Chapter 117: Encounter

Dragging the body of the man he had 'fought' just now, Rewen walked between the trees. 'Damn. Although he doesn't look it, he is probably heavier than me.' Of course, he was lying. He felt better making comments about others to make himself feel better.

'Speaking of weights, I have to be fast…' His eyes gleamed as he hastened his face.

***

West of Forest of Michaile.

"Sir, we just got a report that Ida is missing from the post he was assigned." The one who spoke was the assistant of the Eldest Grandson of the Old King.

The blonde-haired Seiji's eyebrows wrinkled. "How long has it been?"

"Ten minutes."

"Did he defect?" Seiji asked.

"He didn't seem like he would." The assistant had a tone of confidence in his voice.

"Could it possibly be the work of River?"

"River Alliance is a bit away from where Ida was stationed. I think it's the Princess Alliance."

"How about an independent person?" Seiji lightly laughed after asking this.

The assistant didn't answer but the answer is obvious. Is there anyone who would dare to be independent?

"Alright fine, send some men to look for Ida. Tell them to not immediately fight with the Princess Alliance in case they encounter them. First, send a message to me and make light talk with the Princess Alliance. We don't know if it's a person from the Princess Alliance or River Alliance for certain. It is also possible that the person who scared off the guy and this person are the one and same." Seiji carefully instructed.

"Understood."

***

"Princess, we found footprints!" Mari pointed to the footprints in the same spot Rewen was previously in.

Ayame silently looked at the footprints, then nodded. Behind her were several dozens of young women.

"Princess, is he nearby?" 

"Let's hurry, Princess."

"The one who beat up Reza to this extent must be punished!"

"Must be punished!"

"Must be punished!"

It had to be said that the sisterhood was high.

Ayame raised her hands to stop the clamor. "I swear on my last name that I will definitely find out the perpetrator!" With a faint smile on her face, she appeared heroic and full of justice.

Mari nodded and clenched her fist. She had been in contact with Reza from an early age and considered herself to be a Big Sister figure to Reza. 'Who else other than a scum can violently beat up a girl of thirteen-years-old? He is scum of both the nation and society!'

"Follow the footsteps!"

***

'Only f*cking five people!? That's not nearly enough!' Rewen roared in injustice in his heart upon seeing the number of men behind the bushes.

'Give me some big figures… damn it, the Princess and others should also be arriving in any minute. Think. Think. Think. Think! Okay, calm down. In this situation, what could I do? No, that's not the right question. In this situation, what can I do to bring the entire Miscellaneous Alliance here?' After a few seconds, a grin appeared on his face.

'But this plan has many variables and I'm not sure if this would succeed…'

[Stop setting up flags. You always say that your plan wouldn't work but it ultimately does. At this point, you just say that to reassure yourself.]

Rewen rubbed his nose and pretended to ignore the system.

A while later, he wore Ida's clothes and also wore a tight belt around his belly. It didn't hide much but it did enough. From the previously overweight self, it is a huge difference. 'As for the face…' 

He went to a nearby wet area, took out the wet mud and rubbed his face and hair with it.

'I don't have a mirror but I'm sure that if I look at myself, I can't recognise myself anymore. Now then…'

He picked up Ida's body and carefully kept it hidden under bushes and trees.

***

"The footsteps stop here, Princess." Mari turned to look at Ayame.

Ayame turned to her friends who were at the back. "It means that he is nearby. Search for him."

"""Understood!"""

Everyone went into different directions while Ayame and Mari stood there in silence.

Mari looked at Ayame who seemed thoughtful. "What are you thinking of?"

"Isn't it very obvious for his footprints out in the open?"

"Maybe he isn't smart."

"I hope so."

Meanwhile, one of the girls who joined the search saw something unusual in a tree.

When she tried to look closer, she felt a cold feeling on her neck. 

Sweat dropped from her forehead. As she slowly lowered her head, she saw a small arrow on her neck. Before she could raise her voice, the back of the neck was struck and she lost her consciousness.

"First step can be considered done." Rewen smiled in satisfaction. 

Then, he walked out of the bushes and revealed himself. In his hand was the unconscious girl.

"You! Stop there! Let her go!"

"Hurry up and report it to the Princess!"

"So you were that b*stard!"

"If you have the balls, let her go!"

In the presence of numerous insults, Rewen had few words. "Come any more closer and I may not be able to control my weapon."

"You b*stard! How dare you!?"

"Let the Princess come and then your punishment will be decided!"

"Punishment? What kind of punishment?" Rewen thought about all the things he did to deserve punishment but nothing came to his mind.

"Are you playing dumb? Or are you really dumb?" One of the girls sneered.

"You deserve punishment for beating up Reza!"

"You deserve to be punished!" 

"You deserve to be punished!" 

"You deserve to be punished!" 

"You deserve to be punished!" 

"Wow." Frankly speaking, Rewen himself was surprised at the hate he managed to gather. "Um, there must be some kind of misunderstanding because this is a competition and if I didn't beat her up, she would beat me. All I did was self-defence." Rewen lied but he was interested in trying to have a conversation with them.

"No! You beat up a thirteen-year-old without mercy! You deserve to be punished!" A girl coldly said.

"Oh? Then what should I have done? Let her beat me up?" Rewen almost couldn't hold himself back from laughing out loud.

"That's not true. You could have simply left."

"Yes, you are making excuses."

"You won't be able to get away today no matter you say."

At this point, a normal person would have stopped arguing because it's useless to argue against an entire mob no matter how logical and reasonable your argument seems. Against a mob force, the more you fight, the more you drown deeper into the rabbit hole. However, Rewen wasn't that kind of person.

"I see. I understand your self-righteousness. It's normal to have that at your age. Have fun growing up." Rewen calmly said before walking.

"What did you say!?"

"Heh! Let him run his mouth."

"Are you looking down on us?"

"Looking down at you? Of course, I am looking down on you, your friends and the Princess. You guys are simply trash. Hopefully, you'll learn your lesson and grow up." Rewen waved his hands and continued walking.

"Halt there. Explain yourself." This time, the voice directly came from the Princess herself.