Chapter 124. Life goes on

"Man, I’m so tired! But today was also so much fun!" Zeno exclaimed. He stretched his muscles for a moment, then sat down in the bamboo hut by the rice field with Riki and Kaivan.

This afternoon, the three of them were at a roadside eatery by the rice fields—a truly delightful spot. There were several bamboo huts or gazebos situated right on the edge of the fields. That afternoon, around four o’clock, the view of the rice fields and the mountains in the distance was absolutely stunning.

"We’ve got plenty of photos and videos to upload later, right, Riki? Young entrepreneurs like us have to stay up-to-date to keep the girls happy," said Kaivan, who didn’t forget to take a selfie and snap a photo of the food that had just been brought over by the pretty waitress from the rice field-side eatery.

"I’m not in the mood to post anything, let alone to get girls’ attention. I don’t think I’ll be thinking about girls anymore from now on," Riki muttered, his faint smile looking sad to Kaivan and Zeno.

Then Zeno gently patted Riki on the shoulder and said, "Bro, I get how you feel, but life goes on, bro... we have to—"

"Okay, okay, stop talking! Let’s just eat." Riki immediately pulled Zeno over to sit down and start eating.

After eating, they just sat in silence, gazing at the beautiful rice field scenery and the sky that was beginning to change. Hints of orange and purple began to paint the blue sky; the sun was ready to set, to be replaced by the moon.

Riki couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so relaxed and at ease. He’d always buried himself in his mounting workload.

After Liz’s death, there was a lot of work to be done. Especially since the girl group—which was supposed to be on the rise—suddenly had only three members left. Only Angeline, Keira, and Selen remained.

Liz’s death left a lot of work for Celine, the CEO of Hyper Entertainment, as well as for Riki, the main investor.

At first, many other investors pulled out their investments, thinking that Liz’s death would cause a major upheaval for the girl group.

But that wasn’t the case. Support for the girl group only grew stronger. Even bigger new investors began to come forward.

Although for now the girl group had to take a hiatus to allow the members—especially Angeline—to recover emotionally, as well as the staff, who were just as grief-stricken as the members and their fans.

Liz was a kind and friendly girl, so many staff members and fans are still mourning her to this day.

For some reason, Riki suddenly thought of that just as his mind began to calm down.

Then Riki turned to Kaivan, who was busy capturing the beautiful evening sky with his smartphone camera.

Although Kaivan and Liz were twins, they weren’t identical. Even so, Riki could still see Liz’s figure when he looked at his friend. Most notably, their smiles were the same.

Riki looked straight ahead again, at the beautiful evening scenery. Then he gave a faint smile.

He really had to let go of the past. No, he couldn’t forget Liz. That girl’s name would always be etched in his heart. But life goes on, just as Zeno had said earlier.

Staying sad all the time wasn’t a good thing to do.

"Let’s head back to the hotel. I’m tired," Riki complained.

"But the vacation isn’t over yet, is it, Riki! We have to go here and there tomorrow." Zeno showed his vacation plans, which looked very interesting to follow.

The pictures Zeno showed were of a waterfall and a famous mountain view in the area.

"Since we’re here, we have to see everything. Oh yeah, what about that rainbow lake? Is it really colorful?" asked Kaivan.

Zeno shrugged, indicating he wasn’t entirely sure either. "I don’t know. But apparently, during the day, the lake reflects the light in a way that makes it look colorful. It’s actually crystal clear. We can even rent a boat and go for a ride—we have to go there!" said Zeno, adding the lake to his vacation itinerary.

"As it happens, my family has a villa there that’s not rented out right now, so we can stay there. So, do you want to leave tonight or tomorrow morning?" asked Kaivan.

"Tonight!" said Zeno.

"Tomorrow!" said Riki.

Zeno and Riki exchanged glances because their answers differed.

"Riki, let’s just leave tonight! It’s only a two-hour drive—you’ll be able to sleep comfortably at the villa later! I’m the leader now, so you just have to do as I say. Come on, let’s head back to the hotel and go to Kaivan’s villa!"

Riki rolled his eyes listlessly, but then he smiled resignedly. He couldn’t argue with his small friend. Even though Zeno was only 180 cm tall—shorter and smaller than the tall, burly Riki and Kaivan—Zeno was clearly not someone to be crossed. Zeno was dangerous when he was sulking.

"Fine, boss!" said Riki, which satisfied Zeno.

"That’s the spirit, let’s hurry!"

***

Riki’s car and Kaivan’s car had arrived at the Kaivan family villa. The villa staff came out to greet their young master.

The staff offered their condolences to Kaivan and apologized for not being able to express them sooner. Kaivan, of course, understood their situation, since at the time of Liz’s death, the villa had been fully booked by tourists.

However, now the villa was being vacated for the next month, as Kaivan’s family needed a beautiful place to recover after losing Liz.

Riki chose a room with a pretty nice view; there was also a spacious balcony there to enjoy the scenery.

However, since it was already nighttime, all Riki could see was the moon shining brightly that night.

Riki smiled, then got ready for bed.

It was already late at night—around 11 p.m.—so Riki had to go to sleep right away before waking up in the morning, ready to explore nature again.

Sure enough, Riki woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, both physically and mentally.

Suddenly, however, Athena appeared; she looked very confused at that moment.

"Hey, why are you just now showing up? You left after promising to investigate Liz’s case—"

"That’s exactly it, master!" Athena then transformed her appearance to be larger. A fairy with a solid body, appearing to be the size of an average human.

She was about 165 cm tall, weighed around 50 kg, had fair skin, and long, wavy dark brown hair.

Riki wasn’t used to the fairy’s larger body, so he felt a bit awkward. And he’d forgotten that this particular fairy was more spoiled and loved to touch him without asking permission.

Suddenly, Athena hugged him while sobbing uncontrollably.

Riki, who was just sitting on his bed at the time, didn’t know what to do other than return the fairy’s hug and try to calm her down.

"Hey, Athena... why are you crying? Try telling me slowly, okay?"

The fairy stopped crying, then looked up at Riki’s face, her own face streaked with tears.

"Master... it seems something’s wrong with Liz’s death... I think she turned evil because of a demon. Master, do you remember that Papillon Inc. was formed at the instigation of demons? Demons usually possess their leader. The leader has indeed been arrested, but remnants of the demon are trying to escape from the leader’s body. Liz, who was in a state of turmoil at the time and filled with intense emotions and deep suspicion toward Angeline, was an easy target for possession. I researched it, searching for books to support my suspicions. And I think my suspicions are correct. Liz is a good person; she wouldn’t try to kill Angeline just out of jealousy. But that demon killed Liz by making her jump off the balcony! I—"

"Ssshhh! Calm down, Athena... just calm down first, then we’ll talk about it later, okay?" whispered Riki, who was starting to get anxious himself after hearing Athena’s story just now.