The next time Alec woke up, he was sleeping by a campfire in the middle of the woods. He had cloth bundled up under his head and a blanket both under and above him. Whoever had saved him had made sure he was comfortable.

He popped his head up and looked around, the smell of grilled meat invigorating him like an elixir.

However, he froze when he saw the only person nearby. He did not recognize them in the slightest.

“Uh, who are you?” He asked warily. Alec thought it would be Millie or Dario, not a stranger.

The person flinched before turning around.

“N-ned,” He answered, his voice caught in his throat from the scare Alec had given him.

“Ned. I would like you to give me an explanation.”

“Right. Of course, sir. Right away.”

“…” Alec waited patiently.

“Umm, about a specific part, sir?”

“Let’s start with what happened after I passed out.”

“Right. I wasn’t there to see it myself yet, but Miss Millie saved your life by beating your heart back into action. Then, she picked you up and led us out of the city. Since she was worried about being followed, she led most others back and forth before taking a detour here. She should not be far away by now. She left Red and me to keep watch.”

“Because your names are similar?”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. So, who’s ‘us’? Where is this? And why could all of you just walk right out of the city?”

“We are the people you saved from the Lounge. This is somewhere on the way to your hideout, sir. And lastly, why shouldn’t we have been able to walk out of the city? We should not have been there to begin with? No one had any right to stop us.” The light in Ned’s eyes was cold as ice as he reached the end of his explanation.

He had been abducted and abused by the Ring and the Lounge. If anyone had tried to stop them from leaving that place, they would have faced the wrath of the dozens who suffered the same fate as him.

Sure, they weren’t the most dangerous force since most of them were somewhere between slightly and severely malnourished, physically weak, and as far from trained in combat as possible.

But they had regained hope, and they would not let even the wildest of storms snuff it out. They would rather die before someone hauled them back.

Besides, who would do the hauling?

Alec had left the Lounge in chaos, destruction, and on fire. Most of its guards and workers weren’t much luckier after that explosion.

“Speaking of which,” Ned said while adjusting his position until he sat on his knees. He then bowed and pressed his palms and forehead against the ground.

“Thank you for saving us, Sir.” Tears welled up in Ned’s eyes. The emotion he felt could not be conveyed through words, but he had to try.

Alec was a little uncomfortable with the waves of gratitude and relief coming from Ned, but he didn’t reject them.

“Yeah.”

Ned raised his head after a couple of moments and looked at Alec awkwardly avoiding his straightforward gaze. What he saw confirmed the rumors he had heard.

Not all of the people in the first storage oom Alec and Millie entered had been out of it. They had heard bits and pieces of their conversation. Millie had also shared a little while they walked.

Alec and Millie had come to save Red and only Red. Their plan was to grab her and disappear in a puff of smoke.

The others understood completely. If they had the strength and skill to save one of their own, why wouldn’t they?

But the duo hadn’t done just that. They had risked their lives to save all of them. ned wasn’t sure if anyone had died inside the auction hall, but if they had, it was outside of Alec’s control.

After all, as a fifteen-year-old kid, he had fought against the top Warrior of the lounge, a fourth-star swordsman. It was still unclear how close it had been, but Millie swore that she had not felt a heartbeat.

Alec had almost died for them. For strangers he had no reason to save.

And now, he felt awkward about receiving the gratitude and credit he deserved.

Ned made up his mind. He would take Millie up on her offer.

“You must be hungry, sir,” Ned said with a warm smile as he removed the rabbit from the campfire and handed it to Alec.

Alec accepted it with a nod and devoured it in eight seconds flat.

He was still hungry since a rabbit, not even a monster, was far from sating him. But he was also still tired and exhausted and out of mana. So, he lay back down and closed his eyes to rest until Red returned from looking for more food.

It had nothing to do with the awkwardness from not knowing what to talk about with Ned.

“The rabbit I struggled with all my might to catch is gone. If you’re sleeping again, I won’t forgive you.” Red poked Alec’s shoulder with her foot.

“I’m awake.” Alec sat up and rubbed his eyes, pretending to have just woken up.

“Mhmm.” Red didn’t say anything else and just went over to sit on the other side of the campfire.

“…”

“Was that all you wanted?” Alec asked after a moment of silence, where the only thing making noise was the campfire crackling and sparking.

“Mhm.”

“Alright, then I’m going back to sleep.”

“No.” Red’s voice was awfully decisive, and Alec looked at her with a confused frown and tilted head.

Ned looked between the two.

“So, you want something?”

“No.”

“That means I can go back to sleep.”

“No.”

“Red.”

“Alec.”

“If something’s wrong, I can’t do anything about it unless you tell me.”

“Everything’s fine.”

“Great.”

“Great.”

“So, I can go back to sleep.”

“No.”

Alec sighed, too tired to be frustrated.

“If I may…?” Ned started speaking. Red looked at him with narrow eyes, urging him to practice caution.

Ned looked at Alec, who silently urged him to continue.

“I think Red is worried about you. Or rather, she’s scared that she won’t be able to tell if you’re dead or alive when you sleep.”

A stick flew at Ned.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep