Chapter 158

Chapter 158

We quickly said our goodbyes to the old man and soon left for the village .

There was only one place left . No further delay was allowed, or else it’d become something irreversible otherwise .

I silently nodded to Sir Leonhard’s suggestion of a forced march .

The journey that should’ve taken at most a day and a half to travel was quickly finished in half the time .

There were a few breaks in between, but most of the time we never got off the horse . My nausea-travel tolerance, which I thought was strong at one point, started to wane a little . Having travelled a bunch, I was pretty confident about my physical strength, but I might’ve been mistaken . Just clinging on to the horse with dear life was all I could manage, after all .

By the time we reached the village in question, it had already turned dark .

I was only a blob of jelly by then, and Sir Leonhard had to support me till the end .  I’m sorry for having you carry extra luggage…

Sir Leonhard didn’t head straight into the temple right away but first took me to an inn .

Perhaps he thought it’d be dangerous to drag someone that needs long-term care like me with him, since at that point, I couldn’t walk without his support . Sir Leonhard knelt down next to my bed .

“I shall go alone and will be back in about an hour . Please never leave this inn, is that understood?”

Being reminded, I gave a small nod .

I was worried, even knowing that it’d be more dangerous if I went with him . Just thinking of him walking alone in the darkness wrung my heart out in pain .

Sir Leonhard smiled bitterly at the probably ugly face I was making . A big hand was then placed on my head .

“Please don’t worry . I promise I won’t do anything dangerous . ”

“…Yes . ”

I grasped my skirt and released my clenched lips .

“Please be careful . ”

I intended to give him a smile, but that probably didn’t go through, because Sir Leonhard only made a troubled face as he left .

“Please rest your body as you wait for me . I don’t mind if you sleep a bit as well . ”

The overprotective Sir Leonhard was worrying about me and not himself .

I didn’t feel like sleeping at all after seeing him off . Although my body was exhausted, even if I closed my eyes I still couldn’t sleep .

I got off the bed and wandered around restlessly for no reason . I then approached the window and gently pushed it open .

The freezing cold air gently stroked my neck as it entered the room .

When I looked down, it was completely pitch dark to the extent that I couldn’t make out anything . Only the faint glow of the houses through their windows and the smoke rising from their chimneys could be seen . I had no idea where the temple nor Sir Leonhard was at all .

Anxiety kept building up and up, trying to push everything else out of my head . The hands holding onto the window sill squeezed so tight they made the wood creak .

I’m scared . I’m just waiting here, but why am I so scared?

Whether it was when Lutz and Theo got kidnapped, or when I waited for Klaus to ward off the pirates, I had the same feeling . Even so, I never got used to it . The flow of time became strangely slow, and I could only realise my powerlessness through being only able to wait .

“…?”

In the corner of my eye, something moved for an instant .

I leaned forward in a hurry and squinted, but couldn’t see much in the dark . I had thought for a moment that Sir Leonhard had returned, but of course that couldn’t be the case . He would’ve borrowed a lamp from an inn nearby while giving an excuse such as ‘I forgot something . ’

Could only be a dog or a cat, but what if it turns out to be a spy from Raptor?

When I thought that, my heart beat so hard that it hurt .

I promptly closed the window and ran towards the door .

But I stopped the moment before I was about to open it and could only hold onto the doorknob tightly .

Didn’t he tell me to wait?

What can I do chasing after him now? Never mind defeating the enemy, I can’t even protect myself . I’d only put him in unnecessary danger .

The best I can do right now is to sit tight and believe in him .

“…It’s okay . It’s going to be okay . ”

I took a deep breath while repeating the same words .

“It’s okay . It’s okay . ”

Sir Leonhard is strong after all .

He won’t lose to anyone . He will definitely come back to me .

“It’s-…”

The moment I repeated those words over and over again, the door suddenly rang .

A modest knock came as if trying to see whether I was awake . With the question ‘Are you awa-’ that couldn’t be formed in time, I immediately opened the door .

Sir Leonhard was surprised at how vigorously I burst out of the room .

“…Marie?”

The confused Sir Leonhard who called out to me seemed to be fine . He wasn’t injured anywhere .

With that assurance finally in my heart, I immediately lost the strength in my legs .

“Marie!”

Sir Leonhard caught me who suddenly collapsed . I shook my head to the gaze that thought I might be sick .

“I was just so relieved that I lost my strength . ”

“…”

I took a deep breath, and power returned to my supporting arms .

“I’m sorry . I’ve made you worry, haven’t I?”

“No . It’s okay now that you’ve come back safely . ”

When I gave a laugh, Sir Leonhard returned the favour, albeit awkwardly .

“By the way… How was it?”

“Ah . ”

Sir Leonhard closed the door behind him and helped me stand up . He guided me to the bed before sitting me on the edge .

Since there were no tables or chairs in the room, Sir Leonhard remained standing . He turned back to me after contemplating for a little while .

“All in all, there was nothing there . ”

My throat parched .

My heart started to beat faster and faster and sweat began oozing from my hands and palms .

“‘Nothing’… Does that mean someone already took it?”

I was so nervous that my mouth went dry and I couldn’t voice my question properly .

The worst possible outcome came to my mind and shook my body to the core .

I wonder why I didn’t hurry a bit more? Why didn’t I realise the sense of crisis?

It wasn’t merely a question of whether I was there on time . After all, the future of humanity—no, the future of the whole world—depended on it .

Despair was slowly painting my heart black .

However, in that darkness, Sir Leonhard shattered it with a short ‘No . ’

“That’s not the case . ”

“…? Then, what…?”

“There was no hidden room in the first place . ”

“!?”

I was left stunned .

No hidden room? You mean, this one was also a dud?

All three places that were candidates had all been investigated . I didn’t know where else to look .  To come this far only to return empty-handed . Is this one of those scenarios?

“And, like last time, there were traces of someone messing about in the temple . Even more, the trails were still fresh . ”

“How do you know they are recent trails?”

“There was snow around the temple, so there were footprints . It was likely that they used torches for their search as well, since there was a faint smell of oil left behind . ”

Like I thought, someone else is also looking for the same thing as us .

And that they very likely possess the same intel as we do .

“Would it be possible that they have the same intel… Was there any Raptor folklore that talked about the place where the Demon King was sealed?”

“…”

When I asked him, Sir Leonhard didn’t reply . Rather than ignoring me, he seemed to be in deep thought .

“Sir Leon?”

“I-I’m sorry . I was only thinking a little . ”

What was Sir Leonhard thinking so hard about?

I wouldn’t know the answer to this question until later .