By Zephyria ‘You really have a way of surprising people. It’s been a while, but what is this?’
‘Even carrying the unhelpful Council. Blaine would have gone crazy if he saw it.’
‘What would have happened if it wasn’t for me? They say there’s no answer if you die on the peninsula.’
‘I can’t stay long because of the tracker. You know that, right?’
‘The Eldermilli Peninsula is always in pairs.’
‘So don’t get angry that I came as I pleased. I’m only here for a short time.’
‘You have to come to your senses soon. Got it?’
‘Why have you lost so much weight? You’re so weak.’
‘The Dark Silver Squad Leader is fainting anywhere.’
“How pathetic.”
The dense eyelashes that were interlocked up and down twitched. When the neatly closed eyelids opened halfway, a pair of clear golden eyes revealed themselves through the gap. The eyes, which could not fully open, stared blankly at the unfolded view, and then rolled their stiff eyeballs to grasp the situation.
The first thing he saw was the ceiling. It was not a cave ceiling with stalactites hanging down, but a round and white ceiling that seemed to have been artificially carved.
It made him feel like he was inside some building. In fact, it was very old and shabby to call it a building, but the straight pillars on both sides extending upwards and the curved ceiling supporting them were clearly not created by nature.
The ceiling and pillars could not be said to be perfectly white. They were stained with dirt and faded, occasionally turning gray, and the vines that climbed up the pillars adorned the ceiling, so it seemed that the lifespan of the structure had come to an end.
This time, he lowered his gaze. Light was coming in from that direction.
The surroundings were brighter than he thought, and the sound of flowing water and birdsong could be heard occasionally. Just listening to the sound made him feel very comfortable and he wanted to lie down like this for a while.
He stared at the light with a dazed face, then tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling covered with vines. And after a long time, he slowly raised his stiff body.
When he moved his muscles, every joint in his body throbbed like crazy. On the other hand, his mind was very clear and refreshing. It was as if he had woken up after a deep sleep.
However, perhaps because he had been lying down for a long time and then got up, his head suddenly spun. Because of that, Leonardo bent his back and sat hunched over, covering his eyes with his palms for a while.
The light coming down from above the pillars was so clear that his vision was red and bright even though he covered his eyes. The light came into the structure where he was sitting and shimmered around his legs.
After a while, the dizziness subsided and he lowered his hand that had been covering his eyes with a frown, and the vision that had been just bright gained brightness.
Leonardo blinked his narrowly opened eyes and gently reached out his hand towards the light cast near his lower body. When the light touched his palm, warmth lingered and the senses that had been asleep began to awaken one by one.
As he blankly felt that sensation, he created a flame in the middle of his palm. The blazing flame flickered greatly as if it would swallow his hand, and then became calm and maintained a constant size.
His magic power had returned to normal.
However, that joy was only temporary, and he frowned slightly as he stared at his left arm. This was because wide white bands were plastered all over his arm.
He should have been wearing a long-sleeved magic robe that covered his arms, but he had no memory of his arm being exposed now or of putting on the bands.
Leonardo immediately checked the clothes he was wearing. His pants were the same, but he was only wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt on top.
He lowered his arm extended towards the light and looked around.
Fortunately, the magic robe top he was looking for was neatly folded in a place visible as soon as he turned his head. Not only that, but his belongings such as gloves, rings, shoes, small artifacts, and daggers were neatly placed next to where he had been lying.
While he was counting the items to see if anything was missing, he saw other luggage leaning against the nearby pillars and walls. It was clearly not his, but someone else’s, and one of them was the Council’s combat uniform top that he had seen often.
Leonardo, who had been staring at it silently, shook off the seat he had been sitting on and got up, approaching the place where the luggage was scattered. Then, he picked up the navy blue combat uniform top in front of him and unfolded it.
The silver embroidery and symbol badge on the collar and chest were familiar.
It was Kenneth’s.
After finishing the confirmation and putting down the combat uniform as if throwing it away, he turned his head and scanned the other items next to him.
