"Hey..."
Bang...
"Stupid pig, wake up..."
Noticing that all she was doing was useless, a sly smile appeared on her face: "Old slacker... Someone is trying to rob your treasures..."
As soon as those words came out, the old Dwarf sleeping on the ground woke up, and if facing his worst enemy, he looked around with a ferocious expression: "WHO DARE?? Bastard... If I caught you..."
Looking around, he noticed a figure standing a few steps away, making everything clear: "It's you... old woman. What are you doing here?"
Clearly, just like Atlas, his reply wasn't so pleasant. The usage of their appellations was unique and very similar, to say the least. It was clear from whom Atlas had learned this hideous habit.
"Old bastard... It's all your fault. Look what you did to that poor child... Even my help can't save him from your devious manners..."
"Hmh?! What are you talking about?"
"You will understand it pretty soon... take this as a little lesson..."
Old Mold looked at Old River, unsure about the meaning behind those words, but all became clear when…
BOOM!!
"You are so hateful... I'll knock your teeth out...."
Abruptly, a tremendous explosion and a furious scream shook the little shop.
BOOM!! BOOM!!
More noises came from the other side, and finally, old Mold reacted.
"Stop right there... You can't meddle."
Old River halted him from moving further and threatened him with her dreadful weapon.
"Hey... Old woman... They will destroy my little shop if this keeps going... We can't let them do as they wish."
"Old bastard... As I already told you... this is a small lesson for you and that little brat. Both of you should learn how to treat a woman with care. It is better than using such awful words. I warned him, but he is still too ignorant in this field."
BOOM!! BOOM!!
More and more noises came from the main room, giving the poor Dwarf a huge scare.
"Ohi... ohi... But why do they have to destroy my little store? What the hell does this have to do with me?" Old Mold lamented, finding all this situation unfair.
Old River ignored him and kept observing the other side, where a young woman was venting all her anger on a young man.
BOOM!! BOOM!!
Each of her blows was more than enough to leave behind a small wound, yet Old River was sure about her judgment and let him handle this tricky matter.
Since there was no way out, Old Mold resigned himself and concentrated entirely on them: "Old River... Atlas is still too weak. He can't do anything against her. Are you not worried that she will kill him?"
"No... There is no harm. Anyway, our spies reported that she had gone around the village searching for Atlas' whereabouts since she had appeared from the Teleportation Formation. She acted very secretly, yet how could she hide it from us... "
She was pleased with this and continued with a serious expression: "... surprisingly, that little girl is Scarlett Scalis, the only daughter of the City Lord from the Inflamed Chalice City. She possesses a particular Divine Chaotical Core and is a disciple of the Blazing Lazarus Divine Sect."
Old Mold's interest was piqued when she reported, "Impressive... and why is she looking for our little nephew? Is she a foe or a friend?"
"Hehehe... I don't know yet, but her actions tell more than my spies had conveyed. Look at her... I heard she has a hot temperament, but now... it seems there is more."
The story was taking an interesting path, so Old Mold couldn't remain still: "What did you notice? Don't keep it only for yourself..."
"You would have realized it by now if you were a little smarter. However, there's more. Our spies have also reported an odd piece of news... if we can call it that way. There is a rumor about a young man abused by a bunch of Mountain Bandits in the West side."
"... It happened a few weeks ago. There was even a grand celebration after the City Lord executed all those dogs..."
"Wait..." Old Mold interrupted her as if already knowing what she was going to tell him: "Don't tell me that the poor fellow was our Atlas... It's impossible. He doesn't act like one who suffered from such inhuman torture."
"That's the point... It was Atlas, the one they were talking about, yet after further investigation, our spies found out that it was all an excuse to kill those dogs from his neighbors. The City Lord used such a situation to his advantage and promoted his act as justice for Atlas, the poor hapless."
"Is that bastard looking for troubles? Damn… first he dared to mess with him, and now he sent his only daughter here? Is he insane?? Should I teach him a lesson? Maybe a little thrashing will let him understand that he is not untouchable as he thinks."
Old Mold wasn't joking anymore. In fact, his expression was deadly severe. He couldn't accept that there was someone out there so daring to act behind his little nephew's back.
