The second female lead Dual Cultivates

"I surrender. Please don't hurt me. We were just passing through this town as tourists'' Maria watched as the glare in the kid's eyes lessened. Her words were working in putting the kid's shield down.

"Tourists? We don't get them now. Brother refuses to tell me why people don't come here anymore and because of this, our business is not down" the kid sounded sad. But he no longer seemed murderous which Maria took as progress.

Not having someone point a weapon toward you did wonder for one's mood. And Maria took this distraction to swipe some earnings off of the nearby table. She was sure the kid would not notice her small theft.

"So, where did you come from? Are you here alone? You should not wander around the town without weapons on you. My brother says it's dangerous and my brother is the smartest person I know" Maria felt her lips tug themselves into a small smile at the enthusiasm.

It was good to see kids being kids. It surely cheered Maria up and assured her that there was at least one other responsible person in this place that could help her out.

"Is your brother that smart? Then, can he help us as well? I and my friends" Maria asked as she passed her most harmless smile toward the kid. She wanted to come across as friendly and could see herself succeeding in the endeavor.

The kid looked like he was about to agree but then his face shifted. The door opened and Maria felt a bad feeling before she saw Suna move.

The kid did not even get a chance to defend himself before he had been captured by Suna in an unforgiving grip. She sneered at the kid and Maria could see the terrified expression on the kid's face.

Whatever progress Maria had managed to make with the kid was gone in an instant and Maria could not help but feel annoyed at it. Suna had attacked without any provocation which gave Maria a headache.

"Suna, let him go. He's just a kid and not a threat to us" Suna and the kid both shot her wronged expressions but the grip did loosen. The blue expression on the kid's face started to fade as oxygen reached his lungs and he took in deep breaths.

Suna seemed to be blinking slowly, likely coming out of a daze and it made Maria feel worried about her. This was not something that was supposed to happen and Suna had been the most forgiving one of them. It felt wrong to see her attack a kid like that.

"Suna, are you alright? You went a little blank there" Maria asked as she approached the dangerous woman carefully. Maria believed that she would not be attacked but being cautious was a good idea.

A tamed dog might not attack its owner but the potential to go feral was always there. And while Suna was neither a dog nor feral, this analogy did stick to her as well. Demons were similar to animals and in most cases, even worse when pushed.

"Huh? I, when did I get inside? I think I blanked out again" Suna muttered, seemingly to herself before her eyes landed on Maria. She looked a little alarmed and sheepish as she took in the oracle.

So breaking had not been a part of the plan after all? Why was Maria not surprised at seeing such a development happening right in front of her eyes? She should have been paying attention to it.

"Well, you kinda attacked and scared off our only lead. Hope you are happy" Maria knew it was wrong of her to sass out at Suna who had done it all unconsciously but she could not help it.

Thankfully, Suna did not take her words in a negative light and brushed them off with a wave of her hand. She seemed to not have minded the tone Maria accidentally used with her.

"What's done is done. Let's find Nao and tell her about the situation. She'll want to know sooner or later" Maria knew Suna was right. Nao would want to know.

She would also throw a fit if she found out that Maria had seen someone and not told her about it. Their relationship was fragile enough as it was. Maria did not want to make things worse between them.

She deployed her system and instantly found Nao not too far away from them. The other female seemed deep in concentration and she also had a frown on her face. Her hands held a struggling familiar small form beneath her and her eyes seemed to be looking at the kid with a calculating expression.

"L-Let me go" the kid cried out as he was held down. Nao was being really gentle with the kid as she held him down but she couldn't avoid all the injuries on the kid. Maria could see a lot of the wounds being infected.

She had missed it all during her first meeting with the kid because she had been too busy trying to keep him calm. Also, the cloak the kid had worn had hidden all his injuries from Maria's eyes.

"Nao, you can let him up. He's not a threat but a native person from this place" Nao did not look impressed at the words Maria spoke. Maria read the unspoken 'what did you do' in Nao's gaze.

"Y-You again. I won't fall for the same trick twice" the kid growled out as he tried to get free from Nao. Nao had eased the pressure but had not fully let go of the kid. It seemed like a good idea since the kid looked like he would bolt away at any second.

"Sorry but we're desperate as well. We can't allow you to run away since you're the only person in this town" not that the kid would be of any help to them.

The kid was small and likely too weak to make it down. Maria just wanted the kid to call his brother and that was it. Even Maria was getting tired of all the chasing she had to do.

"Let me go. I'm not alone here and my brother would make you regret taking me hostage. Let me go before the sun sets'' the kid tried desperately to get out and Maria noticed the changes in his words.

The kid had asked to be let go before the sun set. So maybe whatever was wrong with this place happened at night. It did sound Interesting but also dangerous.

"Let's find shelter for tonight and observe" Nao suggested and the trio dragged their +1 along.

(Instead of no chapter today, I decided to do only one today and tomorrow. It amounts to the same so hope this works out better. It's totally not because I managed to squeeze an extra written chapter in or anything)