Chapter 262: He’s Gone.

Chapter 262: 262: He’s Gone.

Ayra was shocked and confused as she raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Gone? What do you mean by that?"

Kan ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, he means that he’s out of the tribe..."

Ayra became even more confused. "Out of the tribe? Why?"

Rai explained, "Well, something urgent came up. We don’t really know what it is, but he went out with some of the warriors for that..."

Ayra blinked, rather confused. "So... he’s not coming back or...?"

Kan and Rai stared at each other before answering.

"Well, he left early this morning, so I’m pretty sure he should return today," Rai said.

Kan nodded in agreement. "Yes. He is... Why do you ask?"

They both stared at Ayra.

Rai smiled as he teased, "Do you already miss your dear mate who hasn’t been back for a few hours...?"

Ayra smiled awkwardly. "I’m just asking. Just some observations."

Kan and Rai exchanged amused looks before turning back to her.

"Okay, then. If you say so," Kan said. "We’ll be leaving with the little ones now."

They turned toward the bickering little ones, and Kan suddenly asked, "Who wants to go and catch some butterflies?"

"Me!"

All of them chorused at once, instantly forgetting what they had been bickering about as they rushed out with Kan and Rai.

Ayra shook her head with a smile. "I guess I’ll have to wait for him to return..."

She sighed as she sat back on the bed.

She had already laid out all her plans to get to Commander Lynn smoothly, so she was simply waiting for him to return so she could put them into action.

---

When Ally and Ash came to pay Ayra a visit and spend some time with her, they brought along the fruits the father-and-daughter duo had gathered during their outing. Ayra took the opportunity to ask them about Commander Lynn as well.

"Is he back yet?"

Lord Ash shook his head. "Oh, no. He’s not back yet."

Ayra sighed. "I see..."

Rai and Kan soon returned with the cubs after playing, and Ayra immediately asked them about Commander Lynn again.

"Hmm... He hasn’t returned yet," Kan said.

"I don’t know. He might come back in the evening. It seems like the mission he went out for is more serious than I thought," Rai explained.

Kan nodded. "Mmm. Seems like it."

Ayra sat there rather worried after speaking with them. Time was ticking away quickly. She only had about nine hours left to complete her task, and Commander Lynn was nowhere to be seen.

She wondered where he was and how he was doing. Was he safe, or was he in trouble? She couldn’t help worrying that he might actually be in danger or even go berserk.

She also wondered if he would return today or stay out there for several days. If he didn’t return, she would be in trouble. She wouldn’t be able to complete the task, and the delivery might end up being much more stressful than it needed to be.

Ayra was also worried about another possibility. What if he returned completely exhausted and was in no condition to do anything? She certainly couldn’t pester him to get intimate with her if he was already worn out from whatever mission he was handling.

Endless worries filled Ayra’s mind as she sat there thinking and waiting, hoping that everything would somehow work out.

Evening eventually arrived, and Zark, Vale, and Zay came to pay her a visit and spend some time with her.

Zark and Vale had brought meat soup that they and the Rabbit Chef had prepared.

"I’ve been preparing this all day, so I hope you like it," Vale said. "Taste it and tell me how it is."

Ayra smiled and nodded before taking a taste.

"How is it?"

Ayra tilted her head. "Not bad. But it could definitely use some improvement with the mixture of the ingredients and the flavoring..."

"..."

Vale sighed as he slowly nodded, taking the criticism seriously.

"Hmm, okay. I guess I’ll have to work on that next."

Ayra smiled. "You really are serious about cooking these days."

Vale nodded firmly. "Of course. I have to."

Ayra shook her head with a smile as she patted Zay, who was sitting beside her and cuddling close to her.

Then she looked around and asked, "Is Commander Lynn back yet? I haven’t seen him all day..."

"Oh, he’s not back yet," Zark said, shaking his head.

Ayra stared at him. "Huh? Not yet? Why? Is something wrong? Did something happen to him over there?"

Zark shook his head. "I believe he’s fine. They send someone over every hour to assure us that they’re okay. So, from the last information we received, everything is fine. They’re still there."

Ayra slowly nodded before asking further, "So where is he? And why is he there? What happened? Is it serious?"

Vale sighed as he explained, "Well, something strange happened recently, so he’s out to investigate it."

Ayra became curious. "Something strange? What is it? What happened?"

Vale explained, "Some strange energy was detected around the area. We still don’t know what it is, but it was detected around our tribe."

He paused before continuing, "And what makes it strange is that the energy is similar to that of the Dark Circle..."

Ayra raised an eyebrow. "That’s..."

"But it’s not confirmed," Zark quickly added. "It’s just some random speculation for now. Commander Lynn simply took it upon himself to go and investigate."

"He’s not too far from the tribe," Vale explained. "He’s around the area conducting a survey to confirm what’s going on. I guess he’s still at it, and that’s why he hasn’t returned yet."

"At this rate, I’m certain he’ll be back by tomorrow," Zark said.

Vale nodded in agreement.

Ayra panicked at their words.

At this moment, she didn’t know whether she should be more worried about Commander Lynn possibly being in a dangerous situation or the fact that she might potentially fail the task.

In the end, she chose to worry about both simultaneously.

Then she realized she might not be able to sit back and simply let herself fail the task at hand.

She had to do something.

Anything.

Even if it meant actually going to meet Commander Lynn wherever he was.