The boys were stunned that they had finally
defeated it. They remained motionless as the boat drifted into the port of
Radat. They looked up when a clear voice called to them.
"Hey! You did it. You defeated the sea
monster!"
And the voice was joined by numerous other’s
cheering. Futch, Sasuke, and Luc were confused. They allowed the townspeople to
anchor their boat to the dock and help them off. People surrounded them and
thanked them and patted them on the back.
"W..what’s going on?" Futch had to
shout several times over the cheering crowd before he was heard.
"You saved us. You’re the heroes that
were coming to defeat the monster!"
The statement was followed by several other’s
agreements.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Sasuke roared
over the resumed cheering. The noise quickly dropped down to whispers.
"What do you mean, heroes? We are just
passing by."
Luc joined in, "We had no intentions of
coming to help you. In other words, we are not your heroes."
The townspeople gaped at them and the
cheerfulness was replaced by hints of worry.
"If you are not our heroes, then who did
master Shu send to save us?"
The question was directed to the three even
though they had no way of answering it.
"Excuse me, excuse me."
A pathway formed between the people as the
said strategist passed through. Like the townspeople, Shu seemed surprised too
when he finally saw the center of the attention.
"What are you three doing here?" was
the first thing he said.
"Going on a journey," Sasuke
replied.
"The three of you?"
Shu stared doubtfully, especially at Luc. Luc
caught it and was about to snap back, but Shu quickly cut in. "Let us come
over to my house and we’ll speak there."
They agreed.