“Oh, Licht, are you up? Today is the day we go to the training ground….”
Unable to answer Kainel’s words, I quickly got dressed and ran outside.
First, I have to find Nex or Charitines.
I headed to the terrace. The store was closed because it was before business hours.
I climbed over the chain-link fence and went inside.
Empty seats and tables.
I looked around and saw the place where we sat during our first meeting, but they weren’t there.
This isn’t it either.
“This place too.. they’re not here.”
No matter how much I looked, they weren’t there.
I ran. I sprinted. I fell.
I caught my breath.
Lastly, I headed to the cathedral in case the nun was there. As expected, the door was firmly closed.
Another failure.
“Is anyone there?”
Even when I knocked on the iron door, there was no answer from inside. It was still the time when the dawn air coldly pierced my lungs.
The academy was quiet, as if it hadn’t been attacked by a demon king somewhere.
‘Where in the world are they and what are they doing..’
Sweat started to form on my helmet. My head was spinning.
There were no more places I could think of.
The back mountain, the courtyard, the central hall. I looked everywhere. I even walked around checking the university map.
Did something happen outside the academy?
The university wasn’t properly depicted in the original or the sequel. There’s no way I would know the structure inside and out.
It wouldn’t be good if there was a secret room and they were trapped inside.
At best, all I could remember was a single instance dungeon near here….
“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”
At that moment, a purple sparrow flew over and circled above my head.
“What is this..?”
“Junior Licht─!!”
Looking around at the sight of the spirit, I saw a man waving at me from afar and running towards me.
“I was looking for you!!”
“…Senior Nex!”
Click─.
The door to the cathedral opened thanks to the spare key Nex brought.
Did the vampire saintess give it to him? We immediately moved inside.
“Char is gone. I haven’t seen her since yesterday..”
“Senior Charitines?”
“Yes, the sound transmission spell itself is blocked, and she’s absent from all her classes.”
He looked anxious, unlike himself. The man was already biting his nails.
“Chirp..”
Perhaps influenced by his emotions, the phoenix also seemed to have lost its strength.
“I saw her the day before yesterday, could it be that she disappeared right after that?”
“Really? Did she say where she was going?”
“She was headed towards the women’s dormitory..”
“…I already asked the security guard about that yesterday. He said she didn’t enter.”
What? Then what happened after she met Mardol and me that day? The status window has only been affected since today.
‘It happened at most two days ago, at least yesterday.’
Looking at it this way, the status window is really useless. Shouldn’t it prevent danger with quests or restrictions?
There’s no shop, characteristics, or skills. It doesn’t even appear when I want it to.
I sighed deeply. Am I really capable of protecting our saintess with this level of ability?
“If the position of the Second Saintess is vacant, there will be chaos.”
“It seems like they’re aiming for that. Probably.”
Nex also sighed, expressing his frustration like me. The two of us were worried, each anxious about a different saintess.
“Have you met with the Ten Swords?”
“Of course I have. The sage said her prophecy is blocked too.”
“…It’s the Hero Church.”
I frowned under my helmet. This is much earlier than I know.
Is it because of me?
“That’s right. You do know something after all. You’re the Dragonslayer’s disciple, right?”
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known about the property issue.”
That’s Nex for you. Quickly guessing the source of my information. But it wasn’t a problem.
‘Then Laplace’s ability is also useless. This might be a lot more difficult than I thought. There’s a reason why the Ten Swords are being cautious.’
Judging from the experience I’ve already felt deeply in the war, they must think that if they move, the incident will become too big.
“So I even met with Drake-nim, but since it’s likely a trap, instead..”
“What did your master say?”
“He recommended you. He said you’re the most promising swordsman he’s ever seen.”
Ugh, the old man dumped this on me. I think I can handle an apostle level to some extent….
Wait, there’s one more person who’s similar to me.
“…What about Mardol, besides me?”
“That child won’t do, she has severe trauma.”
As expected, something must have happened related to the Demon King.
My reasoning was correct.
Unlike <Black Heart>, the Glass Knight seemed strong, so I thought it would be a bit easier to take her as a companion, but it’s a shame.
‘Kainel and Ariel also have the same wounds, and if Dennis leaves the academy, the school will become too dangerous.’
Something must have gone terribly wrong.
Is this why it didn’t appear in <Knight Heart>? If this incident happened and Nex couldn’t save her, then it makes sense.
Because originally, I wouldn’t have existed in this world.
I felt a bit complicated.
“…I have a place in mind, senior.”
As expected, this world is cold and harsh to our saintess.
A happy academy life? I don’t know about that.
“If she’s not here either, there’s no other way…. Can you trust me?”
“I’ll trust you, junior. So tell me quickly. I know you’re not with the Hero Church.”
“Alright.”
If it were that easy, would I have struggled to break free from <Black Heart>?
“…There’s a blind spot in the basement adjacent to the academy’s barrier.”
I pointed to the location of the dungeon on the map with my finger.
“The Sunset Rendezvous.”
It was the most likely place from the beginning.
“If it’s related to the Hero Church, this is the closest place.”
Unlike the original or the sequel, this is the past.
“You mean this place.”
“It’s probably right.”
There was a long explanation as if something had happened there.
It’s suspicious that the reward was too good, with traces and gimmicks of a boss monster being there, even for dummy data.
“Let’s go right away, junior Licht.”
“Yes, senior Nex.”
The two men jumped up from their seats and took their steps towards a single location.