Chapter 278 - 278 Do I Smell Perfume?
"Thank you for protecting me," she said, lookign up to him with puppy like eyes.
"Huh?" Noah was at a loss for words, let alone what she looked like, though she was a beauty anyways, this person thanking him was incredibly cute. "Since when did I care for this kind of thing? Have I grown too soft after all this time?" it was a thought dangerous enough to make shivers go down his spine, but in the end, he just felt embara.s.sed for the first time in a very long time. And so did her.
After a few more minutes of awkward silence, the two arrived at the place he had told him she lived in. It was a bit ways far from where he lived, but an equaly common area of the city, much different than those exagerated places most Rank C blessed people generally lived.
"Thank you for bringing me all the way here," she said, as he opened the door of the car for her.
"It"s okay. If you don"t mind, I can come pick you up on the way back, since you left the car behind because of me," Noah asked out of dudy whether she wanted him to come get her again
"No way! You already went so far out of the way to help! I"ll get myself a woober back. I"ll see you there."
"I see... See you then, miss." waving her goodbye, Noah got back into the car and lef, leaving the girl standing in front of her door with her hands above her chest.
"Eh... You"ve been hooked by a wonderful fisherman, haven"t you?" A voice called her from behind.
"Mother?! What are you doing here?!" the healer"s surprise was obvious. "I"ve already made clear I do not want you guys around," she said, her expression becoming a little sad.
"It"s okay, dear. I know you wanted to be independent, and you proved yourself already. Isn"t that enough? You don"t need to keep fighting on those fortresses, or live in this rundown neighborhood."
"Like I sad, mother. This is my choice. Respect it." Her anger slowly started to peek through, as the healer though about who could have sent her mother here to bring her back home.
"I intended to try and take you back, but that was a pleasant surprise. That you would find a man that handsome and reliable in this absurd life of yours." her mother"s words angered her, but also made her remember of the handsome newcomer. "Who"s that boy?"
"It has nothing to do with you! He"s just a new arrival. Nothing more. I have somewhere to be soon, if you excuse me," saying so, the healer turned her back to the woman, entering the house and going straight to where she stored her fortress diving equipment. "I won"t ever go back! I can finally live..." she muttered as she got everything ready and quickly asked for a woober.
"Noah!" Maggy leaped at him as soon as he arrived.
"I"m back," he said, patting her head. "Did you guys behave?" As he asked, a person slowly made his way by his side, hugging him too.
"Holy s.h.i.t!" he thought, as his bones creaked. "Good afternoon, Bel."
"Good, Noah," Bel responded, still a little red, as Noah hugged him back with his free hand. "You came back very fast."
"Yeah, somethinh happened. I"ll have to leave in a bit," he told the boy.
"Already?! I wanted to spend some time with you today..." Maggy said, raising her head and looking at him with an eager expression.
"Sorry, sis," He caressed her hair, "I was invited to an arena today, but tomorrow I"ll spend more time with you, okay?"
"Okay! But you have to play with me all day!" As she said this, Noah felt he was spoiling her a bit, but she deserved it.
"Okay, I"ll play with you all day. I promisse."
"Yaay~!" Maggy cheered, as she and Bel ran towards the door. "My unicorn is much cuter than your lizard!" she teased at Bel, who answered in kin.
"No, My lizard is much cuter! His sword teeth are cute!"
"The kids are still playing with those, have they given you any trouble?" Noah asked, as the back serpent wrapped around his wrist.
"You know they are great kids," Lilith answered looking at him. "What happened in the restaurant? I thought you"d only be back for dinner, it"s still afternoon."
"We were provoked by some people of another Family. But since there"s the arena today, we"ll go to prove our strength." Noah smiled, bringing his arm closer to himself, and the brack snake.
"I see... but Noah," she paused, making noah curious.
"Yeah?"
"Why do I smell the perfume of a woman on you?"
"Eh?" for a second, Noah was at a loss for words. He knew there would be at least a little bit of that on him, since they took the same car together, but why was Lilith asking him this? "Because they were up to no good, I gave out group"s healer a ride home."
"Oh, so that"s what happened. Was it the same people that provoked you guys?" she asked, curious, as her body coiled up around his arm.
"Not directly, but surely under their orders... People like this are such a pain," Noah vented out. "But it"s okay. After we beat them in the arena later, they"ll fall back, at least for a while."
"I see..." Lilith said, as she made her way over his shoulder and down the other side, by his neck. "Be careful out there, people who are too full of pride, when it gets shattered, tend to do stupid things."
"I"ll keep that in mind, thanks," he answered, as Liith went down from his arm and back onto the sofa. "I"ll be going now, then."
"See you tonight."
After saying that to her, Noah headed into the room, set aside his things for today and changed his clothes for something more practical. It didn"t take him long, but he went around to the backyard and said goodbye to the kids, before taking his car on the way back.
"It"s almost time," he said to himself, as he watched the sun descend into the horizon, almost at twillight.
"Noah! You"re finally here," Michael"s voice rang as soon as he set his foot out of his car.
"Did I arrive late?" Noah asked, walking towards him, since he knew he was not.
"No, not at all. You arrived just in time, it"s just that you were the last one to come. I"m guessing dropping her home was a large detour, wasn"t it?" With Michael"s words, Noah followed his gaze, to see the healer just a bit further, almost getting into the restaurant.
"It was nothing like that," Noah brushed him aside. "Are we going in?"
"Yeah, they should be here soon to take us." Michael turned around and went into the restaurant. Noah followed him, making his way to their table. As soon as everyone was seated, the same manager from before appeared.
"Please follow me," he said, promting all the blessed to stand up and go after him to one of the other entrances of the restaurant. The group walked through a hall that went on for many minutes, before reaching an elevator. Most wouldn"t notice it, but noah saw the many security features employed all through this corridor. The elevator went down for a while, before they walked down yet another hall, being left in s.p.a.cious room. "This is your room, please get ready. I"ll come back in 15 minutes to take you to the arena."
The blessed nodded, and soon the man left them alone. The room was rather s.p.a.cious, with more than enough s.p.a.ce for the large group of 15. Food and drinks were also available, put on a table to the side of the room. Going into the changing room one by one, slowly the appearence of the group went from that of youg, rich people to that of warriors, archers, and mages.
There was no defined order, but Noah decided it was best if he was the last one to change, since that meant he could rest more before dressing up in full armor.
"Now that everyone is ready, let"s start." With the leader"s call, the whole group turned towards him, waiting for his instructions. "This arena won"t be like last time. We have someone among us who is far stronger, and out teamwork has improved a lot. Even the blessed of the other families are not as strong as we are right now, all you need to do is fight like we always do"!
"Yes!" the group responded to him, making him smile.
"Good. Noah, do you know the rules?" he asked.
"Not really. Our healer explained to me a little bit about how this works, but I stil know little." With his words, Noah also looked at the healer, making her blush slightly.
"I see, so I"ll begin with what the arena is." Michael cleared his throat. "This arena is a spectacle for those of the nine families. Aside from us, their representatives, the higher ups watch the fights from above, in the VIP cabins. The fights are also recorded, but there audience is extremely limited, only available to the regulars of the restaurant and those related to the families. Aside from the tickets, the restaurant earns a lot of money through betting. It"s an unsaid rule, but families have to bet for themselves not to lose face, this way the restaurant can afford to continue this arena even without much public."
Michael"s explanation was very detailed, and answered a lot of Noah"s questions.. But there was still the most important part, the fights themselves.