After so many days without a clue of Althea, Ansel had unfortunately come to a conclusion that it was time to thicken his face and ask this guy for information
Anyway, the more annoying pompous fatty-slash-spokesperson wasn't here to bloviate on the lord's greatness. No one would be mocking him for asking for help.
Ansel patiently waited for Micheal to finish his speech before coming to find him. Ansel stood at the path of his exit, trying not to appear as pompous as he usually did.
"How may I help you?" Micheal asked, as friendly as always, while his cronies didn't look at him very well. This was understandable, he rejected their lord after all.
Ansel took out the family photo on his wallet. "I'm looking for my family. Especially… my siblings."
Micheal nodded and gracefully took the photo. The man's blue eyes stayed on the picture for a moment longer than others.
"Your sister is very beautiful." He finally said after a pause. "And your brother looks… very powerful." He tacitly didn't ask about the others and just assumed everyone else had passed.
Ansel was taken aback by the comment. "You could tell?"
The enigmatic man looked at his cronies and showed the photo, and they shook their heads in response.
"Sadly, none of us here are familiar with either of them." He said, "May I know their names? Lords could see the names of anyone in the territory."
Ansel was surprised that he was so generous in telling him this, and his impression of this guy increased a step.
In the end though, after Ansel told of their names, Micheal still shook his head apologetically.
Ansel sighed, shoulders slumped. "Well, thank you anyway."
At the very least, now that he was certain Althea wasn't here, nor had she had any intersection with anyone in this place, there was no point in staying…
He needed to go somewhere else. Ideally, another territory.
He voiced it out as soon as they got back to the dwelling after eating. The others looked at him in surprise.
"Are you really leaving?" Tom looked at Ansel who was really ready to go. "Now?"
"Isn't it good to just wait for news here?" Artie asked with a puzzled frown.
Ansel shook his head. "She's in her third trimester. No matter how capable, she is in a weakened state. What if she's waiting to be saved somewhere?"
The team were surprised to find the state of his sister, and they even mused about the chances a pregnant woman had in surviving.
The odds weren't very good, but they didn't voice it out.
"I can only ask you to make her stay if you encounter her here. If I don't find her in the next territory, or even get a clue, I will come back to see."
Tom and the others looked at each other, wondering how they'd make him stay.
However, even if they had only been together a few days, the experiences they had together made for deeper bonds than a lot of friendships back in Terran.
So… they knew there was no talking things out with him.
Tom sighed and they patted his shoulder to express his blessings. "Be careful. Stay alive."
The other two did the same, expressing their well-wishes. Little Lily even went to give him a sweet hug. "I will come to you when I grow up. You must marry me!"
Except for her father, whose worried expression turned to a murderous one, everyone else laughed at her cuteness.
Ansel also said his goodbye and stood up, with the team following to see him off.
However, as they headed to the gate, he saw another batch of refugees lining up. They couldn't help but take a look together, hoping for some luck.
Anyway, regardless of whether there were familiar people, the state of the new arrivals were as they had guessed: The new batch was indeed much more miserable than the previous one.
Not only covered with blood, but there was no piece of clothing undamaged. He even saw someone who lost an arm…
Ansel, feeling that feeling that he was stared at, turned his head to look at the crowd.
His eyes met with a woman's—well, two of them, to be exact. He didn't think she was familiar, but he saw strong recognition in the other person's eyes.
He frowned and after thinking, he stepped forward, wanting to go and ask about Althea.
He saw the two women flinch a little and straighten their backs, and eyes looking at him in anticipation.
One was blatant in her stare, while the other one was reserved, but both were equally disgusting.
He was not talking about their current state of blood and mud—but it was more of a problem of temperament, of the soul.
Although he's had a lot of women, he was still choosy. They had to be beautiful, strong, and of good character.
Like Althea, of course.
He pushed the bile back down and continued his approach. Who knew… maybe they would really know where Althea was.
However, not even a few steps were taken when a piercing yell came soon after, distracting him from the thought.
"RUNNNN!!" A piercing yell screamed, hitting everyone's ears as well as their hearts.
CHARACTER INTERACTION CORNER~
Ansel: Hi there, Angels and Dudes! It is I, Ansel Witt, and I've been tasked to spearhead this new corner Author-san decided to add! After all, you are all so awesome and we want to hear more from you!
I know the timing's off, but we don't want to get too serious right? This is a light-hearted story damnit! Written and read for relaxation only!
Oh, and you can ask me anything spoiler-free~! For example, what's my favourite food? What time do I wake up in the morning? What's my favourite brand of toothpaste?
What about you? What are you liking about the story so far?
Naw. Never mind. You don't have to answer that. I know it's me.