"Better?" Sid asked.
"Yeah," Aaron nodded quickly, "Much, much better thanks to you grandpa Sid." He answered while looking towards the only building in the yard behind the shop.
It is just a single floor building separated into many small rooms, coincidentally one man opened the door and exited one of these rooms.
That man froze once he saw the boy staring back at him.
"Oh! You're up already, looks like my new concoction heals better than I expected." Sid seemed excited when he saw Lucas move on his own without needing assistance.
Lucas looked away and broke the awkward stare between him and Aaron, he nodded and walked towards Sid while saying : "It doesn't hurt when I move anymore."
Sid smiled widely when he measured Lucas's pulse, "I better raise the price of treating these types of inner injuries in the future," He muttered before nodding to himself after making up his mind while saying : "That medicine is difficult to gather and annoying to create."
Meanwhile Lucas was standing next to Sid being completely silent while watching Aaron soak his lower-body in that wooden barrel.
"Oh! You must be wondering why little Ron is here, he was poisoned you see." Sid said.
Lucas looked towards Sid when he heard these words and felt his heart beat faster in his chest, the gang-leader had to rely on practically all of his will-power just to keep his emotions from surfacing on his face! 'Good-riddance!' He thought.
"Nasty thing these Gold-Frog Felines, nasty thing I say!" Sid mistook Lucas's attention for worry, "Thankfully little Ron came straight here once his symptoms began and we could contain it before it spread anywhere else, such a smart little boy he's." Sid nudged Lucas and pointed towards Aaron before continuing to say : "Actually he made it extremely simple for me to diagnose his condition and figure out his issue, telling me what he ate and when then telling me what he did and when."
Aaron shrugged inwardly while thinking to himself : 'Because that's what you're supposed to tell your doctor!'
Meanwhile Lucas felt like someone just kicked him from heaven all the way down to hell, 'Of course this little monster survived that poison! No thanks to you old fucker.' He thought while wishing to use a Mace to bludgeon this Sid to death.
"Oh! Looks like I have a visitor, you two can rest while I take care of that client." Sid left these words before going back to the shop while chirping : "Busy day, busy day... come visit Sid everyday~"
Unaware that the air he left behind was stifled with awkwardness and heavy silence.
Aaron didn't seem to care about the man standing a few meters nearby but inwardly he was extremely alert, he wouldn't hesitate to fire a few Energy Bolts at Lucas if he dare cross the boundary two meters around Aaron!
Meanwhile Lucas had this urge to jump at the kid and snap his neck but the warning he received from Pio yesterday and the calm attitude Aaron is giving him made the gang-leader hesitate a lot while thinking : 'That item is mine, mine! Why don't you just die-'
"Aaargh!" Lucas suddenly screamed before falling on his knees while squeezing his head, eyes bulging out, veins showing all over his skin and threatening to burst, then he rolled on the ground because of this intolerable pain while pleading : "Make it stop! Make it stop! Please make it stop!"
'The fuck! Dude, I didn't even do anything to you.' Aaron thought while looking from the wooden barrel at Lucas who kept begging as if his life depends on how sincere he sounds! In the beginning Aaron doubted Lucas's agony for being an act to make him lower his guard against this sly gang-leader but, a few seconds later Aaron confirmed that everything is indeed true when Lucas's body began to twist into painful-looking angles.
'Thankfully I can take advantage of this misunderstanding and put a physical-leash on this man after the psychological-leash that I gave him yesterday and make him completely obedient permanently, him being my lackey for good is his blessing but he's dead for sure if that item doesn't fall in my hands. Just the curiosity is killing me already, please don't die before showing me where it is!' Aaron thought while watching Lucas dance on the edge between life and death, he kept his emotions in check and it made him seem like he's staring at everything with an apathetic pair of eyes.
Lucas felt despair when he saw the lack of expression and the emotionless look the boy gave him from start to finish, once the pain that made the gang-leader feel like his head is going to burst like a watermelon subsided tremendously all of a sudden Lucas quickly kneeled towards Aaron before saying : "Thank you for your mercy young master Ron, thank you for allowing this servant to keep his life... I'll never dare have wicked thoughts towards young master Ron again."
'So that's what happened!' Aaron thought to himself before sneering at Lucas, "Humph." He just snorted before looking toward Sid's shop where the owner and Pio kept watching in silence ever since they arrived after hearing Lucas squealing from pain like a Pig getting tortured.
'What happened to Lucas must've been Sera's doing, I don't have any other explanation to what happened at all. Looks like the scolding I gave her yesterday worked in the end, but the Soul techniques of these Whispering Sisters are wicked. He really looked like he's going to die earlier! Not to mention how she made Rodd practically like a ring on Camila's finger and the girl could make the poor guy do whatever whenever she feels like it.' Aaron gestured for Pio to come closer, "Give that shit back to old geezer Todd and tell him to wash his neck clean and wait for me to loop it off next time he dares to add anything taken from Pigs to my food." Aaron waved his hand and all the food and drinks in his Inventory Space appeared on the ground next to his wooden barrel, he intentionally revealed this secret of his in front of Lucas to solidify the invincible-image that he's been trying to build in the mentality of this poor gang-leader! Judging by the shocked and frightened expression on Lucas's face... it worked.
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Old man Sid on the other hand seemed like a dependent person and that's why Aaron felt extremely satisfied once Sid gave him a serious nod when Aaron looked at him and gave him a serious stare that meant : "I take it that you're an old hand and knows when to keep your mouth shut, right!"
