"What do you think, Rohan?" Jenzigh suddenly asked.
Rohan's eyebrows rose high as he turned his focus to his mother. "The creature on that planet is quite dangerous. If we're going to bring that witch, then we'll have to bring more than twenty men to guard her." He pointed at the woman in the helmet.
Jenzigh narrowed his eyes. She thought Rohan was not listening to what they were discussing as he kept bothering his little sister; maybe trying to poison her developing mind. But apparently, he still caught the conversation they had, and even gave a professional answer.
"Have you ever seen the creature yourself?" Doma asked.
"Planet Lucia, a zoo. It displayed one of them. Ten feet, three pairs of fangs, stinger on the back. Ten meters high." Rohan explained.
"Interesting," Edra muttered with a hand on the chin.
"What about the length?" Jasper asked.
"Well.." Rohan seemed to think for a moment. "Probably about six meters. Oh, and it will be twelve meters long with the tail of the stinger." He smiled.
"It will be quite a job, then," Doma muttered.
"Do we really have to take the witch with us?" Banda Bardahon asked. "Twenty men with all their fresh air supplies and equipment will consume much space, also money."
"If you have a device to see deeply through the rock-hard ground, then you won't need it anymore," Jenzigh answered.
"There is no such sophisticated device that can read six kilometres underground just from the surface, for now. If you insist, then you can drill the ground randomly. But you have to be prepared for what's coming right up from down there without even finding the gold." Rohan said.
"Helena is the greatest witch we could find. You know that witches are very, very rare and hard to catch. I lost ten of my men in the capture mission. I cannot accept the slightest risk of losing her in any mission, and this mission is no exception." Jester said.
"Well, why don't we encourage her to take a closer look? Most of their powers are still a mystery, correct?" Edra approached the helpless witch.
"Hei, witch. I believe you can do better than this. I'm afraid you're actually hiding your true power because you hate us."
"No! That is not true! Please.. I beg your mercy. I can't see any further than this.."
The witch began to tremble. She still couldn't believe the fact that she had to be caught by the villain Helomus even though she was the strongest witch in her clan. Her pride and soul were sliced.
"Then, what are you going to say after this?" Edra pressed a button on the small controller that was connected to the chair of the witch whose name was Helena.
"ARRGHHH!" Helena screamed in pain as the electric currents shot her from her helmet, handcuffs and leg cuffs. In addition, a cable was also attached to the top of her spine to give her more sadistic torture.
The poor witch had to endure the torture for a full minute until Edra turned off the electricity.
"Look at that idiot. He will only destroy the only tool we can use to carry out this mission." Rohan chuckled.
"I saw father was just trying to threaten the witch," Terena replied.
"I think you should learn the difference between trying and showing off. What your idiot father is doing is showing off." Rohan smiled at the young girl.
Terena was the daughter of Edra. No wonder she inherited his stupidity.
"That's enough, Edra. You're just ruining the only tool we can use there." Jasper said.
"Jasper is right. No need to push her too hard. If it's true that we can't carry as much gold as we want, we can make two trips to carry more gold also." Jenzigh added.
"Wait a minute, Lady. Travelling twice will cost us too much. The planet is in another solar system. We only brought enough fuel for one trip. Coming back to Gheya just to fill the tanks will cost us a lot." Doma objected.
"You know the Bardahon ship is only designed to use planet Gheya's original fuel. We also cannot accept the risk if we couldn't get the amount of gold we expected on the second trip." Banda added.
"Stingy as usual," Rohan muttered with a chuckle.
"Excuse me, sir. What did you just say?" asked a young Gine who heard Rohan's muttering.
"What? Should I shout it in your ear?" Rohan raised his eyebrows with a glare at the boy.
Jenzigh glanced at her husbands in turn. They also gave her meaningful looks.
Of course Rohan would make a bit of a fuss. His name wasn't Rohan if he didn't. A Rohan wouldn't let a mission go smoothly if he got upset about being in it. This time, he was acting more childish than ever.
"What happened?" Banda frowned at her youngest son.
"Please, Lady Banda. I'm sure there's a misunderstanding here. A Rohan couldn't possibly say something that would spoil the mood in this important mission. He was about to pass his teenage years and become an adult. Of course he knows when to get serious." Jenzigh immediately said. "Isn't it, my son Rohan?"
Rohan looked at his mother silently, then smiled faintly. "The point about me knowing when to get serious is acceptable."
Jenzigh sighed quietly. That hog... If it weren't for his strength and vast knowledge, he wouldn't be on this important mission. The boy really knew how to torture his parents.
Suddenly, Rohan got up from his chair, and strode over to the witch who was slumping weakly in her electric chair. As usual, his every move would catch everyone's attention.
"Let me tell you, people. Instead of arguing about the trip to take, you'd better think about this: The acidic air of planet Ogx won't keep gold above ground for too long. They will begin to erode within three to four hours. You can't leave them on the ground to then load them on the second trip. That's why this tormented witch is the best replacement tool you guys currently have."
Then Rohan gripped the witch's jaw lightly. He shoved his thumb from her cheek to the lips and smiled. "Sweet."
"If that is the case, then we have nothing more to argue about. It will be one round trip." Doma said.
Then the man turned to Rohan and said, "I hate to watch your rude attitude. But I'm proud to have you on this mission, Rohan."
Rohan smiled thinly. "I just can't hold back your pointless sparring. But I'm sure you know that I like the liquor from your hometown."
"Who doesn't?" Doma chuckled. "I brought some barrels only for you."