Before he could finish, Ersak spoke up again with a puzzled expression, looking back and forth, “Why’d you guys delay my execution anyway?
(Hawen’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at Ersak) It’s not like you get anything out of this.” Hawen looked ahead, gazing up at the sky as he rested his hand right on his chin to think, “Mmm…” Pedestrians squeezed past right between the two teenagers, separating Ersak and Hawen for a moment before they stepped close to each other again.
Hawen lowered his gaze to look at Ersak, their eyes meeting as Hawen spoke, “If I told you that I don’t even know, would you believe me?” Ersak jumped in surprise at Hawen’s answer, breaking out in beads of cold sweat as his hair stood on end, “Huh?!…” Up ahead, Lusia kept her position in the front, glancing slightly to the side at Enmie’s figure leading the way.
Lusia thought to herself, “I wanna know why you’re helping him too…”, her gaze shifting downward, “Why didn’t you just explain it clearly to everyone?” A sudden vision of the past materialized in front of her—inside a wooden room on the upper floor, moonlight streamed in from outside.
Facing the main door stood a table with a flower pot on top, and a oil lamp was suddenly placed right down on it, its gentle flame flickering to emit a dim light.
A red-haired girl sat down on the bed, her voice ringing out, “What’s going on that made you call me all the way over here?” In front of her, Hawen stood leaning against the wall, while Lusia sat on the opposite bed, her sharp gaze fixed entirely on Enmie.
Enmie sat on the mattress, her eyes wide as if she had no idea what was happening.
Lusia’s low, suspicious voice echoed throughout the room, “You’re hiding something from us, aren’t you?” Enmie looked at Lusia in surprise, “Hm…” Hawen’s voice rang out as he held his book out toward Enmie, “Don’t keep secrets from us.” He narrowed his eyes, “What did you just say to that death-row prisoner earlier?” Enmie stared at Hawen, keeping quiet for a moment before lowering her head and closing her eyes.
Lusia’s face remained tense as she waited for Enmie to answer.
Enmie’s voice suddenly broke the silence, “I think he’s quite a bit different from those bandits.” Hearing Enmie’s response, Lusia stood up and crossed her arms in deep confusion, “What’re you trying to say?” Enmie kept talking, tilting her head up to look at Lusia, “Don’t you guys find it strange?
How could someone like him even have any fighting power?” Enmie turned her gaze toward Hawen, her voice filled with certainty, “Looking at him, his arms and legs don’t have a shred of strength.
He clearly shouldn’t be able to fight.” “Yet he still survived and managed to kill a sword-wielding bandit.
That’s obviously not normal.” Hawen interrupted, tilting his head as he made a guess, “So your point is, if he were just a regular person, he wouldn’t be able to pull that off?” Enmie nodded, looking back at Lusia.
Their eyes locked on each other as Enmie continued, “From what I saw, there’s a high chance he has something a bit…” Enmie stood up from the bed, “Plus, basically we don’t even know whose side he’s on.
What if…” Lusia narrowed her eyes, staring back as she countered, “But he was clearly wearing the exact same clothes as the bandits, wasn’t he?” Suddenly, the sound of a hand clap echoed from Hawen’s side.
With a face like he just realized something, the teenager looked at the two girls, “Ah?
Do you mean the bandits used a swap spell?” Enmie looked over at Hawen and nodded in agreement, “Exactly.” Lusia shifted her gaze downward, resting her hand right on her chin as she pondered, speaking aloud, “…Basically, it’s true that they could do something like that…
and it’s not like this is the first time a case like this has happened…” Lusia’s sharp, freezing gaze quickly flicked up to lock onto Enmie, “I don’t recall you ever paying attention to this kind of issue before, though?” …A terrifying, heavy silence filled the dark room…
The light from the oil lamp flickered weakly across Enmie’s body…
The moonlight reflected inside the room, making everything feel freezing cold.
Enmie turned around, closing her eyes as she walked toward the exit.
Hawen tracked Enmie’s movement as she slowly approached the door.
She answered, “I just think it makes absolutely no sense.
There’s no other reason.” Enmie stepped out of the room.
Hawen and Lusia watched her leave, Enmie’s voice drifting back through the quiet space, “Besides, this is good for them too.
Basically, we’re just helping them out.” As soon as those words left her mouth, Enmie’s figure vanished, walking out of Hawen and Lusia’s sight and leaving the pair staring at each other inside the room.
Lusia’s expression darkened.
Suddenly, loud noises erupted all around, causing her eyes to snap forward.
Lusia stopped in her tracks.
Hawen, Ersak, and Enmie were walking into a training camp where soldiers were actively drilling inside.
Closing her eyes, the girl took a deep, long breath, exhaling as she opened them back up, then marched forward.
“This is the training camp, specializing in training soldiers, cavalry, and the like, and it’s also the place where executions happen most often,” Hawen said while pointing toward the drilling soldiers and the execution platform, looking back at Ersak with a bright smile.
“Greetings, everyone…” A voice rang out in front of Ersak and Hawen.
Lusia walked up from behind the two boys, approaching Enmie, who was already standing before a soldier.
The soldier lifted his head, looked at the four of them, and spoke, “An honor to meet you all.
My name’s Finler.” Lusia stepped up from behind Ersak and Hawen, pushing the two teenagers aside as she moved forward.
Ersak tracked her with a puzzled look.
Finler looked past Enmie and saw Lusia approaching, “Huh?…” Startled, Finler took a step forward and bowed deeply to Lusia, “Welcome back safely, Your—” Before Finler could finish his sentence, Lusia’s voice rang out, cutting him off, “There’s no need for that.” Still bowing, Finler’s eyes widened in surprise as he raised his head, standing up straight to look at Lusia with a slight nod, “It’s been a long time since we last met.
I was honestly surprised that you took on your very first mission.” Lusia shifted her gaze, replying in a flat, calm tone, “It’s nothing special, nothing too major.” Ersak poked his head out to look at Finler, his eyes slowly scanning across Finler’s entire body.
Ersak’s gaze stopped, a thought crossing the boy’s mind, “This guy’s probably the commander-in-chief, huh?” Ersak’s eyes drifted slightly, watching Finler stand there talking to Lusia as he thought to himself, “Judging by how he’s dressed, though…
he doesn’t look like the other soldiers I’ve seen.” Finler wore a set of gleaming iron armor, intricately carved with sharp decorative patterns across the chest plate, along with a crystal-embedded sword resting at his hip, identical to Lusia’s weapon.
Finler’s voice suddenly called out, “Well then, let me guide you all through a quick tour of the training camp first.”