色戒未删版

Chapter 74  Respa’s Hut

"Where did you find her, EL?" the green-skinned girl asked, reaching out to pet the kitten\'s soft fur.

"I found her in an alley a few days ago," EL replied, a hint of sadness in his voice. "She was all alone and scared."

The chubby boy with brown eyes spoke up, "That\'s terrible. Who would hurt a little kitten like her?"

EL shrugged, "I don\'t know, but I couldn\'t just leave her there. I had to take her with me."

The blue-haired girl continued, "It\'s like she\'s your kindred spirit, EL."

EL was always afraid that his friends would treat him differently if they found out he was the prince. He wanted to be treated as an equal and not be burdened by his royal status. That\'s why he came up with a story about the scar on his face and his insecurity about it, and he wore a mask to hide it. He knew it was a lie, but it allowed him to be just another regular guy among his friends. However, the guilt of lying to them weighed heavily on his conscience, and he couldn\'t help but wonder what would happen if they ever found out the truth. Would they still accept him for who he was?

He looked at his friends, wondering if he should come clean about his true identity. But he couldn\'t bring himself to do it. The fear of losing them or being treated differently was too great.

Instead, he diverted the conversation and said, "Hey, let\'s not talk about scars. Let\'s talk about the mission at hand. Are we going to Respa\'s place?"

His friends looked at him, a little surprised at the sudden change in topic, but then nodded and started discussing their findings. EL felt relieved that he was able to steer the conversation away from his secret. However, he knew deep down that he couldn\'t keep hiding his true identity forever.

The muscular kid, with his spear on his back and dirty blonde hair, stood up from where he had been sitting. His light green eyes were full of excitement as he spoke, "Yes, let\'s go! I want to see what new invention he has come up with this time."

The other kids in the room also got up, eager to see what EL had been working on. As they made their way through the secret underground hideout, they chattered excitedly about what they might find. EL walked at the back of the group, his mask covering his face as always. He couldn\'t help but feel a sense of nervousness in his chest. With a lot of what if..scenario in his head.

But he pushed those thoughts aside as they exited the hideout and went out to the streets.

As they walked deeper into the outskirts of the jungle, EL\'s anxiety grew. He kept checking his surroundings, making sure no one was following them. He had always been cautious, especially since he had lied about his scars and wore a mask all the time. He didn\'t want anyone to find out about his true identity as the prince of the country. But his friends, on the other hand, were carefree and seemed to enjoy the walk, chatting and laughing among themselves.

Mira, the blue-haired girl, was born to one of the castle guards, and was accustomed to the ways of the kingdom. On the other hand, Mia, the green-skinned dryad, had only gained consciousness about ten years ago, and was still considered very young among her kind. Despite this, she had already formed a strong bond with Mira and the others.

As they made their way through the jungle, Mira asked Mia to gather some berries for her mother, which Mia happily obliged. Meanwhile, Scott, the chubby boy with brown hair and eyes, chatted excitedly about the newest treats his parents had made at the bakery. Ezra, the muscular boy with a spear on his back, remained quiet and alert, scanning their surroundings for any signs of danger.

They were an unlikely group of friends, but they had formed a close bond over the years. Ezra\'s father worked in the army, and he had inherited his father\'s discipline and strength. Mia\'s connection to nature gave her a unique perspective on the world, and her childlike curiosity often led the group on unexpected adventures. Mira\'s status as the daughter of a guard meant that she had access to information about the kingdom that the others did not, and she often shared her knowledge with the group. Finally, Scott\'s love for food and his infectious enthusiasm brought joy to the group, even in the darkest of times.

As the traveled though the forest The trees were denser, and the undergrowth was thicker. They had to make their way through the bushes, but it was worth it. They finally reached a small clearing, where a shed was located. This shed was Respa\'s home where he spent most of his time working on his inventions.

Mira took the lead as they approached Respa\'s hut, knocking on the door to signal their arrival. But to their surprise, no one answered. Elyon, being familiar with Respa\'s habits, suggested "he must be in his underground lab." He motioned for his friends to wait and headed to the side of the hut, where a fence was located. With a single, swift motion, he jumped over the fence and landed gracefully on the grass, without making a sound.

Meanwhile, his friends waited patiently outside the hut, wondering what was taking Elyon so long. Suddenly, they heard a soft click and the door creaked open. They looked up to see Elyon standing behind the door, giving them a theatrical bow as if he had performed a magic trick. In reality, he had used a hidden latch to open the door from the inside.

"Welcome, my dear friends. Please come in," Elyon said with a smile hidden under the mask, while gesturing for them to enter the hut. The room was dimly lit and filled with various tools, gadgets, and potions. Respa was nowhere to be seen, but they could hear faint sounds coming from underground.

"I think he\'s working on something big down there," Elyon said, leading the way to the trapdoor that led to the lab. "But let\'s not disturb him too much. We can explore on our own and wait for him to finish."

As they looked around, Elyon\'s eyes widened in amazement at the many new things that he noticed were not there before. He saw pale imitations of modern things, such as a metal bow and metal tableware, that were most likely invented by Respa. But there were also some more advanced stuff, like a jukebox that could play music where he wanted, but with a catch - it depended on the flow of water which forced the gears inside it to move and make sound. Elyon was fascinated by it. He could hardly believe that such a contraption existed in their world.

Another interesting invention caught his attention - a coffee machine that was entirely made up of wooden gears. It was a marvel to behold. Elyon wondered how Respa had come up with such a brilliant idea. He could picture himself sipping hot coffee made by this machine, and he found himself yearning for a taste.

Elyon remembered how excited he was to meet Reapa when he had first heard of him. He had always been fascinated by art and creativity, and the giant statue of nova was one of the most impressive works of art he had ever seen. He had asked some of the guards to help him find Reapa\'s whereabouts, and as soon as they found him, Elyon had come here to meet the man behind the masterpiece.

As he looked around the cluttered room, Elyon couldn\'t help but be impressed by Reapa\'s ingenuity. It was clear that the man was a genius when it came to inventing new things. Elyon\'s eyes fell upon a strange contraption that looked like a cross between a telescope and a cannon.

Elyon\'s curiosity was piqued as he saw the book with the black cat engraving on the cover. He wondered what secrets and stories it held within its pages. He moved closer to the table, taking care not to disturb the blueprints and other inventions scattered around. As he reached for the book, he felt a rustling in his bag and the white cat he had been carrying woke up and stretched lazily, sniffing the air with interest.

Elyon couldn\'t help but smile at the sight of the small feline, and he gently petted its head as he flipped through the pages of the book. The illustrations inside were beautiful, depicting the famous Cat Nova in all its glory. As he read through the text, he was fascinated by the story of how the statue came to be, and the role that Reapa had played in its creation.

"What are you doing?" Mia asked as she snuck up behind Elyon and startled him.

"Don\'t scare me like that," he said to Mia, pointing at the book. "I found this book on the table, and I thought Reapa must have created it to make some money, so I was thinking about reading it."

"Oh, it\'s about Lord Nova, how interesting!" Mia exclaimed as she snatched the book from Elyon\'s hands and ran back to show it to the others. Elyon chuckled at her excitement and was about to follow her when he heard a clicking sound. Looking towards the source of the sound, he saw the trapdoor opening and Reapa emerging from it.

*****

Author\'s note: Apologies for the delay, unexpected life and death events have made my life more interesting lately. I wanted to inform you that all the DNO chapters have now been posted, and there will be no more DNO chapters. Going forward, my focus will be on replacing the DNO chapters with the actual chapters. Once this is complete, the story will continue as normal.