The next morning came about.
Before returning to the fort, I got up early to see the temple with my own eyes. After having had a look around, just as Sir Leonhard said, there wasn’t anywhere that looked like a hidden room, let alone a hidden door. Neither the thick stone pillars nor the patterned floor seemed moveable, and the same went for the old statues placed left and right in the back of the room.
“Let’s return to the fort for now. I think I should go through the materials some more.”
No hidden clues would come up even if we searched randomly anyway. This country is far too big to be doing something so reckless.
Sir Leonhard agreed, but he suggested we find something to eat first. Perhaps he was worried, so I didn’t want to go against his feelings and nodded obediently.
The village’s only diner was quite packed. As I walked past the bustling travellers, I spotted a familiar face and froze.
He seemed to have realised my gaze and opened his eyes wide.
“We’ve met again.”
The young man, who worked at another restaurant in a village we had previously stopped by, shot us a friendly smile. He, who was also one of the characters in the game ‘Welcome to the Reversed World’… I was alarmed by his appearance.
What is Latte doing here?
Then I remembered the shadow I saw last night. My thoughts were turning darker by the second.
So he’s Raptor’s…?
*Tap* Someone lightly touched my back. At the same time I came back to my senses, Sir Leonhard took a step forward.
“What a coincidence.”
“Really, I was surprised. Oh, please, help yourself.”
Sir Leonhard didn’t get flustered like I did. He conversed normally with Latte and approached him. Latte continued the smile on his face while pointing towards the opposite side of the table across from where he currently sat.
Although somewhat awkward, I managed a calm look and took his offer. It seemed Latte had just finished his meal since piles of empty plates were strewn across the table.
“Ah, miss, can I place another order?”
Latte raised his hand and called over a waitress for some more drinks. As for Sir Leonhard, he ordered a meal for two.
“When you mentioned that you liked ruins, I thought there might be a chance. I’m glad we didn’t pass by each other.”
“Me too. And what about you? Are you out shopping?”
“No, not really. It’s my day off, you see.”
When the food arrived, I could hardly taste anything. I just repeatedly chewed and swallowed like a robot. It was good that Sir Leonhard was having a normal conversation in my place. If I was alone then it’d end up super awkward.
“I also had something I wanted to see, that’s why I’m here.”
“From the way you said it… Was it no good?”
“Yeah. It was a little different than what I’d expected.”
*Cough*
I inhaled a breath along with a spoonful of soup and my throat made a strange noise. Someone please praise me for being able to hold it in.
Is it okay to believe him just like that?
Doesn’t ‘a little different than what I’d expected’ mean ‘there was no stone the Demon Lord was sealed in’? Am I thinking too much?
“What about the little lady?”
“Huh?”
Being called for so suddenly, I reflexively raised my face from the meal.
Latte, with a hand on his chin, was looking my way.
“Did you find what you wanted to see?”
“…”
I managed to grab onto the spoon that nearly escaped my hand.
Calm down! I told myself numerous times as I forced out a smile.
“It’s a shame but neither did I.”
“I see, then we’re the same, aren’t we?”
Latte nodded and gave another smile. He, who hadn’t noticed my worries, called a waitress for another drink.
After I afforded myself a gentle sigh, I put a hand on my chest where my heart was racing.
“Once you’re done eating, let’s head off.”
“Ah, yes, brother. Let’s do that.”
Sir Leonhard prompted me and stood up.
Latte shook his hand and saw us off with a ‘See you again’.
‘See you again,’ huh? Will we still be speaking on friendly terms like this the next time we meet, I wonder?
I left the restaurant with mixed feelings.
********
After leaving the village, we headed straight back to the fort.
Everyone was surprised to see us coming back in a hurry.
Commander Lieber called for me after I’d had dinner. I was currently facing him across the table that had various maps spread all over it.
A dreadful silence filled the room. Only the sound of the blowing north wind gently shaking the glass windows echoed now and then.
It was Commander Lieber who finally broke the silence. With his arms folded, he glared at the map with a difficult look.
“None of the three places were a hit, huh?”
“Yeah, there was nothing at all.”
Sir Leonhard replied briefly.
“That shouldn’t be the case…”
Commander Lieber said as he scratched his head.
“I even went around and double-checked it, and also matched it up with the info that Isaac gathered up in his spare time. For remote villages with a decaying temple on the outskirts, there were only those three.”
I don’t think the border guards of all people would miss an entire village, but if that’s the case, where else should we look?
“…Shall we change the criteria to include villages near the border as well?”
“Do you mean we should increase our search range? That might be a good idea, though it will take a lot of time for us to search an area that big.”
What Sir Leonhard said made sense.
Increasing the range would also net us a higher chance of finding our target, but it would proportionately increase the time taken to search it all as well. I feel sorry for all the border guards that would have to cover such a large area, and if it ended up all in vain, I won’t be able to look them in the eyes anymore.
There was also the fact that Raptor was searching for the same thing. We simply couldn’t haphazardly wait another year. I’ll leave this method as our last resort when we’ve really exhausted all other options.
“Then, how about we exclude the fact that temples have to be a ruin on the outskirts of the village and search all villages that have a temple instead?”
“Is that possible?”
“It’s not impossible, I believe. Though it won’t be perfect since we’re going by memories alone.”
Sir Leonhard and Commander Lieber’s eyes gathered on me.
There was no doubt that the Demon King was sealed in a ruined temple, but the reason it was left in that state could be because it was destroyed in a war… The temple could still be standing to this day. It is definitely worth a look.
“I’ll leave it in your hands.”
“Please leave it to me.”
I entrusted the matter to the Commander who kindly replied, and it was decided that I will wait in the fort for the time being.
I was worried about Raptor’s recent advances and was getting impatient, but there was nothing I could do about it now.
