Chapter 105. It’s Been a While

What should I do?

That was the first thought that popped into my head.

However, unlike my mind, which couldn’t figure out how to overcome this crisis, my body was already moving on its own.

“Hey! Where are you going, Purifier Seraphina!”

Claude’s voice went in one ear and out the other.

I didn’t have the presence of mind to answer. I was in a slight panic. Yes, it seemed like that.

“Where are you going!”

At that moment, Claude roughly grabbed my wrist as I was trying to escape from the beach.

My body spun halfway around, and I found myself looking directly into his eyes.

“Uh, well… I have to run away!”

“Why should I run away from that bastard?”

“Then stay here! I’ll run away by myself!”

Are you trying to save face in this situation?!

No, I intended to run away alone from the start! Why are you holding me back from even doing that?!

I wanted to cry.

Claude’s grip on my wrist was no ordinary strength. It wasn’t painful, but it felt like I was wearing an unyielding iron shackle.

“Let go of me!”

I tried to forcibly remove his hand with my free hand. But Claude didn’t budge.

“I need to settle things with that bastard Johann once and for all.”

“Do it between yourselves, between yourselves! I’ll step aside!”

“You’ll be the witness.”

“You, you…!”

This is so frustrating, seriously!

If Johann catches me, I might die! I scammed the emperor and ran away! So let go, quickly! Sob, sob.

As we were struggling, the answer to ‘What should I do?’ popped into my head.

First, I’ll run to the merchant guild and contact the gentleman, and until I get a response, I’ll hide as much as possible from Johann.

Based on experience, the gentleman’s response through the emergency contact network arrived very quickly. I didn’t know how that was possible, but I didn’t pry into the details. The information guild had a lot of shady things, after all.

Anyway, I could hold out until the response came.

So first, I needed to deal with this leech-like Claude…!

“Ouch, it hurts!”

“What? Don’t exaggerate. I didn’t even grab you that hard.”

“Ah… It feels like my wrist is sprained.”

“Sprained?”

Claude let go of my hand in surprise. And having regained my freedom, I didn’t miss the opportunity.

“Chaos of darkness, return to ashes!”

“What?”

Flash…!

I shot the light of purification directly at his face. Very strongly, as if firing it.

“Ugh…”

Now’s my chance!

The light was so dazzling that it was hard for me to keep my eyes open, but since I was prepared, I could run even with my narrow vision. If I missed this chance while Claude was dazzled and disoriented, I might be dragged back and exploited as a purifier for the rest of my life until I died.

I barely found happiness in Ponitan!

I was living my days filled with the things I loved!

How could I obediently be dragged away without trying anything, after having fought so hard for this life?

Unfortunately, I didn’t get far before being caught.

The opponent was a hero. Damn it.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Eek!”

Even the god of death would probably be kinder than this.

A voice colder than the blizzards of the Grodes Mountains suddenly came from behind, and I was so startled that my spine stiffened.

Still, I managed to escape the beach and enter a narrow alley.

It was commendable to have fled this far. Sob, sob.

Claude effortlessly lifted me by the waist with one arm. As I flailed my legs in the air, I struggled to break free from him.

“Let go of me!”

“How dare you try to purify me?”

“You’re not undead, Your Grace, so how could I purify you! That was just…!”

“Do you think I’m a fool?”

Claude growled.

He seemed genuinely angry.

Oh, this is driving me crazy.

Both Johann and Claude were too overwhelming for me.

Is this the end of everything?

It’s been about six months since I ran away.

I spent a month moving around, hiding my tracks, and another month lying around like a corpse. It meant I only truly enjoyed myself for four months.

I struggled for two and a half years, and this is too much…

“Stay still!”

Despite my resigned inner thoughts, I continued to struggle.

Claude, as if telling me to stop resisting pointlessly, spun me around in the air like it was nothing.

“Ah!”

