Chapter 122
Priests wearing robes with the Papal State's emblem embroidered on them surrounded Kaiden.
They were holding open old books and muttering something incessantly.
At that moment.
The basement door opened and someone entered. Young Kaiden caught a glimpse of an elderly priest who seemed quite old.
Judging by the most ornate clothing among them, he might be the Archbishop or even the Pope.
"How is it? Does he seem to be compatible with Zenas?"
At the old man's words, one of the priests surrounding young Kaiden replied.
"Yes. His Mana seems to be on par with Zenas, so their compatibility should be optimal."
"Hmm. We've reached an agreement with the Rohade Family. Associating with Zenas gives them some flexibility as well."
"If he grows up like this, he will be perfect. I think it would be good to include him in the final list of Experimenters."
"Yes, create the list with utmost care. This plan is large in scope, so it will be the final experiment. Prepare and submit the report."
The old man patted the shoulder of the priest who answered with a satisfied expression. He glanced down at young Kaiden.
The old man's blue eyes met Kaiden's red eyes.
The moment their eyes met, Kaiden was instantly pulled out of his memory.
Huff.
His chest was tight, and he couldn't breathe properly. While he was gasping for breath, the woman sitting on the magic circle slowly raised her head.
Even as Kaiden struggled to breathe, he frowned as his red eyes met the woman's gaze. The woman's face was familiar.
"Who is she?"
At that moment, the woman opened her mouth.
Fall.
Into.
Ruin.
At the same time, the door behind him swung open. Something unknown grabbed Kaiden by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out the door.
He was dragged out into the third-floor hallway in an instant and thrown out the hallway window. His powerless body fell unhindered from the third-floor height.
"Shit, damn it!"
Just before colliding with the ground, someone yanked him away. The force of gravity's acceleration abruptly reversed due to the force of the reaction, and Kaiden rolled across the ground.
"Fucking hell."
Cough, cough.
He staggered to his feet amidst the scattering dust, and someone was standing before him.
It was a boy with short hair that swayed around his neck.
Silver hair and red eyes, an appearance that was also familiar.
The boy looked down at Kaiden with a blank face and opened his mouth.
"I was curious, but we've finally met."
Despite being a boy, he had a face that seemed to carry the wisdom of many years. The boy stared at Kaiden for a moment, then put his hands behind his back and slowly approached him.
"But it's not time yet."
Then he placed a finger on Kaiden's forehead.
"Goodbye, for now."
The boy pushed Kaiden's forehead with his finger. Kaiden was once again enveloped in a thick fog. And with that, the boy disappeared along with the cabin.
\ \ \
After Margaret, Enoch, and Kaiden disappeared one after another, Yuanna was in a state of complete confusion. She sat down and burst into tears, unable to regain her senses.
"Everyone, if they die... if they die again...!"
Then she uttered incomprehensible words, rambling incoherently, and wept while holding the Key in her hand. It was clear that she was not in her right mind.
Yuanna remained in that state until sunset, barely calming down by nightfall.
But from then on, she completely changed. It was as if she had regained lost memories and awakened to something great.
'Something's definitely strange.'
Asdal watched her closely.
In fact, Asdal's friendly attitude towards her had not been solely due to a sense of guilt as extraordinary as Diego's.
'She seems to have some kind of secret, but I still don't know what it is.'
Looking at it now, it seemed that it wasn't just because his senses were keen.
And then, a rumbling sound came from his stomach. He was very hungry.
"I miss Lady Flone very much."
Asdal sighed with a haggard face. Yuanna, who had been sitting quietly beside him, nodded in agreement.
"Me too, I miss Lady Flone very much."
Yuanna, who had been spacing out for a long time, had finally returned to her usual self.
"Are you alright?"
She looked at him questioningly at his words.
"I didn't know The Saintess liked them that much."
"Even if you hate someone, you'd usually be shocked in this situation if they fell into the river."
"That's true."
Asdal, agreeing with her words, fell silent, having nothing more to say.
