Away from his irksome company, Haring proceeded straight through the forest. His objective, of course, had nothing to do with securing food.
While he told Yuri he only had enough food for one, he had actually prepared enough for two, in case of emergency. Even if Eleanor was added to the mix, it would be no issue with some careful planning.
The true reason Haring entered the forest—
“How long are you gonna hover over us? Stupid fox, shrimp spirit.”
His declaration to the trees was quickly met by the furious rustling of leaves. A short while later came the thud of something falling.
“Kkhh... I hit...my bum...!”
“Don’t worry, I used you as a stepping stone, so I’m fine.”
The two appeared from the shadows with a carefree exchange.
Haring took one good look over them and sighed. “You only caught up to us a moment ago, that means you ain’t familiar with the dungeon either. Any more deadweights and I won’t be able to cope. Please, one of you, any of you, someone just go home.”
“...How can you tell?”
As Athena pursed her lips, Haring dropped a handful of sand from his palm.
“I’ve been usin’ my power to periodically send out sand and check for stalkers. The brat’s annoyingly famous, so I thought some idiot might try’n start somethin’.”
He wouldn’t mind if someone tried to initiate a duel purely to test Yuri’s strength. But there was no guarantee all duelists would be so sincere.
Perhaps they would lead a flock of monsters to the transfer point to block their way. Perhaps they would pretend to attack a monster, inflicting real injury and crippling their actual target. Perhaps they would set up camp on their destination floor, monopolizing the herbs they wanted, and demanding an exorbitant price for them... There was no end to the types of foul play one could commit.
As the dungeon’s warps were treated as a temporary leave from the city, Duel City Babel did not have a complete grasp of whatever went on there. There was always a set amount of people who would use this for evil.
Haring knew more about these sorts than anyone.
“But thanks to the brat rushin’ onward at an abnormal speed, a majority of them dropped out, threw in the towel. I’m surprised you two managed to keep up.”
“Of course, that’s...because we’re worried about Yuri.” Athena’s voice lowered. She turned to him with dangerous eyes filled with wrath. “When we knew you would be with him, we couldn’t stop chasing him. Not ever.”
Her hand reached for her sword, and she entered an angered ready-stance. It was all too clear who the target of her malice was.
“Because you’re a villain.”
He had heard that voice all too many times. He had seen those eyes all too many times.
“It’s because of you...that child quit as a duelist. Crying, cowering to the end, lowering her sad face, she left the duel city.”
The sight of the girl still remained vivid in her memory. Bound by a contract and the fear of death, her legs shook up to the last moment.
“That’s why I can’t forgive the fact you can continue to be a duelist.”
A murderous intent seeped into the air around her. Haring was no fool, but still, he simply offered a disinterested scoff.
“Hah... It’s just one kid. How long are you gonna hold a grudge?” He shrugged, then sent her a sneer. “It’s got nothin’ to do with me. I was paid a fortune just to watch the kid. I did the job I was paid for, it’s none of my business what happens after that.”
Haring needed money no matter what. He accepted the offer proposed by the group of duelists. And Haring kept watch over the cheated newcomers, making sure they wouldn’t run away. That’s all there was to the story. Nothing more, and nothing less.
“I’ll do any job for money—that’s just how I do business.”
His words now caused Athena to draw her sword.
“...Release!!”
Her turquoise eyes were touched by crimson; nine silver tails unfurled from her back like the petals of a lotus flower. Leaving it all to her wrath, Athena swung her great sword in white, searing flames.
The moment they were about to wash over Haring, tendrils of sand shot up from the ground, covering and smothering them out. The sand swallowed the white flames whole, stealing away the momentum of the ferocious inferno.
“If you wanna call me a villain—how about you at least follow the rules?”
Athena glared at him through the suspended clouds of sand.
“Our compatibility is the worst, you shoulda realized that last time we fought.”
Haring had fought Athena once before. When she witnessed him with the girl who had escaped from the group, Haring had challenged her himself—and managed to defeat her. He didn’t evade arrest, but he was able to achieve his objective.
Ignoring the agonized grimace on Athena’s face, Haring turned to Fram.
“You, shrimp, take that idiot and get lost already.”
“You have a point. We’ll be going now.”
“Wha—Fram!? Why are you listening to him!?”
“There’s little else we can do. Launching an attack outside of a duel is out of the question for a duelist. While there is a major problem with his attitude, this time, it’s your fault for attacking first.”
Fram showered Athena with cold words, putting a damper on her heightened emotions.
“Haring, you’ll do any job for money, won’t you?”
“That’s what I said. I’ll do whatever I’m paid for, no exceptions.”
“Then that’s a relief. Now that Mirka’s already paid you, that means you’re definitely going to return Yuri to us. But—” said Fram with a smile, “If anything should happen to our Yuri, I’ll kill you before this kid even gets the chance.”
Letting off enough murderous intent to freeze an entire body, Fram turned and walked off. Athena was soon to follow—only to suddenly come to a stop.
“...Haring, one more promise,” she said and turned back to him with serious eyes, “When he gets back—make sure Yuri can say he had fun.”