Farce

"Hey, who exactly are you?"

A crisp voice rang out.

Reke turned around to look.

He saw a girl of about thirteen or fourteen, thin and lithe, with two cat ears atop her head and an air of boundless energy, calling out to him.

Although he had known someone was following him, he hadn't paid it any mind; the person was simply too weak in his perception to warrant any further attention.

Who would have thought she would actually call out to him.

He suddenly felt a spark of interest.

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking about others? Do you lack even the most basic manners?" Reke retorted.

The girl looked at Reke with disdain and said, "Listen well, you bumpkin. This beauty is the future leader of the Budaso Adventure Team, and your future boss: Bellis."

Reke looked at the girl with her neck stiffened, feeling as though he were watching a proud peacock fanning its tail.

"Pfft—"

Reke couldn't help it; he burst out laughing.

"Hahaha!"

Ignoring the girl, whose face had turned bright red with rage, Reke clutched his stomach, laughing until tears welled in his eyes.

He truly hadn't expected to encounter a scene straight out of a third-rate novel; he found this dramatic spectacle far too amusing.

To think such a brainless person actually existed in reality—Reke couldn't help but exclaim that he had seen something new today.

"What are you laughing at? Shut your mouth!" Bellis scolded sharply.

One could see her tightly clenched fists as she struggled to restrain her anger.

Though she was a bit scatterbrained, her strength within the Budaso Adventure Team was quite respectable; aside from the dozen or so founders, her power was the greatest, already surpassing many of the veterans.

Despite her sharp tongue, she wasn't a bad person at heart and had always treated the members of the team like family.

If she hadn't seen the Leader acting so subservient to Reke earlier, feeling that the Leader had been insulted, she wouldn't have followed him or spoken with such hostility.

"What? I'll laugh if I want to. What are you going to do, hit me?" Reke said with a punchable expression.

"You..." Bellis pointed at Reke, too furious to speak for a long moment.

"You're a silly girl, that's what you are." Reke continued to provoke her, his interest piqued even further as he watched her struggle to restrain her urge to strike him.

"Ahhh!" Bellis grabbed her hair and shrieked in frustration.

"I'm going to kill you, I'm definitely going to kill you!"

Bellis said, her eyes turning red.

"Come on then. If you don't, I'll look down on you." Reke continued to goad her.

Click. The Space Gate to Lola's home opened from the inside; the sound of their argument had disturbed her.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Bellis rushing toward Reke with her fists clenched, and Lola hurriedly stepped in to stop her.

"Eighth Sister, let me go! I have to kill him today, kill this bumpkin!"

Bellis struggled incessantly in Lola's arms.

Lola was startled at first, fearing that Bellis might be killed by Reke, and she looked at him cautiously.

Finding that he didn't look angry—but rather looked at Bellis with a relaxed, amused expression as if watching something entertaining—she breathed a sigh of relief.

Bellis continued to struggle to no avail, then turned her head to look at Lola with a pitiful expression.

"Eighth Sister, please, let me go. I promise I won't lay a hand on him."

"Remember what you said."

Lola slowly released Bellis.

The moment Bellis broke free, she charged at Reke again.

Despite her murderous words, there was no actual killing intent in her; she simply wanted to give Reke a beating.

Reke, having sensed no killing intent from her, decided to play along; otherwise, he would have finished her off the moment she showed any real malice.

Lola moved to stop Bellis again, but the moment she stirred, she was halted by a look from Reke.

Lola had no choice but to look at Reke with pleading eyes, hoping he wouldn't hit too hard.

Bellis, unaware of their silent exchange, was still wondering why her Eighth Sister hadn't stopped her this time.

Coming to her senses, she realized she had already reached Reke, and in a panic, she retracted ninety percent of the force behind her strike.

Reke noticed Bellis's small adjustment and gave a slight nod, shifting his body to the left to dodge her fist.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Bellis couldn't stop her momentum and rushed past him.

The two had swapped positions.

"Bumpkin, I see you've got a few tricks up your sleeve." Bellis grew serious, offered a word of praise, and charged again.

Straight punches, elbow strikes, hammer blows, knee strikes, and flying kicks—Bellis rained attacks upon him, but seeing them all dodged by Reke, she began to increase her force.

Bellis had been attacking without pause for half an hour, but unfortunately, the gap in strength between the two was simply too vast; not only did she fail to land a single hit on Reke, but she had exhausted herself in the process.

Drenched in sweat, she came to a halt, bracing her hands against her knees as she glared viciously at Reke.

"You hick, if you've got the guts, stop dodging and face me head-on!"

"Ah! The silly girl has decent stamina, but her strength is just too poor. I'm getting sleepy—bye-bye!" Reke let out a yawn, delivered his critique, and walked into Lola's residence.

"Coward! If you're a man, don't run!" Bellis shouted defiantly at the tightly shut door.

"Bellis, that's enough for today. Let's head down."

Seeing that Reke had lost interest while Bellis continued to provoke him, Lola grabbed her and pulled her toward the first floor.

Reke stood behind the door with a smile; he had enjoyed this little farce, and he had made sure to remember Bellis's name and face.

Lola kept a firm grip on Bellis until they found Leader.

Bellis had given up struggling, following behind Lola with a dejected expression.

She had realized the gap between herself and Reke; that last outburst had been nothing but the roar of the incompetent, a final act of unwillingness to admit defeat.

Four-Eyes looked at the two of them with curiosity, unaware of what had just transpired, and waited for Lola to explain.

Lola was just about to speak.

Bellis jumped forward, bowed to Four-Eyes, and spoke first: "Leader, please train me. I want to become stronger."

Four-Eyes was completely bewildered, but seeing the fighting spirit in Bellis's eyes, he didn't ask for the reason and nodded. "Very well, but you must be prepared to suffer."

"Leader, I will show you my resolve." With that, she turned and left without looking back.

Four-Eyes cast an inquiring look at Lola.

Lola recounted what had happened at her doorstep and shared her own speculations.

The two exchanged a wry smile.

"Leader, why don't you go and talk some sense into Bellis?" Lola suggested.

Four-Eyes thought for a moment, recalled the determined look on Bellis's face, and shook his head, rejecting Lola's proposal.

"This is a good thing. Ever since that girl surpassed the veterans in the group, she hasn't been putting much effort into her cultivation. This might just be the catalyst she needs."

Lola rolled her eyes at Leader.

"But she shouldn't be setting Reke as her goal. Aren't you just pushing her into an abyss?"

Four-Eyes stroked his chin and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"You're just asking for trouble." Lola shook her head and walked away.