Nearby, there were several large backpacks, a spread-out map, pens, a brush that looked rough, a ruler and protractor, and other unknown items. They were closer to items used for exploration or research, and it didn’t seem like a rookie who had come to the peninsula for the first time would have such items in his artifact.
Someone else had been here.
As he was examining the various items, the backpack suddenly caught his eye again. It was strangely annoying, but it was familiar.
Leonardo picked up only one dagger from his belongings. Then, he stepped into the light shining down, holding onto the pillar with his hand. It was to find Kenneth.
The grass and moss that grew between the cracks of the broken stone steps tickled his bare feet, which were not covered by anything. Feeling the sensation, he suddenly looked down, discovered a very short shadow cast beneath his feet, and then raised his head again.
The intense light pouring down stimulated his eyes, making his head spin once more. However, he simply shielded the light with his hand for a moment, without turning his head away.
The sky seen through his parted fingers was strange. He slowly moved his open palm, then lowered the hand that had been shielding the light with a puzzled look.
This place was inside a very large cave.
Far away, where light leaked in, was a crack in the cave ceiling. The beam of light entering from the crack, located at an immeasurably high place, spread in all directions, brightly illuminating the interior.
Leonardo suddenly turned around and looked at the path he had walked. His gaze rose endlessly upward.
What he saw before him was a structure built with a purpose.
Though chipped, broken, and faded in places, its size was immensely large. The stepped structure divided into several layers and the pillars standing firmly at regular intervals suggested that it was not an ordinary structure. It resembled a temple.
After gazing up at the massive structure for a while, he slowly walked around, checking for any signs of people. There were definitely belongings, but strangely, there was no sign of anyone, so a comfortable white noise and an unpleasant silence coexisted. It was a place that felt very cozy, yet lonely and desolate.
As he turned the corner around the massive pillar, a stone statue appeared before him.
Leonardo stopped and stared up at it. The stone statue placed on a high platform was in the form of a woman, a form he had seen often recently. This was because there were several statues that looked exactly the same in various ruins hidden in the peninsula.
He quietly stared into the statue’s eyes, then lightly jumped up and stood on the platform with the statue. Once he was up there, the statue was about the same height as Leonardo.
The statue’s gaze was slightly downward, as if looking down. He had thought before, but when looking up from below, the gaze sometimes felt so vivid, as if it were truly alive.
He stared intently at the statue’s face. The golden eyes, surrounded by sparkling eyelashes, slowly moved as if in exploration.
There was not even a small flow of air in the massive cave. Thanks to this, he could more deeply indulge in the energy pervading this silent space, and he suddenly gently placed his hand on the statue’s cheek. Then, as if caressing a woman’s cheek, he slowly and tenderly stroked it.
The deep eyes grew even deeper. He felt strange.
The cold, rough surface of the statue seemed to intertwine between his fingers. As he did so, he became increasingly confused about what he was feeling.
The strength in his narrowly opened eyes gradually increased. His soft touch moved down past the statue’s cheek. There, above the carved thin collar, was the smooth neck connecting the torso and head.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps and voices began to be heard in the space where no sound had been heard.
Not one, but two people.
Leonardo immediately turned his head and focused his senses in the direction of the sound. Holding his breath, he gently released the statue’s neck, which he had been gripping as if to break it. There was a slight crack in the place where his hand had touched.
Soon, the sound of conversation grew closer. He glanced at the statue with cold eyes, then shifted his gaze again. Then, he vanished from in front of it in an instant.
Kenneth, carrying a small basket, hurried to the stone steps. The stone steps he had just taken his first step on were the same steps that Leonardo had descended barefoot. The basket he was carrying contained freshly gathered small tree fruits, mushrooms, and other foods that were relatively easy to find in the wild.
The reason he was in such a hurry was simple. He was very worried about Leonardo being alone. As he bounded up the steps two or three at a time, the man behind him said, as if telling him not to waste his energy.
“I told you, you don’t have to rush so much. Demon beasts hardly ever come to this place.”
“But, still…”
The man following Kenneth leisurely had a small backpack on his back. Tools that seemed to be used for exploration were stuffed into the backpack, so much so that they protruded upward.
