Chapter 176: Clair's Suspicions, Ryu's Affairs
It didn't take long for the car to arrive in the vicinity of the Fortune Medical Center. Elly looked at Clair, who got out of the vehicle and spoke, "Clair, take care now, I would have loved to visit, but I have to get home early today. Tell Kara I said hello."
Clair smiled at this, giving Nero an odd look which caused Elly's face to turn red; she replied, "Of course, I will pass on your message, Nero... please... be 'gentle' with Elly, she's so small."
Misunderstanding the situation, Clair left after saying those words, with her face slightly crimson. However, as for Nero and Elly, they both became shocked by the unexpected utterance.
"Clair come back here; you've got it the wrong way!" Elly shouted, but Clair only sped up, hurrying into the building without looking back. This caused Elly to have a sour feeling; recalling what Nero did before, she nervously gulped as she glanced at him from the corners of her eyes. Yet, as if he didn't care, Nero merely rubbed his nose with his finger pretending not to notice.
Ryu chuckled at this before he opened the door soon after and spoke, "I'll be dropping off here as well; I have some matters to deal with, have a good time."
With that said, Ryu gave Nero a knowing look before he ventured off into the area, his objectives seemingly unknown.
Nero glanced in Ryu's direction with deep eyes as he thought to himself.
'He came here for something... I wonder what it is, is there someone he wanted to see?'
While Nero thought to himself, Elly grew disappointed at his reaction; she naturally heard Ryu's suggestive words and was even more embarrassed. She turned to the driver and spoke, "Bradson, let's hurry home!"
"As the young miss wishes!" Bradson said as he drove the car off into the streets, pushing through a sea of traffic, a smile on the corners of his lips as he chuckled to himself silently.
"Hmph!" Elly snorted as she noticed Bradson's laugh, but she didn't say anything but turned her attention to the rapidly moving buildings around them.
"Elly," Nero called out, having removed his thoughts from Ryu's affairs.
"What?" Elly said rudely, her manner looking like that of a spoiled child having a tantrum.
Nero found it amusing, but he continued, "I didn't ask before, but where do you live?"
Ely, hearing those words, seemed to have discovered something; her eyes lit up as she purposely made a mysterious expression, gazing off into the distance as she spoke in a deep tone of voice.
"My home exists beyond the union of stars; a place not many have ventured, please be patient; you will see it when the time comes."
"Tsk, whatever," Nero said as he rolled his eyes and closed them, he no longer bothered with Elly as he leaned back lazily, just like his older self as if trying to fall asleep.
"Tee hee... he looks like a hobo," Elly said under her breath as she tittered, but she didn't bother to wake him; she felt that he must have a lot on his mind.
Nero raised his eyebrows as he gave Elly a look, but he didn't say anything; though the vein pulsed a bit on his forehead, he decided to act mature and not let his teenage instincts take over.
The car continued onward, speeding across the busy streets as they moved towards the more prestigious areas of Rambruck City.
***
Back within the Fortune Medical Center, Clair had already entered and arrived in front of the counter. She was now standing in front of the attendant as she asked to visit Kara's room, but the words spoken soon after gave her a startle.
"I'm sorry, but that young miss has already been checked out."
"What? This has to be some mistake; she's been critically wounded and would need more time to heal; what happened?" Clair asked with a tinge of anxiousness in her eyes.
Unaware to her, Ryu, who stood in the distance was also astounded; he felt it odd that such a thing would have happened.
The attendant sighed as she looked over the details on her monitor and replied, "Once again, I'm sorry, Miss Clair but based on the documents I'm seeing, it says that she was checked out yesterday. A specialist has noticed her case and is prepared to help her recovery; based on their specialties and current technology, she should be back in school no later than the end of the week."
When Clair heard those words, she sighed in relief; she looked at the attendant and spoke, "I see, then thank you for your help. I shall take my leave."
The attendant made a polite smile and nodded as Clair left the building. Ryu frowned at this as he thought to himself.
'There's something odd here; I'll need to get to the bottom of this...'
After wrapping up his thoughts, he left the building similarly, fading into a crowd. By now, Clair stood on the streets with a thoughtful expression on her face.
'There's something strange going on, but I... I'm in no position to question people of this kind of authority; I better find out more on my own...'
With such thoughts in mind, she shook her head and headed towards the bus station. Yet, as she left, two men in thick coats standing at distant corners stared at her intensely as they spoke to each other.
"Watch her, remember, just a light warning, nothing too harsh..." The person that seemed like the superior amongst them said.
"Understood." The other person replied as he prepared to break away and tail Clair, but before that could happen, a voice sounded, "That won't happen."
Angered by the sudden intrusion, both men moved their hands to the sleeves of their coats as they spoke, "Who dares—?"
They were about to take harsh actions, but as they saw the person who appeared, they showed wide eyes as they spoke politely.
"Please excuse our manners, young lord."
Ryu didn't care about their apologies; he spoke with cold eyes, "She's a friend of mine, so I'll only say this once, let her be..."
"As the young lord wishes." Both men replied as they bowed slightly.
Ryu then stared in Clair's direction, noticing that she had now entered a bus and left; he then turned his attention to the men once more and spoke, "I have a question I'd like to ask."
The leader of the two men looked at him and spoke, "By all means, speak your thoughts, young lord."
"Good, I want to know about a certain girl..." Ryu spoke as he held out a photograph of Kara; the two men's eyes showed in-depth looks as they stared at Ryu; the leader then replied.
"Young lord, this issue is a bit tricky; please follow us." The person said as he pressed a button, causing a black car to arrive at their sides a few moments after.
They then got into the vehicle and beckoned for Ryu to follow them; Ryu's eyes flickered after getting in the car, which drove in the opposite direction, headed towards a distant and more sparsely populated area of Rambruck as they faded into the evening sight.