Leo and his group continued eating their food, but the weight of the conversation from earlier pressed down on them.
The atmosphere around the table had changed and the tension was now pressing down on them like an invisible force.
The news about the bounty on Leo's head wasn't sothing any of them could ignore.
As Leo ate, his thoughts spiraled. One hundred million gold coins.
That wasn't just a bounty. It was more like an open invitation for the entire Multiverse to start looking for him.
But the real problem was who had placed it.
Leo tried to think of possible culprits, but the sheer lack of knowledge about the politics of the Multiverse left him with nothing. He was still trying to piece together his own identity, let alone understand the motives of those who might be searching for him.
He stabbed a piece of roasted at with his fork, chewing slowly, with his mind lost in speculation.
His eyes flicked to Tatiana, who was watching him carefully.
Before he could say anything, he heard her voice in his head, her words filled with warning.
"Don't act differently. Eat your food like normal. Don't attract unnecessary attention."
Leo swallowed, gripping his fork tightly before nodding slightly.
He knew she was right. The last thing they needed was prying eyes picking up on the fact that sothing was wrong.
He forced himself to continue eating in silence, though his mind was anything but calm.
The rest of the group followed suit, though the tension remained. And no one spoke.
It wasn't until they finished their al and left the inn that Leo felt like he could breathe again.
They made their way through the bustling streets of the beastkin capital, blending into the flow of foot traffic. Despite their silence, Leo could feel the weight of the group's thoughts. They were all thinking the sa thing.
This wasn't sothing they could ignore.
When they finally passed through the city gates and reached the outskirts of the forest, Tatiana abruptly stopped.
She scanned their surroundings, making sure there were no wandering ears or eyes.
Satisfied that they were alone, she turned to Leo, crossing her arms.
"Alright. What do you think?"
Leo exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I have no idea what to feel except that I've been caught in sothing that I both understand and don't understand at the sa ti."
Tatiana nodded. "That's a fair way to put it."
Leo looked at her.
"Do you have any idea who could've put that bounty on ?"
Tatiana sighed.
"It's hard to say. One hundred million gold coins is an enormous amount of money, but it's not an amount that's impossible for the right people to gather. Any noble family with enough wealth and influence could put out a bounty that high."
Leo frowned.
"So that ans… what? I have to start worrying about royals and noble houses looking for ?"
Tatiana shrugged. "If we were to create a list of suspects, it would be extensive. It could be anyone—from noble families, royal bloodlines, or secret organizations."
Leo let out a slow breath. "That's… not exactly comforting."
Tatiana smirked slightly, though there was no humor in her eyes. "It shouldn't be. Though this isn't a bounty on your life. This is a bounty for information about you. That ans soone is looking for you, and they're willing to pay an obscene amount just to know who you are."
Ves, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke.
"And if soone is willing to pay that much for information, they're not looking to be your friend."
Leo nodded. "Yeah. That much is obvious."
Mia crossed her arms. "So what do we do? Just keep moving forward like normal? Act like we don't know?"
Tatiana tilted her head. "No. We use this."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "How?"
Tatiana's expression darkened slightly. "We think like them."
She glanced around the group before continuing. "Whoever placed this bounty wants information on you. That ans they don't have it—they're searching. Which also ans they don't know where you are, but they're trying to find out."
Miguel nodded slowly. "Well, that much is already obvious. If they knew who Leo was, they wouldn't need to offer that much money."
Tatiana tapped her fingers against her arm. "So the smart thing to do would be to stay ahead of them. Keep moving. But more importantly… we need to know who our biggest threat is."
Leo frowned. "And you have a suspect?"
Tatiana's eyes flickered with sothing dangerous. "Yes."
The group went silent.
Leo held her gaze. "Who?"
Tatiana exhaled. "There are many powerful families and organizations in the Multiverse, but one na cos to mind when I think about a bounty of this size."
Leo tensed, waiting.
Tatiana looked directly at him.
"The Order."
Leo's brows furrowed. "The Order? Who are they?"
Tatiana's expression remained unreadable. "One of the most influential and potentially dangerous organizations in existence."
Leo exchanged glances with the others before looking back at her. "And why would they be interested in ?"
Tatiana's lips curled into sothing that was half smirk, half grim warning. "Because it's an organisation that deals with intelligence. Valuable intelligence. And when an organization like The Order takes an interest in soone… it's never good news because they always get what they want."
Leo felt a knot tighten in his stomach.
This was bigger than he had imagined.
Tatiana folded her arms. "For now, we move forward as planned. But we keep an ear to the ground. If the The Order is involved, things could get… complicated."
Leo exhaled slowly and nodded in agreent.
Miguel cracked his knuckles. "Good. I was getting tired of wandering around without knowing who our real enemy was."
"At least now we have a direction." Mia smiled and Ves nodded.
Tatiana smirked. "Let's keep moving. The forest won't wait for us."
As they pressed forward, Leo's mind raced.
A hundred-million-gold bounty. An unknown past. And now, the The Order possibly searching for him.
One thing was clear. Things are going to get crazier in the coming days.
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