Marilyn’s eyes shrank in fear after hearing Kaden’s revelation.
"...What? Impossible. There’s no way they would’ve found out about it this fast."
Teresa, however, remained quiet, while Oliver approached her with measured steps. He bent down slightly before her and looked directly into her eyes, causing her to instinctively lean back a little as a visible blush spread across her face.
’He’s so close to me...’
Kaden walked in and sat on the bed before adding coldly:
"It’s only a matter of time before they start coming after us. Makes me wonder who leaked the secret so quickly."
The beautiful healer’s eyes trembled briefly before she forced herself to calm down, her gaze shifting toward Oliver and Teresa, who were standing far too close to each other.
"So what now? You said Glassy wouldn’t have figured it out, but that clearly isn’t the case."
Oliver’s mind was immediately flooded with countless thoughts.
’That’s true. None of this should be happening... at least not if the story was still following its original course. But one thing keeps bothering me. That ambush against Kaden was prepared too quickly, almost like they were expecting him. Even I didn’t know he was planning to free the fugitives at first. I wasn’t involved in that part of the plan since it was only added while I was away interrogating Mara.’
’Teresa obviously isn’t the one who told Glassy. We were both trapped inside the Mad Dog’s mindscape while Kaden was carrying out the plan, so there’s no way Glassy could’ve mobilised an ambush that quickly because of us. Whoever’s behind this is already two steps ahead.’
’That leaves Marilyn as the obvious suspect... but at the same time, accusing her doesn’t fully make sense either. This whole thing is getting irritating. For now, I’ll just assume we’re being watched constantly.’
His thoughts paused briefly.
’Although... there’s still one thing I’m curious about.’
Oliver looked into Teresa’s pretty eyes and smiled calmly.
"What kind of deal did you make with Glassy for him to let us go?"
Teresa flinched slightly at the question.
Both Marilyn and Kaden shifted their attention toward the two of them, their curiosity immediately piqued by the sudden tension in the room.
Then, without warning, Teresa leaned forward confidently with a smile of her own, forcing Oliver to lean back a little before she replied in a strangely cheesy tone:
"I can’t tell you that, because I didn’t make any deal with him in the first place."
Oliver blinked twice.
"Huh?"
Teresa grabbed the hilt of her sword and straightened herself.
"Let’s put that aside for now. Why don’t we just start the rebellion already? I already created a stepping stone after defeating Elias publicly, don’t you think? And with Marilyn helping us... I think we have one real shot at this."
Oliver looked away in astonishment and cleared his throat.
’Guess I’ll have to forget about revealing the source of the food and water to them. But if she really didn’t make any deal with Glassy, then what the hell actually happened in there? Damn it... now I’m even more curious. This whole thing is turning into an unknown scenario.’
Marilyn lowered her gaze briefly before speaking with newfound determination:
"Then Teresa and I will handle the major parts of the plan and begin immediately."
Everyone agreed and immediately set out to do whatever they could without needing further instructions.
It was only a matter of time before the Settlement launched an all out attack against them now that their rebellion plan had already been exposed.
Even so, there was still the lingering issue of how their plans had been uncovered so quickly.
For now, they settled on the conclusion that they were simply being watched.
It was the safest assumption to maintain in order to avoid suspicion growing among themselves and creating a fracture within the group.
In reality, however, each of them had already formed their own private conclusions and suspicions regarding who might have leaked the information.
Still, it was smarter to outwardly agree on a single explanation and allow the enemy to believe they remained several steps ahead.
Oliver suddenly turned and asked:
"Oh. By any chance, has anyone seen a wolf-like creature with grey and black fur?"
Teresa immediately nodded enthusiastically at the question.
"Yes! It’s currently under the protection of my beast... Oh, and..."
***
Rook wandered through the Settlement after once again losing sight of its master.
This time, it had been because of the crowd, and the little creature was visibly affected by it. Its emotions were filled with sadness and regret.
Effie followed closely behind like a designated bodyguard, using its massive size and fearsome appearance to intimidate anyone that crossed its path.
Perhaps that made the little wolf feel threatening as well.
But no, not really.
If anything, Rook would’ve already been captured and taken away if not for the presence of the four winged dragon.
Suddenly, two shadows stretched across the small beast, causing it to halt as its nose caught an incredibly familiar scent.
"Rook. How did you even manage to get all the way here?"
The little creature looked up and immediately recognised the two people standing before it.
Not that the other person mattered much.
...Teresa.
The surroundings seemed to disappear entirely from Rook’s vision as the only person it could focus on was Oliver, its long lost master.
Rook whined loudly and lunged toward him, though it could barely reach his leg until Oliver bent down and picked it up with a reassuring smile.
As he gently patted the little beast, Oliver thanked Teresa once more.
The young girl became visibly happier, almost like a child who had just been rewarded with candy.
Effie quickly rushed over and rubbed itself affectionately against its own master, now relieved that its short lived best friend was finally safe.
The reunion ended on a warm note.
And soon after came the next phase.
’Alright, Rook... it’s time for your evolution.’
***
In a secluded corner, Oliver brought Rook there in an attempt to rapidly evolve the small beast into its First Form, which was of utmost importance in order to properly evade any unforeseen incident.
Evolving Rook at this stage was the fastest way to introduce an unpredictable variable into a situation that had none.
Oliver’s group was outnumbered and outmatched, and they were not winning a direct confrontation alone.
However, with the beast added to the equation, capable of mimicking the form of any creature it had previously seen along with up to fifty percent of its abilities, and alongside Teresa’s Dark Dragon, it was enough to shift the balance.
On the other hand, Kaden had yet to hatch his beast, and even in the story, he did so much later in this arc, while Marilyn’s beast had already been long dead before the beginning of this event.
That detail had also been mentioned in the novel... by her own account, of course, in a rather unfortunate incident that coincided with her twin sister’s capture by Glassy.
More importantly, Rook was a liability in its hatchling state, fragile and easily lost.
One stray blow in combat, and it would be gone. Evolving it now meant it could survive independently, fight if necessary, and cease being something Oliver needed to constantly protect.
It was the only viable move that resolved both the immediate threat and the long term problem simultaneously.
He summoned the System at once.
[Oliver Rothyl]
Race: [Human]
Hue: [Shadow], [Chaos], [Infinity]
Stitches: [None]
Rank: [Unranked]
Fragments: [60]
Keepsakes: [Imperial Sword]
After verifying his Fragment count, Oliver proceeded to open Rook’s status tab.
Acquired Name: [Rook]
Race: [Beast]
Form: [Initial]
Fragments: [0/50]
Stitches: [Mimicry]
Unlike humans, beasts did not possess Hues; rather, they were born with Stitches. Transferring one’s Fragments would immediately trigger the evolution process.
Oliver did exactly that.
[Your Beast has consumed 50 Fragments!]
[Your Beast is Evolving...]
Within minutes, the changes in Rook became evident, markedly distinct from its hatchling form...
"...It’s... larger."
***
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