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Chapter 378 - Finding Traces (1)
Someone asked for her?
Sarah was curious about who it was.
‘I will know when the time comes.’
Hirok didn’t say anything more about it There was no way to know who it was, and even if she tried to figure it out, it would be impossible.
Sarah gave up and looked out the window.
She was now in the carriage to her destination, and it had been a while since she was on a mission with other people.
‘In the past, it would have been normal.’
But there was no point in thinking about it right now, so Sarah shook her head and looked out.
And she suddenly remembered the Ran race.
She had never met them before, and until three years ago, they were all tied up as the major races with the elves and dragons.
And among the three races, those who were especially gifted with powerful weapons were called swordmasters even if they had no talent.
She was told that a race composed of such monsters would lead the search party.
‘All of them must be so strong.’
Well, since they were selected to search for the traces of Shiva, they must be strong enough to be incomparable to her.
Then a question arose.
‘Why did I get called?’
She no longer wondered who the person who requested her was. Why did they need her?
‘I don’t know if my presence is a burden to them.’
She was not a swordmaster, and she could not handle her skills perfectly.
But would she be of any help to the Ran clan, which consists of at least a few swordmasters?
It would be lucky for them if she didn’t get hurt. So the question went deeper.
How did someone find out about her? What did that person think when they decided to include her in this?
‘I will understand if I go.’
The speed of the carriage increased as Sarah sat on the chair.
It didn’t have a soft cushion, but she was able to shut her eyes for a while.
The carriage moved for three days and nights.
They had to change horses several times, and their meals were all dry food. Sarah and the coachman never spoke to each other, but the silence wasn’t awkward.
She used this time to meditate.
She trained with the sword in her mind, thought about the flow of mana in her body, and examined the flow of aura.
It wasn’t easy in the rattling cage, but it was better than the hardships she was living through.
And they finally arrived at their destination.
“We have arrived.”
The coachman, who hadn’t said a thing since the start, spoke for the first time.
It was the voice of a normal old man. Sarah said goodbye, got off the carriage, and the carriage began to move back.
She looked at the departing carriage and looked ahead.
“Snow.”
The mountains were blanketed in pristine white snow, and the valley below was vast.
She hadn’t been in such a wide-open place in a long time, so she held her breath and admired the scenery.
Sarah felt peace at this unknown sight. Her heart was stirred for some reason, as if something were rising inside of her.
“Cool, right?”
Then a strange voice came from her side.
Surprised by this, Sarah hurriedly drew her sword. Someone came to her side, and she didn’t notice it at all.
She already had a cold sweat at the thought that she could have died.
“Quick to respond?”
She wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or speaking sincerely.
One thing was certain. The opponent was a skilled fighter whose level she could not match.
She gulped, and only then could she see the face of the other person.
A fair-skinned beauty with sky-blue hair down to her hips that everyone would want.
She was tall and had lean limbs, with the most desirable beauty. She looked like a model, but if there was one peculiar thing….
“… the jewel on your head?”
She had wavy hair and a sky-blue jewel on her forehead. The jewel that made the Ran race different from humans.
The jewel was the same color as the beautiful woman’s hair who was standing in front of her.
“Are you from the Ran clan?”
To that question, the woman of Ran, Isis, smiled broadly.
“Yes. I am the one who called for you.”
“You called for me?”
“Yes.”
At Isis’s answer, Sarah let go of her hostility for the moment and put her sword back in its sheath. It was rude to point the sword without knowing the enemy.
That being said, there were a number of factors that made it difficult to greet her with a ‘Wow, nice to meet you’ right now.
Sarah took a couple of steps back with caution.
“Ahaha. Not comfortable yet?”
Isis, on the other hand, just looked at Sarah, who was so wary of her surroundings.
‘Like a cat.’
A purring cat that doesn’t bite.
She understood why.
She would have been disappointed if Sarah hadn’t responded so vigilantly when she suddenly appeared next to her.
‘Still, the training went better than I thought.’
Was Beryl looking after her?
She had never heard of him teaching the sword to anyone, so she didn’t know if his teaching skills were good, but looking at it now, he seemed to be pretty good.
And she heard that the child crossed the line of death many times.
Her form and how she responded proved that she had mastered his teachings.
‘This child is the younger sister of Jamie.’
This was her first time seeing this child in person, but she had always heard of the child when she met Jamie.
