episode_0028

“Finally… it’s over.”

Just like a general before stepping onto the battlefield, Irene stood in front of the priest with a tense expression, leaving Jenny muttering with a determined look and Rebecca looking pitifully at her behind.

“The 3-day service has ended.”

“Yes. You’ve worked really hard.”

As always, the priest nodded with a smile.

“Now… please tell me.”

Although the past 3 days had been fulfilling, Irene wanted to go find Allen slowly.

‘…Wait for me, Allen.’

“Our brother… headed in that direction.”

The priest slowly raised his finger and pointed in a certain direction.

Perhaps, somewhere in the direction the priest’s finger was pointing, Allen would be there.

“Thank you.”

Irene slightly bowed her head in gratitude to the priest.

Watching Irene with a smile, the priest seemed to ponder for a moment before slowly speaking.

“…Hero. Even on the path to find our brother, you may encounter hardships and trials. Yet, do you still wish to go?”

“Yes.”

Without needing to hesitate, Irene replied firmly.

Seeing Irene’s resolute attitude, the priest smiled warmly and nodded.

There was no need to ask further.

“May the Lord watch over you.”

Leaving his final farewell, the priest turned without any regrets and walked away.

“…”

Watching the departing priest for a moment, Irene soon spoke to her party members.

“Let’s go find Allen.”

***

“Wow…”

“Mm…”

Allen and Lily had arrived in the village without realizing it, but a small issue arose.

The place they thought was a village turned out to be a city.

“Sir, this is my first time coming to this city.”

“Oh… I see.”

‘I was trying to find a quiet, peaceful village…’

Despite wanting to avoid the city as much as possible due to Allen being essentially a fugitive, they ended up in the city.

‘Surely the map said… it was a small village.’

Thinking so, when they unfolded the map again, they noticed that the map was made about 200 years ago.

“…”

“Wow… the city walls are incredibly huge!”

“…Indeed.”

Allen let out a deep sigh.

Although they had arrived, with no food left, they had to visit the city to buy supplies.

Ultimately, the fact that they couldn’t just pass through the city weighed heavily on Allen.

‘Let’s think positively. Maybe we can find a way to lift Lily’s curse in this city.’

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes!”

With determination, Allen held Lily’s hand and walked towards the open city gate.

“Halt!”

“Hello.”

“Show me your identification.”

Allen presented his mercenary card.

“Hmm… a mercenary. Don’t cause any trouble.”

“Thank you.”

Contrary to some worry, the guards quickly let Allen and Lily pass.

Finally, the cityscape hidden by the city walls came into Lily’s view.

“…”

They say when you’re too shocked, words fail you.

That was how Lily looked right now.

Feeling like her entire life had been denied, Lily trembled, feeling cold.

“…Are you hurt?”

“No. It’s just… too… magnificent.”

Enthralled by the grandeur of the imposing architecture, Lily could only regain her composure after a while.

“…”

Finding Lily’s reaction both cute and pitiful, Allen, who had been silently watching, finally took her hand and started walking down the street once she regained her senses.

“It was the first shock I’ve ever felt since I was born.”

“I see.”

“… Can I live in a building like that later on?”

“… Probably possible.”

Sometimes, a well-intentioned lie is better than a harsh truth.

To prevent Lily from getting hurt, Allen told a pure white lie.

“Lily… They say buildings like that are astronomically expensive.”

“Hehe…”

“…”

Pretending not to see Lily’s face, which seemed to be unfolding the wings of imagination with a bright smile, Allen quickly set out to find lodging.

If you were to ask people where the grandest place in the empire is, probably 90 out of 100 would say the Imperial Palace.

Indeed, the Imperial Palace was a magnificent structure that lived up to the name of the empire, and within such a building, the most magnificent and beautiful thing was undoubtedly the Alhyun Room.

“Hmm…”

Perhaps sitting on the throne of the most splendid room in the continent, the Emperor pondered over a report sent by the Crown Prince.

