124 Love huh...

I woke up to the sound of the girls murmuring to each other.

They were whispering to each other about something but I was a very light sleeper and had very sharp senses so I woke up from their voices.

I looked down and a gentle smile formed in my face as I realized that Netra was still sleeping soundly on my chest.

'Silly girl.' I thought as I felt the urge to poke her face.

I poked her cheeks and she frowned in her sleep while murmuring something incoercible.

I held back a laugh at her cute behaviour for the fear of waking her up before I patted her head and focused my attention on the three girls who were talking about something on the other side of the door.

I leaned in their direction and low murmurs and whispers started entering my ears.

"I don't want to go back there. Never again. Never." 1st girl whispered. I could tell from her words that she was really terrified about something.

"Yes. I agree with Aafrin. The people that saved us are good people. They might be strong but that doesn't mean that they take on all of those bastards. Plus, they've already helped us a lot. I don't think we have any right to ask anything more from them. Especially something that would endanger their lives." 2nd girl said. It seemed like she was the reasonable voice in the group. And although I was humbled by how she cared about our lives, I felt that it was more about her being afraid and caring for her than caring for our lives.

Still, I was curious.

Who were these people talking about.

Did the people we killed yesterday had other accomplishes.

What am I talking about. Of course they did.

How else would such weak people survive in this apocalyptic world.

"But… what about Eiliyah?" 3rd girl said and all the conversation abruptly stopped at the mention of that name.

"She helped us escape." She continued after a long silence and her voice cracked so much I had the suspicion that she was going to break down and cry any moment now.

No conversation happened after that and I wondered who this Eiliyah person was.

It seems like these girls were captured by those bandits and that Eiliyah person helped them escape at her expense.

I felt true respect for that girl. Whoever she was, I felt that I needed to rescue her.

I'll hand these girls to Rahul and he'll take care of them like he does with everyone else.

Wait! Now that I think about it, this place doesn't really strike me as 'safe'.

There's a giant creature forming in the horizon that consumes 4th tier abnormals like I consume rice. And then there's these bandits who are abducting girls and what not.

I had no illusion about what they did with they boys and men who were along with these girls.

I felt a soft tug on my arms and I realized that my erratic breathing had woken up Netra and she was looking at me with concerned eyes at the moment.

I smiled sadly at her and wondered if she had suffered like these girls as well.

I don't see any other reason why she's able to empathize with other people's pain so much.

She must have suffered a lot of pain to become who she is today.

I smiled sadly at her concerned gaze before I brought her closer to me and kissed her forehead while hugging her tightly.

I was afraid that she would push me away for a moment but after a slight hesitation she hugged me back even tightly.

'Are you going to tell her about the bandits. And that girl named Eiliyah?' Lily's voice rang in my mind and I nodded my head in return.

'I have no idea how strong those bandits are but if all they do is prey on the weak like this with the help of guns then they must not be very strong.' I thought and realized that I would attack them regardless of how strong they were.

I did not consider myself a hero or something like that. But I felt the strong urge to save the girl captured by the bandits.

Because that girl could have been Neha. Or Netra.

'Scums like them don't deserve to live.' I thought fiercely before I realized that Netra was once again looking at me with concern.

'My thoughts must have seeped into my expression.' I thought wryly before hugged Netra once again and brought her close to myself.

She blushed a bit at the close contact but her face became serious as I told her what I heard from the three girls.

I did not have to think what her rection would be to those words.

But I was surprised when she jumped out of my embrace with a serious expression and told me that we're going to the bandit camp asap.

It seems like she empathize even more with the girls and plight then I had initially assumed.

I did not mind her going around and rescuing other people.

That's one of the things that I love about her.

'Love huh…' I thought with a slight smile on my face.