68 Seeking Answers (2)

What greeted their sights the moment they came out was the familiar image of the ravaged forest on the south of Selvenia. It seemed to be near the place where they were swallowed by the ground.

Lancell shifted his gaze to the surroundings, and didn't see anything that resembled a hole or anything that collapsed. Did the earth fix itself?

However. . .

"Hey," Lancell called out to Aerym beside him, "are you crying?"

"I-I'm not crying!" Aerym snapped back.

Lancell kept his mouth shut, not mentioning the wet trails on her cheeks.

He then turned to a direction, and began walking. He didn't know how long he stayed inside that weird dungeon, but he still had his objective, and he wanted to complete it as early as possible.

"W-Where are you going?" Aerym asked, but was flustered for some reason.

"The first time we met here, I said I had something to do," Lancell explained, "and I'm gonna do it now."

"You're not even gonna rest?!" her voice sounded worried.

"Rest can come later." Lancell insisted as he continued walking.

Aerym's expression shifted to that of anger, "Then suit yourself!" she shouted at him.

Lancell ignored her, and continued on.

◇ ◇ ◇

Lancell kicked the ground as he glided through the air, moving quickly along the ravaged forest. He was already nearing his destination—the edge of all the destruction—and the probable place where the monsters spawned the moment they arrived.

However, he suddenly stopped.

Looking behind him, he waited for a while and caught a faint figure moving in his direction.

Lancell sighed, "What the hell is that girl doing...?" he muttered in exasperation.

And as he expected, Aerym arrived at where he was not long after, panting as she desperately tried to catch her breath. Lancell stared at her with another sigh.

"What exactly are you doing?" he asked.

"That's my question too!" her tone was a bit angry, "why'd you just left like that?!"

"Why can't I leave?" Lancell asked, "you've no need for me anymore, right?"

Aerym's eyes widened, as she then grit her teeth. She had no retort to his question, but for some reason, it just didn't feel right. It just wasn't.

Lancell sighed again. He turned to his destination and began walking once more, "In any case, you're done right?" he told her, "I'm going."

And so, he lowered his body as he prepared to a long dash, but Aerym suddenly spoke.

"I'm coming with you."

Lancell paused in his steps. He turned towards her, "You what?"

"I'm coming with you," she repeated, "I may not know a lot about you, but I know you enough to figure out that you're looking for something a big deal."

Lancell went silent for a while, then spoke, "Suit yourself."

And so, Lancell kicked the ground once more.

◇ ◇ ◇

After another 2 hours, Lancell finally reached the destination he was looking for, and what he saw was a clear divide between the ravaged trees and an untouched forest on the other side.

"As expected, huh?" Lancell muttered, "looks like I can only find out during the arrival of the monsters."

"Huh?" Aerym who was beside him suddenly spoke, "arrival of monsters?"

Lancell only gave her a sideward glance, "Didn't you know?" he said, "the Wave that shook Selvenia was just the first wave."

Aerym's pupils shrank as she subconsciously took a step back, "F-First wave?" she stuttered, "does that mean there's more?!"

Lancell sighed in disappointment, "Look, if the Wave from last year was able to thin out the world's population by half," his cold aquamarine eyes stared into hers, "why can't the Wave of this year be as cruel?"

Aerym froze, but she still managed to ask, "D-Does the king know of this?"

Lancell shrugged, "Probably not," he said casually, "he's stupid after all. He might be a good king in peaceful times, but he's absolutely useless in war."

Aerym wanted to say something, but Lancell spoke first.

"Don't even try to defend him," Lancell spoke in cold tone, "if he was really a good ruler, then he would have been able to make good use of the large increase in population to further fortify the kingdom. The three districts wouldn't have to exist otherwise. Along with the terrible discrimination."

He then made a dry laugh, as he then added.

"Or at the very least, a certain leader that I know would have done that. Her eccentricities aside, she knows how to use people."

Aerym went silent. She hung her head, but wasn't able to say anything against his words. Though she was a bit curious about who the leader that he was talking about, she didn't ask. She already had an idea on who it was.

"In any case, we're done here," Lancell suddenly stated, "let's go back."

"H-Huh?" Aerym was a bit confused, "this quick?"

"Well. I can't do anything as things currently stand anyway," he shrugged, "I won't be able to find anything here anymore. I'd have to wait until the Wave comes again."

"Does that mean next year?"

"Weren't you listening?" Lancell glared at her as he spoke, "Waves doesn't necessarily arrive all in one go."

Aerym was already numb by the mind-blowing revelations that she kept learning from Lancell, so she only nodded. "I see."

"If you understand, then it's good."

And so, they finally headed back to the castle.