novelraw Chapter 157: Engagement - The Vanished Woman
Chapter 157: Engagement - The Vanished Woman
157. Engagement - The Vanished Woman
[ Thank you for playing "Raising Lena." ]
Lena's hair slipped through Leo's fingers. The murmuring citizens, the broken railing, and the Swordmaster who lost his mask as he fell into the canal—all of it vanished in an instant.
A hideous face with a broken jaw came into view. It was a sight that would capture anyone's attention, but Leo couldn't focus on it.
Something irreplaceable had disappeared, a body all too familiar was sinking into the canal. A head that should never have been light was now in his hand.
'......'
Darkness descended. Leo watched Lena's touch slip away through his fingers in utter bewilderment.
How could this be?
Can a person die so easily? How can everything end so abruptly and without warning?
His head felt like it would split open.The rapidly rising anger, the guilt that everything was his fault, and the memory of her shy smile as their warmth intertwined tore at his sanity.
Gasp.
But Leo Dexter endured. He fought to maintain his composure, swallowing his breath rapidly.
If I lose it too, it's over.
He hadn't even read the last message, and there were so many things he needed to tell Minseo in this round.
Leo struggled to keep from falling apart. But as the dry words floated up, the image of Lena emerged, and he finally broke down and cried.
[ Lena Ainar ]
[ Final Job: Grand Warrior of the Ainar Tribe ]
[ Marriage Partner: Engaged to Leo ]
[ Leo Dexter ]
[ Final Job: Apostle of Barbatos ]
[ Marriage Partner: Engaged to Lena ]
[ Engagement Ending: Honeymoon ]
- Lena Ainar, born in Castle Avril, had a happy childhood... (omitted)... On her way back from the match, Lena threw herself at Count Jacob Mordred, the Swordmaster who suddenly attacked Leo. She died by the Count's sword while trying to save Leo. -
- Leo Dexter, born in the capital city of Barnaul, had a happy childhood... (omitted)... Leo went mad. He killed the citizens who gathered indiscriminately. He set up a sacrificial altar with their bodies and became a formal apostle of Barbatos, then fought and died in a battle against Count Jacob Mordred who emerged from the canal. -
[ The Childhood Friend Scenario Ending has been changed. ]
+ Rev, born in Demos Village, had a happy childhood. With his beloved parents... (omitted)... Rev, who became an apostle, was mentally consumed by Barbatos. After killing all the humans in Nevis, he went to Jerome Holy Kingdom to take Lena... +
Lena's severed neck filled half of the picture. The face that had been obscured by the ending message was now vividly visible, piercing Leo's heart.
Her face bore no expression. Her lips were mashed together as if she had clenched her teeth before her neck was severed, but her wide-open pupils simply indicated her death.
Lena, you fool. You stupid woman. Why did you follow me? Why! I told you to run...
A round sphere vibrated briefly.
But that was all. No sound, no scream, no selfish resentment escaped. The belated apology didn’t either.
Before long, the words and images floating in the air vanished upward. Realizing he would soon disappear too, Leo Dexter barely managed to mutter a message to Minseo.
Not sure if you can hear this.
As Leo Dexter vanished, Minseo suddenly rose. Though he had returned to his original state as the fragmented one reached the end, Minseo was still out of his mind.
'Ah, no... Stop it. Please. Leave the kids alone. Grandpa too. Haha, isn't it fun... Aaaagh!'
Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. And blood.
Everywhere he looked, there was blood. He was repeatedly killing people horrifically and then writhing in pain while happily accepting the sweet divine power.
However, maybe it was because of Leo Dexter's message, or maybe it was the familiar darkness surrounding him, Minseo desperately read through the ending credits as he recalled the horrific murder scene.
And just as he was about to lose his mind again, a message indicating the next event appeared.
[ You failed to clear "Raising Lena." ]
[ Leo, you fought a fierce battle with the Swordmaster. For this achievement, you are awarded the ability {Swordsmanship.4v: Jacob Style}. ]
[ Restarting. ]
“Brother... I'm hungry...”
When he came to his senses, it was Orville. Leo, who had fainted momentarily while sitting, woke up and looked around in bewilderment.
A dirty street. A damp bottom and the insatiable hunger that flooded in.
'I’ve come back.'
Smelling the stench of filth, Leo de Yeriel sighed. When he raised his arm, it was gaunt but not decayed.
Oriax.
I died from that bastard's curse. My last memory was crawling on the ground, trying to get to Lena, who was alone.
‘The others... all failed.’
The memories of others clung to him belatedly. They were the memories of Rev, who became an apostle, and Leo Dexter, who desperately tried to live happily.
“Brother. I'm thirsty too...”
Groan—
Leo stood up. Feeling the sword dangling at his waist and the few coins jangling in his pocket as the {starting funds} filled up, he reached out to his sister.
Lena, who was sitting in the filth with a face covered in grime, raised her arms. Her small hand feebly landed on Leo’s left palm, which was not marked by Barbatos.
“Lena. Let’s go eat. It must have been tough all this time.”
Lena looked up with an expression as if asking what he was talking about, but Leo didn’t retract his words.
How hard must it have been for his sister left alone without him. Though she had risen to the rank of a duchess, she would have been lonelier and more exhausted than she was now, starving like this.
