Chapter 587: Letting Go (1/2)

The sun was up in the sky by the time Zero woke up. Startled by how much he overslept, Zero panicked and quickly got changed. He had to apologise to Cleo for not waking up earlier to help out in the garden.

By the time he got to the garden, Zero realised that it was almost noon. Strangely, the village was exceedingly quiet.

”Mii, where is everyone?” Zero asked his mindscape assistant.

Instead of pulling up the mini-map, Mii denied Zero's access to it. ”Why don't you search for them yourself? Think of it as getting to know them better. You've been trying to think of a gift for Truen but have not thought of anything yet.”

That was true. Zero pouted. For everyone else, Zero was able to think of something that they would enjoy. However, the one person he thought he knew best, he wasn't able to get anything for. Honesty, Truen was a great person to have around as a friend. He might be naggy at times, but there was no doubting that the wood elf had his back. For all the dumb things that Zero did, Truen might not like it, but the archer had never once abandoned him. In fact, Truen went all the way out to help him. For that, Zero was indebted.

”Do you think Truen is behind this again?” Zero frowned. For some reason, he had a feeling his best friend was planning something behind his back again.

Zero might be busy and tired lately. However, that didn't mean he wasn't paying attention to the wood elf. If anything, Zero had been paying even closer attention to Truen than before. He wanted to get some hints about Truen's preferences. While Truen likes many things, there was nothing in particular that he couldn't do without. That kind of attitude made Zero very glum. It wasn't easy to go shopping with Truen. The wood elf wasn't materialistic. Also, Truen didn't need any assistance in chores or tasks. Compared to Zero, he was more capable at managing them. Truen also spent a lot of time with him, so it would be odd to call or write Tuen letters when they could simply party call or just talk.

Zero went around Half Moon Village, visiting places he thought people would gather at. The children were not playing tag. Zoe was not in the kitchen. Nobody was tending to the garden. Even the lab rats weren't in their stone cottage. Where was everyone?

”Don't tell me they have been spirited away!” Zero panicked, and Mii facepalmed.

For someone with an overpowered ability, Zero sometimes came to the dumbest conclusions.

”Do you think anyone would be powerful enough to spirit away so many powerful individuals without a trace of magic?”

Zero paused. Now that he thought about it calmly, it was strange. Then again, why would they deliberately hide from him?

”I see. Let's look for traces again. How could they all leave me without letting me know where they went? I was sleeping too!” Zero whined.

It was Truen's instructions to put a sleeping scented candle with some medicinal powder to keep Zero asleep until noon. Mii and Wii increased the dosage when Zero showed signs of awakening before noon. The doctor's resilience was incredible. Thankfully, Cleo prepared more than enough of that stuff to keep Zero asleep until everyone safely moved out of the village.

The trail they left behind on purpose for Zero to follow was easy to find once the doctor calmed down. The little signs of activity gave Zero hints about where they were heading. The most obvious evidence was the missing wagon full of Half Moon Village goods to be shipped to Smargdas. According to Schaf, the shipment was scheduled to leave next week. For it to be missing now, it only meant that plans have moved up.

”I'm going to check on New Moon Village,” he told Mii, and the strawcherry assistant didn't stop him. It took Zero long enough to figure out something so basic. It was embarrassing!

A quick trip using the teleportation system brought Zero to New Moon Village. Thanks to Wii's tip-off, the villagers could get their acts together and successfully surprise the unsuspecting doctor.

Zero yelped when the lab rats set the fireworks off. The cheers brought Zero back to his senses as someone snapped a picture of his startled expression. Truen smirked at his friend's bewildered look. The Great Gods were going to love this.

”What's this?” Zero asked and looked around. The street that was normally festive and full of customers was now devoid of tourists. Instead, Zero saw many familiar faces. Some of these familiar faces travelled from far, and Zero didn't understand why they were all here.

”Misana? Rachel? Why are you here? Also, Jynx??? Don't you have some leader matters to attend to? Why is everyone gathered here? Camie! It's been a while!”