply turned her back to her and headed to Ryu’s shop.

Not everyone knew he actually owned the place, but Risa was well informed about her pupils. Ever since she took an interest on him she had been gathering information about Ryu and she was certain that she knew everything there was to know about him.

When Risa pushed the door open she found Claire and Taffy behind the counter selling potions like usual, the stock was running low but they still had enough to sell for a week or so.

“Miss Claire, you might not know me but...”

“What happened miss Risa?”

“So you do know me!”

“It doesn’t take a genious, you’re wearing mister Ryu’s cape after all. Now please tell me why you came, if you have any news on him I’ll pay you handsomly”

Risa felt embarrassed after Claire pointed out how she found out her identity, but she was in a hurry too.

“Is Luke around?”

“He’s at Bob’s place at the moment”

“Thank you, please don’t tell anyone I came here”

Risa could hear her own heartbeat, the hope of finding Ryu alive was so thrilling that she could barely hide her excitement, but as much as she wanted to rush into the forest and rescue him, she had to let Ryu’s friend know what happened to him and there was also Sera’s situation.

She actually didn’t like Sera that much, but she was close to Ryu and if he ever found out she abandoned her, he might never forgive her. She knocked on Bob’s door and as soon as the door was opened she pushed past without caring for Veronika.

“Luke! Bob! Are you here?”

“What are you doing here miss Risa?”

Veronika said hiding her anger behind a fake smile.

“I need to speak to them”

“I’m sorry, but they’re busy right now, they’ll be back in about a week”

“They went to look for Sera?”

“Of course not miss Risa, do you really think my Bob is capable of going against the adventurer’s guild?”

“Of course he’s capable of that, I’d be disappointed if he didn’t have the balls for that. I really need to speak to them, can you please tell me where are they?”

Risa was so desperate she would have knelt down to beg without hesitation, but once Veronika confirmed her sincerity she let out a sigh and pointed upstairs.

“Please be careful with what you say, I find your rudeness amusing but they’re not in the mood for that, they’re still mourning their friend”

“Don’t be silly woman! Ryu is alive!”

Risa bolted upstairs and then she heard a loud wailing.

“Why!? Why did it have to be goblins!? those things are so weak! Did you see how strong he got? he knocked me down with a single hit, how could she fall to goblins? I’m going to kill them dead!”

Luke was crying, cursing and wailing all at the same time. Bob was sitting while staring at the ceiling with dead eyes.

When Risa walked in the room the first thing she noticed was the stench that came out of them, it was a mix of snot, tears, sweat and alcohol.

“What are you idiots doing here?”

“We’re mourning the dead, did you come to join us Risa?”

Luke said without even looking at her.

“I meant, what are you idiots doing in here instead of rescuing your friend you morons?”

“I’m not interested, she flipped out and killed innocent people and now she needs to pay for it like any citizen”

“Are you stupid? I’m not talking about Sera! Ryu, he’s alive!”

Risa mocked them, despite being in a similar state before Thea spoke to her. Bob and Luke smiled from the bottom of their hearts because they knew Risa wouldn’t joke with something like that. Risa proceeded to fill them in with everything Thea told her, emphasizing the fact that goblins seemed to have treated his wounds but that she didn’t know the reason for that and he might not have much time left.

“Bob grab your weapon, let’s get going!”

Luke tried to stand up but he stumbled drunkenly, Bob stood up so fast he flipped the table upside down making a mess.

“Come on guys, you’re better than this. If we go out like that we’re going to get killed before we even reach the forest! besides I’ll probably be the first one to drop dead, you guys stink worse than the undead and it’s killing me!”

She pinched her nose with a disgusted grimace.

“Yeah, maybe we should take a bath first”

Luke scratched the back of his head and started taking off his clothes on the spot.

Risa, as the refined lady she was, stared blatantly at Luke as he undressed. He had a rather thin frame, but that was a good thing for a thief. He wasn’t in bad shape at all, his skin was milky smooth, his face wasn’t manly but his blond hair gave him an air of royalty.

Risa was very amused at the sight of Luke’s buttcheeks and felt the urge to slap him in the ass, but she dropped the idea once she noticed Bob staring at her.

Bob was an entirely different matter, his huge size and muscular body gave him a rough appearance that contrasted heavily with his benevolent face. Still, he was a lot more to Risa’s liking and she was eager to find out what was hiding beneath his pants.

She didn’t say a word and simply kept watching as a confused looking Bob started taking off his pants making her gulp in anticipation. ‘If it wasn’t for this stench this would be the happiest day of my life’ she thought.

But just before the best part Risa felt a pair of cold hands covering her eyes, it was Veronika.

“Just what do you think you’re doing Miss Risa?”