Leo supported his staggering sister. He held her thin waist and helped her step over the stones.
Lena accepted her brother's actions naturally...
“Hmm? Brother. What's this? And what's that?”
She pointed to the sword and bracelet.
“I picked it up this morning. I'll show you after we eat.”
Leo set his priorities straight. Lena simply said, "Okay," and didn't ask any more questions.
Leo scratched through Minseo's memories. He turned left and right through the alleyways, heading towards the market.
As he had done many times before, he showed a silver coin to the owner of the chicken shop. The shopkeeper, who disapproved of the dirty clothes of the beggar siblings, grudgingly agreed to sell them boiled chicken.
“No seasoning needed?”
“Yes. Just the boiled chicken, broth, and a little salt, please.”
“It’s going to be bland and tasteless. Don’t complain later... Fine.”
When Leo handed over the silver coin, the owner turned without further comment.
“Brother, where did you get that? That’s money, right?”
His sister repeated the same questions she had asked several times before. It was always Lena’s reaction upon seeing the {starting funds}.
“Can you buy a house with it?”
Leo responded appropriately to his sister's naive questions. He followed the answers Minseo had given before, but the quickly prepared boiled chicken soon blocked Lena’s mouth.
Nom nom nom nom.
“It's hot, so eat slowly. Here’s some salt. If it’s too dry, drink some broth.”
Despite the lack of seasoning, Lena devoured the chicken as if it were the best thing she had ever tasted. She didn’t even bother with the salt.
Well, it’s better not to have anything too stimulating on an empty stomaChapter ─ Thought Leo as he busily ate his share of the chicken.
The chicken was gone in an instant.
The shopkeeper watched the siblings with a look of disdain, wondering what kind of beggars they were. Leo, who was sharing the greasy broth with his sister, got up. He pulled Lena, who was about to lick the remaining salt from her hand, away.
As they stepped outside, Lena asked again. Behind them, the shopkeeper was sprinkling the leftover salt.
“Brother, what are those things you said you found this morning?”
“This is a bracelet, and this is a sword. They’re weapons... but just look, don’t touch.”
Leo showed her the bracelet with only two beads left and the one bound item, the sword, pulling it out about two inches. He let her touch only the scabbard, not the blade.
Lena, slightly pouting, said, “You didn’t get water this morning because you were busy finding these things.”
“...”
Come to think of it... Leo was puzzled. There was something odd about what Minseo had casually accepted until now.
- Why didn’t I fetch water this morning?
That wasn’t the only question.
The starting point of the scenario. The dirty alley with puddles of dirty water wasn’t their home. It wasn’t far, but it was a few alleys away, and they must have sought shelter there from a downpour.
‘Without drinking water... Where was I going?’
That must have been the case. Otherwise, there was no reason to leave the house.
He didn’t know when it had started raining that morning, but it didn’t seem like they moved in the rain, and if it had rained before they left, they would have drunk rainwater from the cup placed outside their shabby home.
Also, if something had prevented him from fetching water that morning and they were on their way to get some, there would have been no reason to leave the cup behind.
“Lena, did I tell you where we were going this morning?”
Leo asked. But Lena shook her head gently.
“No. You just said we should go somewhere. Then when it started raining, you said we should look for food after the rain stopped.”
“...That’s right.”
Leo let go of the question. It was something from the past that seemed impossible to find out now.
“Where are we going now?”
“...There’s a place we need to go.”
Lena pouted her lips again. But this time, there really was no way to explain it to her.
He was going to find Cassia. He was seeking help from someone he had never met, so there was nothing to tell Lena in advance.
[ Achievement: The Man Saved by Cassia’s Sacrifice - Gains high favor from Cassia. ]
Moreover, due to the ‘high favor achievement,’ Cassia would tremble and do her utmost to be kind. She would offer anything to the point of making the receiver suspicious.
Saying that he knew this felt awkward and inappropriate.
Leo walked on, familiar with the path.
He had walked this route many times. It was a path he had frequently traveled while working as a thug, so he could almost navigate it with his eyes closed without fear of getting lost.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never not received help from Cassia.’
In the first round of the beggar siblings, she had shown them unconditional kindness when they collapsed in front of her pharmacy.
In the second round (though it ended badly), she had given them a room when they had nowhere else to go. In the third round, she had introduced them to Ober and vouched for their identity as they tried to join the Launo family.
And then, Cassia had thrown herself at the knight Irenae to save the man who had pushed her away. Like Lena Ainar in the previous round, she had been beheaded.
A kind woman.
Yet, the only thing she wanted in return was a single hug, a truly pitiable woman.
‘This time, I’ll make sure to repay her. I won’t make her go out to earn money again.’ ─ Leo vowed as he turned into the leather street alley.
He no longer hated or resented her.
But,
“Huh?”
Leo’s steps halted. Cassia’s shop was nowhere to be seen. Instead of the shoe store that should have been in the middle of this alley, there was only a storage room piled with miscellaneous items.
Confused, Leo wondered if he had come to the wrong place. Despite knowing it couldn’t be, he wandered around the area. He returned to the storage room that should have been a shoe store, dumbfounded.
Cassia had disappeared.
Even the absolute ability {Tracking}, awarded as a scenario reward, couldn’t locate her.
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