The next morning came about.
Before returning to the fort, I got up early to see the temple with my own eyes. After having had a look around, just as Sir Leonhard said, there wasn’t anywhere that looked like a hidden room, let alone a hidden door. Neither the thick stone pillars nor the patterned floor seemed moveable, and the same went for the old statues placed left and right in the back of the room.
“Let’s return to the fort for now. I think I should go through the materials some more.”
No hidden clues would come up even if we searched randomly anyway. This country is far too big to be doing something so reckless.
Sir Leonhard agreed, but he suggested we find something to eat first. Perhaps he was worried, so I didn’t want to go against his feelings and nodded obediently.
The village’s only diner was quite packed. As I walked past the bustling travellers, I spotted a familiar face and froze.
He seemed to have realised my gaze and opened his eyes wide.
“We’ve met again.”
The young man, who worked at another restaurant in a village we had previously stopped by, shot us a friendly smile. He, who was also one of the characters in the game ‘Welcome to the Reversed World’… I was alarmed by his appearance.
What is Latte doing here?
Then I remembered the shadow I saw last night. My thoughts were turning darker by the second.
So he’s Raptor’s…?
*Tap* Someone lightly touched my back. At the same time I came back to my senses, Sir Leonhard took a step forward.
“What a coincidence.”
“Really, I was surprised. Oh, please, help yourself.”
Sir Leonhard didn’t get flustered like I did. He conversed normally with Latte and approached him. Latte continued the smile on his face while pointing towards the opposite side of the table across from where he currently sat.
Although somewhat awkward, I managed a calm look and took his offer. It seemed Latte had just finished his meal since piles of empty plates were strewn across the table.
“Ah, miss, can I place another order?”
Latte raised his hand and called over a waitress for some more drinks. As for Sir Leonhard, he ordered a meal for two.
“When you mentioned that you liked ruins, I thought there might be a chance. I’m glad we didn’t pass by each other.”
“Me too. And what about you? Are you out shopping?”
“No, not really. It’s my day off, you see.”
When the food arrived, I could hardly taste anything. I just repeatedly chewed and swallowed like a robot. It was good that Sir Leonhard was having a normal conversation in my place. If I was alone then it’d end up super awkward.
“I also had something I wanted to see, that’s why I’m here.”
“From the way you said it… Was it no good?”
“Yeah. It was a little different than what I’d expected.”
*Cough*
I inhaled a breath along with a spoonful of soup and my throat made a strange noise. Someone please praise me for being able to hold it in.
Is it okay to believe him just like that?
Doesn’t ‘a little different than what I’d expected’ mean ‘there was no stone the Demon Lord was sealed in’? Am I thinking too much?
“What about the little lady?”
“Huh?”
Being called for so suddenly, I reflexively raised my face from the meal.
Latte, with a hand on his chin, was looking my way.
“Did you find what you wanted to see?”
“…”
I managed to grab onto the spoon that nearly escaped my hand.
Calm down! I told myself numerous times as I forced out a smile.
“It’s a shame but neither did I.”
“I see, then we’re the same, aren’t we?”
Latte nodded and gave another smile. He, who hadn’t noticed my worries, called a waitress for another drink.
After I afforded myself a gentle sigh, I put a hand on my chest where my heart was racing.
“Once you’re done eating, let’s head off.”
“Ah, yes, brother. Let’s do that.”
Sir Leonhard prompted me and stood up.
Latte shook his hand and saw us off with a ‘See you again’.
‘See you again,’ huh? Will we still be speaking on friendly terms like this the next time we meet, I wonder?
I left the restaurant with mixed feelings.
********
After leaving the village, we headed straight back to the fort.
Everyone was surprised to see us coming back in a hurry.
Commander Lieber called for me after I’d had dinner. I was currently facing him across the table that had various maps spread all over it.
A dreadful silence filled the room. Only the sound of the blowing north wind gently shaking the glass windows echoed now and then.
It was Commander Lieber who finally broke the silence. With his arms folded, he glared at the map with a difficult look.
“None of the three places were a hit, huh?”
“Yeah, there was nothing at all.”
Sir Leonhard replied briefly.
“That shouldn’t be the case…”
Commander Lieber said as he scratched his head.
“I even went around and double-checked it, and also matched it up with the info that Isaac gathered up in his spare time. For remote villages with a decaying temple on the outskirts, there were only those three.”
I don’t think the border guards of all people would miss an entire village, but if that’s the case, where else should we look?
“…Shall we change the criteria to include villages near the border as well?”
“Do you mean we should increase our search range? That might be a good idea, though it will take a lot of time for us to search an area that big.”
What Sir Leonhard said made sense.
Increasing the range would also net us a higher chance of finding our target, but it would proportionately increase the time taken to search it all as well. I feel sorry for all the border guards that would have to cover such a large area, and if it ended up all in vain, I won’t be able to look them in the eyes anymore.
There was also the fact that Raptor was searching for the same thing. We simply couldn’t haphazardly wait another year. I’ll leave this method as our last resort when we’ve really exhausted all other options.
“Then, how about we exclude the fact that temples have to be a ruin on the outskirts of the village and search all villages that have a temple instead?”
“Is that possible?”
“It’s not impossible, I believe. Though it won’t be perfect since we’re going by memories alone.”
Sir Leonhard and Commander Lieber’s eyes gathered on me.
There was no doubt that the Demon King was sealed in a ruined temple, but the reason it was left in that state could be because it was destroyed in a war… The temple could still be standing to this day. It is definitely worth a look.
“I’ll leave it in your hands.”
“Please leave it to me.”
I entrusted the matter to the Commander who kindly replied, and it was decided that I will wait in the fort for the time being.
I was worried about Raptor’s recent advances and was getting impatient, but there was nothing I could do about it now.
