On the way back to the northwestern forests 

"Hope you are ready for some hardcore training brat.. haha.. don't start crying in the middle of the week. We aren't coming back no matter how much you whine." Lyod and Ryu traveled side by side, riding their horses.

"Don't worry about me, old man. Make sure you don't break your old bones or slip down a drain ahaha.." Now that they were away from Korua, both the man and the boy had forgone all sorts of respectful speech.

Although his tone was demeaning, Lyod liked it much more. This gave him the feeling of closeness with the kid. "You dare mock me, brat?" The old man squinted his eyes, making Ryu laugh even harder.

"Huh.. here you go then." Lyod smiled shrewdly and unhooked the strap attached to Ryu's horse. "Hey.. are you mad? I don't know how to ride, old bones." The boy complained, panicking a bit as the animal was no longer led by anyone other than himself.

"Haha.. then learn it, idiot. It is shameful to not even know how to ride at your age." Ryu could not even register his words. Every small erratic movement of the steed will make him distraughtly hold the reins in nervousness.

With his back no longer relaxed, Ryu did his best to keep the horse on the track. His funny gestures made Lyod laugh his ass off. Their shenanigans continued for a while when the old man eventually arrested Ryu's astray ride and locked its reins to his harness.

"That's enough lesson for a day. We don't have all day." Ryu sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off his face. "Try to control your sexual urges brat." Out of nowhere, Lyod commented, causing him to scratch his head.

"Where did that come from?" He asked bewildered. Lyod turned to face the kid before taking a deep breath. "Well, I am not blaming you. But if one woman can't satisfy you, then choose multiple partners at once. That is much better than overburdening a single lady."

"What's the context old man? Don't go on commenting on my sexual preference randomly." Lyod shook his head with a bitter smile, looking at the grievanced boy. "There is a context brat.."

Ryu remained silent, aware the old man had not completed. "It's related to Mrs. Nana." Ryu's face turned stiff when he mentioned the chief's wife.

"What about Mrs. Nana?" He questioned with urgency. Lyod took an exasperated breath. "Nothing much. But she is bedridden for quite a few days now, refusing to wake up."

"Bedridden? Because of me?" Ryu was greatly shocked. Although he had an antagonistic relationship with her son, that in no way meant he disliked the woman. On the contrary, she had come to like her attitude and antics.

Over time he had seen her grow compassionate for him as well. That showed in her actions. Why else will she drop by his house to check on him when he was injured in the fight with Jim? Nana was a good-natured woman at her core.

"Well, it can't be entirely because of you. You just don't have the capacity." Lyod surmised. "Still, we can't rule out the possibility that too much sex triggered something in her."

"Don't tell me she is in some kind of danger?" Ryu had come to genuinely care about the woman. Lyod smiled back at the concerned face of the boy. "Her condition is not serious at all. She just seems to be in deep slumber."

"Even so, you must know how deeply Eric loves her. He had taken most of the last week caring for her." Ryu nodded. "You should have told me earlier, master Lyod. I should have at least dropped by to check on her. Now.." He turned back to see vast empty land behind him. "Can we even return?"

Lyod laughed out and slapped the boy on his back. "No need for that. What exactly are you going to do that Eric could not for her? Just sit back and let him handle her."

Though not satisfied, Ryu can't exactly argue against that. "Also, I deliberately didn't tell this you earlier." Lyod directed a solicitous glance toward the boy. "You see, chief Eric will not be very keen on meeting you at a time like this."

Ryu almost stumbled from his horse. "What is that supposed to mean? He can't be blaming this on me?" Taking a fleeting glimpse of the horizon with the beautiful sunrise at the edge of the terrain.

"No. But the fact that his boy picked a fight with you. And his wife gets as this only the second day makes you.. ahh.. what should I say.. suspicious?"

Ryu's face was red with anger. "What kind of crappy logic is that? If I have to hurt someone, I will hurt that bastard with his head up his arse. Why would I do anything to such a kind lady? So what if she is his mother. It's plain stupid to blame her for the deeds of her child."

Taking a pause, he pointed to Lyod himself. "And didn't you just tell me... I could not hurt Mrs. Nana even if I wanted? I am not at her level."

"Ahem.. that's true. But like I told you, Eric loves his wife more than anything in this world. Even that crappy logic will seem possible to him if Nana doesn't wake up soon. So you better pray that she does." From the grin on Lyod's face, Ryu can tell he was mostly pulling his leg with this argument.

Both of them fell silent for quite some time. "Keeping Nana's case aside for a while. I myself have to settle the scores with you, brat."

Ryu exaggeratedly turned to face the flaring old man. "Now please don't tell me I overfucked your wife as well." "Not my wife, but Sophia is not much different than a daughter to me." Lyod responded in an aggrieved tone.

