Chương 181: Without Her

Despite the anger and the frustration Liora felt, she didn't actually fly that far. She had flown a great distance on the last day, so even her wings were getting tired at this point. So after finding a somewhat high cactus and settling in between its large pointy needles as a magpie, Liora fell asleep. It wasn't the best hiding spot, and it was ridiculously cold in the desert at night. But her feathers provided good insulation.

Nobody was likely to notice her on top of this large cactus either, since most desert monsters lived on the ground or underneath it. She woke early, when rays of the sun were only just peeking over the dunes. Liora had hoped that sleeping would have made her feel better. That perhaps it would feel fine to return to the anthill and continue as they had before. But it wasn't so. Renir's sharp words still rang in her ears.

Despite knowing that they came from a place of frustration and were mostly directed at Aenir, Liora couldn't forgive Renir just like that. I'm not going back. Not that day at least. Perhaps she needed more time to cool down, but for the time being she wasn't ready to face Renir. Not until the asshole learned to control his mouth a little. Liora decided that it was best to return to Aenir. Why? Because it was time for breakfast, and he had some really nice snacks yesterday.

Besides, it was likely that Aenir would like to know the answer to his question from his younger brother.

"Wow… So he really flipped out, didn't he?" Aenir said, scratching his head awkwardly. He had presented her with an array of tropical fruit that Liora had never even tasted before. They were quite delicious, and considerably improved her mood.

"Absolutely. I'm still wondering whether I should just ditch his ass forever. Although I wouldn't want to leave Cee. It's not her fault Renir is a prick. Maybe we can ditch him together," Liora muttered.

"Cee?" Aenir asked in confusion.

"Oh, she's part of our group. A talking spider monster similar to me. We also have a wyvern and a merman," Liora said. She was deliberately not hiding stuff from Aenir. Just to spite Renir.

"You have quite the colorful group, don't you? And the spider talks too? That is most peculiar, since you are not yet beastkin, are you?"

"No, we're not. I had a harpy evolution option, but skipped it because it was just weird." Liora ate some more fruits. Anger was bubbling within, and she didn't like it. Why did Renir have to say something so mean?

"What did you do to Renir anyway? He acts as if you killed his mother or something." Aenir grew stiff all of a sudden.

"I suppose that's not too far from the truth."

"WHAT?!" Liora squawked.

"You killed your own mother."

"It's more complicated than that. The long version is… too long to explain now. The short version is that I had to make a choice, and I chose to sacrifice our mother to save Renir. He never forgave me for that choice." Liora looked at him, Aenir's eyes filled with pain. What could have happened that he would have to kill his own mother to save Renir? That was so messed up. Liora couldn't imagine just how Renir felt. But he must feel at least a little grateful towards Aenir, no?

Then again, Liora didn't know the circumstances, and it didn't feel right to push Aenir for answers.

"Okay, enough about all that. Renir can go and stare at his precious books as much as he wants. I'm not helping him anymore!"

"Wow, slow down there. I know he can be mean, but don't abandon my brother—""Unless he comes to with a proper apology, Renir can go suck a lemon!" Liora said firmly, and ate a piece of mango. Aenir sighed.

"Little brother… How you always manage to anger people… Even birds. So what do you intend to do next?" Liora had actually thought about it on her way here. It was something that bothered her while she flew over this kingdom.

"That river, I want to help restore it." Aenir blinked in surprise.

"You? But what can you do?"

"Chak-chak-chak! You underestimate my power! Did I mention where Renir and I were staying?" Liora teased.

"Where?" Aenir narrowed his gaze.

"In the anthill." Aenir started to laugh.

"Seriously? You guys were with the antkin this whole time?" The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Yup! I got a Guild Map quite well populated with the inner layout. It's not perfect, and there's still lots of places missing. But I imagine it's more than what you have," Liora said.

"So what? You intend to steal the mana crystal for us?" Aenir asked.

"Ideally, no. I like the ants. They're cool, although their work ethic is a bit too strict for me. If possible, I'd like to negotiate with them for a trade or something," Liora suggested.

"They'll reject you as soon as they figure out what you're intending to use the crystals for."

"Perhaps, but I believe it's worth a shot." Aenir nodded.

"It never hurts to try, but I think you should prepare if stealing becomes the only option. Do you have any stealth skills?"

"I do. I also have Theft. Although it's still at Basic level. Utterly ridiculous. I unlocked it but never once got to use it," Liora grumbled. Aenir rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I think you should train that skill and then return to the anthill."

"So… You're letting me go around and steal stuff from innocent people."

