"For now!" The businessman agitatedly interjected. "Mister, I'll pay you how much you want. Just bodyguard me!" He hurriedly said, he didn't wait for Caelus to answer, he immediately shoved the black credit card on his palm. Upon seeing this, Caelus eyelids twitch, he knew the value of the said card. It was a credit card without limit.
Although he knew how valuable the card was, he also knew how useless it is now.
As Sanctuary said, every machinery humanity created was already destroyed. And human currency? How useful would they really be? As for golds, diamonds and others… for now, they were useless if one could not retrieve them and survive. And so, this piece of card was useless.
But this guy had the guts to think he could still buy everything.
*Sure enough, people just don't change, huh? Maybe the only change that would happen in apocalyptic times are people becoming worse.*
He felt disgusted looking at the guy.
Even without his memories, he knew he hated people like him. Of course, there's also Sho's memories that made him hate them twice as much.
He was sure if he wasn't cloaked with Qi, the respect the businessman was giving him would turn into nothing. Caelus wouldn't be surprised if the man even used force just to get protection.
"I can't. I have my own business to take care of. But I know a safe place you could stay while I'm away."
"C-can't you take us with you?" one of the children of the group asked innocently.
He smiled bitterly. "Where I am going would be more dangerous than where you could stay. Also, it's harder to travel with groups than being alone. Don't worry, I will come back for you all once I've finished my business. Then I can take you to a safe place where the Dragon Riders won't ever reach you."
"I-is there still such a place?" The child continued. Her voice cracked with fear and hope.
Caelus gazed at everyone.
*They too have suffered too much. He pitied them, but he knew that no one was spared from the disaster the world experienced.*
"There is. But I can't take you there just yet. You have your Elder Tomoko here. She could take care of everyone. In the place I'll point you to, you can survive for more than a month there. And don't worry, at most, it'll take up to two weeks before I can come for you all. That place is also safe, just that it's smaller in size."
"A safe place…?"
"Yes, it would be safe for now. It's easy to defend. I'll come and get you, or at least get someone to get you."
As he had a full-pack schedule, he was not really sure if he could come back for them.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Saying so, he proceeded on making a map towards a Safe Zone Sanctuary had detected. It was an area where no monster, Dragon Rider or other being goes to. It was a rare area where one could truly be safe.
It was a Safe Zone created for Humans. Of course, there was also a Safe Zone for Dragon Riders.
He knew many more of the Safe Zones location because he asked Sanctuary to specifically locate those kinds of areas.
If he encountered worse, he could just run towards a Safe Zone until the coast was clear. He also has Sanctuary to determine if it was safe to go out.
He needed to take note where he could hide in case of danger. From his path towards Asahi and Gouki, he would only have two of those. The one he was mapping was one that wasn't in his path but was near in the area.
He then gave the map to Elder Tomoko.
"I can't really go over with you. You must go over there on your own. Reaching that Safe Zone would take up to one to two days with kids around you. The path would most likely be safe for one to two days as the Dragon Riders would go to their camp first to retrieve their Dragons. Try to hasten there as much as you can. That place can't be entered by monsters or other races. It's a special place for humans. Although, you have to be careful of other humans."
"Thank you, Sir Caelus. You've helped us enough. We'll do our best to survive on our own and wait for your return. And even if you don't return, we would find a way to survive. This old lady here has a mind for survival. Don't fill your mind with thinking you are sending us to die," the elder clasped Caelus' hand. "You did plenty enough already. Others won't even bat an eye if they saw us getting dragged by Dragon Riders. Without your help, we won't even have a second chance for our freedom."
"Elder…" He was touched. What the Elder said striked hard for Caelus. He felt burdened to leave them after saving them. But he knew he couldn't take the group with him.
He had Sanctuary surveyed the area, of course he knew how dangerous his path ahead would be. Traveling alone was risky enough. Traveling with group would be suicidal. And even if he can use a Qi Cloak, he couldn't use it at once for twenty-two people without rest. The best he could do was cloak himself until he was out of the dangerous area.
There's also the Dragon Riders who would surely come after him. It was best to separate from them.
The reason he had confidence in going back was because he knew of Gouki's strength and he believed that Asahi could be extraordinary too. He couldn't clear the path, but the two might be able to.
That's why even if he wanted to, he couldn't take the group with him. It was like saving them to meet their demise.
But he couldn't deviate from his plan either. It would take at most two days to go to the Safe Zone. Going back if he was alone would take him one day, that would be a total of three days.
All the planning he did would be for nothing. He would have to expend Sanctuary's Mana once more to create a new path for him. Doing so would deplete Sanctuary's efficiency. At the worst, he won't be able to find Gouki, who is constantly on the move. He might even lose the marker for Hikari and Miya. And if any other being found out Sanctuary's Shelter, it wouldn't take long for the defense to crumble because of lack of Mana.
And there's also the Dragon Riders who could have started tracking him by that time. If they marked the Safe Zone, then going out would be a death wish.
There was one pro while countless cons were listed.
"Off you go, young man. We will be fine." The elder encouraged Caelus.
He nodded and didn't hesitate anymore. He turned around and walked towards his path.
"Hey, take me with you!" the businessman said, trying to catch up with Caelus.
"You can't. My path would be dangerous. I can't protect you." He sighed, trying his hardest to be patient.
"It's far safer to be with you than to be with those useless rags!" He declared proudly making Caelus frowned.
"Leave now. Don't you feel ashamed for being a leech?"
He clearly saw how the group earlier matured from the Super Phenomena. Even the kids were trying their hardest not to be a burden.
But the business guy was different. He was still trying to use money to buy everything. Caelus felt a headache trying to talk with him. He hastened his footsteps.
"Leech? I'm paying them! No one is immune in front of money. Say your price! Now that we are alone, you don't need to be shy!"
*Shameless. The guy was absolutely shameless. Most probably, Elder Tomoko just accepted money even when she knows that it doesn't have value anymore so that the guy would be implemented to the group. Tsk. This clueless guy.*
"Take a look around you. Money doesn't have any value anymore. No machine works anymore. Who would want your money? Go back to Elder Tomoko's group. If you're lucky you might be able to catch up with them."
He quickly ran, trying to shake off the man.
"No! I'll be safer with you!"
Caelus became silent with the man's audacity. He continued to ran as he thought about the situation.
He was not using Qi Boost to boost his speed. He was just running enough for the guy to catch up.
Truth be told, he felt safer that the man left Elder Tomoko's group. This way, the group would have one less dangerous person hanging around. Still, taking the man with him was putting himself in danger. Also, he couldn't hide his identity for too long if he kept around the man.
He didn't want this man or the rest of the group to know who he was. It was one of the reasons why he introduced himself as Caelus to the Dragon Riders. Less people know who he really is, less danger he or the people who he knows would face
*It seems I won't have any choice for now. I need to disguise myself. I'll think about how I can shake this man later.*
Thinking about it, he slowed down to a walk before glancing at the man.
"I'm Caelus. What's your name?"
Looking at the shrouded Caelus, the man beamed a bright smile. "I'm Hiroto Hanabishi, the only heir to the Hanabishi Empire."
Caelus wracked his mind thinking about the original Caelus' memory. Realization dawned on him.
*Ah. That's why he's too confident. True born rich kid, now a businessman.*