After our joint declaration, it was time for us to head towards the next fearless one.
"Alright. Let the next fearless one come."
"Yes, but before that, let's go home."
"What?!"
"Hum! Don't tell me you want to go to the next fearless one."
"Yes, what's the problem?"
"The problem is that you don't know where the next fearless one is."
"With my sense of smell, I can easily find out."
"I doubt that. But it's a shame, I have an idea of where the next one is, but it seems you won't cooperate."
Wandering without a defined destination would be a waste of my time, and my sense of smell didn't have such a wide range. Originally, I had no intention of returning to that city, but now I realize I have no other choice. I'll have to face that old man again.
"If it's a lie, Max, you'll regret it."
"Yes, I'll remember that."
"Izumi?"
"What is it?"
"Ah! Nothing," Ui seemed anxious to tell me something, and that intrigued me.
"As we go back to the city, I'll take the opportunity to refuel," Fallen Tits said.
"Of course. It's already fallen anyway."
" …"
She just stared at me, showing no irritation on her face, but I could sense the intense anger consuming her.
"Yes, Izumi only has one outfit, and it's all torn up. We need to go back to the city," Max said.
"I don't need clothes."
"Izumi, can we go to my village first?"
"I don't want to."
"Please, Izumi. This is the last thing I'm asking of you."
"No."
"Izumi, let's take Ui to her village. We can't let her go alone," As Max finished speaking, Ui's face looked sad.
"You guys just give me trouble."
"Let's go, folks," Max said.
We started walking.
"That scarf, isn't it yours, Max?" Ui said.
"Scarf? Where?"
"There?"
Max rushed and grabbed the scarf, surprised.
"It worked!" He said with a smile.
We continued walking and saw a human on the ground. Ui approached and shook him by the shoulder. I didn't understand why she wanted to carry this human, but I didn't care.
"Let's go home, Mito."
It hinted that they were acquaintances. One day before we reached the village, the human woke up.
"Huh? Where am I?"
"Huh? You woke up, Mito," Ui spoke while taking the human off her shoulder.
"Who are you?"
"Don't you remember me? I'm Ui."
"Ui? Ui! Are you alive?!"
"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"
"Then it didn't happen?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Forget it, but the Ui I knew was a child."
"Ah! So…"
Ui recounted everything that happened when he disappeared and returned as a servant of the fearless one.
"I understand. So that's what happened," He began to look at us, got up, and prostrated himself. "Thank you for taking care of my sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law?" Fallen Tits asked.
"Ah! I didn't tell you. He was my sister Ai's husband."
"Was? What do you mean?! Ai got married again?!" said the human, trembling and with a shaky voice.
"No! No! No! She's still single."
"Whew!" He sighed.
"Are we done now?" I said.
"Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter. If you're done, let's go."
"Ahhh! He's Izumi. My… My…" she looked at me with a smile and put her hand to her face, expressing affection. "Crush."
"Crush?"
"Yes!"
"But what's that?"
"Shut up!"
I started walking. I was getting annoyed seeing them talking to each other.
"What a short-tempered man."
"Don't mind that. He's always like that."
"I see. You like him."
"Ah!"
"It was written all over your face."
"Really?!"
"Yes."
"Hi! I'm Max. And this is Idalme. Nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine."
"Yes, but we should start walking before he gets even further away."
"Ah! Okay. Sorry."
"No problem."
Sometimes, I secretly wished my hearing wasn't so sharp so that I wouldn't have to endure these pointless conversations, but unfortunately, I heard everything clearly.
As we approached the village, we found the old man at the entrance, and as usual, the alarm went off.
"Yo-yo-you?!" The old man trembled in fear when he saw us approaching. His eyes widened, and his trembling hands indicated the panic he felt at that moment.
"What's wrong, seen a ghost?"
"Uncle, how long has it been."
"Mito? I can't believe it. Is it really you?"
"Yes, it's me, Uncle."
Tears flowed from the old man's eyes, tinged with fear and relief, as he ran towards the returning human. The scene seemed pathetic to me, as if I were watching a fifth-rate theater performance. The old man was shaking as he hugged the human, and the dirty tears stained their clothes and those of the newcomer.
Shortly after, the old man called another woman, and the same depressing spectacle was repeated. The couple showed no embarrassment and began to cuddle right there, as if they didn't care about the presence of strangers. It was an embarrassing and disgusting spectacle to witness, and I felt even more uncomfortable in the face of the scene.
"I missed you so much."
"I can't say the same because it feels like it was just yesterday."
And they both began to laugh. Was that funny? I didn't think so.
"Izumi. It's getting dark. Can you stay the night here?" Ui said.
"Why would I do that?"
"I wanted to spend more time with you."
After the journey, Ui seemed sad. Our adventure with her had ended, leaving her in this state. However, this turned out to be beneficial for me, as my only weakness was far away.
"Izumi. Let's stay just for tonight and refuel. We don't have enough food for a long trip."
"Thirk! I don't need food."
"But we need it, and without me…"
"I get it. Do whatever you want."
He used to find ways to annoy me constantly. I needed to enhance my sense of smell to detect the fearless ones from a distance so I wouldn't have to rely on them.
Night fell, and three rooms were reserved. In my room, I was practicing the Super Speed Brute Force Iz technique. However, my body still couldn't withstand the pressure, and the longer I used it, the weaker I became. I tested my limits, and my body went numb. I couldn't move, even in a simple meditation position.
I fell on the bed, waiting for my body to recover. However, in the silence of the early morning, I noticed a smell indicating that someone was opening the door. I had never considered the possibility that someone might try to kill me in my sleep.
"Izumi?"