☆、(7 Fresh Coins) The Sigh of the Rose (16)
On the training ground, swords clashed, explosions roared, and magical elements surged to unprecedented heights. One was a resilient rose, the other the blade of the empire; it was undoubtedly a fierce battle. In fact, to the knights watching, the duel between these two was the perfect embodiment of "tit-for-tat." In their back-and-forth clashes, more than half a day had unknowingly passed—the midday sun made the knights' armor on the training ground shine even brighter.
Another flash of cold light passed before his eyes. Adam's lips curled into a smile as he dodged to the side. As the sound of air being cut came from behind his ear, he parried with his sword, intending to deflect the opponent's sword. But suddenly, his vision blurred, and before he could even regret this untimely dizziness, he was plunged into darkness once again!
"...How could this be...forest...spirits..." In a daze, he seemed to hear voices from afar, indistinct and unclear, only a few words vaguely audible. He instinctively wanted to move closer to hear what they were saying—and naturally exerted his strength, but in the next instant, a wave of dizziness washed over him. His body felt as heavy as if he were being crushed by armor forged from starlight and meteorite iron. Adam panicked and instinctively mustered all his strength to open his eyes. In his blurry vision, he saw blurry figures—Where was he? Why was he lying here?
"Ah, you're awake!" A girl's voice rang out above him, and a pair of slender yet strong hands pressed down on his shoulders, pushing him back into the sheets. "Don't move!"
Adam blinked hard, trying to figure out what was going on, but was startled by the magnified face in front of him: "What are you doing here?"
"...This is the Vatican's lounge, why can't I be here?" Beth blushed, then her eyebrows shot up. "How dare you say that? You suddenly fainted during our duel, were you trying to make me accidentally kill you?"
Adam was about to reply when Serin interrupted him, "Beth, stop whining. Adam didn't do it on purpose. I think we should let him rest a bit more before we figure out a solution."
Upon hearing the word "coquettish," Beth immediately gritted her teeth and glared at the unserious current commander of the Knights: "What nonsense are you spouting! Didn't you say Adam started acting strangely after going to the Miracle Forest? Why don't you ask him now..."
Adam initially found it amusing—he had always treated Beth like a little sister—but when he heard him mentioned, and even the Miracle Forest, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly said, "Thank you for your concern, but as far as I know, His Holiness the Bishop said he has a meeting tonight. It's almost time, so you can go ahead and do your work. Don't worry about me."
"Oh no! I forgot!" Serin's face changed, and she almost jumped up. She grabbed Beth and ran outside. "Adam, you rest first, we'll be right back!"
"It's good enough if I don't get punished by the bishop for being late, let alone expect to come back right away?" Adam snorted, then closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind. Although he had overlooked it before, now that he thought about it carefully, Serin was right. He had indeed started acting strangely not long after returning from the Miracle Forest, especially recently, as if he were possessed by a demon, completely behaving out of character.
What on earth was going on? Adam racked his brains, but he just couldn't figure out what went wrong—after all, since setting off for the Miracle Forest, he hadn't encountered any powerful magicians or magical beasts, and he had quickly found the elves and completed his mission—there shouldn't have been this bizarre situation. His head was about to explode from racking his brains, though his body had recovered a little. Thinking of those two people, he immediately got up and hurried back to the palace. Although he knew that leaving like this wouldn't save him from the subsequent "interrogation," he himself didn't know what the problem was or how to deal with it. He absolutely wouldn't reveal a single word about the Miracle Forest, but he also didn't want to lie to his friends, so he could only avoid it for the time being.
It was past midnight, and the room of the Empire's First Holy Knight was completely silent, with only the even breathing indicating that its master was fast asleep. Suddenly, a dark shadow swept past the window, and then the seemingly secure lock was easily picked open. The shadow swiftly slipped inside and silently closed the door.
The dark figure gradually approached the bedside and stood at the head of the bed. His movements were completely silent, making one wonder about his identity—was he even human? The faint moonlight revealed the indistinct outline of the newcomer, but his entire body was wrapped in black cloth, making it impossible to see his specific features.
With a "whoosh," something cut through the air, sending chills down one's spine.
Author's Note:
Please stop playing... I've dragged this out for so long, I'm too ashamed to face the editors and readers, my guilt is growing stronger every day (！＿！)
With graduation and employment looming, I've been so exhausted from exams lately that I'm barely able to keep writing...
So after this side story is finished, I'll be disappearing for a while. I'll only be back after all my exams are over. Please understand ORZ
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