Chapter 129- Savior

Chapter 129: Chapter 129- Savior

Chapter 129- Savior

"Hm?" Rize looked up from his food as he stared at the TV screen with suspicious eyes. The entire atmosphere of the restaurant shifted as the news anchor appeared before them with a serious look on his face.

"This is breaking news that we have just received: The Empire of Sagardia has officially started its attack on the Sagardian Mountains to take down what they deemed as ’Their greatest threat’. This comes after the recent attacks on the capital that caused the deaths of almost 65 people and the injury of dozens of other civilians. It was said that the culprit is a group of violent individuals with no real moral compass."

Hearing those words, Rize’s eyes turned dead serious as he shifted his glance to Venera. The girl didn’t seem surprised whatsoever as she stared at the screen with a calm expression.

"It’s already starting?"

"Man, this is going to be wild. I’ve heard the empire wants to erase that entire mountain range."

"You think those guys will last that long against these attacks?"

"Pffft, this is Sagardia we’re talking about. They will wipe them out in a day or two."

The reactions all around them varied between surprise and complete dismissal of the potential results of this war. In their eyes, they deemed this more as a divine punishment on the fools who thought they could attack Sagardia and come out of that unscathed.

However, amongst them, Rize and Venera knew how wrong that was. This wasn’t a matter of who had more power because that was obvious. This was more of a battle of wits and, more importantly... A very drawn-out battle.

The Zatharis were bound to try and play their cards. The terrain, their knowledge of it, and their ability to use it to their advantage. That was their biggest trump card. It will exhaust Sagardia as they try to make their way to the settlement where the Zatharis live.

This battle was not going to be easy, no matter how the population thought it was bound to be one-sided.

"It has begun," Rize said in a low voice. "Did you know that it was going to happen today?"

"No. My father refused to disclose when they would start." She explained. "But I knew he wasn’t going to take very long. This was going to happen within this week or the next week at most."

"..." Rize nodded his head.

"Some scouting teams were sent there weeks ago, so the operation had already started long ago. But..."

"But the sword is only going to swing now, right?"

"Yeah," Venera said with a sigh. "Well, in any case, we can’t really do much about it now. We are too far away from Sagardia."

’It’s a blessing and a curse for Venera. I know she probably wants to do something, but being this far away from Sagardia does make it impossible for her to affect anything. Not that she could’ve done anything when we were still there.’

Rize knew that their main target now was to get into the academy and be prominent there. If they made names for themselves, their influence would increase, and they would be able to do far more things. Their key was power, and it would always be power.

With that, the two continued eating their lunch, albeit in a more somber atmosphere. After that, they paid for the food and left the restaurant. Venera seemed in a sour mood as she walked with Rize through the streets of the city. Her eyes showed how deep in thought she was.

Rize kept trying to talk to her, but all he got were small replies. It was clear that even if she pretended like she was ready for it, Venera still carried the burden of all this on her shoulders.

Rize thought for a moment before he suddenly stopped walking and looked at Venera. The girl didn’t notice at first, but after walking for a bit, she realized that Rize wasn’t by her side.

"Hm?" She turned around and looked at Rize, who was standing several feet away from her. "Why did you stop?"

Rize didn’t say a single word as he walked toward her until he was a few inches away from her. Then, he looked deep into her eyes. The look made Venera raise an eyebrow. For some reason, Rize being that close made her feel slightly nervous. He never does things like this, so she didn’t know where to look or how to react.

Then, Rize stretched his hand forward. Venera flinched upon seeing that. ’What is he trying to do? Is he ok?’

A million thoughts crossed her mind in that one split second. She didn’t know why, but her heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Her mind was panicking, and her heart started to race wildly. The entire world around her froze for a second. As his hand got closer to her face, she closed her eyes as she nervously waited for what he was about to do next.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally felt him touch her face. However, it wasn’t the way she expected.

"Huh?" She opened her eyes and saw his finger touching her nose.

"I don’t like to see you scowl like that." He said calmly. "We agreed, didn’t we? We must focus on what we can do and forget what we can’t really control right now."

"..."

"Now, I need you to keep that smile on your face. You’re taking the right steps, Venera. I don’t want you to lose track of that." He said in a soft tone.

His words struck Venera, and her eyes widened. She realized what she had been doing this entire time. The concerned look in Rize’s eyes was like a cold bucket of water that was poured on her head, making her wake up from her abyss of thoughts.

"I... I’m sorry... I just..."

"It’s ok," Rize said. "I know how hard it is on you, and I don’t want you to lose that caring side of yours. But what I want you to do is channel it in the right way to get the best results. Ok?"

"Mm..." Venera nodded her head faintly.

"And I’m here; I will help you as much as I can."

Venera’s lips quivered slightly as she nodded her head again. The amount of warmth she felt in her heart at that moment was indescribable. It felt like something akin to being in another world, a way better world where all she could feel was this sensation wrapped around her body.

"Now, let’s go." He said.

"Rize..."

As the boy started walking, she called for him.

"Hm?"

Venera looked at him, and her eyes lit up with a myriad of emotions.

"Thank you... For everything. I mean it. I don’t know what I could’ve done without you..." She said as she smiled warmly at him. She couldn’t contain those feelings at all, and they spilled out before she could even realize it.

The entire world around Rize suddenly became quiet... Only for that silence to be broken by the sound of a car passing by. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, not knowing what else to say.

"It’s my pleasure." He eventually replied.