Book 9
Chapter 75
Unyielding Reed
不屈のリード

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Reader's POV

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I kept thinking about the number Adam was muttering. "22194" was Norman's number...

"Y/nnnn!"
Gillian, Sonya, and Paula sang out. I looked over to see them with Emma, smiling innocently.

"Yea-"
Before I could finish I was tackled by the girls.

In a blink of an eye, my clothes were changed. I looked at the new clothes with surprise. Not bad.
I somewhat matched Emma, but with a twist.

"Uh... thanks?"
I smiled.

They smiled back.
"No problemo!"
Gillian smiled, hugging me tightly.

I chuckled and hugged her back.
"And one more thing..."
Sonya trailed off with a smile.

I was brought to Sandy, along with Emma.
Sandy looked at the bandages on our ears.

"Woah! Did you two do this yourselves? That's crazy!"
He asked.

I shook my head with a chuckle.
"Emma did,"
I said to which she nodded.

Then, he smiled brightly.
"I have an idea!"
he said with a wink.

Both of us raised a brow at him in confusion.
He made us hair clips.

"Wow! That looks so good!"
I said with a bright smile.

"Thanks everyone!"
Emma and I said in unison.

~

I aimed my gun at the target.
Emma did the same.

We shot at the same time, getting bullseye.
I smiled, high-fiving her happily.

Sandy whistled and we chuckled.
Zack and Sonya soon came up to us.

"We've done preparations on our side."
Zack said.

"How did it go, Emma, Y/n? Did you two find a weapon you like?"
Sonya asked.

"Yeah,"
I said.

"I think I can use these,"
Emma said.

"Pretty good shot,"
Zack said, looking at the targets.

"So you all knew about how to kill demons,"
Emma then said.

"Yeah, we do. Although they don't know that. And they also don't know we intend to kill them,"
Sandy said.

"To them, we're just weaklings who only know how to run away. That's how we acted all this time.
We kept a self-defense stance. All in order to gather information. And we slowly prepared in the background.
In the process, we lost comrades too."
Sonya started.

"Lucas's experience and our preparation. We lost our family and our comrades, but we obtained and passed down everything. The culmination of that is the plan and the mission.
We know how strong the enemy is... but we will be the victors,"
Sonya finished.

"Yeah. But we can't let our guard down... especially against Grand Duke Leuvis."
Zack said.

"Did Lucas tell you about his group?"
Sonya asked.

"Huh?"
Emma asked, confused.

"Lucas and his former group... were able to stand up to them first. Lucas's best friend, a leader type, gave instructions... allowing them to use the weapons efficiently and strategically to defend themselves and flee.
They were able to survive this hunting ground without anyone getting killed,"
Sandy explained.

{ A leader type? That must be Yuugo, I'm guessing }

"It was an amazing group."
"They pulled off the impossible."
"But as soon as Leuvis zeroed on them... they were inhiliated."

"He tormented and killed Lucas's friends one by one. Like taking candy from a baby. And then bragging about it to the parents."
Zack said.

"It was all to feed Lucas's and his friend's hatred. To drive their malice. To corner them completely... all for the enjoyment of the hunt,"
Sonya said.

"His skills are exceptional. Plus, he's insane. Therefore, unpredictable. If our plan goes awry it will be because of him,"
Zack finished.

I nodded slightly.
So... we're dealing with a maniac. Great.

~

"Guys! We have food! Come and get it!"
Gillian called.

Once I got mine, I was planning to go with Emma.
But she disappeared before I could go to her.

I deadpanned but I looked around for her.
Once I couldn't, I decided I'd go bother Lucas.

~

I knocked on the door of the windmill in a pattern.
It soon opened.

"Hi, Adam! Thank you! Bye, Adam!"
I said, skipping off.

I looked around the main room.
No one...

"Lucas! I'm here to bother you!"
I called out once I got to the room he should be in.

I looked inside only to see Oliver scrambling to sit right on the chair from sitting upside down.
Lucas wasn't there.

I grinned.
"Ara, ara! Whatcha doing?"
I asked, chuckling.

"Nothing,"
He said quickly.

"As you say~ Anyway, where's Lucas?"
I asked, looking around from where I was at, the food in my hand.

"Not in here at the moment,"
He responded.

I nodded.
"I was going to bother him,"
I said with a sigh.

He chuckled.
"You can eat with me,"
He offered.

I smiled with a nod, sitting down in one of the chairs.
I noticed he had food as well.
And so, we ate in silence.

"Are you nervous?"
He then asked with a chuckle.
"Huh? Whaddya mean?"
I asked with confusion.
"You're messing with your necklace. I normally mess with something with I'm nervous."

"Oh, no. I mean, I do that when I'm nervous but I also just do it out of habit,"
I said with a nervous chuckle.
Okay, now I was nervous.

He smiled.
Now I'm not nervous.
I wish Ray was here...

"You were nervous there. Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything,"
He chuckled.
"Nah, it's fine. I like talking to you,"
I said with a smile.

"I feel honored."
He said.

"Yeah sure. I like talking to anyone. Well, most of everyone,"
I smiled.

"That's my point!"
He said cheerfully.

"Ha. Ha,"
I said sarcastically, only to actually start laughing when he mocked me.

Our laughter soon died down after a while.
"Why were you gonna bother Lucas?"
He then asks.

"Oh, Oliver. You see... So I wanted to bother him because I like to bother any adult I know,"
I said with a smile.

"That's smart,"
He stated, seeming to be thinking.
I chuckled, knowing he obviously didn't actually mean it.

Then, he smiled.
"Let's go announce the plan,"
He said.

~

"Everyone! Can you listen up? We have a plan,"
Oliver called out. I was at his side.

Then, unexpectedly, the music started playing.
All of our eyes widened.

"The... music? How could this be? It's too early. The previous hunt was just yesterday,"
Oliver muttered.

I shook him, getting him back in his mind.
"Oliver. What do we do?"
I asked.

"They're coming! Everyone, grab your weapons and take your positions!!"
He shouted out.

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5.13.2020
Word count: 1083