"Are we good to go?" asked Violet as she glanced at the group of elves and the two humans behind her.
She was chosen as the leader of our group by the commander, as she was the one who vouched for my method of tracking. There were only a handful of us in this scouting party, as it would be pointless if too many individuals were to follow. I had passed the bell to her, and she had already thought of a method for attaching it to the bugs. Instead of using bolas, she would be using some throwing needles instead. I was intrigued at first, but she explained that her combat specialty was actually throwing objects with pinpoint accuracy. What a direct opposite from her daughter, who preferred close combat over ranged.
"Let us head out then. I'll take point," she said as she led the way. Let's hope she's as dependable as her husband; so far, so good. Maybe I might see a new side of her in this mission.
John was at my side, who surprisingly decided to follow me. You would think that the Elementalist would have followed, but it seems like he'll be following Noah instead. I questioned his choice, but he explained that he didn't want to leave me with Violet alone in case I end up doing something really stupid. I explained to him very clearly that we're in a group, and I've already placed safety precautions to keep it in check. I'm not stupid enough to assault my future mother-in-law just because she looks like Lily. Besides, Kirin and Byakko had agreed to do what's necessary so I don't end up doing stupid things. I'm not going to end up being a motherfucker, dammit.
"You boys ready? We'll be picking up the pace," asked Violet as she smiled at me.
YEOUCH! Stop shocking me, Kirin! Nothing happened for you to shock me!
"S—sure. L... ead the way," I answered while feeling the effects of the shocks from Kirin.
"Using your Celestial Beasts to control your feelings, eh? You're really something else!" laughed John.
"I can't control it, John. If I could, you think I'll be having this trouble in the first place? I don't even understand why this is happening? It's not as though I'm starved from being loved. It doesn't feel like a crush, and it's definitely not as though I like her in a romantic way," I shuddered.
"Can it be—that you're craving for motherly love?" asked John curiously.
"What's that? I've never heard of it before," I frowned at him.
"Oh boy, alright, explain what you're feeling towards her. Give her a good look and explain it in words to your cousin, c'mon," he patted my back.
"We don't even know if we're actually related. Your parents got no idea about that?" I asked him.
"Oh no, don't try to change the topic. Explain your feelings, you little midget," squinted John.
"Hey—you don't have to be so mean. Fine, fine. Sigh. I guess I—want to be embraced or act smitten with her? I realised I feel all giddy inside when she praises me," I tried explaining to him.
"Do you want her to pamper you?" he asked.
"Well— who doesn't?" I giggled.
"I don't. Not by her. Zen, what you're feeling right now is probably something you've never experienced before. That's motherly love that you're craving. Don't tell me, is that—why you had a crush on Lily in the first place?" he gasped.
"W—what?! Hell no! Lily never even acted like this when we first met. You were there, she acted more like a brat. There was nothing motherly about her in the first place," I pouted.
"You boys seem to be having fun chatting back there. Mind toning it down as we're about to venture into enemy territory? And also, I think everyone heard the entirety of your conversation. You two, are going to have a private conversation with me later," she glanced at both of us.
Fuck, I had completely forgotten about their sensitive hearing!
"Halt," she whispered softly.
All of us stopped dead in our tracks, and both of us stayed as silently as we could while the elves spread their ears to listen. Being the only two humans here, I'll be relying on my other senses and instincts to compensate for what I lack.
"It would appear that our enemies are just a few clicks ahead. From the sound of their interactions, there seems to be a large group of them. I would say we have found our targets," said Violet.
"Based on the number of tracks leading in that direction, it would appear that assessment is accurate. Our enemies are close. Awaiting your orders, leader," spoke one of the elves.
"It won't be long before we engage our enemies. If there are any concerns or preparations that need to be made, please do so now. Are we all in agreement?" she asked all of us.
All of them either nodded in agreement or answered with a yes. All except me.
"I don't," I spoke loud enough for all of them to hear as I was kneeling down, staring at the ground.
All of them kept quiet as they turned to see who it was that disagreed. It was Violet who broke the silence when she realised that it was me who had spoken.
"Speak your mind, Zen. I wish to hear your thoughts," she asked politely. There was no hint of annoyance in her tone, which I'm thankful for.
"Look here. Doesn't this track look fresher than the others? A lone bug heading in a different direction? Awfully suspicious to me. My hunch is that this lone bug is the scout who'll be reporting back to their leader, while the others ahead are just traps to lure you all into thinking that all of the bugs ahead are all there is. Which is why they are making so much commotion for you all to hear," I explained.
