CHAPTER 540: WHAT KONOHA WANTS

Alucard’s voice cut through the air, drawing the attention of Coco’s husbands and the others gathered around.

"She completed her mission three hours ago." The hunter relayed, his eyebrows creasing together. "I, along with Yaya, initially assumed that Neo was just taking his time returning to the guild after delivering the monsters, but he came back quickly, reporting that Coco didn’t return after going out to finish her last mission."

"She was still working an hour before dinner?!" he exclaimed, chiming in, his eyes widening, clearly distressed by the news. "She shouldn’t have been working that late! What was she thinking..?"

Kairo quickly turned to Quizen, his hands firmly grasping his friend’s arms and in a gentle yet firm tone, he urged the agitated mediator to calm down.

"Take it easy." Kairo said calmly, his voice steady and reassuring. "Yelling like this won’t accomplish anything, Quizen. Take a deep breath and relax a bit, alright? We need to maintain our composure if we want to find Coco."

Quizen shifted his gaze at the purple eyed mediator and nodded tearfully, his worry stirring beneath the surface.

Deep inside, Quizen is blaming himself.

Coco ran out of the house after he screamed and confessed to Coco— he was hurt at first because isn’t that basically telling him that she’s rejecting him? But with what’s happening, that thought went down the drain.

Quizen tried to steady his breath and compose himself, finding comfort and reassurance in Kairo’s words.

Meanwhile, Alhai turned towards Sinclair and the others. "Me, Zaque, and others will wait here. So please, find our wife and bring her back to us safely."

Before Sinclair could react, a certain Brody hunter scoffed.

"No need to tell us twice. I’m off. Better scatter around to cover more areas." Greinzer grumbled in response, not one for long explanations, then without waiting for further orders, he darted into the woods, his form disappearing into the shadows as he ventured deeper into the forest.

Sinclair and the others watched as the hunter vanished into the darkness.

Lukas stepped forward. "I’ll go look for her as well—"

"Meow!"

Just as Lukas was about to volunteer to search for Coco himself, a loud mewl pierced the air, cutting off his words.

All heads turned towards the direction of the unexpected noise, coming from behind Heiren and the others, but saw nothing that could emit that kind of sound.

The hunters exchanged puzzled glances, curious to see where the sound had come from.

"What was that..?" Yuuko wondered aloud, her surprise evident in her voice as she looked around, her hand instinctively reaching for Miki’s.

"Meow."

Just as the first mewl trailed off, another one rang out, even more insistent than the previous one.

This time, everyone’s curiosity got the best of them and looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound.

"Meow!"

The third mewl sounded loud and clear, leaving no doubt as to its origins because this time, it was coming from right behind Sinclair.

Surprised, everyone snapped their heads in his direction and they were greeted by the sight of a white, giant majestic creature that seemed to be the exact same size as Sinclair himself— or possibly, bigger than Sinclair.

The creature’s slit eyes gazed at the group, another soft mewl leaving its lips.

Heiren couldn’t contain his surprise, his words spilling out in a gasp as he pushed past Sinclair and stood in front of the giant creature, recognition filling his eyes.

"Konoha?!" The mediator exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief. "Why are you out of the house— no! How did you get out of the house?"

The large cat simply tilted her head in response, her eyes shifting towards Heiren.

"Meow." Konoha mewled, almost sounding like a cheeky response, and leaned down to rub her nose on Heiren’s hair.

"You—" Heiren grumbled and placed her hand on Konoha’s nose.

He was about to scold Konoha for being outside, but he was taken aback by the cat’s sudden change in behavior.

Konoha, instead of running back home, had lowered herself to the ground.

"What... What are you doing?" He murmured, his confusion deepening as he watched Konoha lie down on the ground, almost as if she was waiting for something.

"Meow!" Konoha mewled, which sounded a little desperate this time.

"She wants you guys to ride on her back!" The garden fairy perked up from Heiren’s hair and Kairo’s ears quickly catched the message.

The mediator straightened up, a knowing expression appearing on his face as pulled away from Quizen. "Lala said that Konoha wants us to ride on her back."

The mediators looked at Kairo, confusion settling on their faces.

Riding a giant cat’s back sounded absurd, but they trusted Kairo’s interpretation and understanding of Lala’s words because he’s the only one who understood the sound of the bell.

"Meow!$ Konoha mewled again, a note of satisfaction in her tone this time.

So, one by one, the mediators climbed onto Konoha’s back— Heiren was first, gingerly placing himself on the enormous cat’s back, followed by Zaque, Alhai, Kairo, and lastly, Quizen.

As each one settled themselves on Konoha’s broad back, Konoha remained still, allowing them all to get comfortable before she prepared to move.

Konoha stood up and vines sprouted from the ground, rapidly growing and winding themselves around the waists of the mediators perched on her back.

The vines coiled around them comfortably, securing them in place.

The mediators were startled, but instinctively held onto the vines as they adjusted to the unexpected seatbelt.

Ring, ring, ring.

"Lala said that these vines are her doing so we shouldn’t feel scared of falling off." Kairo translated what the ringing meant for others.

Konoha’s gaze flickered towards Lukas and the hunters for a moment.

Then, without warning, she turned and took off, sprinting into the forest which caused the mediators to simultaneously let out a surprise yell of their own.

"I’m off as well." Sinclair announced and didn’t wait for any response before sprinting into the woods.