She was unsure of what to make of the stranger before her. She thought he placed himself in trouble by coming out to rescue her but how wrong she was?
He somehow managed to defeat three magicians with movements that she had never seen before.
His movements were ethereal and graceful, without a single weak point left to exploit. For a moment, she longed to learn such a fighting style.
Maybe she wouldn't have found herself in her current predicament.
But… even as she admired him, she still kept her guard up as he approached her. Why?
Because he was a stranger. He saved her but what was to say he didn't have his own hidden agenda?
After all, circumstances had proven to her that despite their goodwill, people could also be despicable.
Just then, she recalled a certain someone. "Oh no. The lady, I need to save her."
…
Max watched as the girl struggled to her feet, despite her fatigue. Taking a step back, he inhaled deeply, in a bid to confirm a certain scent before nodding.
"It's familiar."
Suddenly, the girl walked past him, her destination unknown.
"Hey, wait a minute, I still have some things to ask you," Max called out.
The girl turned to him, a stern look on her face. "I don't know what you are thinking but I warn you to not have any funny ideas concerning me. The fact that you saved me doesn't mean anything to me."
After speaking, she pulled out a small pouch from her waist and threw it at Max's feet. "That bag contains fifty silver coins. That's enough to pay you for your help."
Without sparing him another glance, she turned and left.
Max was stunned!
Looking down at the pouch at his feet, he felt a wave of unfamiliar anger emerging from within. He furrowed his brows. "Is this what it feels like to be insulted?... Interesting."
He bent down and picked it up. Looking at the girl's retreating figure, he smirked.
Bam
The girl shook as she turned toward whatever went by her, only to find her pouch planted in the ground, a mini crater formed underneath.
She turned back to face Max as he walked toward her.
"What is the meaning of this?... I have already paid you, why are you still seeking trouble with me?... You think deserve more just because you beat up those three weaklings."
Max paused. "You didn't seem capable of doing that though."
The girl scowled. "That's because I was already weakened in a previous fight, so no need to get so full of yourself."
"Alright fine, let me set things clear. I did not save you to get some form of benefits from you, in fact, I wasn't planning on saving you at all.
"If those guys had agreed to my request, I would have simply asked my questions before taking my leave. I could care less about what they do to you after I'm gone." Max casually said.
"You…"
"What?... You thought I was some hero?... Nah, don't make me out for something I'm not. You might as well have done something bad to warrant getting treated like that." Max remarked.
The girl spat back. "But I did nothing wrong!"
"And I don't care. As long as it doesn't concern me, then I see no reason to interfere. So please get down your high horse and stop thinking that I saved you for benefits, I do not need them."
The girl was left speechless.
Silence permeated the atmosphere for a few breaths as they exchanged looks.
Feeling impatient, Max asked. "So?"
Gritting her teeth, the girl said. "My name is Laura, what's yours?"
Max nodded. "Much better, Mine is Maximilian."
Laura pursed her lips before asking. "So what do you want from me, Max?"
"Are you familiar with someone by the name of Lara Rion?"
Laura tried to speak, paused, and then continued. "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Nice. I'm her son, do you by any chance know where she is?" Max seemed excited as she asked.
Laura shook. "You are Lady Rion's son, Max?"
Max noticed her reaction. "Yeah. Is something wrong?"
Laura immediately replied. "Yes, there's a reason I was in a hurry, something happened."
Max frowned. "What happened?"
"We were attacked by rebels and your mom was captured." Laura hurriedly explained leaving Max with a grim expression.
Laura could faintly make out the killing intent leaking out from Max. "Max…"
"Take me to her."
He just came back and hadn't even gotten a chance to settle down, yet some bastards dared to manhandle his mother?
Courting death!
Laura nodded. "Alright, let me summon…" she trailed off as Max suddenly appeared in front of her.
She was rendered speechless once again.
How did he traverse the distance so quickly?
Max spoke up. "Your summon is slow, just give me directions, I'll take us there."
Laura struggled to respond. "…Alright then."
He lifted Laura off her feet. "Lead the way."
Laura's cheeks turned slightly red as she looked toward the region she escaped from before pointing. "Over there."
Suddenly, she felt the air currents around them cease as Max bent the knee and without warning… took off.
Boom
The ground beneath his feet was broken as he charged through the forest area. Laura held her breath as she watched the rapidly moving scenery.
"This… how is this possible?... Can a human run this fast?" at first, she had doubted when Max said that her summon was slow, why?
Because the Cockatrice was a known animal capable when it came to fleeing, thus its speed was no joke. Unfortunately, it was a Servant class so it wasn't exactly able to evolve.
But now, as she lay in Max's arms, she realized just how wrong she was to doubt him.
Without fail, this guy would be able to run past the Cockatrice in a race.
Gulping saliva, she could not help but inwardly sigh. "I must have lost my eyes to see you as a nobody, you are clearly stronger than me. Maybe Lady Lara might have a chance to escape with his help."
Suddenly, Max's voice broke her train of thoughts. "Where next?"
She quickly pointed in another direction. "Run that way and at that area, turn left, we are close to their location. Hopefully, they haven't left yet."
Max inhaled deeply. "We are close."
Planting his feet on the ground again, he dashed forward again. He had to make it in time before those bastards left.
Once he found them, this time there would be no mercy.
"If a single hair from mom's head is missing, I will kill every single one of them!" his killing intent surged.
There were a few things he cared about in this world and the most important… was his mother!