Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer
Chapter 85: Someone’s Always Lurking (2)

Chapter 85: Someone’s Always Lurking (2)

Adrian requested A’Mila to hear him out alone. While she was still adamant about not letting him walk into the lion’s den, she thought she could at least hear him out. Once the room was empty, Adrian began his speech.

"This is not just a plan, A’Mila. It’s our best shot. The Tulkas won’t see me coming," Adrian asserted. "I need you to step out of Vesper’s memories for a moment and think as the Matriarch of the tribe. Besides, it’ll be beneficial for both of us."

"What do you mean?" she inquired.

"After Silka’s public outburst, the tribals would view me suspiciously," Adrian explained. "No matter what you say or do, somewhere in the back of their heads, they’d think of me as a traitor."

He continued, "I need to prove myself, and what better way is there than facing our enemies on a risky mission? Plus, if you let me go, it’ll set straight those who think you favour me. No one who’s all biased would let someone take on such a dangerous mission, right?

A’Mila didn’t say anything and kept staring at Adrian. He had offered her a solution to all her immediate problems, but her gut told her there was something more to Adrian’s request than just a desire to prove himself.#

Someone like him wouldn’t propose such an absurd arrangement to please people. But A’Mila pushed such thoughts out of her head. She didn’t care what Adrian’s true goal was. Besides, he was right. She had to think as the Matriarch of the tribe and not as his babysitter.

"Fine, you have my permission to leave," A’Mila concluded. "But if you’re doing this for us, you’ll have to do things our way."

"I don’t get it."

"You will," A’Mila smiled. "Don’t worry, it will do you no harm. But before I dive into the details, bring the council members back. We need to discuss this matter first."

Adrian was confused but asked the others to rejoin them, and they did. Once they were seated, A’Mila began talking to them in their language. Luckily, Adrian had learned quite a bit and could understand their conversation.

"Since Adrian is taking such a risk for us, it’s only fair we compensate him accordingly," A’Mila said. "I’m in favour of letting him into the warrior’s lake."

A collective gasp echoed in the room.

’Water from the warrior’s lake? What’s that all about?’ Adrian wondered.

"No way!" Silka was the first to object to A’Mila’s proposal. "The lake’s water is strictly reserved for the Tribe’s Matriarch, and no man is ever allowed to touch it!"

Even though her influence in the council had been affected, most members still nodded along. The lake’s water had extraordinary properties, able to strengthen a diver’s body and repair damages even elixirs couldn’t.

However, each time someone took a dip and was accepted by it, its power diminished. That’s why only the tribe’s Matriarch was permitted to dive into the lake as an annual ritual.

But A’Mila wasn’t going to give up so easily, and she had some great points to counter the rest.

"We need details about the Tulkas, but Adrian must return to us unharmed to obtain that information. The least we could do is to provide him with the best opportunity to fulfil the objective."

As A’Mila continued, the opinions of a few members began to shift. As the Matriarch, A’Mila also knew how to push everyone’s buttons and did not hesitate to utilise every trick she had in the arsenal—even resorting to guilt-tripping them about Adrian’s mistreatment since the incident.

However, the momentum stopped when A’Mila called for a vote. One of them had abstained, and the vote for the rest was tied. Since a decision couldn’t be reached without a majority, Silka prevented Adrian, an outsider, from taking more of the tribe’s resources.

Or so it seemed for a moment until the final member of the council made an appearance. Wrapped in bandages and carried by two others, Akila limped into the room and assumed his seat.

"Akila, you should be resting! What are you doing here?" Silka asked, baffled by his sudden arrival.

Silka’s words seemed to show concern for him, but deep down, she was afraid Akila would turn the decision over to Adrian’s favour and knew she had to do something about it.

Before Silka could react, A’Mila seized the chance, informing Akila about everything and that they were in the midst of voting, but it tied.

"Your timing is impeccable as always," A’Mila said with a smile. "You see, we were in the middle of something, and perhaps you could help us solve the problem."

"You could have just voted in my stead, you know?" Akila smiled before turning towards Adrian. "Of course, I’ll vote in my brother’s favour."

"B-Brother?" Silka wa speechless for a moment, mirroring the council’s shocked expression.

"Why are you all surprised?" Akila continued. "He saved my life, didn’t he? According to the laws, I get to repay him however I want, which is my way of doing it. You know what this means, right?"

Adrian didn’t know what was happening, but he could see Silka was furious. If the room had been a bit brighter, he would have thought smoke was coming out from her ears.

"Alright, let’s vote again, shall we?" A’Mila said, clapping her hands to signal a fresh round of voting.

To no one’s surprise, the votes were in Adrian’s favour, permitting him to enter the lake. After the voting concluded, Silka quickly left, and the rest of the council followed suit, leaving only A’Mila, Akila, and him in the room.

"...what was that all about?" Adrian asked the siblings, who burst out laughing.

"Let’s just say you’re not an outsider anymore," A’Mila said, tousling Adrian’s hair as she removed his collar. "You’re our brother, part of the tribe. That means you’re under our protection. No one can mistreat you over your past mistakes."

"Isn’t it too easy?" Adrian asked Akila, thinking they were messing with him.

"Easy? I almost died there, didn’t I?" Akila acted offended. "The audacity!"

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