"What are you suggesting? That these bugs are sentient enough to lure us into a trap? I find that a little hard to believe," spoke one of the elves.
"Aren't you thinking too far ahead? These are just bugs," said another.
"Really? Just bugs? How come neither of you was able to solve this matter on your own then? Didn't these bugs outsmarted all of you before? Listen, these bugs—are not fools. They are aware of your capabilities and they make use of that. Even their wings doesn't even make buzzing noise when they fly or it produces some other frequency that you can't hear. They were built for stealth, so why would they be making so much commotion up ahead? You wanted my insight, and now I'm here to tell you differently," I explained to them.
"I'm with Zen. It's weird they're making all those commotion up ahead when it was mentioned that they would rather use stealth to attack. Aren't bugs supposed to be quiet in the first place and only make noises when they wish to mate? Unless those are some horny bugs ahead, all this seems pretty odd to me," said John.
"What's your call, leader? There are some merits to his assessments," asked one of the elves.
She gave it some thought before responding. She even placed her index finger on her lips and pushed it upwards, trying to act cute. Oh no, don't shock me, Kirin! I swear I didn't feel anything!
"I'm fairly certain that the wolf party will be heading to that location, and I doubt they'll be needing our help. Zen had also achieved numerous odds, and his achievements far surpass any of ours. We'll go with his assessment. Let us head in that other direction," she smiled and took point.
Damn it, why does she always have to praise me? Now I'm getting all giddy inside. Sigh.
***
"What's it… trying to do?" whispered one of the elves.
"I think it's… drinking water?" answered another one of them.
In front of us was a single giant bug that was happily submerging itself partially while wriggling around like some puppy. As its head is located in the mid-section of its body, it needed to submerge partially in order to drink. Guess it still needs water and food to survive.
I moved closer to Violet to ask her what our next move should be. Should we attempt to capture it or find some way to plant the bell on its body without it noticing? She placed her index finger on her lips and winked at me as though to leave everything to her.
She took out a large needle that had the bell tied to it. Is she planning to throw it from here? We were some distance away from the bug as we didn't want to spook it. The bug's carapace is thick and tough. If she were to pull this off, she'll need to—
Whooosh
Wow, right in between the crevices where the carapaces overlap each other. I guess throwing is her specialty after all. The bug grew alert and started scanning its surroundings, seemingly unaware of the needle sticking in between its carapaces but probably heard the sound of the needle flying through the air. Despite its sensitive hearing, it couldn't detect any of us as we stayed silent and hidden. And it definitely couldn't hear the sound of the bell ringing for sure; otherwise, it would have been struggling to remove it right about now.
Something triggered the bug to stare in a certain direction. From the looks of it, that direction seems to be where the group of bugs were supposed to be. Did the wolf team begin their assault? It should be quick work for them in eliminating all of the bugs. The bug turned to a different direction and took off without a hint of hesitation.
"Good call, Zen. If all the bugs were there, it should have gone to help, but it decided to head towards a different direction. Perhaps it's heading back to its nest or it turned tail against its brethren. Either way, we will have to follow it and if we're lucky, eliminate the last survivor," she smiled at me.
"Then we shouldn't be wasting time talking then. We better follow after the bug before you can't hear the bell anymore. It is flying after all," I reminded her.
"Oh, you have no worries, my good looks aren't my only traits. I thought you would have known that Lily had superb hearing by now," she chuckled as she poked my cheek.
"I only know that her eyesight isn't as good as the others. She never told me about her hearing abilities. I thought it was common for all elves to have sensitive hearing," I explained.
"Indeed. But mine and hers are exceptional. She definitely inherited my traits for sure, as my eyesight is much poorer than hers. You should have seen me with my glasses when contacts weren't invented yet," she chuckled.
"N—no. Please don't. I don't want things to get even more mixed up than they already are," I flatly refused.
"Oh, don't you worry. Mommy's here for you," she hugged me tightly.
"P— please stop! We need to follow the group!" I shouted at her as all the other members had already gone ahead to follow the bug.
"Haha! Right. Let's go. We'll talk more when this is over," she smiled.
No, please. I don't want to talk to you more than I have to. I just want Rose and Lily. I don't want to have a relationship with my mother-in-law! I'm not a MILF lover!