Siles had originally thought this was merely an ordinary check.
Right now, Chendo—no matter what their relationship currently was—was at least his companion on this journey. Siles certainly would not sit by and watch him turn into a statue due to a sudden attack.
Besides, that attack had originally been aimed at Siles. Chendo had taken the blow to save him.
According to his prior analysis and deduction, Chendo was not turning into a statue instantly, but was instead slowly succumbing to contamination—which was naturally tied to the will of an old god. Almost without thinking, Siles chose to check Chendo’s Will attribute.
He hadn’t expected to obtain any groundbreaking information… Meaning, he had already conducted quite a few checks, and every time he rolled, the dice would indeed provide some information, such as the target’s identity, the outcome of the check, an explanation, and so on.
But no matter what, those were ordinary pieces of information that Siles already knew.
Yet this time…
A Will attribute of 99? Was this truly a human?
…Indeed, he was not human.
What exactly was an “Old God’s Bloodline”?
Siles stared at Chendo in astonishment at that moment. He looked into those emerald-green eyes, while the “gossip” regarding the old gods—which he had previously dismissed as nonsense—suddenly flashed through his mind.
Gods and Believers in the Shadows. This book, recommended by the Kansas student Kellogg and written by the mysterious Jan Calder, mentioned many legends and old rumors concerning the deities, which could even be described as scandals.
Among them, it mentioned that Thaddeus and Lusmi had a child together.
Siles had found that somewhat unbelievable… After all, the “form of existence” of a deity was entirely different from that of a human. They were conceptual creatures, or so Siles believed.
How could they possibly have offspring?
But…
An Old God’s Bloodline.
No matter how one looked at it, this term seemed to have only one interpretation: the literal bloodline descendant of an old god.
Chendo Praia was the descendant of a certain old god? He possessed the bloodline of an old god?
This seemed to explain why he was investigating matters related to the old gods, why he possessed an incredibly mysterious background and past, why he had received a “family upbringing” that was utterly incompatible with anyone else’s, and why he knew that Siles possessed the power of Akamara.
However, from another perspective, this simultaneously brought about even more doubts.
Which old god’s bloodline was Chendo?
The word “bloodline” carried a highly mystical connotation. Was he a literal “progeny”? Aside from Chendo, did other old god bloodlines still exist in this world?
Siles gave Chendo a deep look.
Chendo looked a bit perplexed, but he waited quietly.
Siles thought to himself, With a Will attribute of 99… it seems Chendo doesn’t need to worry about failing a Will check. It was virtually impossible for him to roll a 100 on the dice, right?
That would probably be a fated critical failure.
Siles breathed a slight sigh of relief; at the very least, he didn’t have to worry about Chendo actually dying from the old god contamination. However, the ash-white marks spreading across the back of the younger man’s hand were still shocking to behold.
Thus, Siles stopped overthinking. In reality, he only paused for a mere two or three seconds before unhesitatingly selecting “0” from that long string of numbers.
[Will: 99/0, Critical Success.]
[You are helping Chendo, even though he might not necessarily need this assistance. The contamination has indeed been wiped completely clean, which is a good thing. However, this matter might be a bit more complicated than you think—and we don’t mean the contamination itself.]
The prompt from the dice remained characteristically cryptic.
A critical success was a safety measure. No matter how powerful Chendo was, Siles maintained his trademark caution, hoping to eliminate the contamination to the absolute maximum extent.
Of course, the appearance of every single number from 0 to 99 before his eyes was indeed a surprise.
A faint realization dawned in his heart. He understood that since all these numbers had appeared, it meant Chendo was indeed capable of breaking free from the contamination on his own.
This allowed Siles to cast aside the last of his worries.
However…
“…How marvelous,” Chendo suddenly breathed in awe.
His train of thought interrupted, Siles looked at Chendo. He noticed that the marks on the back of Chendo’s hand had vanished, which was undoubtedly good news. Yet the expression on Chendo’s face at this moment also stirred a subtle, complex emotion within Siles.
“Your power… is too marvelous,” Chendo murmured. He was already standing right next to Siles, practically leaning against him, his hair brushing against Siles’s shoulder.
