Chapter 46: Return Journey
The question came as a result of something strange that was happening at the end of the loop. The cycle had gone on for what felt like eternity to Morden, but then he suddenly felt a change in the scene.
The actions that had continuously caused him pain were suddenly cut off, and then he temporarily got control of the body.
His immediate response to that was to scan the environment for more clues, especially that window area, and that was when he saw it.
A shadow figure nestled in the corner; what struck him the most was the sharp red glow of its eye. Morden wanted to approach and investigate further, but before he could move close enough, the scene started collapsing. The next moment he was back in his body with the night sky up above his head.
He was out of the horror scene.
’There’s no more sign of combat, which means she had probably ended the battle herself.’
Despite his mood being at the lowest point he had been in a few days, he still forced a smile before standing up and approaching the other two.
’On the bright side, I have another clue, and if we manage to get back to the organization, I will get even more clues.’
He walked while he thought so; at this moment, he was already in front of the other two, who had also noticed his approach.
"Hello, I am Morden," he said while stretching out his hand.
While he spoke, Morden could feel Lisa’s eyes were locked straight on his lips.
’Why is she staring at my lips like that?’
"Hello Morden, I am Lisa and I am deaf," Lisa responded.
The awkward smile on Morden’s face suddenly went down the moment he heard the later part of her introduction.
"Deaf?" he asked.
"Yes, why is that strange?" Lisa said again.
"Ohh, sorry, it’s not strange at all; I just wondered why you needed to add the point immediately after introducing yourself," Morden said.
"Because I don’t have the energy to handle misunderstandings and awkward scenarios, so it’s just better this way," Lisa answered.
Instead of speaking directly, Morden turned to look at Darlus and see if he had anything to say to that, but he noticed he didn’t seem interested in the conversation as his eyes were locked on the night sky.
"He probably saw something devastating while he was unconscious, and he was even unconscious for much longer than I was, so I can guess how he will feel."
"I have a few questions; I hope you don’t mind," Morden spoke up after deciding to leave Darlus alone for now.
"Hmmm, you seem just like that kind of person, so I won’t be stopping you, shoot."
"Alright, my first question is, how are you able to communicate so cleanly and perfectly without any problems, and the second question is, are you because of an accident or something else?"
When she heard the second part of his question, Lisa couldn’t help but look at Morden strangely, her eyes showing a bit of reluctance.
"I can communicate because I can read your lips perfectly. I have years of practice, so there are almost no mistakes, and my Bearer ability and path were chosen specifically for that."
"To answer your second question, I have been deaf since birth, which explains my long years of practice."
"Is that all?" she added.
"Yes, you answered all my questions, but that raises another question."
"Why did you give out all this information so willingly?"
"Because I don’t like hassles, if I don’t answer, you will try to figure it out in one way or another, so why not just say it directly?"
"Hmmm, okay then, I think we should report back," Morden said.
After that, he went back to the monster’s body to pick up his sword that was still lodged in its chest and gave the monster itself a final look.
"Bastard," he cursed with gritted teeth before turning around to join the others.
While he approached the other two ’slaves,’ a short analysis of the two displayed characters flashed in his mind.
"Lisa, on one hand, appears to be really direct and avoids any form of ruses and antics, while Darlus, on the other hand, seems to be hiding a lot of things under a fun, nice exterior."
’These two seem like fun to work with,’ a smile formed on his face.
"Hey student, hurry back here and stop smiling like that," Darlus shouted from the front, the sulking face he had previously had completely banished.
"Alright, alright, teacher, I am coming."
Morden rushed forward to join them, and then they all turned around and went back in the direction the two boys had come from.
They were going back into the city.
When they arrived at the gate, Lisa paid her entry fee herself, and the trio continued their journey. This time they didn’t run, nor did they rush; they just moved at their own pace while all of them were stuck in their own minds.
Morden, on one hand, was thinking about the scene he saw about one hundred times and the change that appeared at the end, but that thought was cut short when he noticed Lisa walk close up to him from behind.
"Be careful of that one in front, he is holding something far worse than you think, even I don’t fully know," she said in what she believed to be a low voice but it was actually quite high and even Darlus to whom she was referring also flinched slightly when he heard that.
’I guess volume control isn’t easy due to her condition.’
In response to her warning, Morden turned to look at her before giving her a curt nod and then walking faster to meet Darlus.
"Ohh, Teacher, what important knowledge do you have to impart to this naive student?" Morden said in an exaggerated tone.
"Hahahahahaha," Darlus burst out laughing.
"What the hell was that?" he added after managing to hold in his laughter.
From then, the rest of the journey was much easier and less tense, and soon the trio were in front of Mona again.
"I see you are the third one," she said while looking at Lisa.
"That’s fine then; you three should try to look after each other; you are all in the same circumstance."
That was all she said before dismissing them as fast as possible, not bothering to ask about the roughness in their appearance and the tiny wounds on them, especially Lisa.
"Ohhh, and don’t forget to collect your reward," she added before the door could fully close.
’Haaaaa, it’s finally time for that.’