Chapter 59: Opposite Directions (Part 2)
“So, what happened is that our chase turned into a tug-of-war…”
Carlos squinted his eyes even more after I nodded, his fingers stopped tapping on the table. He leaned forward, his piercing gaze locked onto my face.
I suddenly froze.
I thought he was going to interrogate me, but the man had no such intention. After a brief pause, he continued, “… we ran and fought simultaneously. After a few probing attacks, we started swinging without holding back because it seemed like we couldn’t hurt that woman at all… Of course, it’s not like we really didn’t manage to hit her.”
“My and Apheir’s attacks often missed, and while the Teacher’s stamina faded towards the end, he couldn’t help but land hits on her—she had to dodge somehow. There were breaks, limbs went flying. Once, we almost took her head clean off! But no matter how nasty her wounds looked, she would recover in no time and keep sprinting away. We could barely keep up.”
“Eventually, it became a wild chase, facing a young, no-name female heretic. Including the Teacher, there were three legendary Pope Knights…” Haha, I might be bragging, but that’s just how it was. We chased from night till dawn, and you know what? We were still powerless against her, ending up in a complete mess.”
“But…”
The man ran his fingers through his hair at the back, stroking his beard, his voice steady and strong. “That woman’s power had its limits. As dawn broke, she started to wear down. We nearly had her cornered with little room for her to retaliate.”
“At that point, we had abandoned any hope of capturing her alive. We couldn’t take chances with that battle; her strength was overwhelming. If we weren’t careful, I could be left behind there… Once the fight reached a fever pitch, there was no holding back.”
“In the final moments, we chased her past the upstream of the Red River and into an oasis, shifting the battlefield to the nearby sand valley. Finally, she stopped fleeing, and I realized she might have intended to lead us there all along.”
“That was a long-abandoned relic from the old era, crumbling buildings from a thousand years ago. I assumed it was left by the Immortal Race. We faced each other at the ruins’ perimeter, and fighting her… was seriously taxing. During this whole ordeal, she finally revealed some things about us…”
At this point, Carlos abruptly halted.
“…Little Shay.”
He softly called my name, all vitality draining from his face, replaced with seriousness. One hand supported his chin as his elbow rested on the table. He spoke in a low voice, “Before I tell you what that woman said, I need to confirm something with you first.”
“……”
I didn’t respond, just stared at him.
“Before…”
The man let out a slow breath. “You were staying in that town, right?”
“……”
“That woman, risking everything to lure us away from town, her true intention was likely… to protect you.”
“……”
I fell silent.
I wanted to say something but had no idea how. There was nothing to explain.
Because Carlos’s guess was probably spot on.
At that time, I hadn’t awakened from the cellar yet. By the time I did, all that had already happened. The woman left Meiser Town and hadn’t returned since. Old Man Robert might have known something, but perhaps not everything. That dancer had left town, and who knew what she faced afterwards?
So, when the old man told me Miss Ailna would be back soon… he truly hoped that would be the case. He wasn’t trying to deceive or delay me. But back then, I had no inkling of any of this. Nobody explained the specifics, leaving me to concoct wild theories…
Looking back now…
That dancer hadn’t come back, maybe because—
No, that’s impossible…
“You…”
After a brief silence, the man interrupted my wandering thoughts.
“Are you going to choose to stand on the side of the Gate of Truth?”
His tone was grave as his deep blue eyes looked into mine, his stubbled face showing little obvious emotion.
“…No.”
I thought for a moment before firmly shaking my head.
Neither my face nor my heart stirred at all.
Carlos continued to stare at me for a while.
One second, two seconds, three seconds… a lot of seconds passed as we regarded each other in silence until footsteps approached from upstairs. The red-haired woman who had gone up earlier was now descending the stairs, balancing a plate, moving with a sultry stride, her unimpressed expression making its way toward us.
Thud thud! She set the plate down in front of us, revealing yellowish pastries, presumably baked from a mixture of flour and egg batter, still slightly warm, emanating a sweet aroma.
“Here! This is all we have. Love it or leave it.”
With a cute frown, she addressed us before turning to leave.
“Hey…”
Just as she was about to turn, Carlos suddenly called out, “Leah, didn’t you say you had wine?”
“…You—”
At his words, her beautiful eyes widened in irritation, but when she caught a glimpse of his look, she bit her lip, her temper visibly calming down.
“…Yes.”
“I’ll go get it.”
She didn’t move toward the stairs but walked over to the bar, rummaging under the liquor cabinet until she returned with an unopened bottle of rum, placing it in front of Carlos. She seemed to want to say something but hesitated, ultimately just saying, “Drink less.”
After speaking, she seemed frustrated, turning her gaze back to me, her rosy lips curling into a teasing smirk. “Kids shouldn’t drink. It’s bad for their development.”
!!!
I shot her a glare, gritting my teeth.
“Alright, alright, Leah, don’t go poking at her. You never know, she might just flip this place upside down…”
“Oh ho ho, are you so on her side?”
The woman pouted, sneaking a glance at me without saying more. With a graceful swivel of her waist, she sashayed away, leaving a trail of enticing fragrance.
The sound of her departing footsteps echoed. Carlos pop pulled the cork from the bottle, the rich aroma of alcohol wafting over. He tipped his head back and took a hearty swig, his face flushing from the burn of the liquor, letting out a sigh.
I frowned, watching his antics.
But I ultimately said nothing.
“Alcohol… it’s not that great, honestly. I’ve never liked it, regardless of how good it is. But it has its perks. When you drink enough, you can momentarily forget… those things you don’t want to face but will inevitably have to… those things that leave you feeling utterly helpless.”
He took another swig.
Maybe it’d be better if he just drank himself to d*ath…
I glanced at the pastries on my plate, feeling an unexpected wave of annoyance, poking and prodding at them with no intent to eat.
Then Carlos suddenly said, “That woman is probably already dead.”
