Chapter 41 - Stalker No More

The area wasn't pitch black but it was dark nonetheless. The faint moonlight did a good job of illuminating the compact streets, the dilapidated houses in the surroundings, and the lascivious expression of the man before Susy and Rita.

The faint lights coming from the surrounding houses also contributed to the illumination, but that didn't mean his expression was clearly visible. It was the intuition of these women that clearly showed what this man's intentions were.

And the alcoholic stench also wafted in the air as soon as this man appeared before them which prompted them to furrow their eyebrows.

The man they both knew, or rather, just recently was introduced to was standing before them. The village chief who had come with a patient to Susy's house earlier in the afternoon.

"Hehehe! Roaming through a dark slum area such as this… is really dangerous you know? Especially for such beautiful women like you…" the man said between heavy breaths as his body appeared to be swaying.

"So you were the one following us! Say what you want, or else…" Susy clenched her fists as lines appeared on her forehead. She had to decide whether to make noise so that the people in the vicinity come out of their houses or just beat this bad guy really good. And with the annoyance she was feeling, she wanted to lean towards the latter.

This man had pissed her off earlier. It would be a good payback now that he was alone, drunk, and away from her children. Her father, Lord Hardy, and her mother as well had properly taught her how to take care of the scums like these. It was just that, earlier this man wasn't alone and most importantly, her children were there. So she had acted reservedly.

But now, the situation is reversed. There was Rita with her who was fairly strong according to her estimation. She hadn't seen her fighting but had estimated her strength to be on par with a B-ranker. Heck, she might even be the strongest woman in Dulia town!

So Susy wasn't the least bit worried when she saw the face of the stalker. Having set her mind, she looked to her side to know Rita's opinion just to let an unease grip her heart the next moment. Rita's face was terrified, her skin perspiring and her gaze somewhat blank with her eyes wide open.

"As I said, I came to offer my protection to you two beauties…" he said as he slowly took a step forward, "Tsk, I feel really bad for you. A tender and defenseless widow like you taking care of two children all by yourself…" he covered three steps of distance.

"I said, don't take a step forward or be ready to face the consequences!" Susy said in a raised pitch as a faint greenish-yellow glow appeared around her clenched fists.

"...must be hard. As a kind man, I couldn't ignore your plight… And besides, you haven't given a proper explanation for your previous heinous act… But considering your predicament and circumstances, I must reconsider and offer you my help…"

"Cut the gibberish! Do you even know who you are dealing with? I will give you the last chance. Leave and we will forget this incident," Susy acted confidently as she took a glance at the stunned Rita once again only to become confused.

Yet the last quiver in her voice didn't go unnoticed by the man before them and he knew who he was dealing with, 'two scaredy-cats' he thought. Seeing the condition of Rita, his confidence arose once again. He had already closed the distance and was just 2m away from them.

The strong stench of his alcohol wafted into their noses to which Susy wrinkled hers while Rita shuddered due to the memories the smell brought.

…(Flashback)....

The evening was the same as this and the yellow light of the lamp barely illuminated the rooms. And she was alone, a teenage girl, as her drunkard of a father and her dear elder sister were yet to return home. So she busied herself in preparing the dinner.

*Bang* *Bang*

And suddenly heard loud knocking sounds giving her goosebumps. The shabby state of the door only made the noise creepier. Mustering her courage, she asked, "W-who is it?"

"Where's your damn father?" The deep voice made her body numb as she gulped.

"H-he isn't home… P-please come in the morning..." she had to answer.

"Hump! You think I have that much time? Open this damn door already! I won't go unless I get my money back!" the man said loudly, scaring the girl out of her wits. She didn't know if she should open the door.

"...Are you opening or should I break open this damn door?" his deep sound resounded again and the girl hurriedly replied, "W-wait, please don't break it…" and approached the door with her shaking legs. Her family wasn't in a condition to afford a good meal much less fixing a broken door. As he was going to come inside anyway, she could at least save the door.

And as soon as she opened it, a burly, familiar-looking man with a large build barged inside, making the girl retreat several steps back. The alcoholic stench spread throughout the room with his arrival.

The man looked around and sat in a corner, leaning against the wall as he took a few gulps of the alcohol from the bottle in his hands.

5 minutes passed in silence during which the girl was in a predicament due to her frightened state. She finally decided to run away if this man did anything suspicious as she neared the open door. Though she didn't know where she should run to...

And the man had emptied the bottle, "5 gold!" the man barked, "in the name of friendship, your damn father had borrowed two years ago! And yet to return, keeping me hanging!" he said as he breathed heavily. His gaze then moved upwards to see her frightened face and he felt it to be bewitching the next moment.

"Ohh… I didn't know Gerald had such a beautiful daughter…" the man smirked and the girl sensed a bad premonition. And just when she was going to run for her dear life, the man pulled her by her hand when she was just two steps outside.

"Eeek!!" her body started shuddering like crazy.

"Now, don't you think you should repay your father's debt?" he said and pushed her onto the floor.

The girl understood what he was trying to do and her fright made her unable to mutter a single word, her tears leaked like a river. Her lips quivered and her voice stuck in her throat. The stench of alcohol from his breath only burned her throat.

"Hic… Hic…" she could only cry. What could a 13 years old girl with a measly strength like her do?

The man took her blouse to tear and the girl finally muttered, "P-please, hic… let me go… hic…" she pleaded.

"Don't worry, I will take care of you properly!" The drunk man's desire only flared up seeing her defenseless state. He wanted to ravage her so bad and he could wait no longer. His hands fiercely moved and tore apart her blouse.

The poor girl couldn't take such inhumane treatment and fainted. And just before the man could remove her lower garment, he stopped as someone had entered the house.

30 minutes passed and the girl woke up, just to hear some loud moaning sounds appearing to be coming out from the bedroom.

The recent memories snapped her eyes wide open as she heard her elder sister say, "Hump! Trying to take advantage of a little girl? Haa… How lame! Mnn, where did your strength go now? Thrust your pecker harder, you stinking man!"

…(Flashback End)...

Kindness. She could afford it because of her sister. So many years have passed now, the bad days are already over. She couldn't understand back then, but she eventually understood how much her elder sister had sacrificed for her.

"Kindness is your greatest weakness… But I guess at least you should keep it within yourself!" she had said.

But Rita eventually understood… that what she considers kindness was superficial, just the fears of her heart… The kindest among the two was definitely her elder sister. Kind and strong.

...

Rita stood quivering in front of the lecherous village chief who was spouting nonsense as those past memories flooded her mind.

"Come! I will properly take care of you two, hehehe!" the filthy man said, making her body shudder once again. But she knew that she had to fight.

'The rumors were true. Your sister is truly a slut!' that drunk man had said to her in the past and as soon as she remembered,

"Noooo!" she screamed.

*BAM!*

A giant earth hand came out of the ground and blasted the villager chief away, while her son's words resounded inside her head, "The trouble won't wait for us. It will come knocking at our door. It is we who will have to be ready to face it!"

(Update: The aunt's past isn't that dark, and since this chapter was creating misunderstandings, it is going through editing. So this isn't the final version. It will come soon.)