703 Plan B
"Where are these recipes and blueprints now?" Ren asked, remaining calm amidst the storm in his mind.
Without those recipes, his plans would take a heavy setback. He couldn't afford to have a deviation in his initial plan right now; he was pressed for time as it was.
Morgrimm closed his eyes for a moment before he said, "They've been distributed and are currently in the hands of the seven warlords."
"The seven warlords . . ." Ren didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the information.
He wasn't in the mood to travel and defeat these warlords. He didn't have the time to be journeying in the Netherworld and defeating every warlord just to complete the recipes.
His plan was to find Vanadon-Necroth's lair, get the recipes, and craft like crazy to auction all his items and pay Evie's debt.
But now . . .
Ren hadn't anticipated this setback at all.
At Ren's silence, Evie stared at him with worried eyes. "Ren . . ."
"Is there something important in this Vanadon-whatever, Ren?" Lorelai asked. "You seem to be troubled."
". . ." Elena was only silently staring at Ren. She was aware of the initial plans of why they were in the Netherworld, to begin with.
After what seemed like a minute, Ren took a deep breath and said in a calm voice, contrary to the turmoil that he was facing right now, "Let's finish eating and get going. We have a lot to do."
Lorelai and Elena beamed and fisted their hands with joy.
"Yosh! It's chow time!" Lorelai declared.
"You should mind your manners," Elena reprimanded her.
While the two were arguing, Evie asked Ren, "What are we going to do now?"
Ren was silent for a moment before he smiled and reassured her, "Don't worry about it. Everything will work out in the end."
Morgrimm stood to his feet and bid his goodbyes, "You can join us outside when the cooking is done. I'll send Nori here to fetch you. Come to think of it, what took that child so long?"
When Morgrimm was gone, Elena asked Ren, "Now that Vanadon is no longer here, what are your plans?"
"What are you guys talking about?" Lorelai asked, confused. "What's the big deal about this Vanadon thing anyway?"
Ren proceeded to explain the reason why it was important to get Vanadon-Necroth and the recipes.
"Oh, I see." Lorelai took a deep breath and crossed her arms. "Is that important, huh? You guys have other things to do here, I see."
She retrieved a fruit from her inventory and gobbled it up. "But you know, your problem is very simple. Just defeat these warlords, and you can get those recipes, right?"
Elena scoffed. "It's not that simple. We're already pressed for time as it is. Ren and Evie need those recipes and blueprints."
Evie nodded. "She's right. We only have at most two weeks in the real world. If the Netherworld is larger than the surface, then we would have a problem traversing these lands within days."
Lorelai shrugged. "I bet there's a teleportation crystal here, like on the surface. And besides, we have a lot of mounts that would speed up our travels."
Elena shook her head and sighed. "You make it sound so easy."
"No, she's right," Ren interjected.
All eyes and attention went to him.
"What do you mean, Ren?" Evie asked.
"To get those recipes and blueprints, we have no choice but to defeat those warlords and claim those recipes."
"Are you sure?" Evie asked.
Ren nodded. "We don't have much choice in this matter anyway if we want those recipes."
"Then what about the timeline? Will we make it on time?" Elena questioned.
Ren wasn't sure himself either. "We'll make do with what we have."
Now that their initial plans were in shambles, there was no helping it but to go with plan B. They would defeat these warlords and get those recipes while he craft as they journeyed to the next areas, simultaneously auctioning items to gain money.
Ren could only sigh at this setback.
"This is great! Looks like we're going to defeat those warlords after all and bring peace to this realm! Ahahaha!"
Lorelai was the only one who was joyous in this turn of events.
"Ren . . ." Evie grabbed Ren's hand and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry . . . because of me . . ."
Ren immediately shook his head and squeezed Evie's hand. "I told you, don't worry about it. You're my girlfriend, so of course, I will do everything for you. No matter what."
Ren then grinned and teased, "And besides, that's not what I want to hear right now."
Evie forced a smile and said, "Thank you."
Elena grumbled at the side. "I will not say anything right now. I know you two should have this moment after the turn of events, but . . . don't push it too much, okay? I might get jealous."
Ren rolled his eyes while Evie only laughed a little and leaned on Ren's shoulder.
Lorelai shifted her eyes to Ren, Evie, and Elena. "What is this? Is this a love triangle?"
"No," Ren said straight to the point.
Elena nodded. "That's right, it's not. Our relationship is completely mutual, and our love knows no bounds."
"Hoi, don't let her misunderstand anymore," Ren reprimanded her.
"Ren, I didn't know that you're a womanizer," Lorelai sneered and shook her head. "Looks like I have misjudged you."
". . ." Ren didn't know what to say to that. If he said anything more, he was afraid that she would misunderstand, so he remained shut lips.
"Let's just get this done and over with," Ren said.
At that exact time, Nori had entered the house, huffing and puffing.
"I'm sorry, food was taking so long," she said.
"Yeah. You're very late," Lorelai said with a frown. "Where's the meat?"
"I didn't bring any more since the food is ready outside. We can eat in the Square with everyone else," Nori said, excited.
Lorelai shot to her feet faster than Nori could finish her words. "Then what are we waiting here for? Let's go then!"