"What do you want to say now?" The news of Nana had already dampened Ryu's mood quite a bit, so he was not particularly interested in talking about his other girls.

"Sophia.. from the day she returned from the trip with you pipsqueaks, she adamantly refuses to have sex at all. Tell me why I should not blame you for that?" Lyod narrowed his eyes.

"Pui.. pui.. pui.." Ryu spat down in quick succession, displaying his disgust. "You horny old bag.. Don't you feel ashamed talking about having sex with someone you call 'daughter'?"

Instead of countering Ryu on that, Lyod only scratched his head in puzzlement. "Why should I be ashamed? How else is a father supposed to show love to his daughter?"

Ryu slapped his head. For a moment he totally forgot the stupid rules of this world. While most of the time these rules benefit him, like allowing him to fuck his mother, sisters, aunts, and many more. At some other times, it does lead to quite a few unwanted situations.

He had compromised on Amelia since she is a grown woman and it will take him longer to mold her to his will. But that was not the case with Sophia and Kira. He must plug their minds so they don't take up the 'filth' of this world. He can be called a hypocrite on that, but Ryu couldn't care less.

"No, you should not. You should respect Sophia's choices. If she doesn't want to do it with you... then please keep your dirty paws off her." Lyod wasn't sure how he was to respond to this uncalled-for slandering. Why was being made into some kind of child molester, when sex between parents and child was a common happening in every household?

Ryu didn't give him any chance to think actively about the complications of the matter. "In hindsight, I regret even sharing my pointers with you. But then again, I didn't know I will grow so close to her. So, please don't try anything funny.. she is my girl now."

"Your girl? Big words coming from a kid who can't even wash his own butt." Lyod smirked, bit taking his words seriously. "You don't have to worry about that. I got loads of women to clean my butt for me. Now, why don't we focus more on our trip?"

Lyod humphed but chose not to drag the topic. Overall he was happy with the way Ryu reacted. This meant his love for Sophia was real. Not that he doubted his girl at any point, but still as an elder he had a responsibility to fulfill.

"Where are we supposed to stay the night, this time?" Ryu inquired. Since Dorothea was no longer the resident of the village, they might have to look for a different accommodation.

"Huh? Do you want to stay the night? If we stretch it out, we can directly reach the forest frontiers before night falls." Lyod suggested.

"That won't do. I need a good night's sleep, before the training starts. We got to stay the night." Obviously, that was not the right reason for his interest in staying at the place.

Last time, he had emptied his treasury of fruits in that downtrodden village. Now that months had passed, he wanted to check on the residents once again and if possible, drop another load of the Nida fruits that are of no use to him.

For sure there must be hundreds of villages like this, with hundreds of thousands of famished people who had literally no interaction with the mana of this world. Ryu can't hope to bring a change to everyone's life.

Yet, even helping a single village fills him with immense gratification. Not to mention the Nida fruits are a waste to him. His body had evolved such that it can not reap any benefit out of them.

"Where are we going to stay? I only knew Mrs. Dorothea from there. You already brought her with you." "So what? Anyone will be happy to provide shelter. Let's just go, we will figure things out." Lyod did not exactly like being the passive one in the conversation, nevertheless, he followed through with the revamped plan.

***

"Aahh.." Sophia woke up to a throbbing pain in her head. Once she could manage to lift her heavy eyelids, she found herself surrounded by darkness all around. *Tung* Trying to move from her sitting position, she found her hands had been arrested within chains.

"What happened..?" Sophia could not recall what exactly happened to her. At one moment she was Mrs. Amelia.. and then.. she lost consciousness. Struggling to look around, she found someone else in the dark room with her.

"Aunt Amelia?" She can't misjudge that lush burning red hair even in the lack of proper illumination. The mature woman was just like her.. hands clamped behind her back and resting against the wall.

"Hey aunt.. can you hear me?" Knowing the gravity of their situation, Sophia didn't talk loudly. Unfortunately, there was no response from the lady. Thankfully, she can see her bare chest undulating with every breath. Either she was passed out, or in slumber.

*Clang* *Clang* Her next action was certainly to try and break free of the chains. When that didn't help, she wanted to absorb the properties of the earth below her. "??" That too failed because she could not gather any mana in her body.

"It's a waste. You are going to be here for a while." The sound of boots approached both of them from the darkness. Sophia's face stiffened watching a set of slender legs wrapped under a tight latex approaching her.

"Who are you?" Sophia questioned, not panicking even a bit despite their precarious situation. The candle on both sides flickered when the female came and bent over Sophia's face. "I brave soul indeed."

*Dap* *Dap* Face to face with someone who she had presumed dead for so long, Sophia could not believe her eyes. "Aunt.. Paula.. you.. you.. are..?" Slowly her courageous expressions melted away, giving way to a miserable girl who lacked words to express the tussle in her heart.

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