Chương 29: New Friends?

"Oh, no problem, Ms. Susanne," Arthur said. Since it was incredibly obvious that he was the one who owned the skeletons, denying it now would not make any sense whatsoever.

"Good job, Mr. Arthur. You helped these people at the perfect time. It was a highly commendable deed; I have come to know the exact situation they were in. If you had not helped them at that precise moment, they would have certainly died by now. So, as a Union Government Supervisor, I thank you for your good deed, and I hope you continue to do the right thing in the future," the UG officer praised.

"Thank you, sir. I will do my best to help others in need," Arthur gracefully acknowledged the praise.

"Then, I will take my leave." With that, Arthur turned around to leave the room. However, the room door suddenly swung open, and a figure directly lunged towards him. Arthur instantly recognized the person; it was one of the youths from the party—specifically, the Shield youth. He aggressively lunged forward, grabbing Arthur in a tight embrace.

"Hahaha! Thank you, my friend! Thank you for saving my life! If you weren't there to help, I would definitely be dead by now! Thank you!" the youth laughed and cried at the exact same time. Arthur, completely shellshocked by this sudden action, tried his best to separate himself. However, the youth just hugged him tighter. Soon, the other party members also entered the room. Arthur felt incredibly embarrassed by this public display of affection.

"No problem, my friend. It was just a small help; anyone would have done the same," Arthur said, trying to relax the youth in the hope that he would finally let him go. However, the youth was clearly not in the mood to release him just yet.

"No, my friend, not everyone is as kind as you. My friends told me I was about to be stomped by that Boar, but you saved me. So, thank you!" he continued to express his profound gratitude while hugging Arthur tightly. His tears and snot were already smeared all over Arthur's shoulder." Nickolas, that's enough. You are making an embarrassing scene here," Susanne finally interjected. After hearing her words, Nickolas slowly stopped sobbing and loosened his grip.

However, just as Arthur was about to feel a wave of relief, the youth suddenly started to cry even harder. He bawled for a while longer before finally letting Arthur go. Once he stepped back, the other youths came forward to shake Arthur's hand, earnestly thanking him for the rescue. Fortunately, the two Sword youths were not nearly as emotional as Nickolas. They simply shook his hand with deep respect. Finally, the healer girl stepped forward. She started to sob before she could even utter her thanks.

Arthur politely extended a hand for a handshake, but the overwhelming emotion caused her to sob even harder as she let her body heavily fall against him.

"Thank you... I thought I was going to die. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do," she cried, burying her face into his shoulder.

"Hahaha, no problem. It happens to everyone. You have to go through all of these hurdles before becoming a strong Awakener. So, you shouldn't be afraid of a simple setback," Arthur said, offering his emotional advice in a gentle tone. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The thanking ceremony went on for another ten minutes, during which Nickolas went in for yet another round of emotional hugging.

"That's enough, Nickolas. Get yourself together; you have embarrassed us enough," Susanne's grumpy voice suddenly echoed. In the very next second, Nickolas finally let go of Arthur and stood obediently beside him.

"Okay then, all the best to you guys. I will take my leave now, as I have some urgent work to attend to," Arthur said as a parting remark, absolutely ready to escape this awkward situation.

"Arthur, let's travel together!" Nickolas urgently suggested.

"Well, I was planning to take a taxi. It's better if I travel alone; I don't want to waste your time," Arthur replied, accurately guessing that these youths must have arrived in their own vehicle.

"No problem at all! We have plenty of space in my car. I will drop you off wherever you want," Nickolas insisted.

"I am not sure that will be necessary…" Arthur truly wanted to leave, but this youth was constantly insisting on giving him a lift.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go!" After saying that, Nickolas swiftly exited the room, heading straight for the parking space to retrieve his car. The Ride Back Arthur was truly reluctant to travel with these youths. From their demeanor and attire, they were definitely from the Inner Sectors. However, he figured he could simply get dropped off once they reached the city's edge and pick up a taxi to Outer Sector B from there. All the members exited the room. In total, they had three vehicles.

Exactly as Arthur had guessed, they were extremely expensive cars; these youths were undoubtedly from wealthy families. But one thing he couldn't understand was their sheer confidence to travel without guards to hunt a Hunk Boar, let alone an adult one. As arrogant young masters of wealthy families, they must have thought everything would be as easy as their lives had been so far. Now that they had experienced the harsh reality of this cruel world, they would definitely learn quickly.

"Get in." The car door opened. Nickolas was the one driving, while Finola, the healer, was already seated in the back. Arthur took the front passenger seat. Soon, the car sped up, rapidly leaving the Luck Forest behind.

"So, Arthur, where do you want to go? I will drop you there," Nickolas casually asked as he drove.

"Thanks for your kindness, but if you could just drop me off near the city limits, that would be enough," Arthur replied.

"Don't be a stranger! Since we've become good friends, just tell me the location. I will drop you right at your doorstep," Nickolas insisted. Arthur was left completely speechless after hearing this guy's words. They had met just a few minutes ago; exactly when did they become good friends?

"Since you insist, you can drop me off at Outer Sector B," Arthur said, no longer denying his offer.

"Now, that's more like it!" Nickolas laughed as the car sped up on the road.

"So, Arthur, are you hunting alone? I mean, without a human party?" Nickolas asked.

"No, actually, I was just doing a quest," Arthur replied.

"Oh, that's great, man. We came as a party to hunt, but we encountered two adult Hunk Boars without realizing it. The thing is, we were just on the edge of the Plumeria Territory. We didn't know adult Boars could roam that far out," Nickolas explained their misfortune.

"Yeah, I was also surprised that adult Boars existed at the border territory. But why did you guys fight them if you felt you couldn't succeed in the battle?" Arthur asked. He genuinely wanted to know why in the hell anyone would choose to engage two adult Hunk Boars simultaneously.

"Actually, we didn't have any time to think. It was a complete surprise attack, and we had absolutely no choice but to engage in battle," Nickolas said in a horrified tone as he recalled those harrowing moments. Arthur was completely dumbfounded by this revelation. He had originally thought they had actively engaged in the battle to hunt the two Boars. When he reached the battlefield, that was exactly how he had interpreted the scene.

But now, hearing Nickolas's explanation, he felt something was missing—a crucial piece of information he did not know about the situation. Arthur suddenly fell into deep thought about the overall scenario.