Now, he tried even harder to nuzzle into Siles’s embrace. He rested his head in the crook of Siles’s shoulder, his warm breath bathing Siles’s neck. His tone carried an unsuppressible excitement.
Holding Chendo, Siles felt a momentary pang of confusion. He didn’t understand why Chendo had suddenly become so—
“I feel like I love you even more.” Chendo’s voice remained low, laced with an excitement that seemed to drown his vocal cords, causing his voice to tremble slightly. “When your power acts upon my body… how should I describe that feeling…
“Mysterious, powerful, brook-no-defiance… just like you yourself… Every time I gaze upon you, hear of you, feel you; every time I am awed by your wisdom, every time I am grieved by your coldness… You are like my deity, holding dominion over everything I am…”
He murmured a string of words that struck Siles as peculiar.
Slowly, Siles began to understand.
The power of the Keeper. Ordinary people could not perceive this power, but Chendo was precisely the opposite. At that moment, he had been captured by Siles’s power.
The education he had received, the etiquette he was accustomed to… and his very bloodline inheritance made him recognize Siles’s status as a “deity.” At least for that single instant, he had become Siles’s believer.
That was why he had lost his composure. He was suddenly pouring out his innermost thoughts to Siles like the most devout of believers. The affection he already harbored for Siles had thoroughly fermented in this single moment.
…Siles didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Did this count as Chendo’s critical success? Or his own?
He remained silent for a moment, waiting for Chendo’s emotions to stabilize. The young man’s voice gradually grew faint, his posture relaxing before turning entirely rigid.
“You feel grieved by my coldness,” Siles repeated Chendo’s words from just now. “Tell me truly, Chendo, am I really that cold to you?”
Chendo fell silent for a short while.
Then, as if throwing caution to the wind, he blurted out, “Yes. Every time you are that cold, I feel miserable.”
“For instance?”
“…When I confess my feelings to you.”
Siles let out a sigh. “I have already spoken to you about this matter.”
“I understand,” Chendo said dryly. “But how am I—how can I control my feelings? You are the only thing I can hold onto, something I obtained with great difficulty. Because I genuinely believe that meeting you is the rarest miracle in my life…”
As he spoke, he sullenly thudded his forehead gently against Siles’s shoulder.
The movement was incredibly light, devoid of any real force. He looked no different from the lion trapped in the cage beside them—likewise a captured beast. He merely put up a desperate, trapped struggle for a brief moment before resigning himself to his fate.
“So I can only admit it,” Chendo said. “I can only admit my utterly incurable love for you.”
Siles fell into a sudden silence. He thought to himself that before setting out, before coming to the Ashless Lands, before meeting Chendo… No, even when he first met Chendo, he could never have anticipated that their relationship would develop to its current state.
Love? Siles felt a momentary loss of direction.
It wasn’t that no one had ever confessed to him before. Back on Earth, from his youth to his later years, he had encountered the admiring gazes of others—perhaps due to his appearance, his personality, his profession, or his bank account.
But regardless, the former He Jiayin had never accepted any of them. Even when his parents wanted him to go on blind dates, he had never agreed. He steadfastly adhered to his philosophy of bachelorhood.
Why? He had pondered this question when his friends, one after another, left their single status behind, entered marriage, and raised children.
Ultimately, he arrived at a single conclusion: he was simply used to being single. The power of habit anchored his every move. He felt his current life was perfectly fine and comfortable, so there was no need to date.
It wasn’t necessary then, and it wasn’t required now.
And as he grew older, romance and partners drifted further and further away from his reality.
The soul currently dwelling within the young, twenty-four-year-old body of Siles Noel belonged to the novelist He Jiayin from Earth. He was in his thirties—mature, older, sufficiently calm, rational, and intimately acquainted with himself.
His ultimate goal was to leave the Fisher World and return to his own Earth. Perhaps along the way, uncovering the secrets and truths of this world would be a pleasant endeavor. Every novelist possessed an intense curiosity, and he was no exception.
Romance? That was never something the current him ought to consider.
But…
“Meeting you is the rarest miracle in my life.”
What a beautiful thing to say, Siles thought.
He had come to a foreign land, a strange world. This in itself was a miracle. Following the miracle, he wanted to return to his homeland. He was destined to embark on a lonely, cold, endless—his own—journey.
