451 Chapter 451: The Return Home

The return trip turned out to be uneventful.

As it turned out, the Dark Church was so mauled by the Barbaric Baboons that they didn't have any forces to spare for investigation or searching for their high-security prisoner, even though we were literally next to them the entire night. No other Dark Church members left the base, but I was pretty sure it wasn't as if they were entirely wiped out. Surely the surviving security personnel left within the base was more than enough to finish off the few Barbaric Baboons that infested their place.

Whatever the case, Feng Hai didn't stay to investigate further. After resting for a night, he had us trek several hours through the forest and into the next valley, where there was a wide open plains for the hovercraft to set down on. Once we reached the edge of the forest overlooking the valley, he contacted the pilot and gave him our coordinates, directing him toward our position. Our transport arrived within the hour, and we all bundled ourselves aboard, frogmarching the grumpy Ling Dan.

The receptarier was still pretty grouchy over our "unnecessary" rescue, but he managed to comfort himself with the reminder that he would be paid handsomely for his services and that he would get to meet a new girl.

What a bastard.

Well, as long as he could help Anastasia, I had no complaints. Her wellbeing was the most important thing.

"Brother Richard, we're finally going back?" Adrian asked eagerly as he shifted about in his seat, squirming under the safety harness.

"Yeah, we're returning to Stuart City," I replied wearily. It had taken some time, but we were finally returning to Stuart City. By now, the third place match and the finals should be over. I had spent so many days out on the field that I had almost lost track of time.

I wondered if my team had won and secured third place. Who were our opponents again? Right, they were Lilith Porter and her team from Vermillion Academy. Not a bad matchup for us, to be honest, though I wasn't sure who could handle Lilith. Maybe Craig, or Harrison. Wouldn't surprise me if Bu Fan somehow pulled a win over her and eliminated her from the team match.

I also wondered who won the finals and became the champions for this year. Most likely it was the same Pendragon Academy team who defeated us. They were pretty much invincible, and I couldn't imagine any team that was stronger than them. Even Saint Teresa Academy had quite some ways to go before they could catch up with the likes of Pendragon Academy.

They were the undisputed champions of last year, and looked well on course to defend their second or third consecutive championship this year. It was a pity, but since Charles Lacroix would be graduating by the end of this year, even if I somehow managed to make it into the Jing Tian Academy representative team next year, I wouldn't be able to expect a rematch. Not that I wished to fight against a monster like him again…

"I hope our parents aren't worried…"

Melina crossed her fingers anxiously beside me, a forlorn expression on her face. I sighed, thinking that she and Adrian both deserved a good scolding for running off and stowing away on the Silver Wolves hovercraft without permission, yet I didn't have the heart to be angry at either of them.

Hell, honestly they were a big help this time. Without their stealth device, our mission to rescue Ling Dan and escape unseen from the Dark Church would have been a lot more difficult. We would have been forced to fight the Dark Church and sustained a few casualties. Melina's stealth device had truly saved us a lot of trouble, and quite possible even helped preserve the lives of several Silver Wolves mercenaries.

That didn't mean they should continue sneaking aboard mercenary transports in the future. They might have gotten lucky this time, but if they continued engaging in such dangerous activities, one day their fortune would run dry and they would end up in a deadly predicament. Good thing I was here to take care of them this time, but what about the next time?

Nonetheless, this most likely served as a good combat experience for them. I was glad to see that the both of them had learned quite a lot from this field trip. That said, I hoped that they wouldn't become complacent. The reason they prevailed was a combination of their use of the latest, state-of-the-art, hi-tech stealth device that Melina's father had given her, and because I was there to look after them. Fergus Franklin had some awesome military connections, though, considering that he could freely give his daughter something as insane as that stealth device.

I wanted one myself…

Unfortunately, the stealth device had its flaws, and as I said in the previous chapters, the moment I used magic I would end up canceling out the stealth field that it generated. In other words, it was pretty pointless for assassination or combat missions, and stealth and reconnaissance missions weren't my kind of thing. Not when I could just summon a flock of Corvus and send them out – I didn't need stealth devices, and by summoning Corvus and maintaining their existene in the material world, I would end up automatically deactivating the stealth device anyway, which would render it completely pointless and useless for me.

"Don't worry, your father should roughly have an idea where you went," I assured Melina. And I glanced at Adrian, who was on the other side. "Your parents, too, Adrian. I bet this isn't the first time you disappeared."

"Ah, ha ha ha…busted." Adrian laughed sheepishly. He clearly still recalled the time when I found him alone in the middle of a forest, right after I did the whole diversion thing to lure a pack of monsters away from a refugee convoy. Yup…his parents were probably used to him running off somewhere and getting into trouble, all right.

They might even see this as valuable combat experience for their son, considering how they just leave him be without taking any precautions, even when knowing what kind of mischief he was usually up to.

"We're here!" Redfield announced from opposite us, his hands clutching the harness tightly. He grinned at us, and I recalled that he probably regarded me as a kid along with Adrian and Melina. Well, given that I was currently physically seventeen, there was nothing I could do about that. Oh, and Adrian and Melina were both fourteen, if I wasn't mistaken. I had thought Adrian was twelve or thirteen when I first met him, but hey, I wasn't god. I always made mistakes.

As if to punctuate Redfield's declaration, the hovercraft lurched and I felt it slow down before descending. There was a thump when the transport engaged its landing pads and made contact with the ground, and then the shuddering stopped. The noise dulled a little, turning from a ferocious roar to the softer thrumming of idling engines. With a whoosh, the ramp lowered.

