Chapter 114

'He really knows how to surprise people. I haven't seen him in a while, and what is this?'

'Even brought the unhelpful Council. Bey would have asked if he's gone crazy.'

'If it wasn't for me, what would have happened? You said dying on the peninsula would be pointless.'

'We can't stay long because of the tracker. You know that, right?'

'It's always teams of two on the Elder Millie Peninsula.'

'So don't get angry that I came on my own. I'm only here for a bit.'

'You need to come to your senses soon. Got it?'

'And why have you lost so much weight? You look haggard.'

'The squad leader of Armsilver, collapsing just anywhere.'

"How unsightly."

The dense eyelashes interlocked top and bottom quivered. As the beautifully closed eyelids half-opened, brilliant golden eyes were revealed between them. The not fully open eyes blankly stared at the unfolded view, then rolled the stiff eyeballs to grasp the situation.

The first thing that came into view was the ceiling. It wasn't a cave ceiling with stalactites hanging down, but a round and white ceiling that looked artificially sculpted.

It gave the feeling of being inside some kind of building. In fact, it was too old and shabby to be called a building, but the straight columns rising on both sides and the curved ceiling supporting them were clearly not created by nature.

The ceiling and columns couldn't be called a perfect white. Stained and faded, they had a grayish tint here and there, and vines climbing up the columns embroidered the ceiling, making it seem the life span as a structure had ended.

This time, he lowered his gaze. It was because light was coming in from that direction.

The surroundings were brighter than expected, and the sound of flowing water and occasional birdsong could be heard. Just listening to the sounds made him feel very comfortable, making him want to lie down like this for a while.

With a dazed face, he looked at the light, then tilted his head back and stared at the vine-covered ceiling. And only after a long time like that did he slowly raise his aching body.

As he moved his muscles, every joint in his body throbbed like crazy. In contrast, his mind was rather very clear and refreshed. As if he had fallen into a deep sleep and woken up.

However, perhaps because he had been lying down for a long time and then raised his body, his head suddenly spun. Because of that, Leonardo bent his waist and sat hunched over, covering his eyes with his palms for a moment.

The light coming down from above beyond the columns was so intensely bright that even with his eyes covered, his vision was red and bright. The light entered the interior of the structure where he was sitting and shimmered down to the area around his legs.

After a while, the dizziness subsided, and as he lowered his hand that had been covering his eyes with a furrowed brow, the view that had only been bright gained contrast.

Leonardo blinked his narrowed eyes and slowly reached out his hand toward the light draped near his lower body. As 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 ignited a flame in the center of his palm. The flame that flared up flickered largely as if to engulf his hand, then maintained a constant size as it reached a calm state.

His mana had returned to normal.

However, that joy was short-lived, as he looked at his left arm with a slightly frowning face. It was because wide white bands were stuck all over his arm.

He clearly should have been wearing a mage robe with long sleeves covering his arms, but he had no memory of his arms being exposed now or the bands being attached.

Leonardo immediately checked the clothes he was wearing. The pants were the same, but for the top, he only had the black short-sleeved t-shirt he wore underneath.

He lowered his arm that had been reaching toward the light and looked around.

Fortunately, the mage robe top he was looking for was neatly folded in a visible spot as soon as he turned his head. Not only that, but his belongings such as gloves, rings, shoes, small artifacts, and a dagger were also neatly placed next to where he had been lying.

While counting the items to see if anything was missing, he noticed other luggage leaning against a nearby column and wall. They definitely weren't his, but someone else's, and one of them was the combat uniform top of the Council that he had often seen.

Leonardo, who had been quietly staring at it, brushed off the spot where he had been sitting and approached the place where the luggage was scattered. Then, he picked up the navy blue combat uniform top in front of his eyes and unfolded it.

The silver embroidery and symbol badge on the collar and chest area were familiar.

It was Kenis's.

After finishing the confirmation, he threw the combat uniform back down as if discarding it and turned his head to scan the other items nearby.

Nearby, there were several large backpacks, an unfolded map, pens, a brush that looked rough in texture, a ruler and protractor, and other unknown objects scattered about. They were mainly close to items used for exploration or research, and it didn't seem like such items would be in the artifact of a newcomer who had come to the peninsula for the first time.

