Chapter 20: Ren and Akira's Respective Schemes
"I'll explain the rest later, but those 'crazy humans' are called zombies. For now, let's get out of here before the ones behind us catch up."
"Fine."
Fae led them towards a side path, heading in the direction of their hidden passage.
On both sides of the path, they could see many buildings lined up, with swords, shields, or other symbols representing the shops.
"Um, Kio… that girl you're holding, was her name Riko? She might not last much longer."
Although Kio didn't give his name to Luna, she had heard it when Riko mentioned his name earlier.
While Luna was on his back throughout the escape, she had gained a better understanding of Kio and Riko's true character.
During a critical moment, Riko didn't hesitate to risk her life to save her loved one.
Kio on the other hand, didn't even think about abandoning either one of them. Instead, he forced his body to its limit to carry them the entire way.
Even when Luna knew she was a burden, and told him that she could run on her own, he wasn't willing to let her fall behind.
His actions and words had greatly improved her impression of him.
'Looks like not all of them are evil…'
Luna had already made up her mind about her previous decision, but she chose to withhold it for now, at least until Riko's matter is cleared up.
With every passing minute, Riko's breath grew quieter, while her face turned more and more pale.
Kio and Miyu both looked towards Riko after they heard Luna's words.
"Hey, you guys, do you mind stopping for a minute? I'm gonna ask one of the people inside to see where I can get some potions or find a healer."
"What do you mean stop-"
Looking over her shoulders, Fae noticed the color and expression on Riko's face, and couldn't finish the rest of her sentence.
"Fine, let's take a small break for now."
"Thanks."
Letting Luna off his back for now, he walked inside while carrying Riko, unwilling to part with her for even a second.
Luna and Miyu quietly followed behind him, unwilling to stay behind with the others.
"Why the fuck do we have to stop just because one girl is about to die? So many people have died already anyways."
Ren cursed, standing idly beside a different building from the one Kio walked into.
"Hey Ren, why don't we look at some equipment here since we have time?"
Saotome suggested, trying to spend some time alone with Ren to deepen their connection.
"Ah?" Looking towards her, he could feel the softness of her chest since she had embraced his arm between her breasts.
"Fine, let's go check it out. Hey slaves, wait out here and don't you dare run away."
Only four of his female slaves remained, after their long escape from the zombies. The rest of them didn't have the energy to continue running, eventually meeting their demise the moment they stopped.
The two of them entered a store which had an image of a chest plate at the front of the store.
Akira and Takumi quietly follow behind them, along with one remaining male slave, who Akira owned.
"Welcome!"
When they entered into the armor store, they noticed a vast display of leather, chain, and a few plate armor all around them.
The store was currently empty for some reason, so the owner was overjoyed at the sight of four customers walking in, even though they were wearing weird clothes.
Observing the unique clothes worn by the four customers, the store owner enthusiastically left his counter and personally assisted them with anything they needed.
"What are you guys looking for? I can guarantee my goods were all personally crafted by the best armor craftsmen in town."
"Show me the best thing you have," Ren replied, with a faint smirk on his face.
"Sure, sure. Please follow me to the back. Although I currently don't have any Dungeon-exclusive loot right now, I have some high quality steel armor available."
"Oh? What kind of dungeon loot do you usually have in your store?"
"Sometimes when adventurers find spare armor in the Dungeon, if I'm lucky, they will sell it to my store as this is the only store in town that deals with armor."
"I see…"
Arriving at a set of steel chainmail and other related parts at the back, Ren was overjoyed.
'I can finally get something good in this shitty world.'
"I'll take this. Can you also find something good for this girl over here?"
"Sure!"
As the owner found another set of steel armor that would fit Saotome, they went towards the counter together.
"The total comes to-"
"Ah? Who said I was gonna pay for these?"
"Huh? Didn't you say you wanted to buy it?"
"The fuck is wrong with your ears? I told you earlier that I would take it."
"What do you m-"
Before the owner could finish his words, Ren quickly took out the spear from his inventory and stabbed it towards the owner's head, instantly killing him.
"Heh, nothing beats free goods."
"Wow Ren, you're so strong!" Saotome couldn't miss this chance to add in a few words of praise.
At a corner of the store, Takumi was shivering at the sight of Ren's ruthlessness, while Akira was deep in thoughts observing Ren and his weapon.
"Oi, Saotome, go grab as many pieces of armor as you can and store them in your inventory."
Ren only stored a few of the better looking armor pieces while he let Saotome store the rest.
When Akira walked beside them and wanted to take one for himself, Ren interrupted him.
"Ah? The fuck do you think you're doing, taking my shit."
"Huh? Don't we belong in the same group? Since you can't carry all this, I thought I could at least take one for myself."
"Fucking backstabber, who said you can take my stuff? Even if I can't store the rest of these, I'm not about to let you take one. Now get the fuck out of my sight before I decide to kill you."
Stunned at Ren's attitude towards him, Akira decided to take his revenge later when an opportunity presents itself.
Akira then walked towards the front of the store to leave, but Ren spoke up again.
"Who the fuck said you can return back to our group? Leave from the back and never let me see your face again, otherwise I'll make you regret it."
Akira's face turned gloomy, and he stomped towards the back exit of the store.
"Oi, you too, get the fuck out of my sight."
Ren called out, with his vision set on Takumi this time.
"Hiee!"
Shivering in fright, Takumi didn't even refute Ren's words as he quickly followed Akira and left.
'Heh, now I just have to get rid of Kio, and the rest of the girls will all belong to me.'
***
While Ren looted the armor store and kicked out half of the remaining males in their group, Kio's group acted differently.
The store they entered had an image of a sword on top of the entrance, representing the type of items the store carries.
"Welcome to Dan's weapon store! My dad is in the back, but I can help you if you need anything."
A cheerful girl, roughly 14 years old, energetically replied to them as they walked through the door.
"Hi, we're looking for a potion store or a healer, do you know where we could find one?"
"Eh? The girl in your arms is hurt! What happened?"
"It's a long story, but do you know where we can find a healer or a potion store?"
"Ah, um… wait a second, let me call for my dad. Dad! Can you come out to the front!"
A tall, lean male appeared from the back of the counter. His tanned skin and rugged features showed how often he went outside his store for his job.
"What's the matter Mary?"
"Dad, they're looking for a healer or potions for their friend."
"Hm? I see…" Dan's face turned grim at the sight of Riko's injury.
"With how serious her wounds are, potions ain't gonna do a thing at this point."
"What?!" Hearing Dan's words, Kio and Miyu's heart skipped a beat, dreading Dan's next words.
"Earlier this morning, I saw a few guards drag the priest out of the church. The priest might be able to save your friend, but I'm not sure if he is willing to use his best healing skill for her since there's a severe drawback to that skill."
"What! Where did he go? I'm willing to do anything for him if he is able to heal Riko!"
"You might not be able to get him to heal her even if you donated hundreds of gold coins. However, if you offer him an artifact from the Dungeon, he might change his mind."
"We don't have any artifacts though. Shit, we can only try to convince him in person. Do you know where they went?"
"If I recall correctly, the guards dragged him away to the plaza."
"Fucking hell!"
Kio had a huge reaction to Dan's words, while the two girls didn't quite understand how disastrous this piece of information is.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
vincesocoo
vincesocoo VinceSocoo here~
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Work just started, but I'm hoping I still have time to post 1 chapter per day.
Up to this chapter, there's been quite a few foreshadowing for future events, but I wonder how many you guys have noticed. :)
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Anyways, please vote with stones or comment below if you are enjoying it so far.
Thanks.
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