Peace Hunter

Back at Rid's dorm.

Irene had been hugging me for about 20 minutes. Feeling it was enough, I asked her to stop.

"I'm better now, Irene. Please let go of your hug," I said.

"Ok," Irene said.

Irene then released her embrace. I managed to free myself from her grip and sit back down.

"Thank you, Irene. Thanks to you, I'm better now," I said.

"You're welcome, Rid. If you need to calm down again, you can lean back here," Irene said, pointing to her chest.

"I don't think I'll do it again. Come to think of it, you feel like my mother when you do that. Although I've never felt that way about my own mother," I said.

"Why not? Are you embarrassed? I only do this when we're alone," Irene said.

"I just feel uncomfortable," I said.

"But what I just did really helped you calm down, right? I learned this from my mother because when I was little, she often did this when I was in a bad mood or feeling sad," Irene said.

"Well, what you did just now really helped me calm down," I said.

"Then it's ok if you want to lean on me again if your mind is unsettled, after all, you said yourself that what I did really helped you," Irene said.

"Hmm, well, we'll see. Instead, do you want to go back to your dorm, Irene? I'll be leaving soon," I said.

"Where are you going, Rid?" Irene asked.

"I want to go to Aston Village. I want to visit all the dead. Although I don't know if they've all been buried yet, I have to visit them to pay my last respects," I said.

"I see, so you want to go to Aston village. Then, I'll come along," said Irene.

I was surprised after hearing Irene's words.

"Do you want to go to Aston village?" I asked.

"Yes," said Irene.

"Why do you want to come, Irene? There is nothing there anymore. All the buildings have been destroyed by fire and all the people in the village have also died. So it's useless if you want to go to Aston village, Irene," I asked.

"I know that, I'm just curious about your hometown, Rid. Moreover, your hometown has just received gifts in the form of goods and materials from my father and also Her Majesty the Queen. Apart from that, the reason I want to come with you is because I will be the one who will calm you down if your mind or mood is in a mess when you are in your hometown," said Irene.

"How would you calm me down if I was in a bad mood while I was there? I'm sure you wouldn't calm me down the way you did before, Irene. I can't imagine you doing that in public," I said.

"Hmm, maybe I'll do it another way. Anyway, I want to come with you, Rid, is that ok?" Irene asked.

"It's fine if you want to come, but I don't know if Miss Karina will allow you to, because Miss Karina is also going to Aston Village," I said.

"I'll ask Miss Karina's permission later so I can come," Irene said.

"Ok, now you go back to your dormitory to get ready, Irene. Miss Karina said the horse-drawn carriage for Aston Village will be available at 8 a.m. The horse-drawn carriage will be ready soon, and we can leave," I said, looking at the clock.

"Ok, I'll go back to my dormitory first to get ready," Irene said.

"Yes, I'll wait for you in front of your dorm door," I said.

"Ok, then I'll go to my dorm first, Rid," Irene said.

"Yes," I said.

Then Irene left my dorm to return to hers.

-

15 minutes later.

I was now in front of Irene's dormitory door, waiting for her as she got ready. Not long after, the door opened, and Irene emerged.

"Sorry for the wait, Rid," Irene said.

Irene was wearing casual clothes she hadn't worn since her time at the academy.

"No, I didn't. By the way, didn't you bring a small bag, Irene?" I asked.

"No, I didn't have anything to bring, so I didn't. Besides, we'll be back here this afternoon or evening. You didn't bring a bag or anything else, Rid," Irene said.

"Yes. Like you said, since we're not staying overnight, I don't need to bring anything. Then, let's hurry to the academy gates, Irene," I said.

"Yes," Irene said.

Irene and I walked toward the dormitory stairs. We walked past Charles and Chloe's dormitory, but we didn't see them in front of their respective dormitories. They seemed to be in their dormitories. After that, we went down the stairs and walked towards the dormitory gate. After exiting the dormitory gate, we both heard a voice calling us.

"Miss! Rid!," said the voice.

We both turned to the source of the voice. When we turned, we saw Leandra and Lily walking towards us from the shopping area.

