I new life for a new problem

Chapter 32

Rok Soo had never talked so much in his life, really, even his mission reports were shorter, in front of his superiors.

They asked him absolutely everything, at least all the gray areas and things that remained unsaid.

Deruth wanted to know what exactly had happened in the square. Basen talked about what he had experienced, and the questions started from there: Where did the shield that had been seen come from? He must have told them about the man-eating tree in the Henituse territory and that, yes, it was his fault that the tree had changed. And that, yes, it was also because of the recovery of his old power that he wasn't feeling well that day. He also summarized how he had recovered said power. They then made the connection to the second incident, forcing Cale to reveal the second power, and so on, until the rescue of the dragon.

He himself learned something: while he was unconscious after fainting right after his identity was revealed and his "runaway," the count had become very worried after the doctor pointed out the sudden drop in his body temperature. Rok Soo had no idea and blamed the god of death. It must have been his fault, since he had been scolding him for his actions for literally what seemed like hours. Then the questions shifted to the interactions between him and the god of death. Basen recalled their conversation with Cage and Taylor about his supposed quick death. He had to explain the priestess's words to them before having to answer to the king for murdering noble due to cardiac arrest. His detailed explanations didn't calm them down much, and he ended up having to promise to talk to them if he felt unwell or anything about himself or his health. He felt strange under their care, but he had to accept that it didn't bother him as much as he'd like to believe. They strangely didn't ask him anything about his life in his old world, and he was grateful for that. It was a vast subject he had no desire to discuss, at least not right now.

In the end, they had nothing more to ask him for the moment. For he completely refused to talk about their future, which he'd read about in the book. So all he had to do was answer the very first question.

"I'm sorry to ask you this again, but..." Deruth had become awkward again, but Rok Soo understood.

"You should continue calling me Cale, at least in public. I know it might be difficult for you, but the other nobles would find it strange and ask questions." Although they knew he was right, something still bothered them.

"But what about you?" Basen finally asked.

"I understand that the situation requires it." He added gently. "In private, can you call me by my real name?"

They readily agreed, of course. After the long, drawn-out conversation, they could see that Rok Soo was exhausted and seemed about to fall asleep.

"You should get some rest."

He nodded and fell asleep in the comfort of his bed.

---

They had returned to the Henituse estate in the northeast, but a certain awkwardness persisted between the three. Violan didn't ask any questions beyond his health, but she understood that something had happened, but no one seemed to want to talk about it.

The question of telling Violan was raised by Deruth, who didn't want to lie to his wife. The count finally agreed to wait, mainly to give the young man some respite.

Rok Soo now had to think about his next plans. He accepted his father's invitation to lunch, and Violan and Basen were also present. Everything went very calmly; most of the time, he was simply lost in his thoughts. At the end of lunch, he asked to speak to Deruth in his office, and Basen followed them.

As soon as the three entered the room, Rok Soo didn't give them time to ask anything and spoke. "I have to go to Ubarr territory."

As he'd suspected, they to look at him suspiciously. During their previous conversation, they easily understood that every time he moved, it was for something important and useful to the survival of their world. And also that he'd end up getting hurt.

"For what reason exactly?" Deruth asked, worried about what Rok Soo might be up to now.

"The territory has beautiful scenery-"

He didn't even have time to finish his words before Basen coughed awkwardly and the count spoke again. "Didn't we talk about lies?"

"I'm sorry..." He felt embarrassed, but he wasn't sure the truth was any better.He had a plan to recover the ancient power, but playing with bombs at the bottom of the ocean filled with deadly whirlpools wasn't a very good answer either...

They still hadn't moved and simply continued to stare at him, waiting for his answer.

He finally gave in. "I must recover an ancient power."

Now, on top of the suspicion, they were worried and didn't even make an effort to hide it. "Is that really prudent ? Given what the last two did and what the god said." Deruth was very careful with his words, even though his instinct to protect told him not to let him go.

"I'll just take it, but I won't use it. I can't let it fall into the wrong hands." He used the information in the book to his advantage. The power would indeed fall into the wrong hands, but Tooka wasn't even using it. It didn't really matter in this case, but he could use it to get people to let him do what he wanted.

And since he was waiting, them misunderstood his words. The young man would rather sacrifice his health than see people hurt. 

Rok Soo saw their sad expressions, but he said nothing, he didn't even want to know.

"Very well, but be careful, and a doctor will accompany you." He agreed, but not unconditionally.

"No-" Rok Soo had a bad feeling about this, he had hoped to be able to go alone and discreetly.

"Basen, Ron, Beacrox, a few knights too, and-" He was going to go on for a long time, but was stopped by a horrified Rok Soo.

"Basen will be enough-"

He was ignored, and they began planning his trip without even asking his opinion.

---

And there he was, arriving in Ubarr territory early the next day with his brother, Ron, and Beacrox. The knights from the Henituse territory were left aside to ask for help from those from the territory in question. Amiru certainly wasn't going to refuse them this request.