Death... and me

Lilia immediately looked back with a bright red expression, telling Mira, "M-Mira, what are you doing?! I want to go too!"

Hurio, obviously, agreed with Lilia, saying, "The same goes for me. Sorry, Rean, Roan. We're getting down."

Rean and Roan didn't want to get involved with all of that, so they simply nodded in response. "Sure, go ahead."

However, it was then that Mira sent Lilia a Divine Sense message. Soon after, Lilia gave up jumping down from Kentucky's back. "I... don't want to go anymore."

Hurio was taken aback to hear that. "What?!"

Mira then took the chance to tell them, "You can come with us if you want, Hurio, but that means you'll leave Lilia in the twins' care. Unlike you, she doesn't have a Soul Binding Contract with them. Will you be fine in leaving her behind just so you can follow us? Well, if the answer is yes, then by all means, come."

Lamanto's group immediately headed in a different direction from Rean, Roan, and Kentucky. Of course, how could Hurio not understand what they did? He wasn't an idiot. "Shameless! Sister, that's not fair!"

Then again, that's what Rean and Roan also wanted to say. Why were they being used as a babysitter of sorts? Well, they didn't really mind bringing Hurio with them since that was the plan from the very start. However, they didn't hear anything about having to also carry that girl around. One could tell that they convinced Lilia to stay with the twins so that Hurio wouldn't leave her behind.

Unfortunately, Mira, Lamanto, and the other members of his group completely ignored his complaints. Not too long after, they disappeared in the distance while Hurio gritted his teeth, preparing to jump down from Kentucky. However...

"Hurio, are you really going to leave me alone with these strangers?" Lilia immediately acted as she asked him.

Hurio's expression turned dark as he looked back at Lilia, asking in response, "Why are you doing this?"

Lilia then replied, "You are too important to us. From what I heard from Elder Lamanto, the place they're going to is too dangerous, so it would be better if you didn't come. I finally understand why I was brought on this journey since I'm not that strong. They wanted to use me to stop you, and I shall make that happen."

At this point, Rean couldn't help but intervene. "Ahem... that's good and all. However, just what do Roan and I have to do with any of this? Couldn't you simply have gone somewhere else instead of being thrown at us?" Rean then pointed at Hurio and continued, "This idiot here obviously loves you. He would have followed your footsteps either way."

Hurio's dark expression quickly changed into that of embarrassment, and so did Lilia's. However, Lilia quickly recovered before explaining, "They can't spare anyone strong enough to bring Hurio back home safely. However, they know Hurio would definitely follow them to where they are going if they left him be. As far as I know, that place is one of the most dangerous ones in the depths of the Lost Star Realm. That's why I'm staying so that it will force Hurio to stay. As for why they sent me to you, that's because the other parts of the depths of the Lost Star Realm are still dangerous places. They think we would have a higher chance of survival if we stay with you."

Roan narrowed his eyes after hearing that. "I don't remember us accepting the task of protecting you." He then pointed at Hurio and said, "Our Soul Binding Contract has no clause that states that we must help each other. When we signed it, we made it very clear that if any of us got in trouble, the others didn't have to do anything to save them. Even though we wouldn't mind helping Hurio if it wasn't a complicated situation, we definitely wouldn't think twice about leaving him behind if the danger was serious."

Rean agreed with Roan, saying, "Besides, we knew Hurio was strong on his own. He had plenty to add to our group while we looked for Fallen Light Star Fragments. But how about you? You're still in the Initial Stage of the Saint Realm. If things spiral out of control, can you protect yourself? Wouldn't you simply drag us down along with you?"

"I..." Lilia didn't know what to say when she heard that.

However, Hurio decided to talk on her behalf at that moment. "Even though I'm not sure as to what my sister and elder Lamanto are looking for, I'm certain that the Fallen Light Star Fragments are necessary. With that being said, we can still keep our contract and look for it together. Don't worry, I won't ask you to do anything for Lilia. If push comes to shove, then you can leave the two of us behind regardless of the outcome."

Rean and Roan pondered over it for a bit when suddenly, Kentucky decided to open his mouth. "Can't you just stop bullying the beautiful girl? I've been coping with all your testosterone so far, so it's good to have such a cute lady follow us. I'm tired of having to keep staring at your faces already."

Rean and Roan's mouths twitched after that, anger evident on their faces. "What part of keeping your mouth shut didn't you understand?"

Of course, Lilia and Hurio looked at Kentucky with astonished expressions. They were at the same level as Kentucky, so they could obviously tell his cultivation. "He can talk?!"

Kentucky didn't care about the twins, though. "It's easy for you to say that when you don't need to hold yourself back from talking for several months in a row. I'm tired, you hear me? Tired! I'm gonna talk, I'm gonna talk a lot!"

Kentucky then ignored the twins and turned its head while flying to look at Lilia. "Hey lady, I'm Kentucky. Don't worry. If the idiot duo doesn't protect you, I will. I'm very strong and resistant, you know? You can count on the great Kentucky."

Rean and Roan felt like giving the Minokawa a beating already. Hurio also felt that it was quite peculiar to see a demon bird hit on his girl. As for Lilia, her mind went blank as she answered, "Thank... you?"