Rex left the cafe after he talks to the Reed Family, it surprisingly went well.
He already thought of how to attract the Reed Family’s attention to him but who would’ve thought that the detective came to him himself, it makes his plan to attract the Reed Family becomes unnecessary.
From the sudden interest of the detective, Rex already has someone in mind.
‘It must be the principal, he didn’t even hesitate to tell the Reed Family about my possession of the spellbooks’, Rex thought.
The principal knows that he has the spellbooks from the exchange before, so it makes sense for Rex to put the principal as the main suspect.
But that doesn’t matter anymore.
The thing that matters is that his plan becomes faster thanks to that, he manages to make a deal with the Reed Family because of it.
He then went to Emham Forest without worry now.
There should be nothing more of importance that he should do except to tend to his family, ‘I hope mom is okay there’, Rex thought
~
Outside of Emham Forest,
Edward is standing awkwardly in front of Emham Forest because of Mrs. Greene and Robert’s gaze, they’re confused as to why Edward brought them here.
This place is a training ground for Awakened, and normal people can’t go inside.
Even if normal people can go inside, it’s still weird for Edward to brought them to a place that is filled with mutated beasts that can easily kill them.
Both Mrs. Greene and Robert then realize something.
They step back with a frightened expression while looking at Edward, “You’re not planning to kill us are you? We did nothing but good to you”, Mrs. Greene said pleadingly.
Hearing this, Edward widened his eyes feeling speechless.
“No No No, I’m not gonna do anything of that sort”, Edward said in a hurry.
He can’t believe that Rex’s parents can come to that conclusion, he even felt hurt that the both of them thought of him like that.
Edward then continues, “Umm, Rex wanted to show off to you guys about his power. That’s why he brought you here yes, to show off his power”
He decided to bluff his way out to at least buy time until Rex arrive here.
‘Where is he? I can’t keep lying to them’, Edward thought.
Mrs. Greene and Robert look at each other before a smile blooms on their faces, “Oh my, I always wanted to see what kind of Awakened he is”
“Yes, I too am excited to see how much he has grown”, Robert added.
Seeing both of them bought his bluff, Edward then signals them to enter Emham Forest but got declined by both of them.
“No, Let’s wait for Rex here”, Mrs. Greene said with a troubled expression.
Edward saw her expression and can’t help but to face-palm himself, ‘They really thought I’m going to kill them’
“We’ll wait for Rex inside, there’s a beautiful waterfall inside that you should see”, Edward said trying to persuade both of them to go inside.
He’s worried that Rex’s enemies might find them,
Although there are many Awakened here that are coming in and out of Emham Forest, it still doesn’t guarantee their safety.
In fact, it even makes them more exposed to danger.
With so many Awakened that is around here, Edward can’t look out for each one of them that might be his enemies.
Edward tried to convince Mrs. Greene and Robert to no avail.
He then finally gives up and started to scan the surrounding, he put his alert to his max.
About an hour later,
Edward is still looking at his surroundings fearing that there might be an enemy nearby, he looks to his right and was surprised when he saw a familiar look.
Amidst the crowd, Edward saw Adhara with an old man.
The old man has only one arm but despite that, Edward can see that the old man is once a soldier based on his posture.
It’s easy to catch it because Edward is also from the military.
“Adhara! Over here!”, Edward called, he raises his hand before he waves it left and right trying to gain Adhara’s attention.
Adhara saw Edward before she approach him with the old man.
Mrs. Greene and Robert who are tired from standing idly lit up, but they become tired again when they saw that it is not Rex.
They both look at Adhara and to their surprise, they found Adhara is so beautiful.
All of Adhara’s body from top to bottom are a sight to see, even Mrs. Greene has to admit that Adhara has the beauty that any girl craves for.
“Why are you standing here? We need to get inside”, Adhara said, she looks at Edward in confusion.
They agree that they will meet at the entrance of Rex’s Cluster Domain, they will have to wait for Rex there before going inside.
But now, Adhara found Edward outside of Emham Forest.
It exposes them to imminent danger from the Atkins Family and the Reed Family.
Edward scratches his head and said with an awkward smile, “I wanted to get inside but there’s a slight problem with Rex’s parents”
“What do you mean?”, Adhara asks in confusion.
Edward looks back to Mrs. Greene and Robert before he whispers, “They don’t exactly trust me”
He then tells Adhara about the incident that happened between them, Adhara sighs while hearing Edward’s story.
She then looks to Mrs. Greene and Robert in thought, ‘So that’s Rex’s parents’
Looking at Adhara who is looking at them, Mrs. Greene and Robert approach her and ask, “Edward? Who is this fine lady right here?”
“Is it you girlfriend?”, Robert added with slight awe.
Edward only smiles dryly before he then thought of something, “On the contrary, this girl right here is Adhara and she is someone that close with Rex”
Hearing this, Mrs. Greene and Robert widened their eyes.
