Chapter 48.1

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Chapter 48 – Eventually, They Met

Looking at the disappearing sun over the mountain, Theros let out a deep sigh.

I don’t have time to be here like this…

As if the tight-necked uniform of the Knights Temple Order was choking him, he tore off the chain from his uniform. “Haa…” He looked down silently at his trembling hand with displeasure. His anxiety intensified his tremor. At that moment he was trying to calm down himself, he heard a familiar voice.

“Tero?”

Theros lifted his head to confirm the owner of the voice.

“Noo… na?”

The two met in an unexpected place. Standing in daze, Theros slowly walked towards her. As he quickly sped up, he immediately reached Ashia.

“…”

“Tero, why are you—ack?”!

Theros hugged her tightly.

“…Tero?”

Theros’ breaths were slightly shaky. It wasn’t only his breaths; even the arms hugging Ashia and his back couldn’t hide the tremors.

“Noona…”

“Hmm, Tero.”

It wasn’t a hallucination. He breathed a long sigh of relief with his face buried deep in Ashia’s hair. “Haa… you’re real.”

“…”

“You’re really Noona.” After only sighing for a moment, Theros continued on hugging Ashia and began to say the words he had been holding back, “Where have you been?”

“That…”

“Why is the store empty? The person who was supposed to bring the potion spilled all of it in the hallway and disappeared!”

“…”

“Do you want to see me go crazy?”

“Te…”

“How could you do this without leaving a note!”

“…”

He didn’t give Ashia a chance to answer; he was clearly angry, but his voice was trembling too much that she thought he was about to burst into tears.

“…Tero.”

As she whispered his name, Theros quietly shook his head. “No, it’s enough. This is enough… it’s enough that you’re safe.”

Ashia patted him on his back, feeling sorry for him. It was as if she could picture Theros who was frantically searching for her.

‘I should’ve left a note…’

She stopped by the store, but she didn’t think that Theros might look for her.

“Did you worry a lot?’

“…”

’That being said, my head was in circles, I thought I was really going to go crazy.’

Theros didn’t know that she was very strong, but even so, she was still a human. He already saw her get hurt and collapse. It was probably seven years ago, when the village burned down, he told himself he would protect her. The heart of a fifteen-year-old, young and unyielding, had remained unwavering for seven years.

“…Sorry.”

Taking a deep breath, Theros slowly pulled away at her apologetic voice. He looked at her face to face. As he examined Ashia’s face and body, Theros asked her, “Are you hurt anywhere? What are these wounds?!”

“I wasn’t hurt. Well, that’s just a slight scratch.”

It wasn’t a big wound, but still, he frowned. “You even bled…”

“Tero, I’m fine… really.” She smiled and patted the back of his hand.

He sighed. “Why did you have to do that?”

“That’s a long story Tero, and I don’t have time for that right now.”

“…Is it because of the barrier? Is that why you are on the way to meet the Magic Tower’s Master?”

When she heard the words ‘Magic Tower’s Master’, she remembered what she was supposed to be doing. The news was all over the place, but the Magic Tower’s Master, whom they didn’t know the current location of, was in the capital of the Karhan Empire. It was the Elemental Cube that hinted Ashia of that fact.

“…Talking about that, why are you here?”

“The Crown Prince sent me to escort the Magic Tower’s Master?”

“Escort the Magic Tower’s Master?”

Ashia looked around.

“But there are many hidden escorts.”

“Yes.”

There were dozens of hidden escorts. What was a little strange to those hidden escorts was that they had no mana.

“…Then, you must have met Lisa.”

“Yes…” Theros’ expression darkened when Lisa’s name was mentioned.

“It must have been difficult for our Tero…” Ashia smiled bitterly and stroked Theros’ face lightly.

His eyes drooped down, nodding grumpily at her touch. “Like Noona said… she didn’t recognize me.”

“I thought so. The 15-year-old Tero and the 22-year-old Tero look very different.”

Theros was one of those who knew what caused the events of that day. And because of that, he lost his sister.

“…Can’t we just kill her?”

It was something Theros always used to say.

“Shall we?”

“…Yes?”

She had always said no to killing, but she gave a different answer today. Surprised, Theros widened his eyes and asked her again, “Really?”

“Our Tero, you’ve been waiting a long time.”

“Noona.”

“So, your noona will do it.”

“…”

“Noona will get rid of her right away, okay? Let’s not sully the hands of our Tero.” Ashia smiled brightly. She wasn’t the kind of person who would say she would go and kill someone.

What happened? He was somehow unhappy to hear it even though it was something he had been waiting for her to say. Rather, he was afraid she would really get blood on her hands.

“…Sorry, I was only thinking of myself. Noona also had something to get from her.”

“…Well, I’ll give up on it.”

“But that is important.”

“…That’s meaningless now.”

“Why?”

“Now… I have no intention of leaving here.”

“…”

Theros could see the loneliness in her eyes. He had lived with the anxiety that Ashia would leave anytime. The magic seven years ago was also the magic that allowed her to go to the place where she lived.

Ashia must have really intended to leave this place. The first one was a failure, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try again. She said with her own mouth that she had no intention of leaving this place, but why wasn’t it nice to hear that?

“…Are you going inside?”

“Hmm, I have some business with Lisa.”

“…Can we not go inside?”

“Why?”

“…”

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