The Silver Wolves were already unstrapping themselves from their safety harnesses and jumping out of their seats. I was a second slower, while Adrian and Melina gazed around in stupefaction before hurriedly following my example. I waited for them to unbuckle themselves loose before I led them out of the landed craft.

Some distance away, Feng Hai, Glacia and a group of mercenaries were escorting Ling Dan. They had their weapons out, and though weren't blatantly pointing anything at the receptarier, continued to eye him warily. After all, we didn't start on very good terms, with the ungrateful bastard literally attacking us with his heavenly flames after we rescued him. For now, he was under control because of Feng Hai's promises of money and a girl to save, but nobody knew what ran in that crazy mind of his, and nobody wanted to take any chances.

"Good job," Feng Hai told me, breaking away from the escort group to brief me and the kids. He placed a hand on my shoulder, expressing his gratitude and appreciation for my part in the mission. "Your role is done here, so you should send those kids home and get some rest. I'll transfer your pay directly to your bank account."

"Thank you." I bowed gratefully, and then turned to the kids. "All right, let's get the both of you home."

"I've called my dad!" Adrian was waving his cellphone about with a grin. "He's coming to pick us up!"

That was great. Without a car of my own, I appreciated the lift. As much as I sometimes felt bad of taking advantage of the chance to get a free ride, it was quite the long trip home, particularly with my luggage and belongings. Or in this case, a long trip back to my hotel. Actually, I wasn't even sure if I still had a room reserved there. Having spent so many days out in the field, I shouldn't expect anything. My friends most likely had returned to Jing Tian City shortly after the finals, upon receiving their third place or fourth place trophy (or medals). They were aware of the possibility that I wouldn't be back for a long while, and would have returned ahead of time.

While waiting for Sacha to arrive and pick us up, my eyes naturally strayed to where the other Silver Wolves were. Feng Hai had returned to Glacia's position, and continued shepherding a moody Ling Dan.

"Oh, you really found him!"

"!!"

Everyone turned in surprise and caught sight of Teacher Mary Cure striding toward our position. She nodded at Feng Hai, whose expression remained impassive as ever.

"Yeah, we did." The Silver Wolves leader nodded, his arms folded. "Thank you for the information. He really was located in the Yao Cai Mountains."

"Not bad, not bad." Mary Cure was musing, leaning over to study an embittered Ling Dan. "Did you wipe out the Dark Church cell that was holding him hostage?"

"…eh?" Glacia looked stunned by the healing teacher's question, but Feng Hai continued to be nonplussed.

"I knew it. So you did send us on a rescue mission, after all. Why didn't you give us the complete information, if you knew that Ling Dan was abducted?"

"Ah, ha ha…so you figured it out. As expected of you, Little Hai." Mary Cure giggled sheepishly as she scratched the side of her head. "Well…I didn't have any confirmation…it was just rumors. I heard that this idiot ran off to the Yao Cai Mountains on his own, but he disappeared weeks ago, leaving everybody worried. Then I heard rumors that claimed that there were sightings of the Dark Church in the same area, so I put two and two together and guessed. But without any ransom or note, I had no proof. I didn't want to speculate baselessly."

"So that's how you know the Dark Church was involved." Redfield was crossing over, with Brent following closely behind. He frowned. "Wait, just based on rumors? That's not very reliable."

"That's why I had to depend on you to find out for me." Teacher Cure sighed. "I have no proof, and I didn't want to just give you baseless speculation cobbled together from mere rumors." She jabbed a thumb at the grumpy Ling Dan. "This moron is well known for disappearing altogether from civilization, claiming that he hates society, that the world should just be destroyed and all that edgy nonsense. It could just be that he was hiding somewhere in the middle of Yao Cai Mountains."

"Well, I'm glad you sent in the cavalry," Ling Dan remarked sarcastically. "If they hadn't arrived when they did, I would still be tortured by the Dark Church into cooperating with them."

Everyone stared at him.

"That's not what you said," Glacia growled, annoyed. "You claimed that you could escape on your own, and even attacked us when we rescued you!"

"Ugh…you did that again?!" Teacher Cure buried her face in her palm. "Stupid edgelord. Not only are you so antisocial and self-centered, you're an ungrateful bastard. You actually attacked my students and their comrades?"

"So what if I did?!" Ling Dan snarled. "They have their own ulterior motives for saving me! If they didn't need me to cure their friend, they would never have…"

"Actually, they would have. They are mercenaries. If I hire them on a rescue mission or an investigation mission, they would have saved you."

"Still, they're doing it in exchange for money! Not out of some altruistic reason…"

"Would you prefer not being rescued at all?"

That shut Ling Dan up. Teacher Cure turned apologetically to Feng Hai and the rest.

"I'm very sorry. This disciple of mine is a hopeless case. I hope that you will forgive him, for my sake."

"As long as he helps Anastasia, I don't care," Feng Hai replied.

I was about to add my agreement, but then I heard a honk. Turning around, I saw that Adrian's dad, Sacha, had pulled up in his super luxurious car. Getting out of the driver's seat, he waved at us.

"All right, kids! I'm here! Ready to go home!"

As I suspected, he wasn't pissed off at all, and had totally anticipated that his son had run off to have an adventure. He chuckled when he caught sight of Melina, and tilted his head slightly.

"Don't worry, young lady. Your dad knows where you've been. We'll take you back home immediately, but he knows you've been…uh…" he glanced at me. "Training in the field. A very invaluable lesson and practical experience."

Melina sighed a breath of relief. She followed an excited Adrian, who proceeded to tell his father everything that had transpired over the last few days.

Holding back a sigh, I followed them into the huge car and dropped into the passenger's seat. It really had been a crazy week, and I was glad that it was finally over.