673 Your Fears

"…I hate you, Varian."

"You're evil."

Varian rolled his eyes at Sia and Sarah walking behind him holding their stomachs. As they slowly placed one foot in front of another while glaring at him, the crowd started giving him strange looks.

"…He's making his pregnant wives walk!"

"I'm not one to judge, but they're still young! Are you so eager to have children already?"

"…Young people are too horny these days."

The group of rich old ladies whispered about their pregnancy, a group of rich couples discussed their eagerness, and finally, an old guy surrounded by women in questionable clothes commented on his horniness.

"…"

Varian's lips twitched at those words. He tapped on his space ring and unleashed the latest hover car on the market.

With a sleek silver metal body and a V-view from the front, it instantly drew the attention of the crowd.

Even for the rich folks, this was a vehicle they could only dream of.

"Quick!"

Varian's space power covered Sarah and Sia and they teleported.

The next moment, they landed in an entertainment district. Building complexes stood on both sides of the streets ranging from malls, clubs, VR playgrounds, and casinos.

"Pfft."

"He was very embarrassed."

Varian felt like beating someone when he heard their laughter from behind.

Even though he did 'force' them to eat, at their power level, they wouldn't have any difficulty walking. They just wanted revenge on him.

"Why is it that good guy like me always end up being accused?" Varian sighed lightly as the three walked to a park.

After passing the clear lake with colorful fish, flower beds, and children's playgrounds, they sat in a pavilion.

"So," Varian started "Where do you want to visit now?"

"…I want to visit Ryon planetoid." Sarah put her hand on her lips and said. "There were a few skirmishes there in the past week."

"Me," Sia bit her lip lightly and titled her head. "I don't particularly want to go anywhere. I…I kinda want to spend time with you."

Sarah silently turned her gaze to Sia. Damn it! Even though she knew about it, she didn't expect Sia to be so direc—

"But I'd prefer if we go raid some shadow order stronghold. They annoyed Enigma a lot during their heyday." Sia said with a smile.

Varian raised his hands in frustration. "I asked about the city. The city tour! Where do you want to go next?"

Sarah and Sia looked at each other in confusion.

"Isn't it finished already?" They both said.

"Fuck!" Varian sighed and covered his face. "You just visited some shops, bought some things, ate in a restaurant. How is that even close to a full tour?"

Sia gave an awkward smile while Sarah said. "I-In my childhood, that was basically all my tours. We used to visit a city, tour it for a few hours, and then we left…though I think it's because my parents were busy."

Of course, they were busy. Evander was already a powerful man while Sarah's mother was an important staff in the defense academy.

So, Sarah's concept of 'tour' was distorted while Sia's never existed in the first place.

"Tours aren't like that!" Varian said with a fierce expression.

"How do you know?" Sia gave him a puzzling look. She was damn sure he never went on any tour.

"Because that's what the guide said! That's what the streamer said. That's what everyone on the meta net said." Varian said with hunched shoulders.

"W-Well, we enjoyed our time." Sarah tried to cheer him up. "Look, I'm supercharged now. I can go fight anytime."

"Me too! I'm feeling great! This tour is awesome!" Sia added.

Varian looked at them with a blank stare and then he shook his head. "Damn the tour. We aren't going anywhere for a few days."

"But why?!"

"You, you, and me, we all need to relax," Varian said with a troubled expression. "I mean, really relax."

"Well..."

They didn't understand. They felt relaxed, okay?

"Sia, what were you doing for a year? Did you take any break? Even during lunch, your hand was itching when you picked the fork!" Varian said with gritted teeth.

The way she held the fork, he thought she was going to stab Sarah!

"Ah-cough! It felt like a small dagger, so…" Sia's voice trailed off.

Sarah started smiling looking at her friend's plight.

"And Sarah!"

Sarah's smile stiffened.

"You were focused on training. But not this obsessive! I know you're worried about falling behind us, but don't worry, I got you!" Varian patted his chest giving a vibe of 'Trust me.'

"That's…" Sarah was at a loss on how to respond.

Truth be told, she was in fact a lot of mental pressure to catch up to Varian. Especially after she learned that he was now a very strong level 7, anxiety gripped her.

She was planning to take a very dangerous mission when Varian said in a definitive tone that he wanted her on Eos.

Now that she thought back on it, it was a bit reckless on her part. Such a dangerous mission could've been…

"Sarah." Varian walked to her, held her shoulders, and looked into her eyes.

"Um." Sarah raised her and met his gaze.

For some reason, she wanted to throw a tantrum. 'Why is that no matter how hard I try, the distance between us is only growing apart?'

"I know your fears," Varian said again, in a gentle but firm tone.

"I…Whyyy!" Sarah suddenly broke into tears and threw herself into his hug. "I…I'm really scared. I always knew this day would come, but when it did, it hurts!

I am weak. I can't help you. I can't even stand beside you. No matter how much I try, no matter how hard I train, the distance between us keeps growing. Varian, what should I do?"

Varian's shirt slowly grew wet from the tears. With a helpless expression, he patted her back lightly.

This was exactly what he was worried about.

Bottling up feelings.

You wouldn't notice that you were doing it until the time came. You would suppress, suppress and suppress them until they burst out without any warning.

This was exactly what happened when he met Charles in the prince's hall.

The hatred he bottled up against Roxanne was so heavy that he lost his mind when he finally got a chance to take revenge and completely neglected his surroundings.

He was lucky to have survived.

But to repeat such a thing could be fatal.

So, Varian decided to relax for once. Equally, he also wanted Sarah and Sia to relax their minds, vent their pent-up feelings and get back to a healthy state of mind.

Like him, both of them were carrying the heavy baggage of trauma.

They looked fine because they were all bottling them up.

"Sarah." Varian wrapped his arms around her and said gently.

"Hm…" Sarah responded with a small whimper.

"You trust me, right?"

"Yes." She said without hesitation.

"Then leave it to me. I've found a solution for your probl—it's not a problem, to be sure. You're a genius in your own right. I'm the monster here. But no worries, Sarah. I promise to make you a monster." Varian said with burning conviction.

Sarah broke free from his hug and took two steps back. With a wary gaze, she asked. "You don't mean it literally, do you? I don't want tentacles growing out of my hands."

Looking at her pitiful expression, he teased. "Not many tentacles. Don't worry."

"NO! I'd rather not want it at all!" Sarah yelled with a pale face.

"Just kidding. Hahaha." Varian burst into laughter.