CHAPTER 201: GOING INTO THE SOLARI EMPIRE (1)

Riku stood at the head of the table. His declaration hung in the air. The room was filled with a heavy, serious silence. He had announced his departure. He seemed to have made up his mind.

Then suddenly, Barou burst out laughing.

It was not a small chuckle. It was a deep, booming, belly laugh that echoed through the longhouse and shattered the tense atmosphere completely.

Riku stared, confused. "Chief? What’s so funny?"

Barou wiped a tear from his eye. He slapped his knee. "Oh, lad. You almost had me."

He grinned, his face a mask of pure amusement. "All that talk about finding teachers and seeing the world... just say you want to go on an adventure! There’s no need to make up such a grand excuse!"

Riku’s mouth opened, then closed. "That’s not... I’m serious, Barou. This is important."

"Of course, it is!" Barou agreed, still chuckling. "An adventure is very important for a young man! You’ve been cooped up in this village for too long, solving all our problems. Go on! Get out of here! See the world!"

"But the village..." Riku started to protest. "The Lifewell Project... the paladins..."

Barou waved a dismissive hand. "Don’t you worry about a thing."

He stood up. He began to pace, ticking off points on his fingers. "You think we can’t manage without you for a bit? Lord Gregor and Lord Arnold will handle the new recruits for the academy. I will oversee the construction. Rennan will manage the supply lines."

He stopped and looked Riku in the eye. "And if those golden-winged peacocks come back, we’ll handle it. And if we can’t," he added, tapping a small, rune-etched stone on his belt, "we have these communication stones you made. We’ll call you. And you’ll come back."

He grinned again. "See? We have it all figured out. Now go on, off with you. Have your adventure."

Riku was speechless. His entire, dramatic, soul-searching decision had just been reduced to a young man’s wanderlust. He looked around the room. Lord Gregor and Lord Arnold were smiling, a look of fond understanding on their faces. Even Sherry had a small, amused smirk.

He let out a slow breath and a wry, defeated smile spread across his face. "I.. I still don’t understand"

"As obvious as the sun in the sky, lad," Barou roared, clapping him on the shoulder.

Amidst the good-natured laughter, Riku glanced over at Lila.

She was not laughing.

She stood by the hearth, her head down. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her. She looked small, and sad, and completely heartbroken. The thought of him leaving, even for a good reason, was clearly a painful one.

Barou’s laughter died down. He followed Riku’s gaze and saw his daughter’s expression. His own face softened.

"Oh, and Riku," the chief said, his voice now laced with a cheeky, playful tone.

Riku turned back to him. "Yes?"

Barou grinned, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at his daughter.

"You should probably know," he said, his voice loud enough for the whole room to hear. "Lila wants to go with you."

Lila’s head snapped up. Her face, which had been pale with sadness, instantly flushed a deep, furious crimson.

"FATHER!" she shrieked, her voice a mixture of pure horror and embarrassment. "I do not! Why would you say that?"

Barou just threw his head back and laughed again. "Daughter, everyone in this village with eyes knows you’ve been following him around like a lost puppy since the day he arrived!"

"I have not!" she protested, her face now the color of a ripe tomato.

"Of course not," Barou said, winking at Riku. "You just happen to be interested in whatever he’s interested in, at the exact same time he’s interested in it."

The longhouse erupted in a new round of hearty, unrestrained laughter. Lila, unable to form a coherent sentence, buried her face in her hands.

Riku just watched, a warm, genuine smile on his face. This was his home. These were his people. And for them, he would gladly face the entire world.

After the laughter subsided, Riku walked over to Barou. "We’ll leave in the morning, then," he said. "Thank you, Chief. For everything."

"Just be safe out there, lad," Barou replied, his expression turning serious for a moment. "And bring my daughter back in one piece."

Riku nodded. "I will."

The next morning, as the sun crested the hill, Riku and Lila stood at the village gate. They each carried a small pack with supplies for the road.

"Ready to go?" Riku asked, a gentle smile on his face.

Lila, her face still a little red from the previous night’s teasing, gave a small, determined nod. "Ready."

"Alright then. Let’s—"

He stopped. Standing just outside the gate, as if they had been waiting all morning, were three familiar figures.

Sherry, Lysaria, and Elara were there. Each of them had a small, neatly packed travel bag at her feet.

Sherry had her arms crossed, her expression a mixture of annoyance and determination. Lysaria stood with a quiet, polite resolve. Elara just looked at him with a hopeful, steady gaze.

Riku stopped in his tracks. "What is this?"

"What does it look like?" Sherry retorted, tapping her foot impatiently. "We’re coming with you."

Riku sighed. "No. Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous. I need you all here, where it’s safe."

"Safe?" Lysaria said, her voice soft but firm. "But we do not want to be safe anymore. We want to help you build Elowen as well."

"She’s right," Elara added, her voice small but clear. "We want to help build your new world. We can’t do that by hiding here."

"I want to know more about the empire of light," Sherry stated flatly. "It doesn’t matter if you agree or not. I am coming with you."

Riku looked at their determined faces. He was about to refuse again. He was about to tell them that his decision was final.

"Ahem."

Clara’s voice echoed in his mind. It was dry and laced with a mother’s amusement.

"You cannot take one and leave the others, Riku," she chided gently. "That is not how you treat young women. It is cruel to play favorites. Either they all stay, or they all go. Be fair."

Riku mentally groaned. He was being cornered from all sides.

He looked at the four hopeful, stubborn faces in front of him. He looked at the open road beyond the gate. He let out a long, defeated sigh.

"Fine," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine. You can all come."

A collective look of triumph spread across their faces.

"But," he added, holding up a hand, "you follow my lead. No exceptions. We do this my way."

They all nodded eagerly.

Riku looked at his new, expanded adventuring party. His quiet trip to find a few teachers had just turned into a grand tour.

He couldn’t help but smile. "Alright then," he said. "Let’s go see the world."

A collective look of triumph spread across their faces.

"But," he added, holding up a hand, "you follow my lead. No exceptions. We do this my way."

They all nodded eagerly.

Lila, her earlier excitement slightly waning with the inclusion of the others, turned to the newcomers. "But, how are we all going to travel? Such a large group will only slow us down."

Lysaria let out another booming laugh. "You think I didn’t see this coming?"

She gestured down the road. Parked just out of sight were two sturdy, well-built carriages, each hitched to a pair of strong horses. "I had Gnord and the dwarves work on them all night. They’re stocked with supplies and ready to go."

Sherry and Elara beamed. "Thank you, Lysaria. You are so thoughtful!" They then turned to Riku with bright smiles.

Lila gives a harumph, but she could not say anything to show her dissatisfaction. So she decided on another approach.

"Well, that settles it! I’ll ride with Riku in the first carriage, and you all can come in the other one."

"Hold on a minute," Sherry cut in, her arms crossed. "Who decided that? I am the only one who knows the territory we’re heading into. I need to be with him to provide guidance."

"That is a fair point," Lysaria said, her voice polite but firm. "However, as a representative of the Church and a wielder of healing magic, it is my duty to be near the party’s leader in case of any spiritual or physical ailments."

Lila’s face fell. "But... but I..."

Even Elara spoke up, her voice a soft but determined whisper. "I... I would also like to ride with Riku."

"She has a point, you know," Clara’s voice added in Riku’s mind. "It’s only fair."

The four girls turned away from each other. They looked at Riku. Their expressions were a mixture of hope, demand, and expectation. The unspoken question hung in the air, heavy and dangerous.

Choose.