29th chapter : raging souls .

A week has passed since the restaurant reservation. In due course, All red mermaid had a rough week working at the restaurant. With no time to prepare anything for the upcoming event, they left Emilis doing all the preparations’ job.

17th May 19xx, 5am in the morning,

“Hmm, a strange presence”.

Marco said as he was walking in the middle of the city close to the forest side, he took a deep breath then entered the forest.

“I think it noticed me, better hurrying up then”.

He dashed ahead with full speed using trees as a stand of his movements to reach his target faster, therefore with no luck he reached the main road with no thread to the target.

“Sigh, I gotta work on my performance now, I’m falling behind”.

Marco said with a sigh as it was 5 am in the morning he realized that he was falling behind his own stamina. On his way back he walked calmly through then was surprised to see a cave like in the middle of the forest.

“Oh it’s a dungeon!! Nice!!” Yuna said as she popped out next to him.

“Huh? really? I thought master would eliminate most of them at the beginning of every month” Marco responded.

“I dunno about that Emilis’ doing. But I guess it’s a good thing that it popped out here and in front of you!! Though you exceeded the limit of using work as an excuse to skip training I guess. This one is a good starting point!” Yuna was cheering him up as she thought it was needed.

As he heard her words Marco sighed and looked aside sensing that no one was in the forest.

“Well, I guess finishing a dungeon on my own isn’t a bad idea”.

He took a deep breath as an aura was enveloping his whole body while releasing his serment.

“Let’s finish this quickly and go back home by seven”

Marco spoke as that aura unleashed a strong pressure equal to an A rank boss while entering the dungeon and meeting the first monster spawns.

Five hours later,

“Might explain your side?” Emilis asked as they were holding a meeting.

Marco didn’t really feel it was needed but due to what he did he ended up apologizing.

“I understand your feelings but this is kinda wrong for a start. The non holders may be not really able to sense euro pressure but they’ll feel the uneasiness, it’s not that bad for finishing a dungeon so it won’t get a break. It was senseless but good at the same time” Alice stated as she was taking her role as the vice master seriously.

“Don’t do things like that again Marco. It’s not bad but for the recent events, I want you to restrain yourself more, until the festival day comes. I don’t wanna have some problems with the council” Emilis scolded him too.

Marco looked at all of them as he realized that it wasn’t wrong but in the way of how the council treats the red mermaid guild, a small slice like that might make a big hole in the passivity of the guild.

Marco understood the scolding and accepted it as everyone felt anxious for what he did. Though seeing them worried he felt like they were relieved.

“Then are you implying that we can’t train in the next three months?”

Marco asked as the idea had crossed his thoughts out of nowhere.

“Huh?! I didn’t get your question?” Zack responded as they all thought it was so sudden.

“I’ve been thinking about it a little. Master, it’s not my business but even if it’s the council it’s unfair. With these restrictions you want, I don’t see any future where we can really be the top of the top any time soon”.

Marco spoke freely as they all looked at him, for a second Emilis was about to respond but Marco spoke again.

“Master, you’re strong. It’s true that the strong rules by power in the law of the jungle but you’re not that type of strongest people. You’re the strong that seeks the protection of the weak, that’s why I admired the red mermaid”

Marco finished his words with a strong look but kept the expressionless face on him.

Upon hearing him, all of them gave it a small thought.

“You know, I didn’t want to think about it too. but I guess I’ve troubled you with my long weird movements lately” Emilis giggled after he spoke.

“To be honest, master. It’s not that I’ve been troubled but more like I’ve come to find a new place I can call home for my brother and sister. You guys are the house that broke in and took a seat in my heart’s spots” Marco talked calmly.

They looked at him and started laughing out loud.

“It’s settled then, I don’t know what the council will say but I’ll do what I can. You guys better start training for a good time, the training grounds aren’t something that we could call a training ground, but!!! as I said!!! I’ll do my best!!” Emilis gave them a thumb up sign with his usual smile.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Master!! You said I’ll do my best more than three times. You know we know that you’ll skip the intense work and let us work half of it!!”

Alice and the rest laughed at him as they were teasing him. Marco looked at them though he didn’t understand what they meant.

“Master, I guess I may have a good point in contributing” Marco spoke again.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Carla asked him.

“I mean in the training, I might be a good help in that aspect. Can you guys trust me?”.

Marco looked determined in something else, the others sighed and smiled at him.

“Know that!!! You are the freshman here!! But we’ll accept any suggestion. Since you’re a strange fellow just like us! thus being weird we are red mermaid!!”.

Xavier was shaking Marco’s head while speaking as they all looked at him with a grin.

“Well, it’ll be three days from now. So until I finish some other preparations, you guys for the next three days, start working to revolt that spirit of yours into thinking about the old days. I know you guys have been thinking that it must be nice to live as a non holder and stuff” Emilis started speaking as the vibe became serious out of the blue. “But that’s not our true nature, we are gifted and that’s the main reason to live our lives with happiness!! that is the way we chose, so build up until then”

Emilis’ words were wise and filled with enthusiasm for how things turned out. Marco also felt that enthusiasm getting to his side as he saw that Carla was also getting fired up on her own. He grinned ineptly then took a seat seeing how his new family would reach the top of his thoughts.

