"What do you know about her?" Lazaro asked. The night in the forest was unsettling enough but the sternness on his tone still bothered Lucas more.
"She's a trophy wife." He answered what he felt was true.
As hateful as Lazaro was, and as scary, he ultimately was a man who gave him the chance to be a real pillar to his family, so, regardless of fear, he did not mince words.
"Leandro Nascent is the CEO of the conglomerate that the united front of humanity is relying on to develop and create new technology to help humanity, between thousands of industries he was the one chosen to come to Edenlife."
Lazaro did not speak as he listened.
"Larissa came to Edenlife together with the poorest and more desperate people from the earth. On one of Leandro's public outings, he found her in the crowd and took her on a date, they married and discovered her talent in healing. He often says the searches on healing powers are advancing by leaps and bounds with her help. The people that came to her were his goons, there's no sign of struggle, She probably kept silent so they could bring her away without having else asking to be taken along."
A smile appeared on Lazaro's mouth.
Lucas looked at him in the eye.
"My point is; she's well married. Her talent and ability are way above the norm. Whatever feelings you developed in this time is useless, her white knight already sent his goons to save her, It's not something worth offending Gerald, one of the five new directors United front Academy."
"Oh my, Boar, are you concerned with me?" Lazaro laughed.
Lucas stared at Lazaro and suddenly squinted. "You... you have no idea of just how much you helped us, do you?"
Without answering, Lazaro turned around and walked back to the camp.
"Don't hang much on that gratitude, the method I put up to sell will spread and the level you have now will be the new basic level soon enough."
'You really have no idea...' Lucas thought, but just followed instead of talking.
"You'll stop looking for her?" He asked.
Remembering the instant Larissa's expression crumbled, Lazaro sighed.
"No. I promised to bring you all to safety. And more important than my life; is the value of my word."
*****
Heavy silence surrounded the small firepit.
Sophia warily sat beside her grandpa staring at Lazaro with huge, unblinking eyes. All her weight was shifted into her fist, ready to punch him away.
He squatted down right in front of the seated Gerald, who had both guns aimed his way.
The others stood around with Lucas beside Lazaro. He readied essence inside of him, ready to stop anything that might start.
"I did what I have to do," Gerald said, watching Lazaro taking a bite of a beast heart.
He despised and roared inwardly. Someone so uncouth, so unabashed by his lack of class as a human being. A person who so proudly walks around in rags. How dare a thing like that put his, Gerald Fonseca's authority to test!?
"Please, my grandfather only choose his blood over a stranger, it wasn't personal you would have made the same choice!" Sophia tried to say with firmness but in the end, her tone turned into pleading.
The image of Lazaro's arm turning purple as he strangled a tyrannic turtle to death will be forever etched in her mind.
Lazaro felt the grease of the meat slid down the corner of his mouth, noticing a wince on Gerald, he didn't bother to clean it up.
He chewed the meat with mouth opened in front of Gerald through two whole minutes, making the old man's nerves become as taut as possible.
"What did you exchanged her for?" Lazaro asked.
"I alre-"
Ptoo!
Lazaro spit to the side and looked at Gerald with a greasy smile.
The old man rose, in that half instant, Lazaro aura became the most hostile red, then turned back to indifference
'...Is this a 'Don't lie' warning....?'
Once he understood, his hands clenched and blood leaked from his mouth, eyes turning bloodshot with the bottled rage.
Gerald knew he was the weaker part at the moment. He squinted and spoke through clenched teeth.
"A favor. And for me and Sophia's safety." He spoke so righteously, it disarmed anyone with doubts.
But Lazaro knew, He suspected in the beginning, but after today he was sure. The man in front of him was nothing more of a highly functional narcissist. He faced a lot of these kinds.l They are useful in the government, as someone who cares for nothing else than oneself, will do a near-perfect work as their skill are an extension of themselves.
But when it comes to a sinking ship crisis, they are the first to drown others to stay afloat.
"My grandfather has no combat skills! It'd be cowardice to attack him!" Sophia spoke again.
