Chapter 15 – A Girl Called Alice
Startled, he tried to rush out of the water to grab his clothes but didn't want to expose himself.
Lucky for me, the water is covering me from the waist down.
Thinking quickly, Lucan summoned his mantle, and he was once again clothed in black with a coat-like mantle.
"Much better..."
'Cough', 'cough'
The girl fake-coughed to cover her embarrassment as Lucan emerged from the water.
"Sorry, I hadn't bathed in days and didn't expect anyone to show up," he explained.
"I understand," she replied, blushing.
At that moment, Lucan took a better look at her. Now, away from the darkness of night, his almost-assassin didn't seem so lethal.
The girl had long blonde hair, her skin was very fair, and Lucan didn't look too closely to confirm the color of her eyes, but they were either blue or green. She was incredibly beautiful.
Why am I feeling embarrassed?
"Did you find anyone?" Lucan asked hopefully. "Oh, right... you're not the trusting type. I only asked because I want to get home as soon as possible."
"No one," she said curtly.
I'm screwed if this conversation keeps up with these awkward silences.
"And?"
"I came to check if you were still alive," she said.
"Thanks, I'm taking it one tough day at a time."
"You seem to be doing well."
"Well? I've almost died multiple times, and yesterday I nearly puked seeing the most disgusting thing in my life... I don't even want to remember it."
A wave of nausea hit him as he recalled the larvae in the Albino Goblin's brain.
Oh, right... I'm not wearing my ring.
Lucan summoned the ring onto his finger.
That's better.
In the midst of the silence, a stomach growled.
"Oops, sorry," Lucan said.
"It was mine..." she lowered her head, embarrassed.
Wait, she's hungry? I thought she'd be in much better shape than me... I mean, she could easily kill those wolves.
"No problem, I only managed to eat properly this morning. But I'm surprised you're hungry. I thought you'd easily handle monsters like those wolves."
"My military rations ran out a few days ago, and I've been staying more inside the city looking for help. Things are... complicated there. I barely survived, and the ones I killed were more humanoid monsters."
Great, she speaks more than two sentences.
"Good, at least they serve as a meal."
"I can't eat... those bipeds, they look too human..."
"Ahhhh, now I understand. Yeah, I wouldn't be able to either."
Lucan turned the meat over.
"Come on, you can eat."
He invited her, showing the meat.
"You could've taken parts of the dead wolves you found before, right?"
"Yes, but after seeing they were your kill, I didn't."
Wow, she has principles. If it were me, I would've eaten easily. Especially since she saw there were three dead wolves, I doubt ten people could finish all that meat.
Lucan sighed.
"Right, we're in the middle of nowhere in a deadly territory, and that's your concern?" Lucan chuckled.
The girl glanced to the side, giving a small smile, then pulled out a knife, stabbed a piece of meat, and started eating.
Lucan didn't say anything, letting her eat.
So many questions I want to ask, like what the hell happened? Why did the damn Bonfire send me to this cursed place? Is it possible to get back home and so many other things.
"Are you really an ordinary person? I thought you might be Ignisian, used to this sort of thing."
"I'm just a humble wage worker from Earth. I'm not from the high caste that lives in this world, at least not in an uncorrupted region. It seems we're far from where humanity has reached in this place," said Lucan.
The girl was looking around.
"One day my Inner God awakened, and I had to go through the Initiation. Then when I returned… I was sent straight here. I'm still an Initiate," he said, taking a piece of meat with his knife.
The silence continued for a while.
It's going to be hard to talk like this…
"Luckily, I wasn't a normal kid. So I know the basics of survival. Kids on Earth who don't have good status don't live so well. The Convents helped us with food, clothing, and most importantly, training. Of course, it was basic stuff like how to make a fire to keep warm in winter, how to identify rotten food by smell, how to catch rainwater, how to treat contaminated water, and things like that."
"I see…" she said.
Is that all she can say? Gods, I'm screwed.
"But what about you? What made you decide to come to this world on an expedition?"
"I was with a group of students from the Academy on Earth. We were selected… the best ones. Along with a small army from the royal family, they took us to gain some experience. It wasn't a difficult place, we had everything… it was more to give a good image to the public and give us some contact with danger. We went to an area practically dominated, a place the royal army spent years conquering. In the end, we dealt with an area boss and completed our mission."
Lucan whistled in admiration.
"An area boss? That's big."
"For our level, yes, and we also had help from soldiers who were sent to assist. The hardest work was done by those who faced the Territory Boss."
The girl took out a canteen of water and drank.
Ignore it, Lucan. You already have the pan to purify the lake water… don't even try to ask her for a bit. Gods! I'm so thirsty.
"I found traces of people and maybe an exit, I came to tell you," she said.
"Exit? What do you mean, something that takes us back to Earth?"
"I think I found a path made by humans. I don't know where it leads, but it's our best chance. I've been wandering around the city for almost ten days. I found recently dead bodies of soldiers and some students. I don't know who else got here, but I know that the closer I get to the castle… I only see death and corpses. Those who were teleported closer to the center of the city… I don't know if they're still alive."
"And how did you find it?" Lucan asked, anxious. "What path? I… I'm relieved."
"Not directly to Earth, but it's a possibility. I found some wooden signs in our language scattered around."
"Finally, something..."
"The inscriptions always said the same thing, mentioning the sewers. There were signs with arrows pointing towards the sewers... I think there might be people there. No creature is smart enough to understand human language and create something like this."
"Sewers? I don't know if that's a good idea."
"I know, it seems dangerous. But trust me, after spending ten days wandering deeper into the city, thinking I was the only person in this ruined land, I don't have many options left. Anyone alive in the city must have come across the same signs at some point. So, my only hope is that the survivors of the expedition also decided to follow this direction or escaped to this area around the city. That's how I found you; I decided to walk around the outskirts and found your trail."
Man, sewers, that's really relying on luck. But at least I know I wasn't abandoned in this hellhole.
"That's why I came to tell you. You don't have to come, though I would appreciate all the help I can get. I asked you to wait here, so I'm letting you know I'll be preparing to go."
Damn! She's decided. I would need time to assess the situation and check out the signs. I'd try to study as much as I could and look at the paths... but it seems she's already done that and made her decision.
"I'll go with you. Staying here waiting for something to happen won't do any good. If there are signs indicating a path, it means humans took the trouble to create a route in a haunted city."
She looked surprised.
"Exactly," she said.
"So, where are these signs, and when do we go?"
She paused, thinking.
"I'm not going right away until I've finished checking some places. Give me two days, and I'll come back here with at least an idea of a path."
"No problem, I'll take care of some pending things in the meantime."
"Then I'll see you in two days," she said, getting up and walking away.
"Good, see you next time," Lucan said.
"My name is Alice."
"I'm Lucan, as you know, but you can call me Luke."
She kept walking and then stopped.
"See you in two days, Luke. Don't die."
And then she entered the forest and disappeared.
I need to prepare then. No way I'm entering the sewers without first getting some good equipment.
Luke looked in the direction of the asylum.
"Back to sweet home."