"No, I think we should use your talents properly. There's somebody I have wanted to put in their place for a while now. Will you help me out?"

"I demand shinies and treasure as payment."

"Oh, you'll have all the shinies you want. I promise you that!" Aenir grinned. Renir couldn't believe that Liora just flew off. She was overreacting. Blowing everything way out of proportion. Why is that girl so dramatic? Why did she have to tell Aenir anything? Why is Aenir here? Last time Renir saw his brother was on… on the day Mom died. In a way, it was a relief that he was a gem, because he couldn't feel the pain in his chest that plagued him whenever he thought about that day.

He still didn't understand exactly what had happened then, mostly because he couldn't bear the pain that came with remembering. Funny. I'm just like Liora. She also pushes the memories of her past life away because they are too painful. Yet the magpie had flown away. Because Renir had lost his temper and snapped at her. He knew it wasn't Liora's fault. She likely saw Aenir as someone who could free Renir of this rock prison. It was possible that he could actually remove a few seals.

With his assistance, the ordeal likely would be over in record time. But even knowing that, Renir couldn't face Aenir. He couldn't and he wouldn't. Thinking about him made his whole being fill with rage again. To quell it, he returned his attention to the ancient script. Deciphering it was a challenge. He didn't know this old language very well, and the antkin also only knew bits and pieces. By combining their knowledge, they were able to move forward, but the progress was slow. But it was a welcome distraction.

He could focus on this research for a whole day, and not worry about anything else. Cee came by a few times, but Renir ignored her. He knew that he had to apologize to Liora. Her absence was like a constant thorn in his mind. It was constantly demanding attention, and only by focusing fully on magic could he quell that insistent ache. It was never truly silent, but it was at least quieter.

"I'm not ready yet," Renir said to Cee, once she came to bother him for the third time.

"What do you mean? Not ready! This isn't—" Renir turned to face Cee.

"I need to work through this, okay? I… I want my apology to Liora to be sincere, not rushed."

"You better work through it fast! Liora is not a patient bird!" The spider grumbled and left reluctantly. Cee was right, of course, but Renir was… He was actually afraid of apologizing to Liora. It was ridiculous. He was the Pillar of Lost Magic. The most powerful mage on the continent. He knew as much as a single person could know about the system. Yet he was afraid of apologizing. To a bird. It was ridiculous. But things often didn't make sense when it came to Liora.

She was like a radiant star blasting through adversity without a second glance. So long as Liora was by his side, Renir himself felt invincible. Now that he had hurt Liora, Renir realized how much he regretted it, and how afraid he was of her not being able to forgive him.

"Master Mage, I believe the word here is fern," the mage antkin pointed out at one of the ritual parts. Renir had been trying to work his way through while he thought of a proper apology to Liora. He was only half-paying attention, but suddenly his gaze snapped to the ancient tome.

"Orchid… Yes, that's exactly it! We need sand fern," Renir announced.

"Is it a catalyst?"

"It appears so. With the orchid we'll be able to convert the energy from other ingredients into a form that can be used to break the next part of my seal." The mage ants shared a glance. He could tell that they were nervous from the way they wiggled their antenna.

"Sand orchids… I'm afraid they are not so easy to get, Master Mage."

"Aren't they common in desert oases?" He asked, perplexed. It wasn't a particularly rare plant, especially not around these parts.

"They used to be all over the desert. But since the disaster that nearly destroyed our colony, this whole desert ecosystem has been destroyed. It is looking much better these days; however, we have no desert orchids in any of the oases within our reach," one antkin said.

"If you require one, then we would have to acquire it from the human kingdom," another added. That was a problem. Humans and antkin didn't get along. It would be impossible to just go and ask them for some. If only Liora were here. She could get them no problem. It seemed that all solutions led back to Liora. He had to apologize to her. No matter how messy it was, Renir had to do right by her. Because without her, he was completely hopeless. Even something as simple as a flower was out of his reach.

I've become such a pathetic man…

"Would you be so kind as to take me to Cee?" Renir requested of the ants, and they obliged him. They scurried quickly through the convoluted tunnels until Renir noticed a glint pass by him as they moved.

"Liora?" Renir glanced back. He swore he had seen the tell-tale glitter of her feathers. But when he looked back, he couldn't see her. But he was sure that he had seen her. With her Shadow Glide, she could move through these tunnels basically unnoticed. But would she really just fly past him without so much as sparing him a glance?

"Liora!" He called out again, but didn't receive an answer. Why didn't she answer? Was she really that mad? And better yet—what was she trying to do? He had a bad feeling about this.