"Do you think he noticed my real identity? He is the last person I want to expose myself to."
Keith asked the question as he forced his body to relax. He had not realized how tense he was until he let himself go like this. His body was giving out painful jolts as it relaxed forcefully.
"Hmm, I do not think he noticed anything yet but you should still be careful. Your disguise is good but it is not perfect."
Clair was also trying to calm herself down now. Unlike Keith, she had run a long way to get here and her body was finally starting to show signs of recovery.
But circulating mana into her body and beginning healing were still things that would require time. It was only through her sheer willpower that Clair had enough energy to even stand.
"So, do you have any idea why these people went after me? Your message sounded like you were aware of what was going to happen to me. If that was the case, then you should have told me about it before I got into trouble."
Clair sounded angry at Keith and he instantly raised his hands in a 'not my fault' way.
"I did not know this was going to happen until a few minutes before I called you. The one who told me about this was Shimi. According to her, she heard the inn workers talk about kidnapping you because you were an 'easy target' or something."
Keith quickly explained things to Clair before she could misunderstand his intentions. It worried him to know how competent these people were in capturing their targets.
It made him wonder how many times they had done this before. They even knew not to underestimate Clair, even if she was someone who did not look to be powerful by any means.
That means that they had taken precautions against a kid. This was a matter of great concern for him as well as his party.
"Shit, this is bad. Man, I cannot believe I have to deal with such fucked up people for the sake of my research. Why did we not hear about this all happening way before today?"
It was a good question and Keith had no answer for it. He had nothing to say about this world and the people in it. They were all weird in their way.
"Anyway, I do not have time to be talking with you right now. I should head back and get this hair dye out of my head for now."
Keith tugged at his black hair, not liking how less time he had on his hand. He needed to go back and empty his hair of all the dye.
.......
There was silence in the inn as soon as Keith walked into the inn. He was back to his green hair and red-eyed look. He was aware that people were looking at him now with a curious look on his face but he was not overly cautious of what it meant.
Master Shinzou was walking toward him with a happy expression on his face. Keith's senses warned him to run but he remained calm.
"Grandmaster, so did you get your phone back? I did not call you because I was afraid that your phone was still with the young man I met."
Keith had to wonder for a second what Master Shinzou was asking him before he realized what the question was about.
'Ah, looks like Master Shinzou fell for my words and did not recognize me. I can now be assured about this.'
Keith was glad and disappointed at the same time he was glad that his disguise was this effective.
"Hump. I do not take my hand down back. I can just buy another since I do not lack money. How dare you suggest that I get a phone used by others back?"
Had this been Keith from before his training, he would have cried at the injustice of all this. There was no need for him to waste money on a useless thing like a new phone when his old one worked just fine.
But keeping appearances made one do things they usually did not do.
'Goodbye, my money. It was nice knowing you.'
"By the way grandmaster, did you know that Clair had a brother? I did not know this until today. But then again, you did hand your phone over to her brother so you likely know, right?"
Keith's heart skipped a beat at Shinzou's words and he tried very hard to not let anything show on his face.
"That is not something we need to discuss right now. Where are Master Fushi and Shimi? They were supposed to be here as well."
Keith knew well where Shimi was - chasing after the people who wanted to kidnap Clair. And he could guess that Master Fushi was doing something similar.
But as much as he did not want to nitpick them both, he had no other choice but to do so, it was something he had to nitpick on.
"Hmm, do not know where they went. But I am sure they are doing something important to have missed this petrol. They are both too loyal to be snubbing us now."
Shinzou was right but Keith made no move to acknowledge those words. Not when he could see a group of shady people looking their way.
'No, not our way but Clair's way. They have still not given up on her.'
If Keith had noticed this, Clair had no doubt picked up on this as well. But she signaled that she had recovered her powers and would be able to take care of herself.
"Shinzou, hand me your phone right now."
Clair decided to take the initiative to inform Shinzou of the plan she and Keith had come up with in an instant. They both were too much in sync to not be thinking the same thing.
Shinzou looked a little worried about what Clair wanted to tell him but he handed his phone over anyway.
Clair's fingers moved like lightning over his keyboard before she handed it back. Keith caught the sign of the message.
[We got information that the villains will try to come after me. I will be the bait to lure them out. So, make sure you save me if I get into trouble.]
All Shinzou did was nod in understanding and not ask any questions to Clair. It was how much he trusted her and her decision to not betray him and the grandmaster.
"I got it. Then, shall we go separate ways so that we can cover more ground?"
Keith was sure that the nasty people in the corner of the room were hearing what they said. Their eyes practically gleamed as soon as Shinzou offered this deal.
Clair pretended like she was hesitant to take that offer, but Keith could see that she was ready to mess some people up.
"I do not know if I should. My mana has still not returned to normal."
Clair was bullshitting since Keith knew she was alright now. And Shinzou knew Clair well enough to realize she would not have offered this if she was not alright.
"Clair, stop trying to embarrass me in front of the crowd. You will need to pull your weight during this outing."
Keith channeled his inner mean voice and spoke up. Even Clair looked startled at these sudden words but Shinzou had an understanding look on his face.
"Well, if this is what the grandmaster wants then there is nothing, we can do about it. Good luck out there, Clair."
Master Shinzou slipped a small tracking device on Clair in case she was caught. His hand rested on Clair's shoulder for a few more seconds to appear natural and then he took it back.
The bait had been readied and it was now time to hunt.
......….
Master Fushi followed the hunters to their base. She had made sure she was as quiet as possible. But there was still a feeling of unrest in the air.
"Are you sure you were not followed by anyone? You will be killed if you are not careful."
One of the persons spoke in front of the cave opening but he did not go inside. Master Fushi was sure that this cave was their hideout. But it was bright for it being the dawn now.
eαglesnovel`c,om "I am sure. I even tried to invisibility cloak you gave me. What about your side? Did the Fenrir succeed?"
Master Fushi held her breath as soon as she heard these people talking about Fenrir. That was the whole reason she was here and she was finally getting to hear about the real deal.
"Hump! As if that thing is as great as we heard about! It lost the child and had to come back because the sunset was approaching. What use is it if it cannot go out at night time?"
"Well, have patience. As soon as our master wakes up, this weakness of Fenrir will go away as well."