“Stay quiet…”

So I ended up in his embrace. To explain in more detail, one of his arms supported me like a pillar from my b*ttocks to my thighs, while the other arm was wrapped around my waist…

“You, you…”

A rush of heat made my face turn as red as a tomato.

“You pervert!”

Claude’s face was buried in my chest.

* * *

“I would like to get back the money that was scammed.”

Mihail made a legitimate demand in a calm tone.

It was a large sum paid in exchange for finding Seraphina, but since they had spread false information about her death and hidden her away in such a place, it was clearly a scam.

“A scam, you say?”

But the guild master continued to deny it to the end.

Mihail’s smile deepened at the corners of his lips.

“Is that not true?”

“The purifier Sir Andantino is looking for is dead. The information guild merely provided the correct information and completed the request.”

Even as he uttered the lie, Cyril remained calm.

He calculated that while he was stalling Mihail here, Jacques would take Seraphina to a safe place.

“We cannot return the money.”

“Where is Miss Sera?”

“It would be troublesome if you throw a tantrum just because you didn’t get what you wanted. Considering you’re a person of high status.”

“You seem to enjoy playing with words.”

Mihail’s turquoise eyes glinted menacingly. It looked as if they might flip over at any moment.

Srrng.

The sword that had been neatly sheathed was smoothly drawn out.

Mihail placed one leg on the table as if to brace himself and brought the sword to Cyril’s neck. Bright red blood started to bead like dew on the slightly cut skin.

“Where is Miss Sera?”

“She’s dead.”

The sword that cut the skin dug a little deeper.

Mihail was threatening with the sword, with his eyes, and with his presence. The pressure in the air was enough to make an ordinary person tremble and make mistakes.

Yet Cyril, with his neck on the verge of being sliced, did not even blink as he stared directly at Mihail. It was an impressive display of nerve.

“Where is she?”

It was the final question.

If he didn’t answer correctly here, some part of his body would surely be severely injured. Cyril knew this instinctively.

Silence flowed.

As the suffocating silence lengthened, the tension at the tip of Mihail’s sword grew heavier.

The unwavering sword of the Holy Knight Order’s leader was straight. So there was no hesitation.

Cyril swallowed dryly.

“Seraphina is…”

He intended to name a different location to buy time.

However, in that instant, as if by magic, the sword was lowered. Mihail’s gaze had shifted to the window.

Cyril reflexively turned his head.

Beyond the window, he saw Seraphina climbing a narrow and steep alley. Claude was with her.

“I should get going now.”

Mihail’s expression as he said that was peculiar.

He thought he had won the game of hide-and-seek by finding the guild master who had given the Ponitan directive, but in the meantime, the annoying Guardian of the North had taken Seraphina away.

How did that bastard know to come here?

Mihail felt as if his insides were heating up as if he had swallowed a fireball. Losing what he considered his own was something he could never tolerate.

The sight of the two people passing side by side outside the window made Mihail’s eyes blaze.

“You dare.”

Since they took what was his, they would have to pay the price, wouldn’t they?

With a fiery heart, Mihail passed by the guild master and left the room.

Once outside, he slowly followed the two people. He could hear Claude grumbling.

“Why do I have to…”

“Be quiet. You pervert.”

“How many times do I have to tell you it wasn’t on purpose?”

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop following me?”

“……”

Claude scratched the back of his head in frustration. Whatever the situation was, the Guardian of the North, who was praised as such, was following Seraphina like someone who had been caught with a weakness.

Mihail observed the two closely. In the process, he noticed that Claude’s ears were burning red.

Ah.

Something happened between them.

Something between a man and a woman.

Realizing this instinctively, Mihail’s eyes flared with anger. In doing so, the presence he usually hid so well was revealed.

Claude turned his head.

“I said I want to be alone! Stop following…”

And just then, Seraphina, who was walking ahead, also turned around.

“Oh…?”

A strangled gasp escaped her lips.

Mihail ignored Claude’s fierce glare and smiled lightly at Seraphina.

“It’s been a while.”