"It's unusual to see you two walking out dressed so neatly. Are you going on a date?" Leandra asked.

"Let's just say so," said Irene.

"Where are you going on a date?" asked Lily.

Irene turned to me. It seemed she was asking me to explain to Leandra and Lily.

"We're not going on a date, Lea, Lily. We just want to go to Aston Village, my hometown," I said.

"Your hometown? Why do you two want to go there? Also, aren't we academy students not allowed to leave the academy except for essential matters?" Leandra asked.

"In fact, I want to go to my hometown because it's important, Lea. I received information from Miss Karina this morning that my hometown had been attacked and everyone there was killed. That's why I want to go there to see what's going on, and Irene said she wants to come with me," I said.

Leandra and Lily were shocked after hearing what I said.

"Your hometown has been attacked and everyone there is dead?!?! Please accept my condolences, Rid," Leandra said.

"Me too, Rid," Lily said.

"Thank you, both of you," I said.

"So that's why you were daydreaming at the training ground," Leandra said.

"Yes. I was daydreaming because I was thinking about my hometown. I lied to Charles and told him I was thinking about something unimportant. I just didn't want him and the rest of you to worry if I told him the truth."

"But now that I've told you the truth, you're free to tell the others, since I haven't told them the truth either. Even if you don't tell them, they'll probably find out from the conversations of the students who heard about today's news," I said.

"That's right. When Lily and I went to the shopping area, we overheard some students talking about a village that had been attacked. But we didn't hear the conversation clearly, so we didn't know the name of the village that was attacked. And then we found out that the village that was attacked was your hometown," Leandra said.

"I see, some students already know about my hometown being attacked. It seems like it's only a matter of time before everyone in this academy knows the news."

"Ok then, Irene and I will be going now, Lea, Lily. If you want to tell Charles and the others, that's up to you. I won't mind," I said.

"Okay. Be careful, Rid, miss," Leandra said.

"Be careful," Lily said.

"Yes," Irene said.

Then Irene and I continued our walk towards the academy gate. As we walked towards the gate, I sensed several students looking our way. Some of them were looking at us because they had already heard the news about my hometown being attacked, and the rest were looking at us because they were surprised to see Irene and I walking together—at least that's what I read from their gazes.

After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the academy gate. Miss Karina was waiting at the gate. Miss Violetta was also there, talking to her. I immediately greeted them both as soon as I got close.

"Good morning, Miss Karina, Miss Violetta," I said.

Miss Karina and Miss Violetta, who were chatting, immediately looked at me.

"Ah, Rid. Good morning, Rid," said Miss Violetta.

"Good morning, Rid. Hmm, why is Irene here too?" asked Miss Karina, confused after seeing Irene.

"Rid told me about his hometown being attacked, miss. He also said he wanted to go there. So, I want to go too, miss," Irene said.

"Do you want to go to Aston Village with us?" Miss Karina asked.

"Yes, miss. Rid will probably feel sad and uneasy in his hometown, so I volunteered to come along so I can comfort him while he's there," Irene said.

Miss Karina fell silent after hearing Irene's words, while Miss Violetta laughed after hearing Irene's words.

"Ahahaha, it seems you're really worried about Rid, huh, Princess Irene," said Miss Violetta.

I also fell silent, only smiling faintly after hearing Irene's words.

"I didn't expect Irene to say something like that to come with me," I thought.

After a long silence, Miss Karina began to speak.

"Ok. If you want to come, then I'll let you. Besides, you're Rid's girlfriend now, so I'm counting on you to keep him calm while we're there, Irene," said Miss Karina.

"Ok, miss," said Irene.

"Ok, let's go. Violetta, please look after the academy while I'm gone," said Miss Karina.

"Okay, miss," said Miss Violetta.

"Let's go," said Miss Karina.

"Ok, miss," said Irene and I.

Then the three of us walked to a horse-drawn carriage parked in front of the academy gate. We immediately boarded the carriage, and after that, the carriage began to move, taking us to Aston Village.

-To be continued

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