Red could never have imagined that after tossing and turning for who knows how long, he would finally fall asleep only to be tormented by nightmares for nearly the entire night.
The nightmares had finally subsided for a brief moment, only for him to suddenly feel as if ten thousand monkeys were crawling all over him.
He opened his eyes and looked.
‘Guys, who can even understand this?’
Early in the morning, there really was a monkey crawling all over him!
“Don’t come any closer!!”
At that moment, Red looked as if he had seen a ghost, wishing for nothing more than to get as far away from this female hooligan, Letia, as possible.
Letia’s simple brain pondered for a moment.
She looked at the pants and clothes in her hands, then at Red, who was cowering in the corner like A-Wei.
She seemed to understand something.
However, no hint of shyness appeared on her face.
Instead, she put on a wicked, playful smile.
“Oh~ You’re blushing~”
As she spoke, Letia’s gaze gradually slid downward.
Her eyes held a hint of mockery, and with a playful tone, she slowly spoke.
“You’ve developed quite well…”
“No!”
“Be good, let me see!”
Look at that—this was Letia.
High attack, high defense, and truly shameless.
With her socks pulled off and her shoes tossed aside, she was…
Aaahhh!!
The influence of the nightmare on Red vanished instantly the moment he laid eyes on that female hooligan.
“Hehehe… Let me have another look. It’s not like it’s the first time anyway.”
Letia let out a laugh that sounded remarkably like a creepy old man.
Red, meanwhile, only wanted to protect the last piece of fabric on his body.
The two of them pulled and tugged at each other as if they were in a wrestling match.
It was true that Letia was incredibly strong, but this time, the potential Red exploded with was quite terrifying.
Red continued to retreat, the battlefield shifting from the living room to the entryway.
But alas, having encountered a muscle female gorilla, he could not overcome her despite his best efforts.
He could only watch as his final shred of dignity was stripped away bit by bit.
Click…
Just then, the front door was suddenly opened.
Mason, Tos, and Brian were standing outside the house.
Inside, the two were in a position with Red on the bottom and Letia on top.
After sensing the extra sets of eyes, Letia slowly raised her head and looked at the three men outside, whose faces were written over with shock.
The atmosphere of the scene was beyond awkward.
The three of them remained silent for a good while before acting as if they had never come, slowly… bit by bit… closing the door again.
“Save me first, you guys!”
Seeing the three of them turning to leave, Red couldn’t help but shout.
“Can’t you see someone’s about to die?!”
Outside, Mason nodded in agreement.
“Yeah… someone’s definitely about to die…”
Tos threw his hands up, unable to stop himself from complaining.
“I told you, didn’t I? Red’s mental resilience is very strong. There was no need for us to come at all. Look, he’s still shouting in there, full of life.”
However, Brian had a slightly different take.
“I feel like, looking at the situation just now, if the genders were swapped… wouldn’t it feel a bit wrong?”
“But they aren’t swapped, are they?”
Tos countered.
“In that situation, if it were you guys, would you choose to lie there and enjoy it, or enjoy it after some symbolic resistance?”
Mason agreed as well.
“Regardless of who’s on top or bottom, isn’t it fine as long as they’re enjoying it?”
“Emmm… what you guys are saying makes sense,” Brian said, crossing his arms and adding, “But Letia’s weapon probably weighs two hundred pounds…”
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone fell silent.
Furthermore, there was no longer any noise coming from inside the house.
Probably…
Possibly…
Maybe…
Mason and Brian simultaneously traced a cross over their chests.
“May Heaven have no monkeys.”
Tos, however, had another guess.
“That monkey has beaten Red to his knees; it must be to force him to…”
“You bunch of bastards, stop making up stories!”
The door was suddenly flung open.
Red, his face dark with annoyance, was finishing putting his clothes back on.
Behind him, Letia was sitting on the floor in a duck-pose, wearing a completely innocent expression.
“That girl just saw that my clothes were soaked through, so she wanted to help me change into dry ones. That’s all.”
The three men fixed their gazes on Letia.
Being watched, she playfully tapped her head with her hand.
“Hehe~”
Pitiful, small, and helpless…
Well, those three words definitely didn’t describe her.
They seemed more suited for the disheveled Red.
“So, did you guys come here for something?”
Between not sleeping at night and the ruckus early in the morning, Red couldn’t help but feel like he was suffering from a nervous breakdown.
“We were just a bit worried about your mental state, Red, so we came to check on things to make sure you didn’t do anything rash.”
Mason spoke his intentions quite honestly.
“But seeing how energetic you are, we can rest easy.”
“Sigh…”
Red let out a sigh.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Seeing Red like this, Brian smiled and patted Red on the shoulder.
“That’s the spirit! Life and death are common occurrences for an Adventurer. You shouldn’t drown yourself in grief.”
As the Leader of the Scarlet Legion, she had long since grown accustomed to life and death.
Additionally, her personality was not that of a sentimental person, so she continued to speak bluntly.
“But a man should seek revenge for his grievances. This blood debt will have to be repaid sooner or later.”
“Yeah.”
Red nodded.
A flash of coldness crossed his eyes, though it went unnoticed by the others.
Behind him, Letia silently watched the banter between the men without saying a word.
In front of outsiders, Red would still put on that unbothered facade, precisely to avoid making others worry excessively.
‘Truly… he really doesn’t make it easy for people.’
Letia couldn’t help but sigh in her heart.
This was exactly why she had chosen to leave the team and come to Red’s place.
Suppressed emotions do not disappear; they only accumulate.
If an outlet isn’t found, then no matter how strong a person is, they might become extreme.
‘But looking at it for now… Red isn’t heading in a bad direction.’
“Alright, alright, you guys head back first. Making you worry was my fault. When I have time, I’ll treat you to drinks at the Riverside Tavern.”
“Sounds good!”
Red’s friends left the place with their arms around each other’s shoulders.
Once they were gone, Letia put her hands on her hips and sighed, though she let out a helpless smile at the same time.
“You~ Although you seem to have changed a lot, that personality of yours where you have to shoulder everything alone really hasn’t changed at all from beginning to end.”
“Hasn’t it?”
Red glanced at Letia.
“Of course,” Letia said righteously.
“Just like back when you were in Dawnblade. The endless work, the lack of rewards—didn’t you keep all that suppressed too?”
“…But you still chose to shoulder it alone, not seeking anyone to vent to?”
Letia walked over to Red’s side, opened her arms wide, and said with a smile.
“But you don’t have to worry now. Just call me Mom, and my embrace is yours to crawl into.”