SHIKARI’S HUNTING GAME (8)

Arex froze as Merfestina made the unexpected offer. With her blatantly malicious expression on her face, he was not sure if he could really trust someone like her. Arex had to proceed with caution, perceiving this as potentially a cunning move by these lords. 

"How do I know you're not scheming in any attempt to trick me?" Arex had a quick response. Considering Merfestina's reputation for wickedness, he was really on the fence about trusting her.

Arex was met with Merfestina's disapproving eye roll. "Could you at least just listen to what I have to say first before making a decision?" Merfestina's remark seemed more like a command directed at Arex.

Arex had a feeling that Merfestina was the kind of person who would not give up easily, even if he kept refusing to listen to her. By the end of it all, Arex gave in and contemplated listening to what Merfestina had to say.

On the other hand, Arex was certain that if that were something that would cause him harm, he would not even think twice about retaliating and protecting himself against her. This was something that was firmly ingrained in his mind, regardless of the fact that she was even a woman.

Arex had reached a point where it was no longer a matter of whether the adversary was a male or female; if they possessed the capability to cause him harm, Arex would undoubtedly be prepared to fight back.

"I came here to work together with you," she said. Merfestina's words left Arex wide-eyed with surprise.

In light of the fact that Leomold had informed him that it would be impossible for other lords to collaborate with him, particularly due to the fact that he was an aberrant that they desired to eradicate entirely, he found it somewhat surprising that Merfestina would suddenly offer that.

At this point, Arex found himself suddenly curious about the reason why Merfestina would suddenly come around to meet him in order to offer him to work together all of a sudden.

"I think there must be a trade-off involved in that offer, right?" Arex replied to Merfestina's offer. He decided it was best to get straight to the point rather than beating around the bush.

Merfestina smirked, confident that her offer had piqued Arex's interest. "To tell you the truth, I do not like to sweat off too much due to this game, which is why I wanted to simply win this, and the only thing I could see happening here is if I would eventually work with you," she said.

"You're okay with betraying your comrade just to win this game?"

"Comrade? Who? Is it Lady Roxina you are talking about?" Merfestina inquired, seeking clarification on whom Arex was referring to. 

Arex quickly confirmed her question with a brief response, "Yeah." 

When Merfestina responded, she did so with her arms crossed, giving the impression that she was acting irritable. She said, "I don't even care what happened to that woman. After all, should not our primary focus in this game be on emerging victorious? You must have been told about that by Lord Leomold, right?" 

"Yes, he did mention that my objective here is to win the game and not allow the blind to claim victory over me," Arex replied.

"Then you should be able to understand now that agreeing with my offer could also give you the advantage. I mean, I could also convince lord Kiyo to help you as well. Convincing Lord Valkas and Lord Halze to join forces with you will be your only task later on."

When Arex considered Merfestina's proposition, he realized that she did, in fact, have a point. Nevertheless, there was still something that was bothering Arex's mind, and he was unable to simply get rid of it at the moment. The fact that he was so eager to learn about it caused him to immediately let it slip out of his mouth.

"Why do I get the impression that you are only doing this because you despise Roxina?" Arex did, in the end, inquire.

Merfestina flinched as a result of this, and Arex's confirmation that his intuition might be correct came straight from that moment on. 

"The hatred that you and Kiyo harbored for Roxina is so overwhelming that it was not that difficult for me to see it painted all over your face, Merfestina," he said.

Merfestna was taken aback by Arex's unexpected reply. Little did she anticipate that Arex would eventually uncover her true intentions. As a result of the fact that Arex had already caught her in the act, Merfestina eventually resorted to acting in a manner that was indicative of her irritation right before Arex's presence.

"I wanted to speak with you about that deal, so I came here. Considering that it would be of much help for you to win this game, shouldn't you stop nosing about me and just agree with it right away?" Merfestina abruptly said.

Because Merfestina had the impression that Arex had already cornered her, she made an effort to get Arex to acknowledge that her proposition was something that he should not simply disregard. What Merfestina apparently did not anticipate, though, was that her response effectively made Arex decide he did not want to collaborate with either Kiyo or her.

"No, thanks." Arex eventually said, refusing Merfestina's offer.

Merfestina's eyes grew wide at this. "What? Did you just refuse my proposal?"

"Yes, I did. I don't need you or Kiyo's help. Although I am not on good terms with Roxina as well, I don't think it would be fair for you to use this opportunity to betray your comrade. Although, as far as I am aware, this was only intended to be a game, based on your tone, it seems like you might use this as a chance to finally complicate things for your comrade, which doesn't sit well with me."

"You seem quite full of yourself. Do you truly believe you can emerge victorious in this game without any assistance from us? In case you have forgotten, you will still need our help to defeat the blind—to defeat Roxina!"

"It doesn't matter." Arex promptly responded, which resulted in Merfestina being shunned once more due to her state of shock. "As long as someone like you would not be able to use me to cause harm to other people, I do not care if I do not win. I am completely fine with that. Now, If you're done talking, I'll take my leave. I still have other items that I must find rather than waste my time hearing your senseless babbling." Arex eventually added.

Merfestina, who had been completely humiliated by every word that Arex had told her, was left inside the cave by herself shortly after that. Following that, Arex had left the cave to find the other special items he needed to win this shikari's hunting game.