CH 31

“Uh, uh. What is this, who do you dare hold on to! Unhand her!” 

Wrinkling his nostrils, Terra tried to push Blenn away, but he didn’t budge. 

“….”

The awkward Terra snorted his nose. 

“—Let go of this.”

Blenn released his grip after Serdel’s order. Ha— With a low sigh, she raised her head and looked at the surroundings.

“We better hurry—”

She took it to step by step. The speed got faster and faster. 

‘My goal is achieved.’

She won’t witness anything worse as long as she leaves this place. Whether it’s foreknowledge or a glimpse into the other possibilities. Just because it came into her mind, there was no need for her to be dragged into it more than necessary. 

That’s how she pushed past it in her heart, 

“—I want to live—”

The desperation she heard in someone’s plea stopped her. With a blank expression on their face, Serdel looked at where the slaves were gathered. 

It was unclear who cried out, but thanks to the shout, the sleepy and unaware people slowly woke up again. She swept her dry face with one hand while holding the bag around her waist with the other.

‘Damn it.’

She didn’t prepare to do this—. She bit her lips and closed her eyes tightly. The reason should be worth it since they say she shouldn’t touch this place lightheartedly. 

She’s already seen too much to turn a blind eye to it.

The same thing happened just before. 

“Terra.”

“Yes, Lady.”

“Hold Laura instead of Blenn. And go to the carriage first.” 

“Lady!”

Terra’s forehead wrinkled in worry.

“You go first. It’s an order.”

Serdel’s atmosphere shifted dramatically as well. Terra’s teeth were clenched in frustration. He gradually loosened his fist after dropping his head pathetically.

“Blenn. You help me. That’s possible, right?”

His hands and arms that were holding Laura became tense. It will be difficult to be separated from the weak pitiful sister he has just met. Serdel took her time and waited for him to make a decision.

Slowly, time went by.

“….B-brother.”

Laura, who peeked and raised her eyes, grabbed Blenn’s hem, who was in agonizing indecision underneath his deep silence.

“H-help them. L-Lady, t-that poor man also needs help. H-help. B-brother is strong.”

“….”

Blenn’s eyes trembled.

“T-the Lady saved me. P-please be my strength. I, I, I’m begging you.”

He hugged Laura more tightly, for a while. Kissing her forehead, he hurriedly passed Laura to Terra, who was still looking at the floor. Terra, who was holding her in a frozen embrace, was embarrassed and did not know what to do.

“Why did you give me your sister—!” 

“Terra.”

Serdel grabbed his arm.

“Don’t worry and go out first. It won’t take long.” 

“—Don’t get hurt at all. Siri is going to kill me. I’m really going to die—”

“Okay. I’m sorry, Terra.”

Complex emotions flashed through his eyes. Terra bit his lips and turned around. 

Seeing him moving away, Serdel took off the half-mask.

“Give me the veil, and you wear this.” 

He just covered his face with a half mask. A bitter smile came out of his appearance, no different from other nobles in that filthy space. The cool eyes and the half mask go so well together. 

Apart from that, her mind quickly organized the things she had seen before. 

“—If you go all the way to the end, you will find a staircase going down to the basement. When you go down about 128 steps, a hallway will appear. Ignore it and go down 10 more steps. Then the real road will appear, not an illusion. You have to be careful, because you don’t know what kind of danger will come if you get caught in the illusion.” 

Blenn nodded. 

“And go straight ahead and enter the room on the far right, the arsenal.” 

It is a place connected by magic to the stage where the ‘show’ is in full swing, and most of the weapons and supplies purchased by the nobles were moved from there and delivered to the phantom goblins.

‘I don’t know who’s the owner, but each space is extraordinary.’

And the way it’s operated. Shaking off any discomfort, she pulled out a magic pouch from her bag. Just in case, she took three separate mid-upper scrolls with both bombing and ice blade magic and gave them to him. 

Then, she reached out and pulled him closer by the hand. Once they were close enough that their breaths hit each other’s skin she, ignoring his eyes staring at her intently, put her lips close to his ear and whispered.

“Explode all the devices planted on the wall and burn the weapons, too.”

“….”

“And if you look to the left of the room, there will be a drawer. If you open the third compartment, you will find the door to the magic equipment room, and the crystal ball in it is—”

Serdel, who gathered her eyebrows, looked back at the scenes she had seen mentally to confirm her instructions were correct. 

“—Take care of everything except the sphere of the yellow light.” 

That sphere was a camouflage device that surrounded the outside of the building to completely hide and protect what is inside from anything outside.

‘Other than that, the rest of the crystal balls are probably related to the magic phenomena scattered all over the space.’

For example, a protective wall was set up to protect the nobles so that the aftermath of the battle does not reach the auditorium of the space where the “show” is taking place for a long time. Like the phantom goblins, who were completely reliant on the nobles’ gold bought settings. Furthermore, thanks to the removal of any obstacles, the explosions and fires that will begin in the arsenal will continue to spread throughout the building.

‘It will burn inside the building.’

There will be no damage to the street as the flames are blocked by the magic barrier outside. Rather, the flames that couldn’t escape will burn even more severely inside. 

None of the managers will even dare to stop the flames inside, they’d be so busy saving themselves. 

‘Rather, if nobles get hurt, things will become a bigger deal, so I’ll prioritize evacuating them.’

If they hide well in a crowded situation, it will not be easy to find out who did this. 

‘Of course, Blenn has to move well.’ 

“I’m really sorry for making you do this. It’s a pity that slaves who are practically exhausted and starved have no other options, so give them one gold each and show them a safe way out of the building.”

“It’s funny to hear this now, but wouldn’t it be dangerous if you get caught?”

His mouth, which had been listening to explanations the whole time, finally questioned. 

“It’s going to be dangerous. But I believe you will do a good job.” 

Blenn, who was looking down at Serdel, exhaled a low breath at her response. He bowed his head.

“First of all, I apologize for the hesitation I had earlier. I’ll follow your will as I promised, but when I saw my sister, it wasn’t easy to separate from her.” 

“I understand.”

“—Don’t try to understand too much, or you’ll lose money. You know what? It’s good for someone like Lady to be stabbed in the back. They will pretend to be weak on the outside since the Lady is too soft-hearted.” 

“Are you worrying about me?”

“—I’ll take good care of it.” 

Ignoring her words and raising her hand instead, he lightly kissed it. 

“Hide in a safe place. I’ll come to you as soon as I’m done.”

“Do you know where I will be?” She asked, taking back her hand.

“Anywhere you will be.” 

Suddenly, he buried his nose on Serdel’s neck. 

Startled, without even having time to step back, he grabbed her waist.

“I remembered Lady’s energy, so I can find you right away in here.”

With a seemingly indifferent look, he straightened his posture and was about to take a step. 

“Lady.”

“Uhm?”

“Do you—really trust me?”

He asked a little bit without confidence. He seemed to need confidence in something. Here, it would be better to answer strongly and build a trusting relationship with him.

“I trust you.”

His eyes shook.

“It hasn’t been long since we met, and even though it started with a deal…Blenn, I believe in you.”

“Thank—you.”

His eyes shook slightly with his mouth clenched. 

Turning his back, he soon disappeared like the wind.