novelraw Chapter 348: Regrouping
Chapter 348: Regrouping
On the morning of the following day, after being showered by frost and snow throughout the night, the giant boulder situated above their camp had also donned a thick white coat. First light of dawn had barely broken when the group of Snow Fox-kin walked out of their tents while stretching their lazy waists. Clan Chief Dar, who was leading them, swept his gaze across the camp with his hands behind his back. Valentiina's group had not yet left their tents, but he closed his eyes, stuck out his nose, and took a deep breath. Subsequently, a hint of confusion appeared on his face.
"Is it my misconception? The scent of fear has diminished..."
"Clan Chief, should we wake them up? I took a look, the weather is quite good today. Considering this, someone will probably catch up to us."
"Mm, wake them up. Let them discuss how they want to arrange things afterwards."
"Yes."
Clan Chief Dar shook his head, turning around preparing to slightly tidy up his own tent so they could quickly set off right after. But before the Snow Fox-kin who was just about to go wake up Valentiina's group could even make a move, Heidelin, who was tying up her hair, and Fisher, who had Eimhart standing on his shoulder, successively walked out from two different tents.
The two of them exchanged a glance. Eimhart let out a yawn, and Fisher also said a "good morning" to Heidelin. Heidelin gently dodged Fisher's gaze, then fixed the jade-green hair crown on her head. Surprisingly, she didn't respond to Fisher's words at all, but directly headed towards Valentiina's tent, casually exchanging a couple of sentences with a Snow Fox-kin clansman along the way.
Having slept in Fisher's embrace all night, Eimhart was still a bit sleepy-eyed. He squinted at Heidelin, who was silently walking into Valentiina's tent, and said with some confusion,
"That's weird, wasn't her relationship with you pretty decent before? Although her facial expression wasn't very pretty, even I could sense she had a pretty good feeling towards you. How come she didn't even say a word to you this morning?"
Fisher didn't respond to Eimhart's question. He simply turned his head and walked in the opposite direction from Heidelin, preparing to wake up Filis, Sertil, and Balzac, who slept in the other two tents.Actually, he roughly knew the reason. Naturally, there had been some ambiguity between him and Heidelin before, and she certainly harbored favorable impressions of him. However, ever since he pulled Valentiina back from the brink of suicide last night, no matter how softly they spoke inside the tent, their conversation couldn't escape her ears. For the sake of the Young Lady, she had to draw some distance from him to prevent the Young Lady from feeling displeased...
Undeniably, Heidelin's feelings towards Valentiina were truly profound, which could be seen from all sorts of things previously.
"Wake up."
"Ugh..."
Filis and Sertil shared a tent. Originally, Fisher didn't intend to enter, but after calling out once, a tiny whimpering sound unexpectedly came from inside the tent. He remained silent for a second before opening the tent curtain. There he saw that on the narrow bed prepared for them inside, Filis was sleeping sprawled out in all directions, still dead to the world, while one of her feet was kicking Sertil squarely in the face, a position she maintained that left Sertil teetering on the edge of the bed all night long.
And not only that, this fellow Filis also happened to like talking in her sleep. Accompanied by meaningless sleep talk, she would also make corresponding movements. Throughout the night, Sertil, who slept beside her, was bullied by her like a punching bag. Were it not for the fact that it was far too cold outside, she would have long run off somewhere else to sleep.
Upon seeing Fisher open the curtain at this moment, the Sertil curled up in the corner of the bed couldn't hold back anymore and was about to cry. But before she could even start tearing up, the foot resting on her face abruptly kicked her off the bed. Following this, the comfortably sleeping Filis stretched her waist as she sat up. She was only wearing two pieces of cooling underwear, but seeing Fisher standing at the tent entrance, she didn't feel shy at all. Instead, she rubbed the back of her head with some surprise.
"Aooowuu, slept so well... Eh? Wait, where's that coward Sertil? She couldn't have run away by herself while we were sleeping at night, right? But that doesn't make sense either; sneaking out at night, where could she possibly run to with that tiny body of hers... Fisher, did you see her?"
"...Hurry up and get up."
Fisher couldn't be bothered to answer her. He simply dropped the curtain back down and headed toward Balzac's tent. Barely a few seconds passed before several gasps of surprise from Filis rang out from the tent behind him.
"So you were here all along! You scared me half to death by not saying anything just now. I thought you absconded."
"Absconded my foot! You stinky lion sleep with absolutely no manners. Do you know I was freezing to death all night!"
"Ehehe..."
Fisher opened Balzac's tent, only to find that he had woken up long ago and was currently leaning against the bed pondering something. Fisher glanced at him, said "Time to get up," and then left his tent.
Don't be fooled by the Snow Fox-kin's miniature statures; when it came to getting work done, they were uncompromisingly efficient. It didn't take long for the tents they inhabited to be completely packed up. And Valentiina, sitting in her wheelchair, was supported out by Heidelin. As soon as she came out, she subconsciously searched for Fisher's figure. Upon seeing him walking towards her, she smiled and waved at him. The ring flashing with magical radiance on her ring finger was so conspicuous.
