What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 684

#684

Coward and Catacombs (7)

I followed Cain, accompanied by François’s ‘little helper.’

I couldn’t possibly let my friend venture alone through enemy territory’s underground passage.

Isabel, of course, volunteered to come, but I dissuaded her, suggesting she rest with her friends.

It seemed Cain was reluctant to reveal her current state to her mother, and I understood why, so minimizing the group size felt right.

Besides, I was the most stable of the group, especially with my holy ground deployment.

And above all…

‘It would be better for you to go.’

‘Really? Did you perhaps hear Cain’s inner thoughts?’

‘Shut up.’

Cedric quietly appointed me, though his expression was far from pleased.

-Splash, splash, splash…

“There’s water pooled here.”

The underground passage was quite spacious near the entrance, but as we progressed, the height and width noticeably increased.

Holding the small torch the Crown Prince had provided, I carefully watched my step.

The floor, once intermittently tiled, now resembled a perfectly paved road.

The ceiling was an arch of elaborately stacked stones, devoid of any significant carvings or inscriptions.

Suddenly, the rock guarding the passage’s entrance came to mind.

‘‘To steal your death.’ That’s the literal meaning.’

‘Steal death?’

‘In other words… ‘So that you can avoid death,’ something like that.’

Sir Johan’s voice was as calm and measured as ever.

A place that avoids death… What on earth could that mean?

What exactly did Lilianer Venetian do here?

-Slosh, slosh, slosh

Oops.

“…Are you planning to keep following us?”

-Slosh, slosh!

The puddle that had been sloshing along since earlier seemed to have grown larger than I initially thought, though it could be my imagination.

I smiled awkwardly and examined it from every angle.

I knew of only one being capable of such a thing, but the baby [referring to a water spirit or similar entity] would be sound asleep in the main camp cabin by now, making it impossible for it to be here alone.

The crystal bell had remained silent, ruling out a demonic beast (they generally dislike water and fire).

And I didn’t sense any particular malice either…

“Why? Just purely trying to help us?”

Shrug.

“…Did you just shrug your shoulders?”

It was a phenomenon hard to believe even as I witnessed it, but it happened nonetheless.

I was so dumbfounded that I forgot my original purpose and stood there, rooted to the spot.

The puddle also slowly ceased its walk(?).

“Anyway, you’re not trying to harm us, right? You don’t seem like that kind of being… Are you listening?”

-Glug, glug, glug…

“Are you perhaps eating right now?”

No, I don’t even know if you can call that eating!

I was briefly in shock, blankly watching the puddle absorb the surrounding water with a gurgling sound, growing in size.

It seemed to be enjoying a rather pleasant meal, so I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt.

I’ve seen so many strange sights since arriving here, but this was a truly unique spectacle.

After waiting for a few seconds…

-Slosh, slosh, slosh!

“Ah, cold!”

It stretched out a long stream of water, grabbed my calf, and suddenly veered sharply.

My body swayed violently as it pulled me into a fork I hadn’t even noticed.

Little one, let’s go slowly! A desperate cry echoed through the hallway.

Holding onto my belt for dear life, I struggled to keep my balance.

Why is this kid suddenly doing this…!

“Sniff.”

…Ah.

“……”

When our eyes met, her darkly sunken eyes quickly darted away, hiding behind her knees.

It was Cain, her nose red. I stood there blankly, holding the torch.

Just a few hundred meters from where the group was resting, she was sitting alone, hugging her knees.

Only then did I look down at the puddle that had created a bridge.

It seemed this child had found my friend.

After offering a silent thank you, I approached Cain, suppressing my footsteps as much as possible. Even then, she stubbornly refused to raise her head.

Only her messy, tangled hair was visible, curling around her back, and the sight of that small figure tugged at my heart.

“Is it okay if I sit next to you?”

…She was just like Eunseo. Jung Eunseo on a very upsetting day.

“…Yes.”

A nasal reply came back.

I hung the torch on a rusty torch holder on the nearby wall and sat quietly beside her.

The floor was a bit damp, but it was okay because we were together.

“……”

-Slosh…

And for a while, no words passed between us.

The underground was very quiet. Occasionally, the sound of water droplets falling from somewhere could be heard.

Then the puddle would move stealthily, as if gauging our mood, swallow the droplets with a gulp, and grow a little bigger.

I watched its antics, which weren’t really antics, and sometimes glanced at Cain’s hands or toes.

But I didn’t initiate the conversation.

-Drip, drip, drip…

Someone might look at us and be frustrated, saying, ‘Is this the time for that?’

They might scold us, saying there’s no time to indulge in such sentiments during a war, to shake it off and move forward.

But I dared to think that this was precisely when we needed to be like this.

The wounds of the soul are also wounds, and the pain from unforgettable memories is also a vivid pain.

We can grant a knight suffering from unhealed injuries a short respite.

“…Your Highness.”

Finally, she spoke, still with her head down.

“Yes.”

“Yeseo.”

“Yes.”

“…Have you ever been to a piano academy when you were young?”

Then, in a muffled voice, she asked a completely unexpected question.

I blinked, trying to recall.

“…Yes. I went from first to fourth grade in elementary school. I’m not entirely sure, though.”

“Then can you play that? Czerny [a series of piano exercises]?”