"Hehe... Undoubtedly, we can't let him go so easily. You should have seen Old August's expression yesterday when we discovered it. Even Marigold was so angry that she started making some poisonous pills. Each of us wants to take back some interest, yet Scarlett's presence here is unexpected."
"Indeed... it's too strange."
Reaching this point, old Mold thought of something: "Maybe those little rats we found out searching in our territory around weeks ago came from that stupid fellow."
Recalling that matter, Old River couldn't help but blame him: "It's probably like that... And if it's true, then he knew something about us because you let one of them escape, fucking idiot..."
"Another reason to teach him a lesson... let me go there, and in a few days, that little bastard will have more impelling problems than troubling us."
The two continued talking about this messy situation until they realized something big was about to happen in the other room.
"Hey... don't you think it's time?"
"That little brat's mouth is more poisonous than yours... I can't even blame her for what she is doing..."
|||
In the meantime, inside what was before old Mold's shop, Atlas and Scarlett were still discussing hardly.
"Crazy woman... what the hell are you doing? Look around you... look at all this mess..."
Atlas was even more furious after suffering so much and let his tongue free.
"I don't give a shit about that... I will pay for the damage. What truly matters here is you... How could you be so uncaring about other people? Huh?! You and your damned mouth are the most poisonous thigh I have ever encountered in my entire life..."
"If you find me so unpleasing, then scram... I can't wait to get someone like you out of my way." Atlas responded harshly.
"You... How could you be like this..."
Anger and a bit of grief hit the young woman's heart. She tried so hard to keep her worst side in check, yet this man tested her patient more and more.
"Why are you treating me like this? I did nothing to you to deserve it..."
Hearing her voice changing so suddenly, Atlas calmed down a bit: "Hey... don't take it badly, but... you gave me a strange feeling. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't like it. And for some reason, you kept popping out everywhere, as if you were following me..."
It was a valid explanation, yet Scarlett found it too absurd: 'Is he treating me like this just for a sensation? Is his perception so terribly alarming that it warned him about my real purpose? Still, I'm not here with bad intentions...'
"Even if you get a strange feeling about me, your actions are too much. You are too unruly. You can't treat a woman in this way. If you apologize to me, I will pass over your manners, but if you don't..."
The meaning behind her words was clear, but sometimes Atlas was indeed beyond salvation...
"I don't..."
Bang!!
Just when he was responding, someone slammed his head onto the floor.
It was such a mighty blow that Atlas was helpless against it.
"Little brat... did I not warn you a few days ago? Treat a woman with care, or only troubles will arouse..."
The one who hit his poor head was the deadly stick in Old River's hands.
She acted as a mediator to placate the young woman's anger and teach another lesson to Atlas.
"Ahi... Grandma River, why did you hit me?"
"Hey... little brat, are you also deaf now?" Grandma River reproached, hitting his head again and again.
"Ohi... ohi... ohi... Look what a mess... My precious shop is destroyed because of you two..."
At Grandma River's side, there was the old Dwarf, who couldn't help but lament seeing with his own eyes the condition of his shop.
"You two little brats caused all of this... now tell me... How are you going to compensate me?"
Atlas was calmer than her since they were clearly on his side, yet for some strange reason, Scarlett was also serene, as if she was ready for any kind of problem.
"Hehehe... little Atlas, why are you silent? All these problems arose because you angered this poor girl once again. You can't escape from your wrongdoing. If you had kept your mouth shut, nothing of this would have happened."
Scarlett didn't understand why the old woman took such an unbiased side, but she was glad: "Thank you, Aunty River... I concede that I caused most of the damage, but he is looking for trouble. That stinky thing on his face is more poisonous than one could imagine."
Her intent was clear...
She even bowed lightly and adequately expressed her excuse: "Forgive me..."
Both were surprised by her attitude, and Grandma River even praised her more: "Such a fine young lady... she is better than I expected."
'Fine young lady?... she is more a tigress than a human...' Old Mold thought, keeping it for himself without adding more annoying problems to the current situation.
Atlas also felt disoriented seeing her acting in such a proper way.
There was a brief moment of silence until Old River approached her with a soft but creepy smile.
When they were just one step away, Old River landed one of her hands on Scarlett's shoulder and asked without changing expression: "Hehe... little girl... I was wondering... What do you want from our little fellow? Scarlett Scalis... why are you following Atlas?"