'He's very generous when he's hungry, he's very approachable when he's in pain, he's also very calm and calculative when his enemies are at his mercy! Just what happened between these two when I left that made this kid so apathetic and cold? No, I better mind my own business here or I might not live to see another day if I let my curiosity get the best of me in this situation.' Sid thought to himself, "Little Ron. You should soak for five more minutes before coming out, just use one of the empty rooms to clean the residue off when you're done." After saying that in a hurry he excused himself.
Pio also gathered the food and water containers and left while thinking to himself : 'Oh! The food is still warm, the smell is also great. Too bad young master Ron ordered me to give it back to Todd. Wait a minute... he never said anything about taking from that stingy old coot! I'm fleecing him good this time for daring to chase Betty away from his kitchen when she refused to accept his shitty grandson into her bed. Humph. She's mine alone until I don't.' He stomped his way through the streets until he reached the door of Todd's restaurant before kicking it open while shouting : "Old bastard Todd, how dare you poison my young master? Come down here and face your death!
"Huh!" Pio who was feeling awesome after saying these words was shocked when he saw Rodd kneeling in front of a pregnant girl and gently holding her protruding belly with his hands and absorbed in kissing and licking it with frightening passion!
"Kyaa!" Camila was leaning on a tree and barely holding to it while enjoying the moment of this wonderful morning, until Pio barged into the restaurant and saw her having fun in the garden with her new toy.
The girl panicked and blushed deeply while feeling embarrassment before pushing Rodd away and running inside the building.
Rodd quickly got up to his feet and glared at Pio as if to say : "What? Haven't you seen a slave kissing his master's belly before? Humph! Ignorant bunch." Before quickly following after Camila while shouting : "My lady. Wait for me..."
"Stop following me you idiot!" Camila's voice rang from the restaurant and she sounded really shy.
Pio saw Rodd instantly stop before asking his new and only master in this life : "Where should I go my lady?"
'Moron! Can't you see that your grandfather is in some sort of trouble here? Pio shouted everything about it just earlier.' Camila almost fainted when she heard what Rodd just said and rolled her eyes before going to her room while thinking : 'Just stay there and keep thinking about it, get some sun while you're at it.'
Pio just laughed when he saw Rodd so confused when he didn't receive any reply after calling for his master again and again.
Todd appeared a few seconds later, the old man was covered in blood and holding a knife in his hands obviously at guard against the ones calling him out so rudely in the morning clearly with bad intentions.
"It's you!" Todd said.
"Yeah it's me." Pio stuck his chest out proudly, "I come bearing a message from my young master Ron so listen up." Afterwards he tossed the food and drinks into the ground before continuing to say : "Next time you use anything taken from Pigs to make him food just wash your neck and wait for him to come loop it off!"
Seeing Pio turning to leave Todd panicked, "Wait! Please wait! Don't go like that, at least explain what happened to me. I wasn't even aware that little kid-"
"Huh! What did you call my young master? How dare you? Do you think that you're out of trouble now after my young master decided to let that poor girl Camila decide Rodd's fate? Didn't you hear me say that my young master was poisoned because of your food earlier? Either stop using Pig-related ingredient when you make food for my young master Ron or lose that head of yours! Understand?" Pio suddenly turned and interrupted Todd, he kept screaming in his face while staring him down with a threatening glare.
Pio was never going leave to begin with, at least not until he achieved his plans, and took advantage of the opportunity Todd gave him when the old man was about to slight his young master Ron in front of Pio.
Todd ignored the flying spittle being sprayed on his face by this bodyguard and focused on trying to piece together this confusing situation instead of saying anything to complicate this matter further than it already is.
Suddenly Todd gawked before asking Pio while feeling panic and fear creep within his elderly chest : "D-don't tell me it was the Gold-Frog Felines' urine!"
Pio smiled widely while patting the old man on the shoulder, "You bet your grandson's neck it was." He sounded like he's delivering the best news to a friend.
It made Todd wish if he could break the legs of this smug bastard instead of having to endure this humiliation in silence!
"Let's go to Sid's shop, I'm sure that he's able to help young master Ron make a full recovery in no time." Todd said while passing Pio and heading towards the door.
"No need. My young master quickly discovered the poison and went to old man Sid's long before I met him, that's why I'm here to deliver a message not to bring you over to be punished." Pio said.
'Which means that he knows that it wasn't intentional.' Todd thought to himself while glaring at Pio, 'Or maybe he doesn't and is still feeling suspicious of me, this wasn't his first time eating the food I made after all. Shit! This is troublesome... I should've played that card when I had the chance, but Sera was eating with him and Sid joined them later which made it a risky thing to do. Now I'm innocent of trying anything yet here I find myself under suspicion.' The more he thought the more uncertain he became and Todd's fear towards Aaron grew and intensified.
"But..." Pio suddenly smiled before making a gesture with his fingers, "Maybe I can say a few explaining words to calm young master Ron's anger." Afterwards he rubbed his belly in circular motion while saying : "However I'm not a regular customer in your restaurant, I just quickly lost interest in the menu after Betty was released from service. Tsk, too bad though she's famous for being the best cook around here."
'So that's what you've been after all along! I bet that kid doesn't even know about what's going around here right now at all, but I need to comply with all of these demands if I want to sleep the following nights at peace.' Todd thought to himself before smiling and saying : "Don't worry my dear friend Pio, releasing your missus was a grave mistake on my part and I'm going to make her a personal visit later today and beg if I have to just to make her accept being hired back in my restaurant. Please do forgive me in not being able to do it right away because I need to correct my mistake and prepare young master Ron another meal just to apologize and seek his forgiveness!"
"Good." Pio said before turning to leave while thinking to himself : 'That's for the best. It gives me the opportunity to tell Betty all about it before your visit, that way my sweet lady can demand a higher payment and working less hours. Humph. I'm going to be treated like a king tonight or I'm going to spank her buttocks until she screams!'