Blind Box World - SSS-Rank Eye of Truth

The next morning, Ethan woke fairly early.

Laira was still sleeping on his right. Her frame of nearly two meters twenty was too large for the bed, so she had to tuck her legs in slightly, one long arm draped across Ethan’s stomach, claiming nearly half the mattress. Ruo Yan lay on the other side, her black hair lightly mussed on the pillow, her hand still holding his right wrist in a habit that had formed over the past few days.

Ethan lay still for a few seconds, then gently lifted Laira’s arm off his stomach.

Her orange-red eyes opened at once.

"Where are you going?"

Her voice was still thick with sleep.

"Out for a bit."

Laira looked at him, then at the barely brightening sky outside the window. "I’ll come with you."

"No need. I’m just contacting Xue Ji."

At that name, Laira woke up a little more. She propped herself up, her red hair sliding off her shoulder and nearly covering half the bed. "You’ve decided?"

Ethan nodded.

Laira studied him for a few more seconds but didn’t try to stop him. She only reached out, pulled Ethan’s collar down, kissed him on the lips, and let go.

"Then go early, come back early. I’m hungry."

Ethan let the corner of his mouth curve. "The second part is the real point, isn’t it?"

"Obviously."

Ruo Yan still had her eyes closed on the other side, but the corner of her lips twitched.

"I heard that."

Laira turned. "How long have you been awake?"

"Since you said you were hungry."

Ethan didn’t let the two of them start sparring. He changed his shirt, grabbed the communication device, and left the house.

He didn’t activate it inside the village.

Ethan followed the western path, crossed several hillsides, and continued a stretch further until Spring Village had completely disappeared behind the terrain. It was a fairly open patch of rocky ground with no traces of the villagers’ activity. Even if a ship came here, the valley behind would be hard to spot from the air without knowing the exact way in.

He took the device out.

The black metal casing still bore a few old scratches. Ethan opened the interface, found the frequency saved from before, and activated it.

A pale blue dot of light appeared.

[Frequency: Silver Moon City.]

[Communication signal sent.]

Ethan watched for a few more seconds, then chose to send his current location along with it.

He didn’t leave a long message.

"Ethan Ashford. I’ve decided to accept the previous invitation. If this signal reaches you, please respond."

After sending, Ethan switched the device off and put it away.

He didn’t know where Xue Ji was, nor how long it would take her to receive the message. Silver Moon City sat far from the major Safe Zone routes, and Xue Ji herself was often out leading hunts and gathering resources. It could be a few hours. It could be a few days.

Ethan walked back to the village.

When he arrived, Vesna was standing by the well.

One look at Ethan’s face and she seemed to understand.

"You’re leaving soon?"

Ethan stopped.

"Yeah."

The two thin structures at Vesna’s temples trembled softly, but this time she didn’t speak of echoes or fate. She was quiet for a moment, then nodded.

"I’ll tell everyone."

"No need to make a big deal of it."

Vesna looked at him and smiled.

"That’s not for you to decide."

Ethan had a bad feeling.

By late morning, he discovered the feeling was entirely justified.

The central yard of Spring Village was packed.

Wooden tables had been dragged out and lined up end to end in two long rows. The remaining meat from the previous day’s hunt was being grilled, vegetables simmered in several large pots, root flatbread was stacked in baskets. Someone had even brought out a few jars of fermented fruit drink saved from the previous season.

Ethan stood at the head of the path and looked at the scene.

"I said no need to make a big deal."

Vesna happened to be walking past and answered calmly, "This is already small."

Laira stepped up from behind, leaned down to look at the tables of food, and her eyes lit up immediately.

"I think this is very reasonable."

Ethan looked at her.

"I knew you’d say that."

Laira didn’t care. She walked straight toward the table, but the moment she got close, the older Partner woman in charge of the kitchen from the day before raised her ladle to block her.

"Not yet."

Laira stopped.

"Why?"

"Not enough people."

"I can eat first."

"No."

Laira looked down at her.

The woman barely reached Laira’s shoulder but showed no trace of fear. The two stared at each other for several seconds.

Finally Laira turned to Ethan.

"You’re not going to help me?"

Ethan pulled up a chair and sat down.

"No."

Laira looked at him with undisguised disappointment, then resigned herself to sitting as well.

The regular chair was far too small for her. In the end, someone from the village had to bring over the large log from the day before.

Ruo Yan appeared last.

The moment she stepped into the yard, voices called out from every direction.

"Ruo Yan!"

"Over here!"

"Sit here!"

A group of female Partners immediately pulled her to the other side. Ruo Yan managed to keep her composure at first, but when an older woman wrapped her in a hug, her movements slowed.

"You’re really leaving this time?"