Watching this, Eimhart on Fisher's shoulder gleefully nudged Fisher's head, reminding him,
"Hey, what about that bird pendant she gifted you last night? Take it out and flash it right quickly..."
And Heidelin, standing behind Valentiina, sighed imperceptibly upon seeing this scene. But subsequently, looking at the smile on the Young Lady's face, a faint smile also appeared on her own. In the distance, several of her subordinates sequentially stepped out of their tents. After seeing Valentiina sitting in the wheelchair, they subconsciously gravitated back toward her direction.
Because of her extreme remarks in the carriage yesterday, Sertil felt somewhat embarrassed to look at Valentiina. Although Balzac was missing an arm, the contemplative expression on his face remained unaltered. As for Filis, she squatted by the snowy field watching the group of miniature Snow Fox-kin moving tents and other tools. Heidelin stood behind Valentiina with her eyes closed, clearly having no intention of speaking either.
Looking at the several subordinates she had hired gathering back together again, Valentiina first swept her gaze across them anew, then gently pinched the ring on her ring finger and spoke calmly,
"Good morning, everyone. However, just as I said before, this might be the last time I say good morning to you all. My employment of everyone here concluded the moment I broke away from the Turan Family. I am no longer your Boss. But I believe that after a night of cooling down, you all roughly understand the situation we are currently facing. To guarantee your safety, I will broadly offer a bit of advice regarding what comes next. Whether you follow it or not is entirely up to your own discretion."
"First, we are still in the suburbs of Mya's urban area, which means we haven't escaped the family's pursuit. Therefore, my plan is to first follow the Snow Fox-kin back to their tribe. It is a sparsely populated area with many demi-human tribes naturally scattered around, which will be advantageous for your escape... After arriving at the Snow Fox-kin tribe, Heidelin and Filis, the two of you will be responsible for leading Balzac and Sertil to hide in other tribes, waiting until it's safe to look for an opportunity to leave the snowy mountain and escape Mya."
Sertil raised her head to glance at Valentiina, who was calmly issuing orders while sitting in the wheelchair, and had absolutely no objections. On the contrary, Balzac suddenly spoke up and asked,
"Then, what about you, Boss? The ones the Turan Family is hunting down is you. Leaving you will certainly make us safe, but what are your plans?"
Valentiina looked at Balzac, sweeping her gaze across the wound of his severed arm. Although it was wrapped in bandages, the bloodstains on it still remained conspicuously striking.
"I have already concluded your employment. I cannot be considered your Boss anymore. Just call me Valentiina from now on... As for my subsequent arrangements, I will continue climbing the Sema Mountains with Fisher, to seek the legendary Frostwood Sycamore Tree. Don't worry, when we leave the Snow Fox-kin tribe, I will leave obvious marks behind. The family will only come to hunt us."
Balzac frowned, speaking with somewhat unbelievable disbelief,
"Heading to the Sycamore Tree, just the two of you? How could this..."
But the next second, when he saw Fisher quietly crossing his arms without saying a word, the rest of his sentence stuck in his throat like a jammed mechanism.
Alright, even he had to admit that this guy Fisher truly possessed quite some skills. If it was him, perhaps he really could lead Valentiina to the snowy mountain...
However at this moment, Filis, who had been squatting on the ground in a daze, suddenly turned her head. Pointing at Valentiina in the wheelchair, she spoke up,
"I still feel that relying just on the two of you to scale the mountain will be somewhat difficult, oh. Even though this guy Fisher is indeed very formidable, the snowy mountain's terrain is too treacherous. Without Sertil's machinery, to go up the mountain he would have to carry the Boss on his back the entire way. Dealing with enemies at that time... let alone the people from the Boss's family, if you run into that damned curse thing, it would be extremely troublesome. You see him fighting like a cannonball—I'm just afraid that even if he manages to take care of all the enemies by then, your fragile physique wouldn't be able to handle being tossed around, Boss."
Valentiina pursed her lips nervously. Her heartbeat accelerated for a second. She had indeed considered this problem; if they truly inevitably clashed head-on with pursuing troops from behind...
"If a conflict truly breaks out, would it be feasible for him to place me somewhere safe first before..."
Filis simply looked at Valentiina. After a long while, she finally sighed, stood up, glanced at Balzac, and said,
"That's exactly why, Boss. You've always been considering things based on the premise that we're leaving. Actually, I was quite hoping to continue following you up the Sema Mountains... I can just carry you on my back, right? Although this guy Balzac is missing an arm, at the very least his brain isn't broken yet. He is very knowledgeable about the conditions of the Sema Mountains. Even if his condition prevents him from going up the mountain with you guys, he can still plan the route in advance for you... As for Sertil, she truly has no other options. All the machinery she painstakingly made was confiscated by the Boss's family members, so it's best to just let her, Heidelin, and Balzac stay at the foot of the mountain."