‘What a cute kid! Such innocent, big eyes and soft cheeks that make me want to pinch them. She is not an idiot who depends on family alone, but one would want to keep her safe and innocent until the end. And not knowing that misfortune was coming, she enjoyed normal things.’
The existence that Jamie had always wanted to protect.
‘So different from what I had heard back then.’
Her eyes were large but no longer innocent.
The baby fat on her cheeks appeared to have been left untouched by the fierce battles she went through.
For a child her age, she has such a strong body and a few scars.
The child, who previously only knew her family and home, now knows misfortune and death.
How would Jamie react?
‘That child…’
Recalling the faces of Jamie and Diablo, Isis shook her head. And she smiled broadly at Sarah.
“There’s no need to be so vigilant.”
“…”
“Everyone is waiting. Let’s go. Take my hand.”
Sarah looked at the hand of Isis. Did she really expect her to hold her hand at her command?
As soon as she believes these words, which are not what they seem, she would be attacked helplessly.
As if to say that she didn’t have to think about other stuff.
“I can kill you in an instant if I make up my mind, so acting all cautious isn’t needed.”
At those words, Sarah’s eyes widened in realization.
Whether she held her hands or not, it made no sense. With Isis’s skills, it wouldn’t take her even a second to subdue her.
Isis smiled and nodded in the direction of her companions, and Sarah reluctantly grabbed her hand.
There was a group not too far away.
All of them had unique hair colors, but the thing they had in common were jewels on their foreheads.
The Ran race.
Sarah was led by Isis and reached the place in an instant. The man standing with sky-blue hair, who appeared to be the head, said,
“Is it this child?”
“Yes.”
Isis nodded at the man, and the king of Ran, Hasyath, looked at Sarah.
Sarah was stunned at his look and moved behind Isis.
‘Like a cat.’
Hasyath snorted.
“Diablo’s younger sister?”
Sarah’s eyes widened at the question, and she growled back.
“Not Diablo. My brother is Jamie Welton.”
“But he wants to be called Diablo.”
“… you met my brother?”
Sarah asked cautiously, waiting for Hasyath to speak more about her brother.
He shrugged like it was nothing.
“I just saw him yesterday.”
“H-How? How is Brother?!”
“Hmm.”
How should he answer her?
‘I heard that he is neglecting his family, and it seems like she knows nothing about her brother.’
It was someone else’s family issue, so he wasn’t going to talk about it, but seeing Diablo, he could understand.
Because the path he was taking now was dark and alone.
Hasyath looked at Sarah and said,
“He is in good health.”
“R-Right. He is in good health.”
Despite the formal words, Sarah took it seriously and put on a relieved face.
Isis looked at the child like she was pitying her and touched her head, making Sarah flinch and look up.
“Everything will be fine. You and your brother too.”
It was sudden, but Sarah nodded slowly.
Hasyath changed the topic and asked Sarah for something else.
“Rather, do you know why you are here?”
“No. I am curious too. Why did you request for me?”
Sarah mumbled, looking at the Ran race warriors.
“I do not think I can be of much help.”
She felt that, with all of the power they held, her power was nothing, and she had been thinking about it all the way here. The only conclusion she could come to was that she would only be a burden.
And when she saw them all in person, she became more sure of it.
And Isis asked,
“You want to become stronger?”
“Yes. Very.”
Isis recalled what happened earlier.
‘This is Sarah. The younger sister of Jamie. He doesn’t care about her, and if she is left alone, there is a good chance that she will cross the line into chaos and death. So please, Isis, make her powerful.’
‘Beryl is her teacher, though?’
‘You know it, right? He is currently unable to move, and she has no one to protect her.’
A few days ago, Ricky, the Apostle of Pyro, asked her.
At first, she thought a lot about how to refuse the request, but then she decided to return the favor to Jamie.
And that wasn’t the only reason.
‘Maybe she is the only child who can do this.’
Isis frowned at the thought of Diablo, the Demon King of Wrath.
He was now a monster who only cared about killing the Sun God.
And his only sister, Sarah Welton. This child might be able to bring her brother back to his old self.
To do that, she should train her enough to stand in front of Diablo.
And at her current level….
‘There is a high chance that she will be crushed to death.’
Sarah’s eyes went wide.
Isis grinned and touched her cheeks, thinking of the chubby cheeks that Jamie would always describe her as having.
“Waaa arrr uuuu duing (What are you doing)?”
Sarah was startled by Isis’s actions and shouted.
But Isis just smiled mischievously.