Theo looked at his brother, his expression unreadable.

Still, it hurt him.

"Well, whether I can be a good leader or not... it doesn’t really matter right now, does it?" Theo said with a shrug.

"I have been appointed as the leader, and as a leader, my priority is to keep the group safe."

Lucien opened his mouth to speak, but for the first time, Theo cut him off.

"Tell me, elder brother... did young master Merek do the right thing trying to show off what his wolf could do? And if that wasn’t enough, he charged ahead without orders, without thinking about anyone else’s safety, just to fight that beast. Do you consider that acceptable?" Theo asked.

Lucien hesitated. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was a little surprised by that question. The guy really did do that, not that he could remember much.

"...But there were still other ways you could have handled it," he said after a pause. "You could have timed him out for a day or given him no say in decisions, no vote or anything related to that. Violence isn’t always the only option, Theo," he said with a calm voice.

Theo nodded. "That much I agree with. Maybe I did go a little overboard with that slap... but at that time, it felt like the best option."

Lucien sighed and couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. Theo joined him.

"You’re too chaotic," Lucien said, shaking his head. "Maybe I am the one in the wrong here. You are a Merrick, after all... and you act like it."

Theo couldn’t help but grin at his words before he responded. "But you can’t afford to act like this. I know that, elder brother. Your goals are too big to let such small things ruin your image."

Lucien smiled faintly but fell silent.

"Me, on the other hand?" Theo continued with the same grin on his face. "I can get into as much trouble as I want. I am a Merrick, right?"

His words made Lucien shake his head again, but there was no real disapproval.

By the time they returned to the group, the weight in their hearts had eased a little.

The moment Theo met everyone’s gaze, he was certain.

All of them knew what had happened while they had gone out capturing the beast.

Kaelor stared at him with an expression different from the rest. When their eyes met, Kaelor gave a subtle nod, so subtle that it could have been missed entirely, leaving Theo unsure of what the guy really meant.

Clara and Elias looked worried, while the others had a mix of emotions on their faces.

Merek, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Alright, we will start with the meeting now." Theo said, prompting everyone to gather and sit.

Theo didn’t specify anything or explain why he did it, nor did he bring that conversation up.

He didn’t care about that.

Right now, what mattered was gathering information... and finding the exit gate.

"Since we underestimated the strength of the beasts here, it’s better if we move together from now on. That way, we won’t have to split our forces and worry about the other part of the group."

By the end of it, everyone nodded in agreement.

Theo glanced toward the nearby shrubs and remains of the python. Most of the meat had already been processed, with a few extra smokers working on the fillets.

"You all have worked really fast; I am surprised," Theo said, clearly surprised by how much work the group that stayed behind had done.

"Sir Kaelor has a talent for butchery, young master," Clara replied. "He was even using aura to make the process faster and cleaner."

Kaelor cleared his throat. "I wasn’t wasting my aura or anything. I used just a small portion of my reserve."

His explanation made Theo chuckle.

The others looked at him with mixed emotions, unsure whether they should take him as a strict leader or something else entirely. No one could get by now.

"Let’s just dig a hole and bury the python," Theo instructed. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"We have enough food to last us for days. We will leave the body in the soil to let decomposition do its wonders and return for the bones later."

Theo deliberately didn’t mention the part that they might have to grab a rotten carcass when they try to dig it back out.

But that detail could come out as a fake surprise in the end... even for him.

"Young master Theo, maybe I can finish most of the butchery by tomorrow morning. We can’t let this hide go to waste," Kaelor said urgently, making Theo raise his eyebrows.

"The organs are already something we can’t do anything about. We can’t preserve them or take them out... as for the hide and the bones, it is still possible. Maybe even some of the meat too," Kaelor added.

Theo couldn’t help but feel that the guy was getting a little too passionate about this.

He smiled. "If that’s what you want, we will help you with it, Sir Kaelor."

With that, Theo took a bite of the dried meat that was already more than half done.

He placed another strip above the campfire, letting it cook faster so everyone could enjoy the fruits of their labour.

It tasted surprisingly good. Theo ended up preparing a few more pieces for the others as they waited patiently.

All the while, Lysara kept glancing at him strangely. Her gaze lingered on him a lot, and whenever he looked her way, she would quickly adjust herself, as if checking whether she was sitting properly.

Clara noticed that and felt a headache coming her way. Theo wasn’t even of age yet, yet he was already impressing women. She couldn’t decide whether she should feel proud or be concerned about it.

By the end of their discussion, they all had agreed to properly process the python first, something Theo fully supported.

Everyone agreed... except for the one guy who had decided to distance himself from anything related to the gate anymore, which, for some reason, didn’t bring any issues for the group at all.