Chapter 173: Arriving at the Barbarian Tribe

“R-Right…” Nyzzara replied, flinching at his tone. “You somehow managed to clear the dungeon? I don’t even know what to say… it’s impressive—”

“In the bullshit package, there just so happens to be flattery,” Rael said, cutting her off and narrowing his eyes. “Just lead us there, let me do what I came here to do, and we’ll be on our way.”

Nyzzara’s brows furrowed, but instead of responding, she simply jumped back on her dire wolf and began leading the way.

In the meantime, Rael focused on the beauty in his arms, who, after a lot of tossing and turning, finally began opening her eyes.

She seemed a little dazed for a few moments, but as her eyes met his, she suddenly looked away, her face flushing red in an instant.

“You should’ve told me sooner…” she muttered before suddenly wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in.

Her soft, warm breaths hit his ear, and in the next moment, she whispered the words he was waiting for all this time.

“I love you too…”

His smile couldn’t help but grow softer as he gently set her down on the ground, grabbed her cheeks with both his hands, and, to her surprise, placed a kiss right on her forehead.

A flushed yet satisfied expression appeared on her face as she placed her hand in his.

There was a moment of quiet, knowing silence as, despite their lack of words, they finally got their feelings across.

And of course, they’d talk more deeply after they arrived back in Celestara, and especially at their home.

Nonetheless, since he was growing a bit tired of Nyzzara constantly glancing back at him with jealousy in her eyes, he simply summoned his car.

Both he and Zafira entered it, and he simply set it on autopilot before leaning back in his seat.

“This was exhausting…” Rael said with a sigh. “That dungeon… well, I guess it wasn’t all fruitless.”

Zafira giggled as she adjusted her seat to be on the same head level as his and then lay on her side, glancing straight into his eyes.

Although she had a smile on her face, it seemed like she was inspecting him with her calm gaze.

“Say… Rael, something happened, didn’t it?” she asked, maintaining her smile. “…You’re not regretting your words, are you?”

Rael’s brows twitched as he met her eyes.

“Zafira, when I said that I love you, I meant it,” he extended his hand and brushed it through her hair. “As for what happened… let’s just say I might’ve seen something unpleasant.”

Her expression turned serious as she sat upright.

“I was wondering why I couldn’t remember anything after you told me you loved me… what happened?” Zafira pressed, then let out a sigh. “Sorry… if you don’t want to share with me, then you don’t have to.”

“It’s fine,” Rael said, simplifying it for her. “A butterfly showed me the future. In that future, I was gone, and you were trying to bring me back through an enemy. In the end, I got a warning from another being, which I’ll use to make sure that future never plays out.”

Zafira listened, her expression changing with each word he said.

And when he was done, she simply took her eyes off him and stared ahead toward the barbarians.

“I know you’re not lying because I really would do anything to bring you back if you were to ever leave me,” Zafira remarked with a giggle. “But… tell me the full story later, okay?”

“I will, Zafira. Don’t worry,” Rael replied, and with that, they simply interlaced their fingers and watched as the barbarians led them to their tribe.

It took a whopping four hours to arrive because of their pace.

Despite that, Rael glanced out of the car window, taking in the surroundings.

Just as he expected, the soil was dead, and the few crops that the barbarians tried growing had weird shapes and colors.

The food was inedible. The water was hard to access and completely unfiltered.

It was hard to imagine they had survived this long in these conditions. Yet it didn’t take long to realize the distribution of the survivors.

Most people present had a single green mark on their heads, and despite being skinny, they were still in the healthy range.

The more marks they had, the healthier they looked. Yet when he looked at Nyzzara, he realized she didn’t have a mark either.

I don’t think her brother had one either… Rael trailed off, noticing a particular sight in the distance.

There were a few barbarians. However, their bones were practically showing due to how skinny they were. What stood out the most was the lack of a mark on their foreheads.

“They’re slaves,” Zafira pointed out. “At least that’s what my mother used to say. The barbarians without marks have no rights since they violated the tribe rules.”

“Oh right…” Rael finally remembered. “They’re either exiled or put to ‘work.’ What a shit life.”

Zafira shrugged. “The demons have it worse. Those who are born different become livestock.”

“…Yikes.”

They finished their little chat and soon stepped out of the car. For safety reasons, Rael stashed it inside his inventory.

Nonetheless, he took a deep breath, taking in the air of the barbarian tribe.

Safe to say, his sinuses were assaulted, and so were Zafira’s, as she covered her nose just like him.

“I know, I know…” Nyzzara muttered with a sigh. “It doesn’t smell nice, but trust me, it’s not as bad in the chieftain’s quarters.”

“Lead us there then, I’ll get started right after,” Rael urged, and with a nod, Nyzzara began leading him through the tribe.

Frankly, there weren’t any regular houses, only straw houses. There was also the occasional mud house.

Even so, the condition of the entire barbarian land, Ogarak, was worse than he had ever imagined.

I guess this is why it was never a playable area and the barbarians killed all the players on sight who tried to enter, Rael thought.

However, as the structure in the distance finally entered his sight, he froze and furrowed his brows.

There was a giant stone castle with several dozen armed guards scattered around. There was even a fountain in the very middle.

“Say, Nyzzara…” he trailed off, pointing behind him, then toward the luxurious chieftain’s quarters.

“What kind of corrupt shit are you people dealing in?”

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