Chương 86: Chapter 85: Nate

It had been almost eight months since they had gone away. Nate looked out the window. He was watching the sunset as the eighth month came to an end, bringing forth a new month. While he was watching, he noticed that a carriage had appeared, and a bunch of people came to open it, carrying out a duffel bag. He noticed that the duffel bag seemed to be squirming. It was oddly shaped, too.

Recalling that the people here tended to hunt for their food, he became rather interested in what animal they could have possibly caught this time. But with a yawn, he decided not to watch anymore and headed off to bed. Tomorrow would be a new day. After they had arrived here, his sister had set him up with a regimen where he was taught basic fighting skills as well as swordsmanship in order to protect himself. His sister had been very adamant that he learn such things.

As he trained with the people here, he grew close to many of them. Although some were very eccentric, others eventually revealed that they had come to this place as a refuge. However, they never really explained too much about what they were doing. Every time they tried, it seemed as though his sister or someone related to her would always call the person away for some reason.

But he always knew that his sister truly needed them for something important because every time they came back, they looked much rosier than before. Their concerns, or whatever had been holding them back, would always be taken care of. Everybody here was truly kind. There were occasional people who looked down on him because he had come here because of a woman and was relying on her to be able to stay here. But he was proud.

He always told them that he was proud of his sister, and that was something he would always be proud of. He was even happier that his sister had come here because of her own abilities, and that he was able to come with her because of how strong and amazing she was. After realizing that they could not insult him with such words, they eventually quit and naturally just gave him disdainful looks every so often. But they never truly crossed the line. He opened the door to his room.

It was a nice room, covered in a bunch of stuffed toys, as well as different trinkets here and there. During this time, his sister, after getting some sort of salary from the people, had been buying things to keep him entertained. Most of the things were things that he had asked for during his childhood. He clenched his fist, staring at the piles of toys. He swiftly wiped away the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"I need to stop getting emotional over this." One day, he would be able to do the same and get her the things she had always wanted. He closed his door, headed to bed, and lay down.

"I just need to get stronger. And once I do, she will..." He paused.

"I'll make sure she'll never have to work another day in her life." … It had been two years since he had made that promise to himself. During that time, he had noticed something strange. For a set period of time, his sister would always disappear at least once a month to go somewhere. He could not understand it. He just assumed it was for some occasional business. It was not until halfway through the year, when he overheard her after finding the room she would always go to, that he became curious.

Listening in, he heard her as though she were talking to somebody else. But from what he understood, there was no one in there. Nobody had stepped into that room, meaning she was probably talking through some kind of magical communication device. Either way, he knew it was not his place to ask about it. During that year, he had slowly mastered the sword, along with his basic training, meaning he only needed to train for three hours every day. He had an extensive amount of free time.

Therefore, he started helping out in the kitchen. Yes, he did. He came to understand the number of people who tended to eat there and how much they tended to eat. Eventually, he started to notice something. There always seemed to be an order to make slightly more food every three days. He always thought that it was weird, but given how consistently it happened throughout the year, he knew something was off. But it was not until he overheard that conversation that he thought he should probably start investigating.

During the second year, he tried to subtly ask what the extra food was for because there was always something left over, such as a porridge made of various things for the stomach. But the people would not really answer, and they were always evasive. He knew those looks by then, having seen them many times before. So he stopped pushing, lest his sister come to know about it. But something was always nagging at him.

At this point, he had begun to work on his agility skills because, if he needed to follow someone, he needed to make sure that he would not give himself away. It was not until the end of the year that he was able to follow the person and see what they were hiding. To be honest, he should not get all the credit because, at some point, his sister stopped going into her meeting room and started heading in the same direction as the other person.

Thanks to that, after trying to figure out the patterns and ensuring that he could outmaneuver the person in question, who was extremely sensitive to his surroundings, he was able to make his way toward the dungeon. She had no idea that he had discovered it. Through a secret passage, he made his way quietly down the stairs. As he reached the bottom, he saw a wall made of glass that allowed him to see the other side. There were two guards standing in front of the door that led into the room.

Above the wall, from what Nate had understood, were similar gadgets that allowed people from the outside to see what was happening inside while preventing the people inside from seeing what was happening outside. His sister had stated that it was a one-way magical transmission that showed what was happening inside to those outside. As he watched, he saw his sister dragging something. He could not clearly make it out. Turning his attention elsewhere he saw someone, a figure, who seemed to be tied to a chair.

As he looked at the person, he studied them closely and thought deeply. He did not remember anyone like this, and he would know. As he thought, he remembered that day two years ago when he had seen the strangely shaped bag. Because they never ended up eating meat the next day, he now understood that the bag was probably something suspicious, but he had never really questioned it. And now... Could it be that they had kidnapped someone? But his sister would... never.

His thoughts began to drift as he noticed his sister fall down, clutching her head and seemingly saying something. He did not have time to second-guess himself. He rushed through. The figure tied to the chair barely registered in his mind. Jeanette was on the ground, clutching her head. Whatever was happening, she was in pain. His speed was so great that the guards did not even have time to understand what had happened.

In the next moment, he had thrown the door wide open and rushed toward Jeanette, quietly rubbing her back.

"It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. Breathe. Breathe."