Chapter 173: Lazuli & Soom

"I said… Would you like some assistance!?" Exclaimed Alexander loudly as he glanced at the old, hunched-back man, his voice drowning out within the mighty thunderstorm.

"Huh, what about acquisition!?" Asked the old man as he cupped his ear while looking at Alexander in pure confusion, causing him to rub his head in frustration.

Raising my hand, I used my wind mana to create a dome surroundings ous, blocking the roaring wind and diverting the violent downpour of rain; it helped in suppressing some of the noise, but it was still loud as if our ears were right next to an engine's.

"I said… WOULD YOU LIKE SOME ASSISTANCE!?" Asked Alexander loudly, his voice echoing through the small air dome, causing Yuki and the Oldman to grab cover their ears while the young woman seemed indifferent.

"No, need to yell, young man. I'm old, but my hearing is still excellent." Said the old man lightly as he glanced at Alexander, whose face constantly twitched.

"S-Sorry, I was just asking if you'd like some help; you two are both walking through a terrible storm by yourselves, and it can be a little dangerous. Especially given your old age; if you want, you can sit in the carriage; there is plenty of space." Said Alexander calmly as he sighed while gazing between the two.

"Ah, well, you're not wrong. My ears may be excellent, but my old age is surely catching up to me; if it weren't for my mana, I would've already been taken away by this storm." Said the old man lightly as he glanced at Alexander before looking at his staff, only to shift his focus to the young woman beside him.

"Hmm, this would also be a perfect opportunity for Lazuli to expand her public behavior; I can't have her trying to solve all of her problems by killing or destroying." Muttered the Oldman lightly as he eyed the young woman named Lazuli, who had been staring at Alexander since he arrived.

'Huh, so that's her name, Lazuli. Beautiful, just like the gem, lapis lazuli.' Thought Alexander softly as he looked at Lazuli, staring into her cold, observant eyes.

'Haa, Master. I think you overlooked something much more important than just her name.' Said Zartha coldly with a disappointed sigh as she lightly shook her head, her words causing Alexander to tilt his head in confusion.

'Hmm, I did?' Asked Alexander curiously as he continued staring at Lazuli, unable to pull his eyes away from her.

Unfortunately, neither Zartha nor Trina told me what I had missed and merely sighed while muttering the word men, which only further confused me, but seeing as they weren't telling me, I figured it wasn't something too important and just shook my head.

"Well then, me and my daughter will gladly take you up on that offer…" Said the old man with a slight smile as he outstretched his hand towards Alexander, his words snapping him away from Lazuli.

"Alexander. Alexander Vestalis, though you can just call me Alexander." Stated Alexander with a faint sense of pride as he shook hands with the old man, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"Ho, introducing yourself with the last name? Are you possibly a Noble? The name's Soom, and this is my daughter…" Asked Soom with a raised eyebrow as he looked at Alexander before gesturing to Lazuli, who hadn't so much as uttered a word.

"Lazuli. I, um, happened to overhear you; I also have really good ears." Said Alexander lightly, only to awkwardly look away from Soom, who gave him a knowing smirk.

Ignoring the apparent smirk Soom gave me, I outstretched my hand to Lazuli after composing myself.

"Nice to meet you, Lazuli." Stated Alexander with a friendly smile, only for Lazuli to stare blankly at him while not moving so much as a muscle.

"Heh, s-she can be quite shy; she doesn't usually interact much with strangers. Lazuli, remember what I taught you when meeting a stranger?" Said Soom with a chuckle that he used to hide the awkwardness before leaning closer to Lazuli and whispering into her ear.

"Stranger? Danger. Diffuse situation. Then Kill." Remarked Lazuli blandly with a beautiful, soft, yet slightly monotone voice as she stared at Alexander, only to raise her hand at his face.

"NO! No, Lazuli, that's the wrong one. The other one, what's the other one that I taught you?" Yelled Soom as he quickly moved in between Alexander and Lazuli while pulling her hand down and whispering to her.

"Initate contact. Greet. Then Kill." Said Lazulli indifferently as she glanced at Soom, who nodded only to rub his face in frustration.

"Haa, yes, just forget the last part, okay? You can't kill everything, Lazuli." Remarked Soom with a slight nod before moving out of the way, allowing Lazuli to approach Alexander.

"Um, n-nice to meet you, Lazuli." Said Alexander with a slightly awkward smile as he looked at Lazuli, who outstretched her hand.

