Chapter 23: Leaving the City
*Cough*
"Ahem. Anyways, I appreciate the concern for Riko. As thanks, let me give you a word of advice. You better leave this city immediately.
"Hah? What are you talking about, kid?"
"Didn't you find it odd when the priest got dragged over to the plaza this morning and didn't return yet?"
"Hmm... that is strange, but it doesn't mean we should leave the city just because of that."
"The thing is, there are currently hundreds of zombies in the middle of this city. I'm not sure if you've seen any of them nearby, but their numbers will only increase as time passes."
"If it's just monsters, then the adventurers or guards will be able to take care of it. You don't need to get so flustered from just that.
"You're missing the point here. Anyone bitten or scratched by one of them will die and turn into a zombie as well. I bet none of the adventurers or guards have ever faced something like that before."
"..."
"Earlier, while we were on our way to leave this city, we saw a group of adventurers by the western gate. Although they did defeat the zombies around them at that time..."
"Then-"
"I'm not sure what happened, but I saw some injuries on a few of them. The situation will become dire if even those guys over there turn into a zombie. We could barely outrun zombies that had the ability of a regular citizen, but if an adventurer's strength and speed gets added to the mix..."
Dan's face turned grim imagining the scenario that Kio mentioned.
"Listen, these zombies are fast and numerous. What would you do if you or your daughter got injured by one of them? Currently, none of us have a way to cure the zombie infection, and if my suspicions are correct, the priest wasn't able to as well."
"Shit…" Dan cursed as he finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
"Well, thanks for the heads up, kid. I'm gonna go pack up and get ready to leave. Mary, go back to your room and pack your things."
"Kay."
As Dan and Mary went back inside their store, Kio, Fae, and the others were still waiting for the rest of their group to arrive.
Dan walked towards the back of his shop and opened a hidden hatch below the floor.
"Hey buddy, guess it's time for us to fight together again, just like old times." Dan muttered as he removed the cloth around a jet black katana that hadn't been used ever since he retired and opened this shop.
Next, he grabbed his equipment gear and other miscellaneous items, which were kept under the hatch as well.
After waiting for half an hour, Dan and Mary came out of their store, with both of them carrying a small bag over their shoulders.
On Dan's back, the katana was very noticeable to everyone who were waiting outside. A stifling aura could be felt by the ones who were within a few meters around him.
"Why are you guys still here? Even though you warned us about the impending disaster, you're all standing around here as if you all don't have a care in the world."
"We are still waiting for a few others. Is that all of the things you two are bringing? What about the weapons in your store?"
"Heh, you don't have to worry about that. I have an item box that can easily store hundreds of items inside, and I used it to hold all of my merchandise."
"No wonder... you two look so out of place for somebody who's about to flee this city."
"Yea, I'm glad I found one when I was younger."
"Dan, do you and Mary want to leave the city with us? I'm not sure if the city gates are safe right now."
"Sure, we'll tag along with your group."
"Sounds good, we'll leave as soon as Akira and Takumi are back."
Since Kio and the girls were the first to split from the group, they didn't know that Akira and Takumi had followed Ren.
When Ren heard about who they had been waiting for, anger surged through him as he realized he waited for no reason.
"Oi, we don't need to wait for those two. Let's leave."
"What do you mean? We can't just leave those two behind."
"Those guys won't be joining us. I kicked them out of our group already."
"What!? How could you do that! That's the same thing as killing them!"
"You should be thanking me instead, since you also saw what Akira did to Jay earlier."
"..."
Although Kio already decided to separate from them once they're out of the city, he didn't like the feeling of abandoning Akira and Takumi here.
As Fae and the elves heard what Ren said, they inwardly mocked him for being condescending towards people weaker than him.
'If Kio invites that guy to tag along with us to our home, I'm afraid I will have to cancel the whole thing. I wouldn't want to bring calamity upon our people.'
"Oi, what's everyone waiting for? Let's go!"