“Hmm… I think I played up to Czerny 30. I don’t remember any of it now.”

“I wish I could.”

“……”

Suddenly, a pang of envy struck me. For the first time, I turned to look at her.

But the knight was lost in the lake of the past, with only the tips of her ears visible.

“…I wanted to go to a piano academy too. And a taekwondo academy.”

…….

“Later, I asked, and my sister said she wanted to go to a piano academy too. But my sister didn’t show it, and I kept nagging my mom. So I got scolded alone.”

“……”

“My dad yelled at me for being immature, throwing dishes around, saying where would we get the money to send you to such places. He wouldn’t tell me to be filial [respectful to parents], but to act my age.”

“……”

“I was ten years old then.”

I held my breath and closed my eyes. Cain’s voice continued intermittently without a pause.

“…When I was around twenty, I thought the saying ‘age is just a number’ was just adults trying to make themselves feel better. I thought, ‘That person is just saying that because they don’t like being old?’ I thought that inside.”

“……”

“But at some point, I realized what it meant.”

Finally, she slowly raised her head. Our eyes met. Her eyes were a little red.

“I can’t keep up with my age.”

A choked voice escaped her lips. At the same time, my throat tightened.

“I’m over thirty, but my mind can’t keep up with that number. It keeps getting caught in those days.”

“……”

“So age is just a number. At least for me… That’s right.”

“……”

What should I say at times like this? No, what can I say?

I moved my lips for a long time, trying to find a sentence that would comfort her.

But, pathetically, nothing properly formed in my head.

I sincerely wanted to comfort her and be someone she could rely on, but at moments like this, I truly felt like a ‘younger sibling.’

Foolishly.

“……”

After much deliberation, all I managed to do was carefully reach out and hold her hand.

Then Cain stared at me and let out a puff of air.

And not long after, a cool weight landed on my shoulder.

A few strands of pink hair came into view.

“……”

After pondering a bit more in that state, I slowly tilted my head towards her.

Soon, our heads touched, and for a moment, only the sound of our breathing flowed quietly.

It was a posture where we could no longer meet each other’s eyes, but it was rather comforting.

Holding hands like this and leaning on each other, it felt like my heart, that I would always be by her side, would be conveyed.

Closing my eyes gently…

“Wow, damn. What is that.”

Flinch!

“Yes?”

“Your Highness, sniff. Isn’t that an ant? A swarm of ants is going in a line. And there are so many of them.”

“Oh, oh……”

I tilted my head in bewilderment, and after spotting an ominous shadow, I hurriedly got up from my seat.

While I was taking the torch off the wall, Cain took out a whip from her waist.

When I hurriedly shone the light on the floor…

-Swish, swish, swish…

“Ugh!”

-Slosh!

Hundreds of thousands, millions… No, at least hundreds of millions of ants were hurrying somewhere.

It was even terrifying to see so many of them for the first time in my life!

The puddle was also startled and ran to hide behind us.

It was literally to the level where half of the hallway was blackened with ants, and there was a chill down my spine at the sight of them running without a single one leaving the ranks.

The group was heading towards the path we had come from all at once. To be exact―

“Could they be trying to get to the surface? They look like they’re running away.”

“I was thinking the same thing. We may have already approached the heart of the corrupted mana.”

“That’s right. I don’t know how much time has passed because it’s dark.”

François had a magic stone pocket watch, but it had broken down as soon as we entered the underground full of corrupt power.

I nodded at Cain’s words and lit up the other side of the hallway with the torch.

It was the direction from which the ants were constantly pouring out.

Tension made me swallow hard.

-Rustle, rustle…

“Cain.”

“Shall we go take a look?”

“…As expected, you’re quick on the uptake, noona [term of endearment for an older sister or female friend].”

I said it a bit timidly, but Cain heard it again and smiled pleasantly.

I felt like my face was about to explode with embarrassment.

We grabbed hands again and walked into the deep darkness of the fork.

My friends would be happy if we could find any clues and return.

If it seems too dangerous, let’s run back without looking back.

…Ah. I forgot to tell her to talk to Isabel.

At that time, the 33rd Cavalry Regiment was taking a break that wasn’t really a break.

The reason why it wasn’t a perfect break was, first of all, they had a captured prisoner.

And that was a high-ranking royal holy knight.

“So, Your Grace, are you saying that you actually have no soldiers under your command?”

Isabel asked softly.

Leopold Lasso looked at the other men and nodded.

As expected, Jibril Diop swept back his hair and sneered.

“Ha. A duke without a single private soldier? Don’t you know who we are yet? You better not try to deceive us.”

“I, really! I came here alone, alone… The Count of the Court and Duke Sneider told me that would be enough. That just me, just participating would be meaningful……”

He continued in a tearful voice.

Sant already looked like he was dying of pity for the duke.

Johan gave the priest an awkward smile.

“If I come to the battlefield… I can take care of the rhinos myself……”

It was then.

-Thud, thud…

“Uwaaaah!”

“Waaaaah! Your Highness! Crown Princeeeeee!”

From the other side of the hallway, a tremendous roar poured out along with vibrations like a herd of rhinos was running.

Cedric immediately got up from his seat and drew his blessed sword.

But there was such a thing as bewilderment that even the great Groser could not overcome.

-Thud thud thud thud…!