As they finished the work early to close the restaurant,

“Well, what are we going to do now? Since we still have three months. Compared to other guilds, master barely prepared for us a training ground other than the land beneath the restaurant” Carla said as they were walking back home.

“I guess it’ll be good to start a daily routine first” Alex replied.

The others looked at her then giggled a little anxiously as they didn’t really like the idea.

“I have my own training grounds so you guys need to figure out what you want” Marco spoke as he took the lead.

They looked at him then Alice pulled him over with an agitated look.

“Stop!! What do you mean?!”.

They all seemed to be really worried and kind of jealous. Marco looked at them as he forgot that they didn’t believe him when he mentioned Yuna. In that order he pointed his finger at his head saying that it’s all in his head. Looking at what he did, they all laughed it out with an anxious smile as he sighed after seeing their reaction.

“Well looking at the things it’s better to start that daily routine I guess” He ended up thinking about other ways to speak.

“You suck at games, Xavier nii!! Gahhaahaaahaha!!!! You really suck at video games!!!” Arthur was teasing Xavier while playing video games with him in the living room.

“Shut up!! it’s just because it’s been a while since I played a game” Xavier also felt offended.

“Arthur, don’t tease him that much. We don’t wanna have another guy crying because you beat him. Carla is already enough for us and you know that” Marco said as they were watching from the kitchen.

“Shuddap!! man don’t bring the dark past!!” Carla roared as she felt embarrassed.

They all looked at her with a laugh while they were eating dessert.

“If you speak like that I bet that Arthur also beat your ass in games too!!!” Alice tried to make Marco in a bad spot as Arthur also wanted to do it.

“hmm, I don’t think that will happen”.

Marco responded with a calm face, taking the controller from Xavier’s hand in the middle of the game. Arthur fixed his sitting position as they all felt he got serious for a reason. Two minutes later Marco won the game with the low states that Xavier was holding too.

“I’ve never lost a game even to Hana or….Well” Marco said then calmly forgot himself as he stopped for a couple of seconds.

“Is there a problem?”.

Carla asked as she felt something off like the rest did in that aspect. Sophie jumped on Marco’s back trying to cling on him.

“Sophie if you wanna sit on my shoulders you just say it! don’t jump like that!!”.

Marco avoided the answer making it more obvious that he was thinking about something.

5am in the morning after going to sleep,

“Uhm, I appreciate what you guys want to do but why take me with you!?”

Alex asked as they were getting ready to go out for a morning run.

“Even if you aren’t a fighter doing some daily runs is good, so tough it out and start” Zack answered as they were changing into some sportswear.

“You guys are slacking off a lot, if I was alone I would be already setting off my start” Marco said as he was stretching his arms and legs.

“You always do this?!” Carla asked as she was waiting with him for the rest.

“I’ve been doing this even before I got my powers back, it’s good for a start” Marco responded as they all finished and closed the door behind them.

“Sigh, I hate this habit of yours to be prepared for everything” Alex complained as they all felt the same.

“I don’t hate being forgetful but it’s kinda my top priority if I need to look after Arthur and Sophie” Marco interjected as he went ahead starting the run on his own.

“Sheesh!! man you gotta at least make us set a good example as the senpais, I feel bad for my own image now” Xavier followed him after that.

Thirty minutes later,

“Huff! Huff! man!! I’m fed up!! How much do you plan on getting more tours!?!?!”.

Carla and Alex were the first to get tired after running around the main street of the city.

“You guys are a pain in the ass. Just run silently, we will get a rest once we reach the main route, for now keep up” Marco responded as he was on the lead showing them his road ,

“I seriously hate this route of yours!! You’re gonna pay me up next time!!” Alice was also complaining as she started to feel tired after hearing what he said.

“Shut it Alice, it’s still 5am in the morning after all”

Zack was holding pretty well seeing that he was in the same portion as Marco.

“I’m certainly falling behind but I’ll get going”.

Xavier added with a confident look although that look soon turned into a desperate one as they reached Marco’s usual place. They all took a deep breath as Alice spoke.

“You brought us to an old train-station?”.

She was calm before Zack and Carla would grab Marco from his shirt. They were mad after all.

“Can you calm down a little now. It’s kinda a weird situation but this is a good time to start what we guys are training for” Marco smiled at them.

After spending that much time with him Alex and the rest realized that he only tries to smile so his companions understand that he’s confident about what he says.

In that order, they said that they’ll believe him but that soon turned the other way with Alice really getting pissed off about the way they saw ahead of them. And with not much time within their hands to pass all that distance, they all returned home with some broken spirits not even feeling the will to try.

Marco had continued the road on his own and returned just in time for the restaurant to open after that. They wondered how the hell he was being ok with that road.

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