Regressor's Harem Of Vengeance

Chapter 82. Leaving The Village.

"You’re really leaving?" Emma asked in a cute small voice.

Hearing this, Ray knelt down so that he could be at an eye-level with her.

Then he gently patted her head and replied. "Yeah, Chipmunk. But I’ll be back before you know it."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Emma threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

Ray held her tightly while his own eyes slowly began to sting.

"You take good care of Ember, okay?" Ray said softly. "She’s going to protect you and Mom while I’m gone."

Emma nodded against his shoulder. "I will. I promise."

Ray pulled back and ruffled her hair.

Then he stood and looked at Ember, who chirped softly and nuzzled Emma’s cheek.

Ray smiled as he stared firmly at the little Wyvern with a look that says "Make sure nothing bad happens to them while I’m gone."

Ember instantly understood the meaning behind his gaze and her orange eyes locked onto his in return.

Then she chirped again and this time, it was with more intensity and more determination, indicating that she would do her best in keeping both Helen and Emma alive.

Ray smiled even more when he realized Ember understood the assignment he had assigned to her.

He knew that with the look Ember had, she was ready to protect Helen and Emma with her life if necessary.

"Let’s go," Mira said gently as she placed a hand on Ray’s shoulder.

Ray nodded and turned toward the road.

Perry’s wagon was already waiting at the edge of the village.

The merchant waved softly when he saw them approaching.

"Ray! Mira! Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Mira called back but then she noticed several villagers had gathered to see them off.

Marcus was there too and he was grinning and giving Ray a thumbs-up while also wishing him well on his journey ahead.

Elder Elaine stood beside him and she had a warm and proud expression on her face.

Other familiar faces waved and called out well-wishes too as they watched Ray and Mira climb into the back of the wagon.

Rime balanced himself on Ray’s shoulder as the wagon began to move but Ray looked back one last time.

Helen and Emma were still standing in the doorway of their house, waving goodbye.

Ray and Mira raised their hands and waved back as the wagon began to move.

Then the wagon turned around a corner, and Thornsville disappeared from their range of view.

Seeing this, Ray settled back against the side of the wagon as his hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

Mira sat beside him while she placed her own spear across her lap.

Rime chirped softly and curled up on Ray’s lap before tucking his head under his wing.

The wagon continued to move steadily, as it carried them toward te nearest town.

Meanwhile, Ray clenched his fist as he acknowledged the fact that things would never remain the same again, starting from now.

*******

Days passed away and week passed away since Ray and Mira left Thornsville.

Right now, in a town near a more popular city called Arena City, there was a tavern which smelled like stale ale and smoke.

Two figures currently sat in the corner of the tavern.

They were both wearing a dark cloak and their hoods were pulled low so that the shadows of the cloaks would cover their faces.

In front of these two individuals were a set of tankards which hadn’t been touched yet and was still full of ale.

Neither of them felt like drinking or eating anything in this place right now because they were more interested in listening to what the people in the tavern were saying.

Right now, the tavern was having one of its famous busy nights, so hunters, merchants and farmers had crammed themselves here into the smoky, common room.

The noise in the inn right now was loud and filled with laughter, arguments and the clatter of dice on wood with the scrap of chairs.

In other words, this inn was the perfect place to get valuable information of what or who Ray and Mira were looking for.

Right now, no one really paid attention to the two cloaked figures sitting quietly in the corner because everyone were preoccupied with one thing or the other

"Fuck....!! Three weeks!!!! It’s been three weeks now!!!!" A burly man slammed his on the bar.

His face was beet red from both frustration and the alcohol he was drinking.

Still, he continued with what he was saying. "It’s been three whole weeks yet we can’t hunt in the forest staring at our friggin fucking face. Don’t these idiots know how much coins we’re losing?" The man was a hunter and was rightfully pissed off by how the church hadn’t allowed hunters like him to hunt wild animals and monsters in Blackwood Forest..

"Aye. I used to bring in twenty silver a week from pelts alone. But now? I bring in nothing." Another hunter added miserably while taking a swig of his ale.

"All because the damned church can’t catch one woman."

"One woman?" A different hunter laughed bitterly. "She isn’t just a woman to the church. They’re calling her a heretic. I heard she’s a paladin gone rogue and now, she’s got half the inquisitors in the kingdom camped out in the forest."

"I heard they found more bodies in the outskirts of town just yesterday.*

"Yeah, they’re church soldiers but their throats were cut clean and they were left in a pile near the old logging road."

Hearing this, the burly hunter spat on the floor with an annoyed look on his face. "Good riddance. The sooner they catch her or she kills them all, then the sooner we get our forest back."

"You think she’s really in there?"

"Where else would she be? After all, everyone knows bodies don’t pile themselves on their own."

Ray’s fingers tightened slightly around his tankard while Mira leaned closer and whispered, "You think it’s her?"

"She has to be." Ray whispered back.