Chapter 90- The Black Cats (Part 3)

Chapter 90: Chapter 90- The Black Cats (Part 3)

Chapter 90- The Black Cats (Part 3)

Rize didn’t speak as he stepped away and let the group take in the news. He couldn’t imagine how hard it was for them to accept such a thing. Seeing the tears and guilt in their eyes, he could only sigh as he rested against a tree.

’People don’t really realize how dangerous the line of work we have is. People die, and they die more often than anything else. In fact, most awakened die before they could even make it 10 years into this world.’ Rize thought to himself. ’You’re constantly in danger with basically no room for error. If you make a mistake, you’re dead.’

There was no other line of work where someone’s life could end from one single small mistake. People look at the awakened, their prestige, fame, and power, and think their lives are perfect. But the reality is that nobody thinks about how often they die.

You hear in the news that a group of awakened from a certain clan were able to conquer a dangerous dungeon and gain the riches within it, but you never hear of the names of the awakened that died for that cause, and even if you do, it is usually of the more prominent names that people have heard of before.

These scenes of the group crying for their dead friend were something the masses don’t see. Rize felt all his good mood dissipate as he clenched his teeth. After a while, he walked to the group. "Do you want me to bring the man to you?"

"..." Freya sniffed as she looked at Rize. "It’s... He was..."

"I will bring him," Rize said as he turned around and walked away. A few minutes later, he returned carrying a man in his hands.

When they saw him, the group immediately surrounded him.

"Milio..."

"Why did you leave us like this, man? Goddamit, we were gonna have drinks tonight."

"He stayed behind to save all of us..." Freya said. "He sacrificed his life for us. We can’t blame anyone..."

Rize looked at them for a second, hesitated, and then spoke. "When I found him, he had already bled a lot and was in great pain. However, the first thing he told me was where you guys were and that you needed help. I don’t know him much, but... He seemed like a very good man."

Rize respected people like Milio, who always stood for what they believed in and would always protect those they cared about even when death was coming to knock on their door.

"That’s... so like him..." Freya said with tears in her eyes as a sad and yet warm smile drew on her beautiful face.

"He had always been someone who was ready to sacrifice for us... He held the dream that we would one day be a big name." Dennis said. "This bastard went ahead and died before us... How dare he?!"

"He did what he thought was right, Dennis. You can’t blame him for-"

"We lost Milio, for fuck sake. What the hell are we going to do, huh? We were already weak enough as it is. How are we going to survive? How are we going to make a living?"

"... It’s not the time to think about that. Ugh, cough cough..." Kai interjected as he held his injury spot with a pained look.

"Your friend is right," Rize said. "He did his best to protect you all. Give him a proper burial and pay respect to his sacrifice."

"It’s none of your damn business!" Dennis yelled as he stood up and walked to Rize. "I am saddened by Milio’s death more than anyone else, but we are totally screwed. He was one of the main reasons why our group had survived for so damn long. We could barely make a living hunting boars and fucking rabbits. We tried to go for something bigger and look what happened to us!" The man yelled loudly.

He was clearly enraged and sad at the same time, but Rize didn’t break eye contact. He didn’t feel threatened by the man’s presence whatsoever.

"You don’t know what tomorrow holds," Rize replied calmly. "If you truly care about your group, then understand that they want to grieve their friend. You think they aren’t aware of the future problems?"

"..." Dennis’ eyes widened as he looked over his shoulder at his group. They all stared at him with sad eyes, and then his eyes shifted to Milio’s dead corpse.

The man clenched his teeth as he closed his eyes.

"I can help you go back to the city safely," Rize said. "But, first of all, can I know your names?"

"I’m Ivan, *sniff*, this is Freya, that’s Kai, and that is Dennis. We’re a small group called ’The Black Cats’. We have come to the capital from Belvinia up north." The man said.

’Hmm, Belvinia? That’s the neighboring country, no?’ Rize squinted his eyes.

"What brought you to the capital?" Rize asked.

"We heard a lot about Sagardia and the opportunities it presents, and we wanted to find our place here. We have settled in the city for almost two months now, and we have been struggling to make money..." Ivan explained. "As Dennis said, we hadn’t thought far ahead, and we ended up in this state..."

"I see," Rize muttered. "I will see if I can help you out a bit. I won’t lie, coming all the way here without proper planning wasn’t a good idea. The capital isn’t an easy place to survive and thrive in. You either know what you’re doing, or you don’t."

"We only realized that far too late..." Freya said as she put her hand on Milio’s chest. "He always dreamed of becoming a great Awakened and joining one of the major clans or the Royal Knights. He believed in us and our abilities, but... We let him down."

"How are you going to help us? You seem like you’re very important, ugh..." Kai said. "How are you moving so fast like that? And you seem very young too."

"It’s not important right now who I am," Rize said. "Pick your injured friend up and let’s go. It’s not safe here."

Rize said as he turned around and started walking. The group stared at him silently. A part of them was naturally wary of the boy. He was moving like an utter demon, cutting those bears as if they were nothing. If he wanted to harm them, they probably couldn’t do anything about it.

However, at the same time, he helped them and saved their lives for free. Perhaps he was a kind person after all.

With those mixed thoughts in mind, the group picked up their dead friend and followed after him. Rize scanned the area for any other threats as he paved the path for them. His eyes looked left and right silently.

’So far so good.’

"We didn’t catch your name..."

"You can call me Rize."

"Rize?"

"Are you the son of a noble man?"

"He definitely looks like it..."

With his strikingly handsome features and his mysterious personality, only someone of that status could have it.

"You lot are really a curious bunch, huh? Heard that’s not good for cats."