He wanted to ask her something, but he didn't know where to start. So, in the end, he couldn't say anything.
"Do you think the three of them are alive?"
"They must be."
"You're sure of it."
"I won't believe they're dead until I see it with my own two eyes."
At Asdal's answer, Yuanna's eyes widened with an expression of realization. Whether she did or not, Asdal gestured to her.
"First, let's look at the map again. We need to check which direction we should go."
Yuanna looked very tired, but when Asdal snapped his fingers with a stern face, she reluctantly took the map out of her pocket and handed it over.
Asdal spread the map on the ground. They had to find the only path to cross over to the North Island and head up.
'It would be best to follow the river and head west.'
That was the plan he was making.
"I'm hungry, Your Highness. Could you catch me a bird?"
"...It's time for The Saintess to earn her keep too."
"If you let me have bird meat for dinner tonight, I'll earn my keep from tomorrow."
Yuanna was smiling, replying with her usual brazen face, as if she hadn't been crying at all. Of course, that smile didn't work on Asdal.
"Stop trying to trick me and get up. Let's go gather some berries together. Neither of us can butcher animals anyway."
Only then did Yuanna nod in agreement and get up. She grumbled and glanced at the river.
"I wish we could catch some fish."
At Yuanna's muttering, Asdal bitterly regretted ignoring Margaret's advice to learn how to catch fish.
'I should have learned it back then.'
It was a very belated regret.
But that was still a minor regret that he could have while still on the South Island, before encountering evolved Monsters.
Asdal realized that it wasn't the time to regret not learning how to catch fish until he reached the North Island and encountered new Monsters.
\ \ \
I stood in front of the central river (we decided to call the river in the center of the island this) and surveyed the terrain. It was to figure out where we were.
"I don't think we've gotten far from the vicinity yet? I think this is near where I woke up."
Enoch, who was standing guard around me, glanced down at me at my words.
"Can you find the cabin? I think it would be good to search mainly around that area."
"Hmm... I kept going north with the river behind me?"
"Then let's go in that direction for now. There are no high mountains, so we probably won't get lost."
I nodded and decided to return with him in the direction where Zenas's Cabin was likely to be.
And in the forest we entered, we encountered a thick fog again.
"Enoch."
I called Enoch, who was walking ahead, with an uneasy face. He turned to me, looking puzzled.
"It would be good to walk hand in hand. We shouldn't get separated like Kaiden and I did."
I reached out my hand to him. Enoch, who had been staring down at me, slowly took my hand.
It was just holding hands, but somehow I felt a sense of relief beyond the warmth of our touch. And it was very reassuring.
"Thank you."
Enoch didn't answer my words, just looked at me for a moment and gave a faint smile.
Just as I was about to enter the fog again with Enoch, I heard a familiar voice.
"Margaret?"
"Kaiden?!"
I was surprised and looked around.
When I thought I had glimpsed silver hair through the fog, I realized I was in someone's arms.
It was Kaiden's voice.
Naturally, the hand I was holding with Enoch fell away, but contrary to my expectation that he would be angry, Enoch unexpectedly took a step back without a word. It seemed he was considerate of Kaiden and me in his own way.
"Kaiden."
I gently patted Kaiden's back. His body was trembling. This, too, was an unlike him reaction.
"You're safe. I'm glad. I'm glad..."
He kept repeating the same words and hugged me tightly, making it hard to breathe.
"I thought I was really going crazy, knowing what happened to you..."
Kaiden hugged me again, as if his anxiety and unease hadn't subsided, and rubbed his cheek against my neck.
"Are you okay? Where were you?"
Kaiden, who had been burying his face in my shoulder and breathing in for a long time without saying anything, raised his head and looked at me with moist eyes.
"I was in the fog the whole time after Your Highness disappeared."
He hugged me tightly again.
"I missed you, Margaret."
Somehow, Kaiden's voice seemed to be tinged with tears, so I quietly patted him until he calmed down.