Chapter 291: Hide And Seek.

Chapter 291: 291: Hide And Seek.

"Let’s play hide-and-seek!" Neris tugged at Rai, who had been tasked with babysitting the little ones alongside Kan.

Rai and Kan stood outside with the children, trying to figure out what else they could do to keep them occupied. They had practically run out of games to play with the little ones, and they were beginning to struggle to keep them entertained.

"Yes, yes! Hide-and-seek!" Nat agreed, tugging at Kan. "Let’s play that!"

Rai and Kan exchanged glances before looking down at the little ones.

"But you already played that earlier today... Aren’t you tired of it yet?" Rai asked.

Nat and Nyeon shook their heads. "No, we’re never tired of it! Let’s play it again!"

Kan looked down at Kellie and Minnie, who were sitting there staring at them, waiting for them to make a final decision.

Kan sighed and shook their head. "We don’t even know if the little ones want to play along too."

Neris immediately rushed over and sat beside Kellie and Minnie. "Yes, yes! They want to play too! I’m sure of it!"

Rai smiled and shook their head. "Already deciding for them, I see..." They sighed.

"What do you think, Zay?" Kan asked, turning to the little one who had been standing there quietly watching everything.

Zay didn’t have much to say. He simply shrugged. "Anything is fine by me..."

Rai and Kan exchanged another glance before slowly nodding in agreement. They guessed they’d have to give in to the little ones to keep them happy and entertained.

"Okay, then," Rai finally said. "Let’s do it."

"Yay!!"

The triplet snakes immediately danced around happily at the news.

They began the game, with Rai and Kan turning towards a tree and covering their faces while the little ones turned around and ran off to hide. The two waited patiently, giving the children enough time to find their hiding spots.

Once they assumed everyone was properly hidden, Rai and Kan turned around and looked across the area.

The little ones were nowhere in sight. They had all disappeared into their hiding spots, leaving the two of them standing there with their arms folded as they surveyed the surroundings.

"Well, I guess we’ll have to start looking for them now," Rai said, and the two began their search.

---

An hour passed, yet they still couldn’t find the little ones. They had searched everywhere they could think of, but the children remained out of sight.

By now, they were beginning to feel worried and confused.

"Where could they be...?" Kan asked, looking around anxiously.

Rai shook their head. "I don’t know..." They were growing increasingly worried. "Do you think they’re... missing?"

Kan shook their head. "They’re probably... Let’s just keep searching. I’m sure they’re somewhere around here." With that, they continued looking around.

However, the only person they managed to find was Zay.

"Did you see the others?" Rai asked him urgently. "Did you see your siblings? Do you know where they’re hiding?"

Zay shook his head. "I didn’t see them anywhere... Couldn’t you find them?" he asked, looking confused.

Rai and Kan exchanged worried glances before looking around again, their anxiety growing by the second.

"We have to find them. I have a bad feeling about this..." Rai said.

Zay looked even more panicked. "Do you mean my siblings have gone missing...?"

The little one was frightened, and Rai and Kan immediately turned towards him. They didn’t want to scare him any further, so they tried to reassure him.

"It’s nothing serious. I’m sure they’re just hiding somewhere nearby. We’ll go and find them now, so just go inside and..." Rai began, trying to calm him down.

However, before they could finish speaking, Zay’s wings suddenly spread out.

"What are you doing...?" Rai asked in confusion.

Zay immediately took to the air and flew off before either of them could stop him.

"Where are you going? Hey! Come back!" Kan called after him, but it was no use.

Zay had already flown off in search of his siblings, not even sparing them a glance. Before Rai and Kan could fully process what was happening, he had disappeared from sight.

"..."

The two stood there, staring at the empty space where he had vanished.

"This is bad..." Rai muttered, shaking their head.

"What do we do? Should we go and look for them ourselves, or...?" Kan asked.

"I doubt we’ll be of much help searching blindly. Let’s go and get Ayra. I believe she’ll be able to find them faster. Then we can assist her in looking for them," Rai suggested.

Kan nodded in agreement, and the two immediately set off, running towards where Ayra was so they could inform her of the situation.

---

"What’s wrong?" Ayra asked, staring at the panicked duo. She could tell that something was wrong, but she had no idea what had happened.

"The kids..." Rai managed to say. "The kids are missing..."

Kan stepped in and explained everything that had happened. Once they were done, Ayra and Ally turned to look at each other, momentarily speechless.

They didn’t waste any time. Ayra immediately abandoned what she was doing and hurried outside, with Ally following closely behind. Rai and Kan followed them as well.

Once they arrived outside, Ayra looked around anxiously. "Where... Where did they go? Where are they...?"

She was beginning to panic, overcome by the terrible feeling that something might happen to her little ones.

Ally tried to calm her down. "Don’t worry, Mama. It’ll be okay... We’ll find them, and nothing will happen to them. I promise," she assured her.

Ayra slowly nodded, trying to steady herself before turning towards Rai and Kan.

"Where did they disappear from? Let’s start there and look for them."

Rai and Kan didn’t hesitate. They led the way, and the four of them, accompanied by several warrior beastmen they encountered along the way, headed towards the area where the children had last been seen.

"From here..." Kan explained when they arrived. "At least, this is where they all left from."

"I think we should start here and then split up," Rai suggested. "That way, we’ll have a better chance of finding them."

Ally slowly nodded. "We can try that..."

However, Ayra remained silent for a while. Instead of immediately following their suggestion, she slowly lowered herself to her knees, running her fingers through the soil as she concentrated on sensing the energy around her.

She remained still for a moment, carefully tracing the lingering energy left behind by the children. After a while, Ayra slowly opened her eyes and pointed in a direction.

"This way."