Chendo Praia was a companion who had unexpectedly appeared on this very journey.
Why had Chendo tangled himself around him, why had he tethered his footsteps, and why couldn’t Siles find it in his heart to ruthlessly kick him away? Did he love Chendo? Did he like this man?
Siles could not answer these questions.
He simply could not avoid admitting to himself, with a touch of helplessness, that he had been swayed by the concept of “companionship” itself.
Because on this incredibly lonely, hopeless, and protracted road, someone had reached out a hand to him.
Chendo had simply appeared at just the right moment—that exact moment. The moment Siles embarked on the journey to the Ashless Lands, preparing to greet a brand-new, unfamiliar terrain.
Yet sometimes, life only required these exact moments. The essence of a coincidence was a pleasant surprise.
Furthermore, Chendo was powerful (think of that 99 Will attribute!), mysterious, tied to the old gods, connected to the Ashless Lands, and simultaneously, he loved Siles deeply. For Siles, he was a more than suitable companion.
At this precise moment, a thought surfaced in Siles’s mind that he deemed utterly despicable.
He actually didn’t know whether he loved Chendo, or rather, to what extent he loved him. He had never experienced such emotions in the past, whether on Earth or in the Fisher World, so he didn’t know how to measure the ripples in the lake of his heart.
However, he could still possess this man—his immense strength, his mysterious past, his fierce, unadulterated devotion. Siles could have it all.
He could tacitly accept their relationship, feign a romance to deceive Chendo while simultaneously deceiving himself, and thereby secure this passionate, warm companionship. On a freezing winter journey, how desperately he needed such warmth.
As for later? The future? His Earth? His long-term life plans?
Those were things entirely unrelated to Chendo—were they not?
Siles suddenly let out a sigh. He said, “Stand up straight, Chendo.”
Reluctantly, Chendo straightened his posture. He looked as though he would much rather remain slumped against Siles. In any case, Siles hadn’t rejected him! Chendo’s expression practically screamed this thought.
Siles realized that he had practically grown accustomed to Chendo’s touch. Chendo had righteously invaded Siles’s private space, conditioning Siles to his presence.
Inadvertently, their relationship had already progressed to such a stage.
Perhaps this could be described as boiling a frog in warm water, or perhaps this man’s arrogant facade had been maintained too flawlessly, making Siles truly believe the fellow was merely an insufferable explorer who looked down on everyone.
Thinking this, Siles spoke: “I am sorry, Chendo.”
The intimacy and warmth in Chendo’s emerald-green eyes suddenly froze over, before vanishing completely. He gazed at Siles deeply, with a look that bordered on icy cold.
“I cannot offer you an equal amount of love,” Siles said. “Therefore, I am sorry, we cannot be together.”
This was his answer.
Siles did not wish to deceive or utilize Chendo; he was incapable of doing such a thing. Furthermore, he did not want to step into a romance while harboring such doubts. He had been swayed; he admitted this and could not deny it. However, that might merely be… a moment of hesitation.
Brought about by a sliver of warmth on a freezing journey.
The previous ambiguous state could not be allowed to continue. Siles had unwittingly indulged Chendo and himself. But now, it had to stop. It was a mistake.
He shouldn’t continue to maintain this irrational behavior; it was a despicable act on his part. In truth, once Siles actually voiced these words, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders instead.
That little animal tangled around his ankles… it seemed he couldn’t take him home after all. One day, the other party would also grow tired of this state.
They would ultimately return to their respective life paths. This was merely a fleeting dream in the Ashless Lands. A beautiful rainbow bubble, Siles thought. One that would pop at a single poke.
He could not continue to permit such an error at this point in time… the very moment Chendo brought up “love.” He needed to end this before causing further pain and awkwardness. And since this was his fault, he owed Chendo an apology.
Chendo remained silent, maintaining his silence from beginning to end.
He took two steps backward and turned his head away. He kept his head lowered, his emerald eyes never once drifting back toward Siles.
After several seconds of awkward stillness in this tense environment, Siles spoke calmly: “I will head out to find them first. You can rest here for a bit.”
With that, he departed from the circus tent.
Left standing there, Chendo froze for a moment. The empty tent was filled entirely with a withered, decayed stench. He suddenly glared at the cage holding the lion nearby.