The eyes seen beyond the man’s silver-rimmed glasses were long and narrow, with the corners turned up in a subtle smile, giving the feeling of a snake whose intentions could not be known. His skin was so pale, as if he had never seen the light, that he gave off an eerie atmosphere. In short, he did not give a very good impression.
Kenneth, who had reached the last step of the stairs, immediately headed for the space hidden behind the pillar.
The makeshift but cozy bed, made by spreading a blanket over a thinly laid pile of hay, was a bed he had made himself for Leonardo. And when he saw that the spot was empty, he could only stop in his tracks.
“…Huh?”
Kenneth dropped the basket he was carrying as if throwing it away and immediately ran to the spot where Leonardo should have been lying. His belongings were still there, and even his shoes were still there, but the person was gone.
He immediately groped the blanket that was laid out. It had been quite a while since he had disappeared, as there was no warmth to be felt at all.
‘The scent is nearby…’
Dumbfounded, he began to look around. Then, he urgently said to the man who had followed him up the stairs.
“S-Scholar! Blaine has disappeared!”
“Hmm?”
The man, called Scholar, put down the backpack he had been carrying near the pillar and walked over leisurely. He did not seem to pay much attention to Kenneth’s urgent voice.
“Oh, where did he go? His shoes are here too?”
“Who knows? Maybe he just went for a walk.”
“How can he go for a walk without his shoes!”
At the man’s words, who was calm while he was anxious, Kenneth, who had been restless, ended up running around inside the old structure by himself.
“Blaine, where are you!”
His voice echoed loudly inside the large cave. With that kind of voice, his location would be exposed to demon beasts or something else, and even a safe place would become dangerous.
The man, who was trying to stop him from running around frantically, suddenly realized that something was missing from Leonardo’s neatly placed belongings. And when he remembered that the missing item was a sharply honed dagger, the man’s already narrow eyes became even narrower.
Feeling a strange sense of unease, the man looked around and then turned his head to where his and Kenneth’s belongings were, only to be confronted with another sense of unease. He had seen Kenneth neatly folding his combat uniform right before he briefly left to find food, so the combat uniform lying scattered now was quite different from his memory.
“…….”
Besides Kenneth running around, there was no one else around. That made his spine tingle even more.
For a guy who left his shoes behind, where would he go with a dagger….
Suddenly, he looked up at the ceiling.
Thud!
Kenneth, who was frantically running around looking for Leonardo, hurriedly turned around when he suddenly heard a heavy sound. Returning to the location where he had thrown the basket to find the source of the sound, he gaped at the scene before him and shouted.
“Blaine!”
The Scholar’s glasses lay scattered on the floor. His body and head were forcibly pressed against a pillar, and his arms were held behind his back by Leonardo’s one hand.
Leonardo, who glanced at Kenneth at his shout, shifted his gaze back to the Scholar. Then, after pressing the Scholar’s back and shoulders with his forearm to prevent him from moving, he pressed the dagger close to his neck and coldly asked.
“Who are you?”
The dagger was pressing against his skin as if it would be drawn at any moment, so Kenneth, seeing this, was horrified and said.
“Blaine, he’s not a bad person! He’s a Scholar!”
However, Leonardo, without batting an eye, said to Kenneth.
“How do you know if he’s a bad guy or not?”
“T-That’s… he’s the one who saved us! He gave us medicine and treated us! And, and he found us food too! Look at this!”
Kenneth picked up the basket rolling around at his feet and held it out in front of Leonardo. Regardless, Leonardo, as if not interested in what was in the basket, tilted the angle of the dagger to check the man’s expression reflected in the blade, and then asked again.
“Why do you have the same bag as that bastard?”
Seeing that the other party had no intention of listening to Kenneth’s defense at all, the Scholar was sweating profusely.
Even with his profile pressed against the pillar, the Scholar, who did not lose his awkward smile, calmly opened his mouth as if trying to calm Leonardo down.
“Let me talk first, can you put the knife away?”