Chapter 104 Things To Bear (3)

There was a missing part of the puzzle–there had to be something else still unknown based on how they were treated so far, but Lukas only had one goal in mind.

"If that's the situation, then the solution is real simple. Stacy, you and Chaerin will stay here with the others in the group while I'll ask Alexei to come with me and deal with the situation." Lukas said.

"What? Are you insane?" Stacy narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you listening to yourself? We're talking about a murderer on the loose and you're going to risk your life and–"

"Fine, I won't bring Alexei then."

"It's not just that!" Stacy glared at him.

It was enough that the rest of the people turned to look at them. Even the ones who were being treated in their hammocks and were conscious enough went to look at the two Vampires–almost as if they were arguing loudly.

And for people who relied on their hearing senses and staying quiet to survive–that actually might just be it.

Lukas sighed and then gave a warm reassuring smile in Chaerin's direction when she looked his way. He could handle things. Maybe. Absolutely not. Just hearing Cervus mention an enemy that even his warriors didn't seem prepared for was worrying.

He tried not to imagine what had happened to Theodore too.

"Lukas, we don't know what we're up against." Stacy crossed her arms over her chest. "If anything, it's much better for us to all work together to figure out how to handle the situation better–talk to the guy in charge and then make a plan, okay?"

"He seemed far more interested in just handing us the problem more than anything." Lukas sighed. "But fine, let's take it slowly–it's not as if we have some kind of deadline, do we?"

Stacy shot him a dark look and Lukas winced.

"I know that we're on a time-sensitive mission–one of your girlfriend's life is at stake, but we're not going anywhere if we end up rushing in one direction and then hoping things go smoothly just because the last couple of times did."

"You're right. Let's gather intel first and then work things out." Lukas relented at last.

***

Vulpine of the Veil Forest looked at the two Vampires discussing things and then back at the red-haired one talking with little Reos. She couldn't help but silently chew on her bottom lip.

The situation that they were in was something that she personally wouldn't have wanted them to get involved with. Outsiders didn't really understand the nuance of the situation that was occurring and it was only a matter of time till they did.

And when they did?

Vulpine gripped her arm uneasily.

She may have lived in the forest for her entire life, but it didn't mean that she noticed that there were some customs that were sharply different enough that could potentially become a problem.

"Hey, Alexei–are you okay now? We've got a lot of work to be done and we can't have one of us smooching off the other." Lukas suddenly approached Alexei and leaned against a tree.

"Stacy, are you listening to this guy for real?" Alexei complained and rubbed his sore shoulder. "Defend your brother or something."

"You know he really doesn't mean it." Stacy said.

"Excuses. Making excuses for this guy, unbelievable."

Lukas' expression lit up slightly and he gave the other guy a light punch. "If you're still recovering, it's like we'll have to put you with the children and elderly."

"Hmph. I wouldn't actually mind it, just lead the way." Alexei said and looked around their vicinity. "It's not here, that's for sure."

Lukas realized that Alexei was right, the vast majority of the people here seemed to be all around their age or younger. They hadn't actually encountered anyone who seemed elderly–and their leader was Cervus, just around their age too.

Maybe it wasn't something big to worry about, but then 'Midnight' started talking to Chaerin.

"He wouldn't be able to find it. They all go off on their own," the young rabbit child said and nodded. "To their own separate village where it's safe from everything unlike here."

"O-oh, I see." Chaerin blinked and petted the girl's head, but she had already noticed how Vulpine became a little more stiff.

The rest of the Forest Dwellers didn't seem to react and simply continued to work on their own and mind their own business, but that was enough.

For Lukas and Stacy at least. Chaerin wanted to take the young girl's words at face value–she really did, and with Alexei still a little bit recovering… It was Lukas and Stacy's skepticism that won out in the end.

The two didn't react right away and just exchanged looks, and so the two focused on getting Alexei out of his hammock and then approached Vulpine afterwards.

"So, the situation is dire isn't it?" Lukas asked.

"Why, yes–well, it wasn't always like this." Vulpine reassured them with a small smile. "...It only occurs whenever Ursa awakens after all. More or less."

​ "I see." Lukas wanted to ask more. The hesitation was visible on her face, but at the same time, he wanted to prioritize getting everyone in a place away from the others. "Well, this is going to take a while so I'll have to meet up with Cervus later, but for now, we'll take Alexei to our hut, alright?"

"Then I'll help you guys out." Vulpine said.

It was a simple process of moving from one place to another, and it was good enough that Alexei was back on his feet again–but the atmosphere seemed more distraught than anything else.

Lukas wanted to ask right away.

'Do you guys just kill your elderly or something? What's the real situation?' Those words were at the tip of his tongue, but he held himself back. The perfect time would come.

"I'll come back again later." Vulpine awkwardly said her goodbyes and left the four Vampires.

"That turned out well, didn't it?" Lukas asked the rest.

"You think so?" a familiar figure stepped out of the hut.