It has been about two hours since Xavier and Lyra went on the trip. Although they ran into trouble at the check post, the issue was easily resolved when they scanned Xavier and he turned out to be a student of the Astraeus academy.
Seriously, the perks of the academy were too much.
"Xavier, I am hungry."
"I know you are hungry. You have said it five times already. But we can’t stop there. There is nothing around us except desert. And it’s too hot. We should get to the beast land as soon as possible."
"Will there be food?" she asked curiously.
"Unless we don’t become their food, I think someone might just offer us some food because you are with me." He looked at her from the side mirror. "Did you not come with Bull to hide the fragment?"
"No." She shook her head. "Bull came alone on this planet. We followed him and then we got caught. But I am happy most of them managed to escape. Otherwise, they would have killed everyone in the prison."
’I told Lyra about the traitor in the crew, but just like Bull, she couldn’t name anyone. There were no new members in their crew whom they could doubt. Nor was there any animosity between the crew members. They were like a family. It takes courage to trust someone to that level, and yet... one of them became a traitor.’
After a while, Xavier asked, "Hey Lyra. I know this might sound stupid, but have you met other beast species?"
"I have." Lyra increased her voice since it was getting difficult for Xavier to hear. "For some reason, whenever someone from a beast species saw me, they came to greet me and gave me gifts. I always wondered why, so one day I asked Bull. He told me that Lykaios are a noble species and other beast species treat us like gods because their god also belonged to the Lykaios species."
"So you are like a princess, huh?" Xavier chuckled.
’Again with the gods talk. I hope someone doesn’t come to me and tell me that meeting Lyra was also a destiny. It’s getting on my nerves, to be honest.’
After an hour of trying, they finally saw the locality of the beast land from the top of the hill.
There was no board or sign, but the terrain looked different from other places, and there were tents and other items, such as vehicles, machines, and gadgets.
’According to Angel, they make a living by robbing and killing. I don’t want to go there...’ Xavier let out a sigh and turned off his bike.
"Why did Bull have to hide it in a place like this? There could have been better and safer options," he muttered.
"I think...." Lyra got off the bike and stepped on the edge of the hill. She scanned the locality by squinting her eyes. "I think Bull wanted to test you. He did the same with the crew members. The fragment was the most important thing to him and he never let anyone even look at it. He must be wanting to know how far you can go to get the fragment. Even if you were to fail, the fragment will remain here and no one else will take it."
Xavier marked the bike by the road and walked towards the beast land with Lyra.
"Why can’t we just take the bike there? I don’t want to walk~! I am hungry!" Lyra spun around and jumped left and right.
"Stop acting like a child, Lyra."
As they passed by the streets of beast land, Xavier could feel the glares on him. There were beasts hiding in the shadows, while some acted as if everything was normal.
Xavier was in their territory, and he knew nothing about them. They could kill Xavier even before he could get a chance to talk.
"Lyra, take off your hood."
"Okie! Finally!" She said excitedly and removed the hood from her head.
Suddenly, the glares stopped.
Xavier could hear the rustling sound of people passing by and following them.
And then, they reached the centre of the beast land where a large number of people were present. It was a huge ground surrounded by mountains and the buildings that belonged to the beasts.
There was a huge bonfire in the middle and stalls around it.
"Food~!" Lyra’s nose picked up the scent of the food. She pointed her fingers at the stall and turned to Xavier. "Food."
"Yeah, yeah. Let’s go. I am hungry as well."
By the time Xavier reached the stall, Lyra had already started eating.
"I only have money to give." He said to the stall owner. "So don’t ask for anything else."
The stall owner was an ox-like man with rounded horns on his head. He inspected Xavier from head to toe and then his gaze fell on the gun Xavier was carrying.
"No money. Food Free." he pointed at Lyra.
Xavier imitated the ox and pointed his finger at himself. "What about me?"
"No food. Battery. Food."
’Hmm. So he wants some kind of battery. Of course, I don’t have one and I am not going to get one either. Not going on a side-quest to find batteries.’
Xavier began eating from Lyra’s dish. And even though the ox seemed angry, he didn’t stop Xavier because Lyra was letting him eat.
’This is fun.’
Soon, everyone gathered around Xavier and Lyra.
The sun was setting and it was getting dark. Xavier had planned to leave before night so he could reach the city by midnight. However, it had taken longer than expected and there was still no information about the fragment.
Xavier couldn’t go and ask about it; Lyra had to do it. And she was busy eating.
Once they finished eating, Xavier signaled Lyra.
The beasts were gossiping with each other, some even had weapons with them, while the rest simply minded their business as though it wasn’t their business.
Lyra nodded and got up. She clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.
"Hello everyone. I am looking for something."