Ruo Yan pressed her lips together.

"Yeah."

"How long until you come back?"

"I don’t know."

The woman stroked her black hair. "Then live well."

Just one simple sentence.

Ruo Yan’s eyes reddened at once.

She turned her face away as if to hide the reaction, but a girl with fox ears standing beside her had already taken hold of her arm.

"If you want to cry, cry. You used to tell me crying doesn’t solve anything, and here you are crying yourself."

"I’m not crying."

Ruo Yan’s voice was already slightly choked.

"Right. Then what’s that on your face?"

Ruo Yan wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Wind."

The entire group of women burst out laughing.

A while later, Ruo Yan was laughing along with them, even though her eyes were still red. She hugged each one in turn, her movements stiff at first but gradually tightening.

Ethan sat not far away, watching all of it.

He didn’t go over.

This place meant something different to Ruo Yan than it did to him.

This had been where she returned after being abandoned, where people accepted her when she no longer had an Awakened, no path to grow stronger, and nothing left worth anyone’s investment.

Now she was leaving not because she was being driven away.

She was choosing a new path for herself.

The feast began when the sun was nearly overhead.

Laira was the happiest person there.

Once given permission to eat, she barely stopped. With her build dwarfing everyone else’s, the regular plate in her hand looked comically tiny. The woman in charge of the kitchen finally handed her a wooden platter outright.

Laira saw absolutely no issue with this.

"Much more practical."

Ethan sat beside her, watching the meat disappear at a visible rate.

"Slow down a little."

"This is a farewell."

"How is that relevant?"

"Very." Laira bit into a piece of meat and said with complete seriousness, "I don’t know if the food in Silver Moon City will be any good. I need to eat my fill first."

Ethan couldn’t find a single thing to argue with.

At the far end of the other table, Ruo Yan had barely finished half a cup of water before several women pulled her to her feet.

"Come with us."

Ruo Yan frowned. "Where?"

"To talk."

"We can talk here."

"No we can’t."

One grabbed her hand from the left.

Another pushed her back from the right.

Before Ruo Yan could react, she had been dragged behind one of the houses.

Ethan watched her go.

Laira also watched.

Then both turned back to their food as though they had seen nothing.

Behind the house, Ruo Yan folded her arms and looked at the five female Partners surrounding her.

"What do you want?"

The fox-eared girl smiled first.

"How does it feel?"

"How does what feel?"

"Having an Awakened of your own again."

Ruo Yan understood immediately.

Her expression stiffened slightly.

A blue-haired woman standing nearby asked curiously, "Does he treat you well?"

"Yes."

"Does he share resources?"

"Yes."

"Does he force you to do anything?"

Ruo Yan looked at her.

"No."

"Have you slept together yet?"

Ruo Yan went silent.

The women all immediately exchanged glances.

The fox-eared girl narrowed her eyes.

"That reaction means yes."

Ruo Yan’s ears began to redden.

"Did you drag me out here just to ask these things?"

"Of course not." The oldest woman pulled her down onto a boulder, her expression as serious as someone about to impart a secret technique. "You’ve always been too stubborn. You keep everything bottled up. Now that you have someone you like, you need to learn to take the initiative."

Ruo Yan frowned.

"I am very proactive."

All five looked at her.

No one believed it.

Ruo Yan grew annoyed. "What’s that look for?"

The fox-eared girl sat down beside her. "For example, when you’re alone together, do you take the lead and hug him?"

"Yes."

"Kiss?"

Ruo Yan hesitated half a beat.

"...Yes."

"On your own initiative?"

"Yes."

This time they were genuinely surprised.

One of them laughed. "More progress than I expected."

Ruo Yan was about to stand when the oldest woman pulled her back down.

"Wait. So do you know what he likes yet?"

"What he likes?"

"See."

Ruo Yan: "..."

They all leaned in at once.

"A man doesn’t always want a woman to just lie there and wait."

"Sometimes you need to pull him in yourself."

"Kissing his neck works too."

"Or when he’s tired, you could..."

The woman leaned close to Ruo Yan’s ear and whispered a few sentences.

Ruo Yan’s expression changed at once.

"That’s..."

The fox-eared girl laughed. "She’s blushing."

"I am not."

"Your ears are completely red."

Ruo Yan’s hands flew up to cover her ears on reflex, then she realized the gesture was as good as an admission.

The laughter immediately grew louder.

Ruo Yan gritted her teeth.

"If you say one more word, I’ll call the Necromancer over."

Everyone went quiet for two seconds.

Then the oldest woman said calmly, "Fine. But remember what I just taught you."

Ruo Yan shot to her feet.

"I’ve already forgotten everything."

She turned and walked away.

From behind her came one last line.

