Chapter 348: CH. 357: Reward?
A pair of horses galloped across a rugged road in the forest. A man steered the horses. Long indigo bangs covered his forehead. He looked like a typical far eastern if not for his sharp black eyes and small scars on his face.
His face formed a wry smile at the group of monsters blocking the path ahead. "Lord Susanoo."
"Again?" asked the man inside the carriage, his voice deep.
"Yes," he replied and stopped the carriage. The bloodsaurus eyed them, knowing the threat the seemingly average man posed.
"Why are there so many in this forest?" Susanoo grumbled. "Yamada, how are your wounds now?"
"I can manage them, Lord."
Yamada volunteered despite the white bandages covering the long, red slashes on his chest. For Yamada, serving his Lord came before his own life.
More roars sounded from deep within the forest. His sharp face twisted into a grim expression. They might not make it past this forest at this rate. Even so, he took his wakizashi, a short sword bathed in the blood of his Lord's enemies, and got out of the carriage.
He calmly eyed the bloodsaurus more than twice his size as he made his way toward them.
Meanwhile, a man in a ragged black kimono watched over a sleeping girl with long fox-like ears. Her hands were folded on the seat, and her face resting on her white, untainted hands as though she was a lazy fox. As the battle raged outside, her ears twitched, and she opened her green eyes.
"Fight…" she muttered as she swept her golden bangs from her face. "Susanoo-sama, Yamada Nii-san is fighting."
"He won't kick the bucket easily." Susanoo ruffled her hair with a hearty laugh. "Stay here, Haruhime. I'll go help that fool."
The Renard named Haruhime could only nod her head. Susanoo grabbed his katana and stormed out of the carriage.
Haruhime wrapped her arms around herself, shrinking into a ball of anxiety. The things she saw these past few days pushed her sanity to the brink. Her family disowned her for a mere offering to the god, which she didn't even eat. Her father gave her away to a pallum guest. The coward used her as bait when monsters attacked them on the road. Using her natural agility, she barely escaped the hungry fangs of the wolves.
Alas, fate wasn't so kind to her.
The bandits captured her during her search for a safe place and headed to Orario. They planned to sell her to a brothel, where she would become a prostitute. She might have become one if it weren't for the timely intervention of Susanoo and her retainer.
'I don't trust him.'
Lord Susanoo was the brother of the current head of the Royal Court. Her father's offering was for none other than Amaterasu's shrine. Why would her brother be kind to her? The experience outside her cozy home forced her to grow and adapt to the circumstances. The pallum who took her also showed a similar kind expression, yet he abandoned her at the first sign of danger. They could be aiming to bring her back to Takamagahara and punish her.
She covered her ears from the bloodcurdling screeches. Her eyes teared up at her destiny of being a toy in others' hands. Her life was going so well. She had made friends with the kids from Takemikazuchi Familia, especially Mikoto who treated her so kindly.
'Someone… save me.'
***
Asahi teleported to the meeting room in Loki's manor with Ais and Riveria. Klyscha sent the others back to Stardust Garden.
"Onii-san, thank you." Ais wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. "I need to... update my status."
Her last fight with the golden dragon wasn't a worthy achievement for her level up, but the servants of a corrupted spirit might do the trick.
Asahi ruffled her hair. "Let's train again tomorrow."
Ais gave a nod without forgetting to add a tiny, cutesy smile for the man, who became her teacher. "I'll do my… best."
He patted her head for a couple of seconds and sent her off. He put on a cheeky grin and looked over his shoulder. "Mom, did you learn anything new?"
"Could you please stop calling me that?" Riveria's eyebrow twitched. "You're the married man here, not me."
"But you're Ais's mom, and Ais is like my little sister." Asahi shrugged. "That makes you my foster mom."
"What logic is that?!" Riveria tried to keep calm, but her loud voice betrayed her. "It makes no sense."
"It does."
A moment of silence followed; awkward for Riveria, nothing unusual for Asahi.
"Why me?" Riveria whispered, her shoulders dropping in exhaustion. "I haven't dated a person yet… Why are you so persistent in making me your mom?"
She couldn't understand Asahi. On one hand, he was an all-powerful being who could crush everything inside the dungeon. On the other hand, he was a goofy, stuck-up prick obsessed with making her his mother.
"I never saw my mom…" Asahi sighed. "I don't know it myself… you just have this aura that makes me think 'was my mother like this beauty?'"
Riveria was stunned by his vulnerable side, which was obviously a fake act.
'He doesn't know his mother. Was his mother a goddess?'
Motherhood she never knew she had swelled in her chest. She almost gave in to the urge to say some comforting words. However, Asahi's grin smashed her feelings, giving her a new urge to beat someone up.
Asahi stood up and stepped closer to her, breaking into her private space. His arms went around her waist and pulled her into the warmest hug she ever had. Riveria's mind shut itself down in the face of his scent.
"You looked so cute," he admitted and traced his finger on her elven ears. "It's my reward for taking you out on a dungeon date."
Riveria shivered down to her core and hastily pushed him away. She couldn't believe he forced a hug on her. Somehow her heart wasn't opposed to the idea of sharing a hug. Her only concern at the moment was...
'I'm sweaty till my undies!'
She was more conscious of her appearance than people gave her credit for. Being hugged in this state made her blush.
"I wanna touch those ears," he said, his eyes dead set on her ears.
Riveria recovered her composure after much difficulty and gave him the angriest glare she possibly could.
"You suck at acting, you know that?"
"..."
"Alright. I'll leave now."
He didn't need to push her too much. Slow and steady was his mantra for a wholesome relationship, especially when the target was a century-old high elf princess.
Riveria gave him a nod. "Thanks for helping me."
Even though he didn't start the so-called training on elements, she had learned plenty of new things. The minions of corrupted spirits and Asahi's spirit form gave her the spark she needed in her research.
"Mom learned to say thanks." Asahi nodded in awe. "A surprising development."
Riveria was too exhausted to retort. She simply moved out of the meeting room and returned to her room.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone