Chapter 40 : Unexpected Encounter (2/2)

I immediately scanned the area.

I searched desperately for Reina’s white hair.

But despite my efforts, all I could see were people, people, and more people.

No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t see her white hair.

I placed the clothes I was holding back and started pushing through the crowd, calling out Reina’s name, but there was no sign of her.

The sea of people formed a wall that blocked my way, and the noise from the crowd drowned out the sound of me calling her.

The time that passed since Reina disappeared seemed to stretch on forever, and I became more and more anxious.

I pushed through the crowd and looked around, but she was nowhere to be found.

The more I searched, the more I couldn’t find her.

Where could she be? Where?

Why didn’t I keep a closer watch on her?

I should have kept her closer, held her hand.

If I had just been more mindful…

This terrible consequence was a result of my own negligence.

Okay, stay calm.

If I keep searching, I’ll definitely find her.

It might take a long time, but as long as Reina hasn’t gone outside the market, I’ll find her if I search here long enough.

But…

What if…

What if Reina has been hurt?

I suddenly remembered what had happened earlier.

We had been attacked.

By 23 ‘burly’ men, no less.

And there was no guarantee that Reina wouldn’t face the same fate.

In that attack, both Bliss and I had the skills to defend ourselves, and since we weren’t alone, we could easily overcome them.

But Reina is alone right now, and she’s still small and fragile.

If Reina were to be attacked like we were…

Images of bad things happening to her began to flood my mind.

Reina being assaulted, Reina being kidnapped.

Horrible scenarios continued to play in my mind.

And the more I imagined it, the more the worst-case scenario appeared: Reina being killed by some vile thugs.

No.

No!

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no!

No! No! No, no, no!

Reina can’t die.

Reina is my sanctuary.

She is the child who resembles her.

How could Reina die?

I can’t accept it.

No.

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

Do I have to lose her again? Like last time?

Back then, I couldn’t do anything.

No, no, no, no! I’m different now from back then.

Back when I lost my teacher, I’m not that person anymore!

I clenched my teeth. I bit down so hard that I could hear a sharp crunching sound in my ears.

I have to find Reina.

I have to find her no matter what.

I’ve just regained the memories of my happiest time. I can’t lose it again.

I need to find Reina, the one who brings back those memories.

Reina is still necessary to me.

I need her.

For my sake.

I bit down on my fingernail, deep in thought.

How do I find her?

How?

How?

How, how, how, how, how, how, how, how?

I kept biting my nails.

Think.

Think.

Think, think, think!

Think, damn it!

As I thought, I bit my nail with force, and a sudden pain shot through my finger.

Startled by the unexpected pain, I looked at my finger, noticing a red tint at the tip.

It seemed I had bitten through the nail and into the flesh.

But the pain wasn’t intense. It was just a small wound from biting the flesh at the fingertip.

It was a slight sting that barely registered as pain.

However, that slight pain stopped the chaotic thoughts in my head.

Shit…

I can’t think of anything.

I can’t think of a way to find Reina, to break through all these people with my own strength.

I barely managed to keep my legs from giving way.

It’s impossible with my strength alone.

The only way I can solve this now is with…

Magic.

Only magic.

I looked at the ring on my finger.

The ring that seals my magic.

If I take off this ring and use magic, I’ll find Reina in no time.

But doing that would reveal that I have magic.

And if that happens…

My life would be in danger.

The once-friendly knights would draw their holy swords against me, the paladins and priests like Bliss would turn hostile, and the church would send holy knights to kill me.

And I would have to face all of that alone.

How… How should I do this?

What should I do?

Should I use magic?

If I take my time, I’ll find her eventually, but do I really want to put myself in danger like this…?

But if Reina gets seriously hurt… or even dies…

I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to the way things were.

I made my decision.

I will use magic.

Even if it puts me in danger, I don’t care.

Reina is more important to me right now.

Reina is my sanctuary.

She is the one who brings back memories of the happiest times in my life.

When I’m with her, I remember those moments and feel the emotions I had back then.

I would do anything for that.

I can’t let her go.

Even though I forced the connection upon her, I won’t let her leave on her own.

She decides when she leaves.

Without my permission, she can never leave my side.

I still need her.

For my sake.

I grabbed the ring, squeezing it tightly and muttering to myself.

This is right, take it off, find Reina right now.

For me.

For me!

For me!!!!

Just as I was about to pull off the ring, I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder.

“Excuse me?”

I roughly shrugged the hand off and turned to face the person.

“Who is it?”

A slightly flustered voice apologized.

“I’m sorry for touching you without saying anything.”

As I heard the apology, I began to observe the person.

The man had brown hair, black eyes, and a face like that of a priest.

One peculiar thing, though…

His face seemed strangely familiar.

He looked like someone I had seen before, but that wasn’t important to me right now.

The most important thing was finding Reina.

I didn’t have time to worry about someone I didn’t even remember.

So, the fact that this man was wasting my time…

I was seriously annoyed.

I glared at him with all the irritation and anger I felt.

“What do you want?”

“I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer…”

“Why were you calling me?”

“Ah, well…”

After I spoke harshly, the man scratched the back of his head, looking slightly awkward.

“It seems like this child is looking for you.”

He said with an awkward smile.

“Child?”

“Yes.”

“A child, what are you talking about…”

Confused by the sudden mention of a child, I started to question him.

“Is this her?”

The man asked someone, and I heard the sound of someone rushing towards us.

Soon, I felt someone suddenly grab me around the waist.

Startled by the sudden action, I looked down, and saw two red eyes filled with tears staring up at me.

“Ruina!”

The one who was holding me was Reina.

Reina, the one I had been searching for.

The moment I saw her about to cry, all kinds of emotions flooded my mind.

Guilt for what I had lost, sadness for her crying, and relief for finding her again.

All these emotions stirred inside me.

I couldn’t hide my shock and asked.

“Where did you find this child?”

“I found her crying in front of a candy store. She was sobbing so pitifully that I couldn’t just walk past her.

We had met once before, so I couldn’t leave a child alone like that. I thought it would be safer to take her in, and I helped her find you.

If she hadn’t found you, I was going to take her to the lord’s castle.”

The man smiled as he spoke, and I suddenly realized something.

I hadn’t expected Reina to be so distracted by the candy store that she ended up there…

I hadn’t even noticed her wandering off…

But what did he mean by “we had met once before”?

I felt an odd suspicion as I asked him.

“You…?”

“Oh, it’s been a while. We met during the hunt before, and here we are again.”

The man said the word “hunt,” and something clicked in my mind.

Ah, this man. I remembered who he was now.

No wonder he looked familiar. He was one of the cultists from the End of Days, who had joined the Sandworm hunt.

What was his name again?

I racked my brain and finally remembered.

“Wolf… Was it?”

“You remember my name.”

His expression brightened at my recognition.

This was our second encounter with Wolf, the cultist from the End of Days.