Someone else had been here.

As he was examining various items, the backpacks suddenly caught his eye again. It had felt strangely bothering, and they looked familiar.

Leonardo picked up only one dagger from his belongings. Then, he put his hand on the column and stepped into the light shining down. It was to find Kenis.

The grass and moss that had grown through the cracks of the split stone stairs tickled his bare feet, which weren't wearing anything. Noticing that sensation, he suddenly looked down and discovered that his shadow was very short under his feet, then raised his head again.

The pouring intense light stimulated his eyes, making his head dizzy once more. However, he only shielded the light with his hand for a moment and didn't turn his head away.

The sky he saw between his spread fingers was strange. Slowly moving his open palm, he lowered the hand that had been shielding the light with puzzled eyes.

This place was inside a very huge cave.

Far away, the place where light was leaking in was a split 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 place he had walked out from. His gaze endlessly rose upward.

What he saw in front of his eyes was a structure built for some purpose.

Although it was missing teeth here and there, broken, and faded, its size was enormously huge. The stepped structure divided into several layers and the columns standing firm at regular intervals suggested that it was not an ordinary structure. It had the appearance of a temple.

After looking up at the huge structure for a moment, he walked around slowly, checking for any signs of people. Strangely, there was no sign of people, and a comfortable white noise and an unpleasant silence coexisted. It was a place that felt very cozy and at the same time lonely and desolate.

As he turned the corner at a huge column, a statue appeared in front of his eyes.

Leonardo stopped walking and quietly looked up at it. The statue placed on a high pedestal was in the shape of a woman, a form he had seen a lot recently. It was because there were several statues that looked exactly the same in the ruins hidden throughout the peninsula.

After quietly looking into the statue's eyes, he lightly jumped and stood on the pedestal where the statue was standing. Once he stood up, the size was about the same as Leonardo's height.

The statue had its gaze slightly lowered as if looking down. He had always thought that when looking up from below, that gaze sometimes felt as vividly alive as if it were real.

He stared blankly at the statue's face. The golden eyes surrounded by shimmering eyelashes moved slowly as if searching.

There was not even a small flow of air inside the huge cave. Thanks to that, he was able to more deeply indulge in a certain energy that permeated this quiet space. Suddenly, he gently brought his hand to the statue's cheek. Then, as if stroking a woman's cheek, he caressed it slowly and gently.

The captivating eyes gradually deepened. The feeling was strange.

It seemed as if the cold and rough surface of the statue was opening up between his fingers. As he did so, he became increasingly confused about what this sensation he was feeling now was.

Gradually, strength entered the narrowed eyes. The soft touch went down past the statue's cheek. There, on top of the sculpted thin collar, was a smooth neck connecting the torso and head.

At that moment, in the space where no sound had been heard, the sound of human footsteps and conversation began to be heard.

Not one, but two.

Leonardo immediately turned his head and focused his attention in the direction where the sound was coming from. Holding his breath, he gently released the statue's neck that he had been gripping as if to crush it. There was a slight crack where his hand had touched.

Eventually, the conversation sound gradually got closer. He looked at the statue once with cold eyes, then shifted his gaze again. Then, he disappeared from in front of it in an instant.

Kenis hurriedly ran to the front of the stone stairs, holding a small basket. The stone stairs he had just taken his first step on were the same stairs Leonardo had come down barefoot. The basket he was holding contained food that could be relatively easily obtained in the wild, such as freshly collected small tree fruits and mushrooms.

The reason he was in such a hurry was simple. He was very worried about Leonardo being alone. To him, who was jumping up the stairs two or three steps at a time, the man behind him spoke as if telling him not to strain himself.

"I told you there's no need to hurry like that? This is a place where monsters hardly ever set foot."

"But still."

The man leisurely following behind Kenis was carrying a small backpack. That backpack was stuffed with tools that seemed to be used for exploration, to the point where they were sticking out from the top.