"Hello, Alexander." Stated Lazuli blandly as she shook hands with Alexander while staring fixedly into his eyes before stepping backwards.

'W-Weird, but I suppose it's sort of cute?' Thought Alexander lightly with a faint smile as he glanced at Lazuli while Zartha and Trina sighed to themselves.

"Um, a-anyways, the storm seems it's only getting stronger, so you might want to get in the carriage sooner rather than later." Said Alexander lightly as he glanced between Soom and Lazuli before turning around and looking at the carriage, only to gently hit his head.

"Also, this is Yuki, my future wife. Despite how large and intimidating she is, she's like a very hard teddy bear; just don't try to punch her; you'll most likely break your fist." Stated Alexander with a proud smile as he gestured to Yuki, who suddenly hopped off the carriage while standing beside him.

"H-Hello, I'm Y-Yuki." Said Yuki awkwardly as she looked down at Soom and Lazuli, completely towering over them with her massive frame.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Yuki, and it seems Alexander is quite a lucky man." Said Soom with a friendly smile as he shook hands with Yuki, only for Lazuli to suddenly take a step forward while pointing her palm at her.

"Hostile Life form detected. Scanning… Monster. Danger. Eliminate Danger." Stated Lazuli indifferently as her blue eyes took on a reddish tint while she approached Yuki, who subtly flinched at her words before narrowing her eyes.

Frowning at Lazuli's sudden words, I reached forward and gently grabbed her wrist, stopping her from moving.

"Listen, I know Yuki's appearance can be intimidating, but she's not dangerous, and I would appreciate it if you didn't call her a mons-" Said Alexander softly with a slight frown while eyeing Lazuli, only for him to be interrupted as she suddenly grabbed him by the throat.

"Alexander. Protecting Monster. Eliminate." Stated Lazuli coldly as she squeezed Alexander's neck before suddenly throwing him out of the dome and into the powerful thunderstorm, slamming him through several trees in the process.

"Alex!?" "Alexander!?" Exclaimed Yuki and Soom in concern, only for them to both glare at Lazuli.

Getting slammed through what was probably the tenth tree, I crashed into a large boulder, which finally managed to stop me, causing me to lightly groan as I quickly removed myself from the imprint my body had made.

"Ugh, well, I wasn't expecting her to suddenly attack me." Muttered Alexander with a slight frown as he landed on the muddy ground, only to gaze at the several trees he had crashed through, creating a small clearing.

Summoning Trina, I holstered her on my back and quickly dashed back to the carriage; I needed to return before things escalated because, knowing Yuki and her Oni teachings, who knows what she'll do? I'm just thankful she's quite friendly and peaceful.

Sprinting out of the forest, I saw Soom standing in between Lazuli and Yuki, trying to stop them from fighting, but he wasn't enough to prevent either of them and just when Lazuli was about to attack Yuki, I used [Blink], appearing right next to Lazuli as I grabbed her finger before pointing it towards the sky, just in time for her to launch a small beam of mana that managed to pierce the sea of dark clouds.

Glancing at her finger, I noticed there was a small hole on the tip of it, one that wasn't there previously, causing me to frown, but before I could look at her using my Heroes Gaze, I quickly spun around and embraced Lazuli while firming my stance as I took a punch from Yuki to the back.

'Freaking goodness, Yuki's strong for no reason!' Thought Alexander with a grunt of pain, which quickly vanished.

"Alex! Are you okay!?" Exclaimed Yuki with widened eyes as she quickly approached Alexander, who nodded with a faint smile.

"Yes, I'm fine. You already know that, Yuki." Replied Alexander with a reassuring smile as he tightly held Lazuli in his arms while looking at Yuki, who sighed in relief before glaring at her.

"Wait! Stop, please!" Stated Soom quickly as he hobbled towards Lazuli, who was being held down by Alexander in his arms.

"No, I'm going to punch her!" Declared Yuki aggressively as she approached Alexander while flexing her muscles and clenching her fists.

"Yuki, it's okay. Just take a second to calm down. Is that okay? Let Soom talk to her; if she's still freaking out, I'll let you punch her, then, okay?" Asked Alexander with a soft smile as he looked at Yuki while Soom spoke to Lazuli, his words causing her to eye him in frustration before grunting in annoyance.

"Hmph, only since you're fine, Alex." Muttered Yuki in annoyance as she glared at Lazuli, only to grunt once more before looking away.