Perhaps Lucy acted calmly after realizing the situation she was in, but that didn't mean she wasn't extremely displeased in her mind. Well, who wouldn't be if they found out they had been standing near a bomb that could explode at any moment?
Remembering how Rina was slamming the marquis's son against a tree trunk, Lucy felt like punching herself in the head. Wasn't it as if she had let Rina play baseball with a stick of dynamite in her hands?
Moreover, she realized she would have to move the marquis's subordinates farther away from the marquis's son to ensure she wouldn't return to Rina's village without at least some of them alive. Otherwise, how would she prove her words? And there were also the treasures the marquis's son had pulled from his storage ring, which still lay scattered in the grass. In the event of a powerful explosion, at worst, they would be destroyed; at best, they would be flung across the forest. Although they weren't a priority for Lucy, she would still feel frustrated if either scenario happened.
Considering all this, it could be said she had handled the situation poorly. Perhaps a normal person could be forgiven for ending up in such a chaotic situation, but not a ninja, who must be prepared for anything. Lucy thought that if she had had a real sensei to teach her the ways of the ninja, they would have been disappointed with her performance and probably would have disowned her.
However, finding herself in an emergency, with no time for elaborate plans, there was no time for regrets either, so Lucy didn't dwell on these thoughts for more than a few seconds. She could analyze her mistakes better once she and her loved ones were safe.
"Let's go, Yara! Let's grab Rina and get out of here! Be as discreet as possible…", Lucy thought it was too risky to linger near the marquis's son because there was a chance they might unknowingly meet the conditions for activating the tattoo on his back. It was best to handle everything from a distance using substitutes.
Of course, now that she was keeping an eye on the marquis's son, the chances of being caught off guard were almost zero, so Lucy was confident she could survive even if he caused an explosion covering hundreds of meters by simultaneously using her Steps of Light and Phantom Body skills. But she wasn't sure Yara and Rina could escape unharmed, so she chose not to push her luck and opted for the safest alternative.
"What about the marquis's subordinates?", Yara asked, having analyzed Lucy's plan and noticed its flaws. Although she could teleport the marquis's subordinates since she still had their shadows marked, there was a risk she wouldn't have time to do so if their departure triggered the activation of the tattoo on the marquis's son's back.
"We'll recover them once we're safe. And even if they lose their lives, it's not the end of the world. Let's go…", Lucy replied without a trace of hesitation, signaling Yara to follow her. It seemed Lucy wasn't the type of ninja to put the mission above her life or that of those she cared about.
Yara had no reason to insist since she believed Lucy knew better than she did the consequences of returning to the lionkins' village without any hostages, so she followed her in silence.
Since both were very agile, it took only a few seconds to reach Rina, even without using any movement skills, and they literally snatched her from among the beasts she was fighting.
"Hey, what's going on?..." Rina shouted. By the time she realized who had grabbed her, she was already 20 meters away from where she had been fighting.
"There's no time for explanations, Rina! We'll tell you when we're safe...", Lucy said, not knowing how to explain the situation briefly; if she mentioned the marquis's son was about to explode, it would only confuse Rina even more.
Since Rina didn't seem to be in a very comfortable position being carried by her and Yara by one arm each, and since their arrangement wasn't suitable for navigating the wooded area ahead, Lucy abruptly turned and scooped Rina into her arms like a princess. This move left both Rina, suddenly pressed against Lucy's chest, and Yara speechless, as Rina was much larger than Lucy, making the scene look quite comical.
"...Lucy, Rina's tail is dragging on the ground!... Be careful not to step on it...", Yara burst into laughter. If they weren't on the run, she would have surely used her magical image-capturing device to immortalize the moment.
"You!... I can run fast enough on my own...", Rina started struggling, brought back to reality by Yara's words. She hadn't realized that doing so made her look even more ridiculous.
"We don't have time to stop, Rina! If you're worried about your tail being stepped on, you can wrap it around me...", Lucy refused, pretending not to understand Rina's real discomfort about being carried like that. When someone is in danger, does their appearance matter? Well, it was also true that seeing Rina blushing was quite delightful for her.
Since Lucy and Yara believed they would be safe about half a kilometer away from the marquis's son, it didn't take long before they stopped running. At that point, much to Rina's relief but to Lucy and Yara's regret, Lucy had to let Rina stand on her own feet.
While Yara dealt with the beasts that had followed them, Lucy briefly explained to Rina why they had to distance themselves from where they had interrogated the marquis's son and his men. However, since Rina lacked Yara's experience and hadn't read hundreds of manga or watched hundreds of anime like Lucy, she found it difficult to grasp how someone could launch such catastrophic attacks without being physically present, especially using someone as useless as the marquis's son.
Regardless, since Lucy and Yara seemed to understand the situation well, Rina agreed to go along with whatever they decided. Of course, she felt a bit frustrated at not being of much help in this situation, but it was comforting to know she had two very capable lovers she could rely on. The feeling reminded her of childhood dreams where she saw herself with her parents, who could fulfill her every wish and make her feel truly safe.