The man's eyes visible beyond the silver-rimmed glasses were elongated to the sides, and the corners of his eyes were curved, wearing a faint smile, but that feeling was like an inscrutable snake. His skin was so pale and white, as if he had never seen light, giving off a somehow gloomy atmosphere. In a word, he didn't give off a very good impression.

Kenis, who had reached the last step of the stairs, immediately headed to the space hidden behind the column.

The flimsy but cozy bed made by spreading a blanket over a thinly laid pile of hay was the bed he had personally made for Leonardo. And seeing that spot empty, he had no choice but to stop in his tracks.

"...Huh?"

Kenis threw down the basket he was holding and ran straight to the spot where Leonardo should have been lying. His belongings were still there, even his shoes, but the person had disappeared and was gone.

He immediately fumbled over the spread-out blanket. There was no warmth at all, as if he had been gone for quite a while.

'The scent is coming from nearby though...'

Dumbfounded, he began to look around. Then, he hurriedly said to the man who had followed up the stairs,

"Mr. Sc-Scholar! Mr. Blaine has disappeared!"

"Hm?"

The man, called a scholar, put down the backpack he had been carrying near the column and walked over leisurely. He didn't seem to pay much attention to Kenis's urgent voice.

"Wh-Where did he go? His shoes are here too?"

"Who knows. Maybe he went for a short walk."

"How can he go for a walk without even wearing shoes!"

At the man's words, who remained calm alone, not knowing the urgent pace, Kenis, who had been fidgeting anxiously, finally began to run around the interior of the old structure by himself.

"Mr. Blaine, where are you!"

His voice echoed loudly inside the huge cave. With that level of voice, it seemed the location would be exposed to monsters or something, and even a safe place would become dangerous.

The man, who had tried to stop him from running around in a daze, suddenly realized that one of Leonardo's neatly arranged belongings had disappeared. And when it occurred to him that the missing item was the finely honed dagger, the man's originally narrow eyes became even narrower.

The man, who had looked around due to the strange sense of discomfort, turned his head toward the place where his and Kenis's luggage was, only to face another discomfort. Since he had seen Kenis neatly folding the combat uniform right in front of him before briefly leaving this place to get food, the combat uniform scattered about now was quite heterogeneous when contrasted with the memory at that time.

"..."

There was no one around except Kenis running about. That made his spine even chillier.

The places where the guy who left even his shoes behind would go with a dagger...

Suddenly, he looked up at the ceiling.

Thud!

Kenis, who had been running around busily looking for Leonardo, suddenly heard a heavy sound and hurriedly turned his steps. Returning to the location where he had thrown the basket in search of the source of the sound, he stammered at the sight unfolding before his eyes and shouted,

"Mr. Blaine!"

The scholar's glasses fell to the floor and rolled around. His body and head were forcibly pressed against the column, and his two arms were held behind his back by one of Leonardo's hands.

Leonardo, who had glanced at Kenis calling for him, shifted his gaze back to the scholar. Then, after pressing the scholar's back and shoulders tightly with his forearm so he couldn't move, he brought the dagger close to his neck and asked coldly,

"Who are you?"

The dagger was pressing against the skin as if it would slit his throat at any moment, so Kenis, who saw that, said in a panicked voice,

"Mr. Blaine, that person is not a bad person! He's Mr. Scholar!"

However, upon hearing those words, Leonardo said to Kenis without blinking an eye,

"How do you know if he's a bad guy or not."

"Th-That's... He's the one who saved us! He gave us medicine, treated us, and, ah, he also found us food. Look at this!"

Kenis picked up the basket that had been rolling at his feet and held it out in front of Leonardo. Regardless of that, Leonardo seemed uninterested in what was in the basket, checked the man's expression reflected on the blade by turning the angle of the dagger, and asked again,

"Who are you to have the same bag as that bastard."

At the sight of the other party who didn't seem to have any intention of listening to Kenis's defense, the scholar who had been subdued broke out in a cold sweat.

Even while having the side of his face pressed against the column, the scholar, who didn't lose his awkward eye smile, opened his mouth calmly as if trying to appease Leonardo,

"First, let me speak. Could you put away the knife?"