They look at Adhara as if she’s an angel making Adhara felt embarrassed, their gaze is that of a hungry animal looking at their prey.
“Adhara! I’m Rex’s mother, you can call me mother-in-law!”, Mrs. Grenee said while grabbing Adhara’s hands.
Robert also didn’t want to lose out, “I’m Rex’s stepfather, and you can also call me Father-in-law”
Looking at this scene, Edward steps away silently with a slight laugh.
This makes Adhara looks at Edward angrily, she wanted to claw Edward’s face but her hands got held by Mrs. Greene.
“When is the first time you meet Rex?”
“How did Rex ask you out?”
“Why have Rex never told us about you? Are you guys having a relationship behind our backs?”
“Have you done it?”
Robert and Mrs. Greene sent countless questions making Adhara feel overwhelmed.
They throw question upon question without even giving Adhara a chance to reply, she can only look at both of them with an uncomfortable smile.
But meeting Rex’s parents and getting a warm welcome from them, Adhara slightly blushes as her cheeks become Rex.
She never would’ve expected that the cold and collected Rex to have such parents.
Adhara thought that the apple will not fall that far from the tree, but turns out it happens to Rex and his parents.
Their personality is very different from each other.
While they’re all talking happily, Adhara’s father can only watch from the side silently.
Edward saw this before he approach him, “Excuse me sir, you must be Adhara’s father. I’m Edward, Adhara’s friend”, he introduced.
Adhara’s father glances at him briefly before he ignores Edward.
Seeing this, Edward didn’t get offended and said, “Have you done service in the military sir? I’m sorry about your arm”
Hearing this, Adhara’s father glared at Edward before he turns his head away.
It seems that Edward brought the wrong topic, he offended Adhara’s father by bringing up his arm.
Feeling guilty, Edward then leans on a car beside Adhara’s father.
“I’m also from the military, so I know how harsh the battlefield can be”, Edward said trying to make Adhara’s father open up,
Adhara’s father glance at Edward with a surprised look, “Which division?”, he asks.
“The 16th Combat Medic, I’m one of the teens assigned there”, Edward answered while lighting a cigarette he took from his pocket.
He offers Adhara’s father some before he also takes it.
Both of them started smoking before Adhara’s father said, “I got saved by the 16th Combat Medic in my time in the military, but I think it’s not your generation”
“I’ve almost died due to blood loss but thankfully I manage to survived because of their help”
Hearing this, Edward smiles.
They both then started chuckling as they told stories they have during the military, they seem to be bonding with each other.
Rex’s parents finally let Adhara go,
Adhara looks to her back and saw Edward and her father are talking to each other, she then approaches them, “What are you guys talking about?”
“Something you wouldn’t understand”, Edward said jokingly.
Adhara punches Edward’s shoulder making him rubs his shoulder,
They both laugh with each other before suddenly Edward saw something, he saw someone looking at them suspiciously from afar.
He can see the guy widened his eyes when the guy saw him,
Looking at this, “We need to get in, right now!”, he said signaling to the others.
Mrs. Greene and Robert looks at Edward weirdly,
Without them even having the chance to complain, Edward pulls both of them towards Emham Forest followed by Adhara and her father.
The security wanted to stop them but looking at Adhara, they let them through.
Aside from Rex that beat Kevin that got broadcasted to all edge of Ratmawati City, Adhara also shine in the tournament.
Even the security here recognizes her, which shows how much of an influence that tournament was.
~
Meanwhile,
Rex is not that far from Emham Forest, he will arrive there in about ten minutes or so.
He’s currently inside an economic train where there are many people inside, he doesn’t mind the crowd before suddenly,
RING!
His phone ring as an unknown number pops on the screen.
Without even hesitating, Rex answers the call already guessing who the person on the other side is, “Rex Silverstar speaking”
“When and Where do you want to meet?“, a man on the other side said.
Hearing the man’s voice, Rex already somewhat guess who he is but he decided to ask, “Who is this?“
“You said you want to meet me“, the man replied coldly.
From just this answer, Rex can already deduce that the person is Wesley Atkins.
Rex told Jane before that he wanted to meet the boss, the boss is her father and also the head of the Atkins Family, Wesley Atkins.
“Oh, Mr. Wesley. I’m surprised you called so soon“, Rex said playfully.
Wesley got his anger piqued but he held it in, he knows that Rex is trying to make him angry, “You want to see me, you got it. So where will we meet? Or should I pick the date and place?“
Rex chuckles, “I’ll send you the details to this number, thank you for agreeing to meet me, Mr. Wesley“
With that, Wesley hangs up the phone.
Wesley then checks Rex’s message and reads it, he frowns when he saw the place of the meeting that is a bit far from here.
‘What is his plan?’, he thought with a frown.