"Although I'm a demi-human from the Southern Continent who is a bit fond of little money, I'm ultimately not a beast devoid of emotions. Boss, you are from the Northern Border, so you shouldn't discriminate against me like West Continentals do, right? You've been quite tolerant of me along this journey. Allow me to walk this final stretch of the road alongside you... Old Bal, express your stance, stop standing there dumbly. Losing a hand is like having your vocal cords cut out? Are you mute?"
As she spoke, Filis raised her foot and gave Balzac a light kick. This earned her a glare from him, though he didn't fuss over it too much. The next second, he also looked toward Valentiina and said,
"Filis is right. I have memorized the map and characteristics of the Sema Mountains. Later in the carriage, I will draw the route heading to the 'Sycamore Tree Entrance' for you guys. Then I'll apprise you of the situations during the journey and whatnot so you won't be caught flustered and unprepared when the time comes... Then once you're on the snowy mountain, with Filis looking after you, Fisher will be able to have a slightly easier time of it too."
Only Sertil, sandwiched between Filis and Balzac, opened her mouth awkwardly, making the "cowardly escape faction" her suddenly feel extremely ashamed. Although Filis had given her a way out earlier, this feeling of having nowhere to hide naturally didn't stem from other people's gazes, but from herself...
Thus, she clicked her tongue irritably, stood up, and while reaching out from her embrace, she pulled out a firearm that still carried her body warmth and handed it to Valentiina. The firearm was lightweight; even an underage person like Sertil could wield it smoothly. She felt somewhat too embarrassed to look at Valentiina, considering her cowardly and hurtful words from the previous day. She simply said dryly,
"This is a Mini Cannon I designed and manufactured myself. It packs huge firepower, but can only be used twice. Even a lion like Filis would be severely injured if she took a shot from it. Keep it for self-defense, Boss... I-I can't offer any other help. I'm sorry."
Valentiina looked down at the lightweight firearm in her hand. Although Sertil called this thing a "cannon," it truly appeared a bit too miniature.
However, she didn't act picky. She raised her eyes to look at the several subordinates standing beside her, a wave of warmth suddenly filling her chest. She looked at the fidgeting and embarrassed Sertil before her, and simply smiled at her and the companions behind her, saying,
"Thank you, thank you all... It is an honor to have traveled this journey with you all."
Filis was made somewhat bashful by Valentiina's genuine display of emotion. She was seen rubbing the back of her head in a carefree and casual manner, muttering,
"It's nothing, we've also gained quite a lot along the way. I've made a huge profit, spent a ton, and even got to see the scenery of the Northern Border. Not bad, not bad. Didn't this fellow Sertil supposedly wire her very first paycheck back home for tuition fees? She also must have deposited a large sum of money into her Kadu account... As for Old Bal, didn't he want to produce some academic achievements to turn his life around? However, seeing as that matter is quite precarious, why don't you organize yourself to become a wealthy old man abroad? A wife, kids, and a warm hearth, sounds good right?"
The one-armed Balzac instantly lost his temper. However, he was no match for Filis even before, let alone now.
"You damned lion without vision or perspective! Motherf—cker, everything is about money, money, money. Can't you just go die inside the eye of a coin?"
"Bleh, bleh, bleh~"
"You!"
Valentiina consistently rubbed the ring on her hand as she watched the bustling camp before her. The overcast haze of wind and snow from the night outside had finally cleared up quite a bit, taking her mood along with it... She first glanced at Fisher beside her, then looked at Heidelin who had been staying behind her the whole time.
Noticing her gaze, Heidelin, thinking she was about to be given some task, hurriedly leaned forward.
"My Lady?"
"Heidelin, thank you for constantly taking care of me all this time. You must properly take care of yourself moving forward, okay?"
Heidelin froze slightly, the rim of her eyes turning slightly reddish. But ultimately she closed her eyes, enduring the urge to cry, and merely lowered her head and replied,
"Yes, My Lady."
Meanwhile, in the distance, the Snow Fox-kin had diligently packed and loaded everything. Clan Chief Dar walked back, his nose twitching slightly. First, he smelled a massive amount of pinkish aura emanating from when Valentiina looked at Fisher. He sneezed, then looked at the orange and golden-yellow auras permeating everywhere in this space, symbolizing the scents of "harmonious steadfastness" and "confidence."
The moment his fox face smelled this scent, a sliver of a smile appeared. He didn't ask if Valentiina and the others had finished discussing. He simply pointed at the carriages behind him that were ready to go, and spoke to the regrouped "Sycamore Tree-Seeking Team" before him:
"Everyone, the carriages are ready. Please board the carriages with us!"
Valentiina released her grip on the ring Fisher gave her; Heidelin pushed her, walking parallel with Fisher.
"Alright, everyone, then let us set off."
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(End of this chapter)