Chapter 65 : Holy Land
"Ouch... my head..."
Everything is blurry. A dull pain pulses in my skull, like my mind crashed against an invisible wall. Everything is destroyed. I see that blinding light again, as if all the magic converged into a single point. What happened...
Ah, yes. Elvie... she was being attacked. There was that woman... and then... an explosion.
"Valentin! Where's Valentin? And Alfira?!"
I scan my surroundings, but everything is hazy, unreal. The fragments of memories tangle together in my head. First things first... where exactly am I?
"Hm hm."
A voice. Weak at first, but it cuts through my mental fog. I don't understand. What's happening?
"Hm hm hm?!"
It grows more insistent. I finally open my eyes for real. This isn't Voltruite. This isn't a battlefield. I'm... in a tavern? A damned tavern!?
"HUM HUM HUM!"
My heart races. Where is Elvaria?!
Around me, everything is irritatingly mundane. A crowded, noisy tavern lit by the flickering glow of candles. Conversations overlap, bursts of laughter and the clinking of mugs resonate in the air. The smell of beer, sweat, and damp wood permeates the room.
But I'm not supposed to be here. I'm... lost.
"HEY, ARE YOU GONNA KEEP IGNORING ME, DAMN IT?!"
The voice startles me. I spin around and lock eyes with a man. Past his forties, scrawny, wearing a green apron typical of a tavern keeper. His black hair and dark eyes shine with barely contained irritation, and a thin mustache adorns his gaunt face.
"What? Wait a minute, who's talking to me? Where am I? Who am I? Who are you?!"
"Well, that confirms it, you're completely plastered, kid. You've been passed out on MY table for hours. Now get out! There are people here who'd like to sleep!"
He glares at me like I'm the lowest of drunks. I squint, trying to figure out who I'm dealing with.
"You look awfully weak..."
"Hey, I don't remember giving you permission to insult me! And besides, I told you to get out of here, you lousy drunk! This is an insult to my lovely tavern. Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get this place, huh?!"
His tone rises, but I can't help judging him.
"I don't think a tavern in Iveralmn would be that hard to get... The continental capital is so wealthy that anyone can open anything these days."
He freezes, surprised, before giving me a perplexed look.
"In Iveralmn? You're that drunk, kid? What's your story, a breakup? This is the Holy Land, so move your ass. I don't know how much you drank, but to forget even the name of the country... that takes effort."
The Holy Land?! My breath catches. But... I was in Voltruite just moments ago. Could Altruista have teleported me here? Why? To separate me from my companions? To isolate me from Elvaria...
"Say... where exactly are we?"
The tavern keeper sighs loudly, visibly out of patience.
"If I answer, will you promise to get lost?"
"Promise."
He rolls his eyes, as if pleading with some invisible deity, then growls:
"We're at Peracles. That's the name of my tavern, and also my name, for your information. I'm pretty well known around here for my excellent beers. My pride, my honor, all that. NOW, GET OUT."
"Thanks for answering. I'm leaving, I'm leaving."
I rise slowly, my legs still shaky. I make sure to push the chair back in place before heading toward the exit. But as I walk away, a murmured phrase reaches my ears, soft but heavy with judgment.
"So young and already that drunk... His girlfriend must've dumped him in some horrible way."
A bitter smile forms on my lips. A horrible way, huh... If only you knew. Altruista literally destroyed an entire village to sever my ties with Elvie and the others. But sure, let's call that a brutal breakup.