Ren didn't want to wait any longer, since the sooner he gets to another town, the sooner he could his girls could clean themselves up. Afterwards, he can take his time enjoying their bodies as he liked.
"Bastard…" Fae silently cursed as she led the way towards the hidden passage they used a few days ago.
The group continued walking towards the exit as Dan and Mary walked next to Kio's group.
Kio decided to carry Riko's body with him, since he didn't want to leave her behind to get eaten by the zombies.
As they traversed through the twist and turns of the path, they heard a lot of noise some distance behind them.
The screams came from the unfortunate townspeople who were casually walking through the streets.
As soon as they ran into a zombie, they were instantly attacked and eaten alive.
Since Kio's group already had their hands full, they could only ignore the cries for help.
As the sight of the towering stone wall appeared in front of their eyes, they all knew the exit was nearby.
Fae walked towards two individuals covered by a dark brown robe, giving them a nod to signify the completion of their original goal.
They then entered a nearby hut, which was constructed in a way so that one of its side was directly attached to the stone wall.
Inside it, they could see a small passage with dust and spider webs all around the narrow path.
Fae noticed that some of them had a puzzling expression on their faces as they saw the passage.
"This hidden passage was created a long time ago by somebody who wanted to free the slaves in this city. As some of the slaves fled from here and ventured into our forest, we learned about it from them."
"..."
"This is the second time we used this passage to free our fellow elves."
"Is it that easy to free the slaves?" Kio asked, since he remembered about the slave crest which had prevented the slaves from fleeing their cages earlier.
"The first time we did it, we managed to catch the slave trader by surprise and threatened him. However, this time he was a bit more cautious, directly employing high-leveled adventurers to protect him in the city."
"I see…"
As the group left the passage, they could see a dark forest tens of meters ahead of them.
Further behind the forest, huge mountains could be seen.
Fae walked closer to Kio and whispered close to his ears, preventing Ren and the others from listening.
"Our home is just past that mountain range. Although it might take a couple of days to get there, will you and the girls be fine with that?
"Yea, we have enough food to last us for a few days."
After all they had been through, the sky had already turned dim, signaling that night is about to arrive.
"Let's camp nearby for tonight, and we can leave at dawn tomorrow."
"Sounds good."
Fae ordered two of her elven guards to stand near the entrance of the passage, while the rest of them were responsible for watching the perimeter of their camp.
As the elven guards made themselves comfortable close to some of the nearby trees, Dan had taken out a portable tent for himself and Mary from his item box.
As none of them were able to find a tent from Don Quijote during their last few days, they were currently just standing around, feeling embarrassed at their lack of camping preparations.
"Oi, mind sharing that tent with us?"
Ren walked up to Dan and asked with a hint of arrogance in his voice, as if he had forgotten all about Dan's intimidation previously.
"Hah? You really think I'm gonna share my tent with you, after what you tried to do to me earlier?"
"Mister, won't you please let us use the tent as well? It's big enough to fit a few of us…"
Saotome sweetly pleaded him, leaning her body slightly forward to show off her cleavage.
However, Dan wasn't moved by her seductive appeal, especially since his daughter was literally right beside him.
"Nope."
"Please?"
"..."
Seeing as Dan wouldn't budge no matter how she tried to display her charms, she gave up and walked away with Ren.
"Oi, kid, you guys can use my spare tent."
Dan motioned for Kio, Miyu, and Luna to move towards him as he took out another tent from his item box.
"Eh? Didn't you just reject Ren and Saotome's request earlier?"
"Hahaha, I just didn't like them."
"Well, thanks."
Seeing as how they're safe at the moment, Kio placed Riko down on the ground in front of him and took out his Teleportation Crystal.
The crystal shattered as he envisioned the girl he wanted to bring over here.
The figure of a girl who Kio couldn't be more familiar with quickly became visible.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
vincesocoo
vincesocoo VinceSocoo here~
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This arc is finally ending soon as they managed to leave the city, although there were a few deaths... RIP Riko.
Anyways, please vote with your stones and leave comments below, although positive reviews would be much appreciated.
Thanks.
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