He roughly kicked the cage, provoking a snarling, tooth-bared threat from the lion.
“Heh, what are you threatening me for? We are sufferers of the same plight,” Chendo said mockingly. “You were abandoned here by your master, while I…”
He fell silent for a moment.
Then he said, “He isn’t even willing to admit that he is my master.”
He suddenly lost the energy to converse with this ignorant beast, letting out a deflated, frustrated sigh.
“So cold… so cruel… so annoying…” Chendo muttered a string of grievances. “Perhaps he never belonged to a wretched place like the Ashless Lands to begin with. Perhaps I shouldn’t have spoken at a time like this. Perhaps he was just frightened by how I looked just now. Perhaps…”
Perhaps he just found it annoying.
Siles was so busy, with so many important matters awaiting his attention. Yet Chendo chose this exact time to provoke him, Chendo thought. Perhaps he was the one who had done wrong.
Rather than…
…He didn’t want the latter possibility. That was impossible.
It was just… Siles had found an excuse to reject him.
…But Chendo knew all too well that his heart was currently plummeting into a bottomless abyss. That freezing sensation felt as if a massive hole had been ripped straight through his chest.
He let out a self-deprecating laugh, then glanced down at the back of his hand. The wound was still there, only it was no longer turning ash-white; the bloody, mangled mess still appeared somewhat gruesome.
“Hey, stupid lion, do you think using this wound to complain to him will soften his heart?” Chendo muttered, before shaking his head. “No, that’s not right. He already thinks I’m childish; this would definitely make him feel I’m utterly beyond saving.”
The lion stared at him inexplicably. Sensing that Chendo posed no real threat, it opened its jaws to let out a yawn, then curled up and slowly drifted off to sleep.
“A stupid lion with zero vigilance,” Chendo sneered. “He is the same. He has no vigilance either. Clearly residing in the Ashless Lands, yet he still fancies himself in a safe city… I can protect him, but he…”
Chendo suddenly yanked the leather cord from his braid with brute force. With his hair draped loosely over his shoulders, he squatted down and buried his face into his knees. Amidst the darkness, he sneered, mocking himself.
You are already beyond saving, he thought coldly. Chendo, you are still thinking about that cold fellow at a time like this, still wanting to protect him, still wanting to… still wanting to love him. You are utterly beyond saving. Completely and thoroughly far gone.
And the person who can save you. He doesn’t want to save you. Chendo—Chendo, he doesn’t want to save you.
Siles stood near the entrance of the tent for a moment after leaving, ensuring that Chendo wasn’t making any overly volatile noises before finally letting out a slight breath of relief.
A subtle, delayed suspicion flickered across his mind. He asked himself: To what extent did you choose to push Chendo away just now because of his identity as an “Old God’s Scion”?
If Chendo weren’t this so-called “Old God’s Scion,” would he have naturally accepted him?
Ultimately, that identity indeed created a slight barrier for Siles. Chendo’s previously clear and defined identity as an “explorer from Kansas” had suddenly been shrouded in an ambiguous, blurred shadow.
He stood there, silent for a moment. After tossing this suspicion aside, he ultimately detected a trace of melancholy. However, he was equally well aware that this matter was far from over. He still needed to work alongside Chendo to investigate certain affairs.
With these thoughts, Siles scanned his surroundings.
The explorers who had originally gathered near the circus tent had vanished. Siles didn’t know if they had left due to other matters or because of the sudden attack.
Come to think of it, that attack also appeared highly peculiar.
It had been directed at Siles. And what about Siles warranted an attack?
He had only arrived at the House of Hales yesterday. On the surface, he shared no conflicts of interest with the explorers of the House of Hales. Therefore, only matters concerning Hoodoka could have instigated this attack.
The consequence brought about by that small knife also validated this hypothesis. Chendo had come incredibly close to becoming a victim of old god contamination.
…But who would know that Siles was currently investigating these matters?
A string of names flashed through Siles’s mind.
The merchant Jerome Lanmere, the guide Mary, the tavern owner Andy, the innkeeper Mrs. Audrey, the relay station manager Maltz… All of these individuals were suspects, the latter two especially so. The one Siles suspected most was, naturally, Maltz.