Lazaro bit another piece of meat and chewed, his eyes never leaving Gerald.
"H-Hey, we c-can't really blame Mr.Fonseca, any normal person would do what he did." Avila who was silent until now spoke.
"Midged stay out!" Lila stared.
"But he's right!" Sophia supported.
"Y-yes, I saw with my own eyes as the other man stood beside Little Sophi's tent!" Fueled by Sophia's support, he exclaimed.
Lucas heard and frowned instantly. With the most alarm he could muster, he started moving the earth and a sudden wall grew between Lazaro and Gerald.
Gerald and the others took the chance to distance themselves.
But Lazaro's voice leisurely crossed through the wall.
"You know, you felt the need to point that out, which is already suspicious, but even more so is the fact that there were only tracks and smell of females and not male. So, how did you see a man?"
Gerald instantly looked at Avilá with anger, catching his plight he sighed aloud.
With a grunt, spoke. "Oh please, Lazaro! You're not perfect, a higher ranking person could bypass your senses. or Avila could've simply saw wrong."
Sophia visibly went stiff after that exchange.
He patted her shoulder and smiled gently. "Grandpa would never lie about my Rascal granddaughter's safety."
The usual warm and reassuring tone comforted her. She nodded, firmly staring at Lazaro who just appeared.
Lucas flustered as Lazaro simply sidestepped the wall with two quick hops and saw the exchange between Gerald and Sophia form beginning to end.
The second he stepped forward to make the old man an example for future enemies, flashes of the violence he was surrounded with since young passed by his eyes.
He hesitated. Wich made him freeze altogether. He had never done that before, violence was daily and should be applied generously whenever you felt it was needed.
Regardless of Innocent, children, guilty, young, or old. That was a law taught together with how to walk and how to speak. This time, however, his intent was halted by merely an innocent expression of a little girl who believes her elder without a shred of doubt.
He knew, that eventually, life will punish her, he knew she eventually would see blood as well. But unlike the numbness to violence that all seemed to be born with where he came from she had eyes full innocence.
He stopped and stared at her while frowning, although the girl suffered under the pressure of his gaze, she still bit her teenage lips and didn't move.
He thought of what thy talked before, how she acted during their crisis and her overall attitude. And he understood his reluctance.
Gerald is common but she might be different. Remembered Gerald's smile to her, Lazaro understood that, as her grandfather, he noticed she was different since young.
She was a child, a blank page. He was a politician of extremely high rank in an ever-evolving world. It didn't need much to understand his intentions towards Sophia.
A tired sigh escaped Lazaro's lips.
If he broke the old man in any way right now, he'd be unforgivable to her and she'd forever bear the guilt of not protecting her Grandfather, a simple thing, but as someone of Gerald's career coupled with his ability to see auras. it's easy to manipulate the little girl to do his biddings for her whole life.
'....That annoys me.' Lazaro thought.
(You needed that much rationalization to cover for the mere feeling of not wanting to shed blood in front of a girl who's not used to it? You're too soft.)
Completely ignoring Hyera Lazaro's calm eyes centered on Gerald. I'll let this pass if you deal with the issue of those two dead goons."
They became stumped by his sudden change to a negotiation.
Gerald doubted but looking Lazaro's aura and seeing the usual green of avarice, he laughed. 'He did all that to negotiate form a strong stance? Well done, but a little over the top.' He thought inwardly, but he knew the amount of relief coming from his gut showed just how much of a threat that man was.
Avilá looked at Lazaro with dispise, Sophia looked at him with disbelief but she was more confused as she didn't understand what was between the lines, Silver looked a both Gerald than at Lazaro.
"Pfft! haha!" And suddenly burs tout in laughter.
Lucas was the only one still staring at Lazaro, and seeing his cheap smile, he knew it wasn't over. He didn't know why but he felt he understood a little about the smiling fool in front of him.
Lazaro eyed Sophia, then Gerald.
The sight of an older man painting a young mind to be his slave disgusted him, but in the short term, there was nothing he could do.