“If only we knew the direction.”

As soon as they received information that Allen was in Atolkin, the Imperial Knights were dispatched, but unfortunately, Allen moved swiftly, thwarting the plan.

“…”

Tap-tap-

As a usual habit, the Emperor drummed his fingers on the armrest of the throne lost in thought.

What is the best course of action the Emperor can take in this situation as the ruler of the empire?

Considering himself capable of harboring ambitions, the Emperor’s contemplation did not last long.

“Escort.”

Swish-

“You called for me, Your Majesty.”

“Immediately, summon the finest painter and… Viscount Jukbeck.”

“Viscount Jukbeck, you say…”

“Yes, the father of Allen Jukbeck.”

“…I will attend to it.”

With a brief response, the figure of the escort disappeared once again.

“If the little rat keeps hiding till the end… I’ll just light the fire.”

Though not all pieces of the puzzle had come together in his mind yet, considering Irene’s reaction and Allen’s escape, some speculation was possible.

“In the end, once I have Allen in my hands… that woman will have no choice but to listen to me.”

The Emperor’s eyes plotting a conspiracy gleamed coldly.

“Wow…”

“…”

Even though several hours had passed since entering the city, Lily exclaimed in admiration at every little thing.

She even went as far as asking, “Can we really stay in a room like this?” upon seeing the inn room they had booked.

“Lily, you’ll get used to it soon.”

“Can I do that?”

“Of course, you can.”

Allen smiled as he patted Lily’s head.

“Wow…”

However, seeing Lily once again marveling outside the window, he expected it might take a while.

“For now… we need to decide how to operate in this city.”

Leaving Lily still gazing out the window, Allen decided to plan their actions in the city.

“Maybe I should get a hat.”

He wanted to wear a robe and pull up the hood deeply, but in the bustling city, such attire would attract more attention.

Moreover, there was a high probability of being hassled by the guards.

“And… I should inquire about a mage who could potentially lift Lily’s curse.”

Curses weren’t particularly popular in magic, but in a city of this size, there should be at least one person capable of it.

“If possible, it would be best to lift Lily’s curse first and then leave immediately.”

No matter how much he thought about it, the city was extremely dangerous for Allen, who was a fugitive.

“The Information Guild… might be too risky.”

The only information he could afford was that he had entered this city.

And the moment that information spread, Allen had to urgently flee from this city once again.

As uncertain as a city that may never be visited again… and as unpredictable as how difficult it might become in the future, it was a wise judgment to help when there was an opportunity.

“Hehe…!”

“…”

And Lily was still looking out the window.

“It seems like there’s nothing in this village either.”

“Is that so…”

Since it was a hero party that only knew the direction Allen had left, they had to stop at each village along the way to inquire about him.

They inquired through several villages on their way, but they still hadn’t found Allen’s whereabouts.

“It seems like he went a bit further.”

“Indeed… It’s highly likely that he didn’t even reach the nearby villages.”

“But we can’t just not look for him, right?”

…

While pondering with their heads together to find Allen, this hide-and-seek game rule was particularly disadvantageous for the hero party.

Just the suspicion that he might have headed to a distant village made it impossible for them not to inquire in the surrounding villages.

If by any chance Allen was in a nearby village, it wouldn’t be such a disaster.

“For now, it’s late at night, so it’s best to rest in this village and leave tomorrow.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”

“There’s no other choice…”

Unless there was a sharp solution, it was an inevitable choice.

“Welcome!”

“Please give us a big room.”

The hero party quickly found an inn and entered their room.

“You should sleep first.”

“Yeah. You sleep first.”

“You go to sleep first.”

Irene, who was more mentally exhausted than anyone else, went to bed first, while Jenny and Rebecca waited for her to fall asleep, watching her closely.

Finally, when Irene fell asleep, Jenny and Rebecca quietly left the room and headed downstairs.