Chapter 210: Taking Her Away, And An Approaching Threat

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Rael snickered.

Just as the fish was about to thrust his sword at Rael, Anath stepped in, raising her hands.

“W-Wait, Victor, he’s a friend,” Anath said with a flustered look.

“A friend? He doesn’t look like one of us, Anath,” Victor replied, narrowing his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

Rael tilted his head. “Care to take a guess?”

“Anath…” Victor sighed as he raised his sword in the air. “Move. I’m going to deal with this miscreant.”

“You talk like a thug. Are you sure you’re a fish?” Rael asked skeptically.

And in the very next moment, Victor simply pushed Anath aside and thrust his sword directly at Rael’s throat.

But since Rael knew it was coming, he simply ducked under the sword and, without hesitation, did the unthinkable.

He raised his foot, and with a not-so-light tap, kicked Victor straight in the balls.

“Kugh!” Victor’s eyes widened as the sword fell from his grasp.

Rael chuckled, caught the sword in midair, stored it in his inventory, and glanced toward Victor, who was scrunched up on the ground.

“Color me surprised. I didn’t know fish had balls,” Rael remarked with a whistle, causing both Victor and Anath to turn to him with confused looks.

“W-What did you say your name was?” Anath asked.

“I didn’t tell you my name,” Rael replied with a shrug. “I’m Rael.”

“Rael…” Anath trailed off, bringing her gaze over to Victor. “Could you two not fight…? Not in the potion shop, at least.”

“Anath!” Victor yelled. “Why do you have such a person in your potion shop!? He’s dangerous!”

What an annoying fish, Rael thought with a sigh. “Listen… I’m not here to be a danger to anybody. I just want to pick Anath up and take her out.”

Victor’s brows twitched, and while clutching his balls, he stood up, glaring at Rael.

“You’re trying to kidnap her?”

“Hmm…?” Rael tilted his head. “Is that the word? It’s more like I’m taking her back… so re-kidnapping? I guess?”

“Stop it…” Anath said with an exhausted look. “Both of you sound like little children.”

She turned to Victor. “Especially you. Didn’t you promise to not act like my father?”

“But Anath—”

“No buts,” Anath cut him off. “I appreciate all that you’ve done for me, but I need to leave. My actual family is waiting for me.”

“We’ve done so much for you…” Victor muttered. “We fed you, clothed you… and you repay us by leaving? Do you know what will happen to us once you’re gone?”

“You’ll continue living as usual, just like the rest of the underwater cities,” Rael interjected. “You don’t need to rely on her for such menial matters. Her potions are great, but the only thing you can do with them is buy some luxurious foods.”

“What!? Who are you to judge what we can and can’t do?” Victor lashed out. “We use that money to better our city!”

Rael sighed as he recalled the huts he had seen earlier.

Sure, the inner part of the city looked nice and maintained, but that just meant the money was being funneled to the center. Those in the outer part of the city were treated like garbage.

Rael’s gaze traveled over to Anath. And I’m sure she doesn’t even know it… she’s too sheltered and naive… just like Aria.

But he didn’t want to break her worldview, as it wasn’t exactly his job.

He would leave that to her father.

“Anath Valentine, I’m going to ask this once. Are you coming with me, or will you stay here with the fishies?”

Anath turned to him and nodded. “I’m going. I always wanted to go back, and I already knew these people are able to take care of themselves.”

Rael nodded. “Good, then it’s settled.”

But he didn’t depart right away. Instead, he turned to the groaning Victor.

“Tell me, who was it that kidnapped her?”

Victor’s brows twitched. “I don’t know. No one knows. She just showed up one day.”

“You’re lying,” Rael pointed out and decided to push further. “Was it someone she knows?”

“What? I don’t even know what you’re talking about—”

“So it’s someone she knows, I see…” Rael trailed off.

He looked Victor up and down before glancing over to Anath.

“Say… you mentioned he was like a father figure, right? When exactly did you first meet him?”

Anath tilted her head. “Shortly after I arrived… I think? I couldn’t remember much aside from where I used to live, and my first moments here.”

“Aha…” A faint grin tugged at Rael’s lips as he turned back to Victor.

“Say, did you happen to snatch her and take her down here?”

The moment his words fell, Victor flinched and averted his gaze.

I see… so he’s likely one of the people responsible for kidnapping her. How ironic.

“We’ll get going now,” Rael said with a smile and walked over to Anath, then purchased one item in particular.

•—Premium Shop—•

Category: Potion/Water Breathing

•—Balance: 4,233,425,049 Trell—•

• A potion made accidentally by the procrastinating wizard who mixed the ingredients in the wrong order (Common): 25,000 Trell

He knew it was effective because it was made by the procrastinating wizard, so after buying it, he handed it to Anath.

“Drink up.”

She seemed skeptical at first, but as she inspected the potion, her eyes widened.

“T-This is very high quality.”

“Obviously, so drink it,” Rael urged.

With that, she drank the potion. In the next moment, a pair of fins appeared on the side of her face, resembling the ones Victor and the other fish had.

Then, without any further hesitation, Rael tossed Anath over his shoulder and ran outside.

With a full-powered leap, he shot up through the barrier and into the water, swiftly rising to the surface.

And of course… Rael wanted to avoid any future repercussions.

Therefore, he had to make sure there were no loose ends.

[MP -150M 986M/1,136B (x1 Neural Collapse)]

-13B! Critical Hit! (x1 Neural Collapse)

Rest in pieces, Victor.

After a few seconds of swimming, Rael and Anath finally arrived at the surface.

She seemed a bit dazed by how fast he swam, but once her eyes regained clarity, she jumped down from his shoulder and looked around in awe.

“Wow…” Anath muttered, looking at the boring sandy landscape. “It’s as awesome as I remember…”

“Mhm…” Rael trailed off, his brows furrowing.

For a moment, he thought they were alone; however, there was someone approaching them from a distance, and that certain someone seemed pretty damn powerful.

Rael focused on the figure and saw it was a golden-haired man riding on a horse. His expression was one of determination.

And as their eyes met, all Rael could feel was malice.

Because of that, he let out a sigh and gestured for Anath to go behind him.

So you’ve chosen a different path… haven’t you, Reinhardt?

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