"Then try it tonight!"

Ruo Yan’s step faltered.

She walked faster.

When she returned to the table, Ethan noticed her face was still slightly flushed.

"What did they say?"

"Nothing."

"You sure?"

"Sure."

Ruo Yan picked up her cup and drank too fast, nearly choking.

Laira stared at her for a while, then let the corner of her mouth curve.

"I can guess a little."

Ruo Yan immediately turned.

"Be quiet."

Laira laughed.

The feast stretched into the early afternoon.

There was no grand ceremony.

The villagers simply came by one after another to say goodbye, handing the three of them some dried food, a few bags of sun-dried roots, and whatever else they thought might be useful on the road.

Ethan had planned to refuse most of it, but in the end he accepted.

This wasn’t charity.

It was farewell gifts.

When the crowd gradually dispersed, Ethan sat beneath a large tree at the edge of the yard. In his hand was a cup of the pale red fermented fruit drink, with small slices of fruit and a hint of herbal aroma inside. The sweet-sour taste with a touch of spice on the tongue reminded him of a light cocktail from his previous life.

Laira walked over and sat beside him.

Even sitting, she was still slightly taller. Her long legs stretched out ahead, her shoulder nearly level with the top of his head. She held a small bottle, took a long sip, and looked at the people cleaning up the tables in the distance.

"You really want to leave?"

Ethan didn’t answer right away.

He turned the cup slowly in his hand.

"Yeah."

Laira looked at him.

Ethan continued. "The Void is still watching me. Ryan is only part of it. The longer I stay here, the greater the chance this place gets discovered. The people in this village went through so much just to have this home. I don’t want to turn them into targets."

Laira listened in silence.

"There’s another reason."

"You want to get stronger."

Ethan turned to her.

"You knew?"

"I already told you." Laira looked down at him, the corner of her mouth curving. "I know you."

Ethan took a sip, then set the cup on the ground.

"Before, I always thought doing the right thing was enough. I didn’t hurt anyone, didn’t take what wasn’t mine, so at least when something happened, the truth would mean something."

He looked at his left arm.

"But then Nolan lied, Ryan twisted Mira’s words, and the whole of Safe Zone Seven believed what they wanted to believe. I had evidence and no chance to speak. I didn’t do anything wrong, but I was weaker than the people who had the power to decide what was right and what was wrong."

Ethan’s gaze slowly turned cold.

"I understand now. The truth only has value when you’re strong enough to protect it."

Laira didn’t interrupt.

Ethan looked toward the horizon.

"I want to be stronger. Strong enough that no one can ever force me to bow again. Strong enough that when I say something is the truth, no one can use their authority to turn it into a lie."

He paused.

"I want to be so strong that the words I speak become the truth itself."

Laira looked at him for a long time.

Then she smiled.

Not the teasing kind.

She set the bottle down, wrapped one long arm around Ethan’s back, and pulled him close. Because of the difference in their builds, Ethan’s head nearly rested against her shoulder.

"Then get stronger."

Ethan looked at her.

Laira leaned down, her orange-red eyes full of confidence.

"I’ll get stronger too. I’ve entered Silver-rank, the first seal on the Solar Flame Seal is already open, and there’s still so much about the Thunder Flame I haven’t mastered. Once I’m stronger, anyone who wants to push you around will have to get through me first."

Ethan laughed.

"Haven’t you been doing that all along?"

"This is different now."

"How?"

Laira leaned down and kissed his forehead softly.

"Now I’ve said it out loud."

The two looked at each other.

Very close.

Ethan was just about to pull her down for a kiss when a voice came from the left.

"I’ll protect him too."

Laira turned her head.

Ruo Yan was walking over.

She had regained her composure, at least on the outside. The moment she arrived, she sat down directly on Ethan’s other side, close enough that her thigh touched his.

Ruo Yan glanced at Laira.

"Don’t think you’re the only one getting stronger."

Laira raised an eyebrow.

"I didn’t say that."

"Your eyes did."

"Here we go again."

Ruo Yan let it drop. She picked up Ethan’s fruit cup, took a sip, and handed it back.

Ethan looked at the cup.

Then at her.

Ruo Yan asked evenly, "What?"

"Nothing."

Laira watched the exchange, then also took the cup and drank from the exact spot Ethan had used.

"Now it’s fair."

Ethan was quiet for a few seconds.

Then he couldn’t hold back the laugh.

One woman nearly two meters twenty sat on his right, her arm still resting behind his back. One sat on his left, close enough that their knees touched, her expression cool but her hand having naturally taken hold of Ethan’s right.

He leaned back against the tree.

’A life like this...’

The corner of Ethan’s mouth curved.

’Really isn’t bad at all.’