Chapter 41 (2/2)

As Lapis c.o.c.ked her head at his behavior, Loren then purposely said to her in a complaining manner.

“You can’t tell me, either, huh.”

“It’s not that. Your question was, in fact, vague, so I’m not sure what to tell you.”

“About these series of events. You’ve noticed quite a bit already, right?”

“For example, why we found Shayna in the forest? Why the forest wolves didn’t attack her? The mysterious illness that Broas and the others have? The fact that we found a survivor at this timing?”

Loren gave Lapis, who rolled the questions off her tongue, a sharp glare.

If Lapis had an explanation for everything she just said, Loren believed that it wasn’t too far off to say that most of the mysteries behind this whole thing was uncovered.

The problem was whether Lapis was willing to explain it or not.

“I’m sorry if you got your hopes up, but the only thing I know right now is that Shayna is very suspicious, Broas and the others’ conditions are due to energy drain, and that Shutel is nothing but suspicious.”

He thought she would withhold for a bit longer, but Lapis unexpectedly gave him the information just like that.

That surprised him, but what was more surprising was the word ‘energy drain’.

He just had the knowledge about it, but energy drain was a special ability of high rank undead, and it absorbed life energy and mana from the living. Those who died from it couldn’t rest peacefully, but instead wandered as undead.

“Are you saying that Shayna is the cause?”

“If you see what happened to the people who rode with her, that’s what you would think, right? But from what I can see, Shayna is human. A completely normal one, in fact.”

“Then…”

“That’s what I can’t figure out. There is the possibility that a high rank undead monster is following us, but it’s highly unlikely.”

Some famous high rank undead were vampires, who suck blood, or liches, which high cla.s.s magicians sometimes turned into, but if something like that were following them, it would be stranger not to notice them.

That’s the kind of existence they were.

“In any case, I’m acting on the a.s.sumption that Shayna is suspicious. That’s why I tried to keep her away from Broas and the others, and I’m not letting anyone near them. I performed a ritual for warding off evil in the room as well.”

“You?”

Loren was surprised yet again.

Warding off evil was indeed for warding off bad things, but although she was hiding it, Lapis herself was a demon.

As Loren thought a demon warding off evil seemed like a bad joke, Lapis said to him, looking slightly offended.

“We’re a race that are skilled in using evil and magic. Of course, we have ways to deal with them.”

“Is that so?”

“This technique can be casted on the body as well.”

As Lapis said that proudly, Loren raised his hand to his forehead, not understanding what she meant, but then remembered what happened at the camp and looked at Lapis.

It was when Loren said he wanted to invite Shayna, since all the other adventurers were afraid of her.

Lapis had told him to do as he wanted, as she put her hand on his forehead like she was patting him on the head.

“You…The reason I didn’t fall unconscious.”

“By the way, the reason why I’m fine is because the same spell is incorporated into my prosthetics. For Klaus…I guess it just shows that he has the potential to become a hero>”

Lapis was very skeptical when it came to Klaus, but instead of trying to figure out what was going on with him, Loren wanted to figure out what was going on until now.

“What about Shutel?”

“A lone survivor at this point of time in the city. She’s basically announcing to the whole world that she’s suspicious. Well, is she really a survivor?”

“There’s a reason why you put them in separate rooms, right?”

Putting aside the reasoning and situation, Loren’s goal was to take Shayna back to her parents.

But putting her near someone that they knew was suspicious, without any protection, could only look like Lapis was using her as bait.

But to Loren, using a young girl like that wasn’t something he could overlook.

“You don’t have to worry about it, Loren. Leave this kind of dirty work to me. I’m a demon, after all.”

She must’ve said is since Klaus wasn’t around, but after hearing that, Loren stopped what he was doing.

“Loren?”

“Don’t say things like that. Whatever you are, right now you’re my partner, right?”

For a second after being told that, Lapis had a blank expression, looking like she didn’t understand what Loren had just said to her. After a moment, she avoided his gaze and slowly turned her back to him.

“W-well, you know. Umm, I guess I’m your partner. Well, more like your client. Or you debtor.”

“I don’t care whichever you are. Don’t keep things to yourself and talk to me.”

At Loren’s aggressive and blunt words, Lapis looked back at him with a slightly embarra.s.sed look on her face.

“You’re right. Yes, I’ll do that a bit more.”

As Loren sighed, wishing she would’ve just done that from the start, Lapis looked again at the bucket at his feet, which was now filled with quite a few silver plates.

“So, how are you going to use these?”

“Going to use them as throwing knives. It should be enough for zombies and revenants.”

As soon as Loren replied, a roar from far away echoed throughout the night.

It seemed to have reached the ears of Klaus, who was making barricades, as he came running back to the clinic.

Looking at him, Loren guessed that he wasn’t going to be able to sleep at all tonight as he drew the great sword closer to him.