At the Presidential Palace.
They were in a meeting, and the President of the Eastern had received a report that Kyushin territory had made peace.
"Hm, this should be good since they won't cause trouble anymore," the President said.
"But I heard they are planning a protest to reject the destruction of the 3 Natural Tree of Heaven sites," the Vice President said.
"Huh? Why are they rejecting it? Aren't we leaving their territory and trees alone?" The President slammed the table.
The President's aide explained that it might have something to do with the strange figure that appeared and wanted to destroy Kyushin, but eventually, Kyushin won. It was possible that the figure ordered them to block the forest destruction.
"What kind of nonsense story is that? You think that figure is actually real? It's probably just a trick of theirs," the President said, getting even more annoyed.
"If it's true, won't it be difficult? If it were just one of the two territories, we could still ask for help from the other, but if they unite, it's going to be complicated," the Vice President explained.
They continued discussing to find a way to keep Kyushin from interfering.
---
Nic returned to the inn with incredibly tired eyes, and he saw Hinata looking worried.
"Ah, Nic! Where have you been??" Hinata approached Nic and saw that his face was a bit pale.
"Eh, I-I just went for a walk..." Nic answered.
"Liar! Look at your body and face! Come on, come to my house!" Hinata dragged him forcefully.
Nic just resigned himself to it, though he was a bit surprised because he knew Hinata as a shy girl, not someone this aggressive.
In the backyard, Hinata grabbed a basin of warm water and a cloth.
"Wait, I can do it myself, Hinata." Nic tried to take the cloth to clean himself, but he was stopped by Hinata, who looked angry for some reason.
"Shh! Just be quiet and let me clean you up," Hinata said, starting to wet the cloth.
When Hinata tried to take off Nic's shirt, Nic was shocked and held it back.
"Uh, Hinata, don't take it off!!" Nic said.
"Hm why? It's so you get clean! It's fine! Don't be shy!" Hinata said, keeping at it.
Finally, Nic's shirt came off, and Hinata was shocked to see Nic's back, which had a large claw mark.
"W-what... tiger claws??" Hinata said, shocked.
"Ah... that's an old wound," Nic answered, distracting her.
Suddenly, Hinata ran away and called her grandfather. Nic was getting more confused.
Hinata's grandfather came and looked at Nic's back.
"Sorry about Hinata acting like that suddenly. When she's worried, she gets very aggressive... and she has trauma regarding tiger claws," the grandfather said.
"Ah, I see. It's okay, Grandpa. May I just go back to the inn?" Nic said, feeling bad.
"You may, but where did you get that tiger claw scar? It's very large," the grandfather asked curiously.
"This is an old wound from when I was camping in the forest and accidentally met a tiger because I fell into a ravine, back in the Western," Nic answered.
"Thank goodness. The forests in the Eastern also have tigers, and they are more ferocious. You should never go into the wild forests here if you don't want to get hurt," the grandfather said.
After that, Nic excused himself after washing up and thanked Hinata.
On the way back to the inn, Nic was still thinking about Hinata acting weird.
Once he arrived at the inn, Nic immediately checked his phone and looked at the news. There were already so many reports about rumors of nature going on a rampage, Kyushin making peace, and their initiative to reject the destruction.
"Kyushin territory is also inviting other territories to protest? I wonder why?" Nic thought Kyushin was strong enough to protest alone.
That was true, but Nic immediately saw other news indicating that many people supported the President regarding the destruction of the 3 Natural Tree of Heaven territories, suggesting the trees just be moved.
"Are all these commenters paid bots?"
[ It seems the Eastern President wants to ignore Kyushin's protest and proceed with the destruction plan. It will happen very soon, Master Nic. ]
"They've got some nerve."
While he was busy looking at the news, there was a knock on Nic's door. When Nic opened it, it turned out to be Hinata.
"Um, may I come in? I want to talk for a moment," Hinata said, looking down.
"Hm? Sure, come on in." Nic invited Hinata inside.
Hinata entered and immediately sat down, her face looking nervous.
"About earlier... let me explain. Actually, when my sister came home yesterday, he told me you were there and wanted to help the Natural Tree of Heaven. So I got curious and waited for you to return to the inn to hear your story... But you didn't come home for 3 days, that's why I was worried. And when you finally came back, you looked disheveled and pale, so automatically, I got even more worried," Hinata said, then bowed her head to apologize.
Nic knew her worry was a mix of the Like and Loyalty that were already at 100%, but he was still curious about one thing.
"What made you suddenly drag me to your house earlier? And want to help me?" Nic asked.
"Um, I had a weird feeling and I always get overly worried because I'm scared..." Hinata said, playing with her fingers, looking anxious.
Nic realized this and didn't want to discuss it further. Nic pinched Hinata's cheek gently.
"Hey, have you eaten?" Nic asked.
"Ehhh? Not yet, I didn't have time to eat, hehe."
Nic smiled and invited her to eat together. "Let me cook for you."
"you can cook?"
Nic nodded, but since there were no ingredients, Nic invited Hinata to the market in Shin territory, which had now become Kyushin.
"Are you sure about shopping there?" Hinata asked.
"Don't worry. They say the ingredients there are the best, so I have to go there to make the food taste even better, hehe," Nic said.
Hinata agreed and followed Nic from behind.
On the way, Nic didn't see anyone he knew at the Kyushin market; maybe they were all busy with the protest.
"What do you like to eat?" Nic asked.
Hinata was shy. "Um, are you sure you want to cook for me? Isn't it a hassle?"
"Just relax. Consider it returning the favor for your hospitality towards me," Nic said with a smile.
Hinata then mentioned shyly that she liked pancakes.
"Pancakes? Hmm, okay, I'll buy all the ingredients," Nic said, immediately searching for them using the God of Analyst skill.
Nic bought things quickly and in large quantities—he even bought meat and fish.
"Heee, that's so much!" Hinata was shocked.
"Haha, this is normal. Come on, let's have a feast at my inn!" Nic said.
When Nic left the market, it turned out someone saw him—Shin Meilin.
"Isn't that the guy from back then? Where has he been? I haven't seen him in a while," Meilin said.
Kazumi, who was with her, was confused. "Why, Shinmei?"
"Eh, Kyumi, that's... ugh, what was his name again? I forgot, you told me about him yesterday," Meilin said, trying to remember.
"Nic? Did you just see him?" Kazumi asked.
Meilin nodded.
"Why didn't you say so! Let's find him!" Kazumi said, immediately dragging Meilin along.
The two of them immediately searched for Nic before he got too far away.
To be continued...