“Professor!” Alva’s voice interrupted Siles’s train of thought.
Siles raised his eyes and discovered Alva, Mary, and Chester walking over together. Walking alongside them was Maltz, whose face barely concealed an underlying fury.
“To think someone would dare attack an explorer inside the relay station!” Maltz said enraged. “This is unforgivable! This is an open provocation against the House of Hales!”
Siles observed his expression, calmly calculating to what extent this emotion could be fabricated.
Chester walked over, asking with concern, “Is Mr. Chendo alright?”
Maltz seemed to realize belatedly that since Siles was standing here entirely unscathed, the one injured had to be Chendo. A subtle expression flashed across his face… one akin to terror and unease.
He swallowed hard and asked, “Is Mr… Chendo alright?”
“He is fine,” Siles answered simply.
Chester looked at Siles with a tinge of perplexity. Aside from Siles, he was the only one on-scene who had witnessed the state of Chendo’s wound. The others didn’t understand it as clearly as he did.
However, since Siles said so, Chester maintained his silence and did not question his words.
Siles asked, “Did you find the attacker?”
They were standing by the entrance. Though the reason was unclear, Siles was blocking the doorway, so none of them proposed stepping into the tent. They were likely thinking that Chendo was inside handling his wound alone.
…In a sense, that was indeed the case.
Mary shook her head regretfully. “No. By the time we left the tent, the attacker had already vanished. The explorers outside all claimed they saw nothing and have no idea who threw that small knife.”
Siles nodded thoughtfully. Just as he was about to continue inquiring, the curtain of the tent behind him was suddenly lifted, and a deep voice spoke: “This small knife?”
Chendo held the small knife with one hand, a half-smile playing on his face as he appeared completely unfazed. He shot Siles a glance, a highly complex meaning flashing through his eyes, though he said nothing.
Siles likewise maintained his silence.
The atmosphere instantly froze into a brief, awkward chill.
Break the silence, Alva spoke: “That’s the knife! Mr. Chendo, your hand…”
The wound on the back of Chendo’s hand was exposed to the air, still looking bloody and mangled. Granted, the blood had coagulated, but the bloodstains on his hand had only been messily wiped away.
Chendo casually tossed the knife into Maltz’s embrace. He said, “This knife requires spiritual deactivation.” He stated it as if in passing, then said to Alva, “It’s nothing, just a minor injury.”
Mary remarked, “This seems to be the first time you’ve ever been injured in the Ashless Lands, isn’t it?”
Chendo visibly froze for a fraction of a second.
Maltz scrambled to wrap his coat around the terrifying small knife. Hearing this, a realization dawned on him as well. “That’s right! I’ve never heard rumors of Mr. Chendo being injured before; this is truly a first. Come to think of it, that attacker is increasingly despicable!”
Chendo stole a glance at Siles. Confirming that Siles showed no reaction, he said half-heartedly, “I suppose so… who knows.”
His indifferent tone left the others thoroughly perplexed.
Chester spoke up at the right moment: “It’s almost noon. Perhaps we should grab something to eat and sit down to talk properly. Mr. Chendo, your wound still requires disinfection and further treatment…”
“I know,” Chendo said. “I will head back to my quarters first.”
Alva said in a lighthearted tone, “It’s great that Mr. Chendo is fine! Ah, the Professor can accompany Mr. Chendo to treat his wound, while the rest of us go ahead to eat, how about that?”
He spoke with an air of taking it for granted. After all, that was how they had arranged things over the past period of time.
Chendo shot another glance at Siles before saying casually, “I can go by myself.”
With that, he waved his hand at them and departed on his own.
Alva’s mouth slowly drifted open, and he turned to look at Siles, who had remained entirely close-mouthed ever since Chendo appeared. After a moment, he whispered, “Professor, did you two have another argument?”
Siles shook his head, offering no explanation on the matter. He merely said, “Well then, let us go eat first.”
Only Siles, Chester, Alva, and Mary went to have lunch. Maltz was occupied with resolving the issue regarding that small knife. Siles sensed that the anxiety on his face did not appear feigned.
During the meal, Siles inquired with Mary regarding the Stardust vein near House of Hales.
“Are you referring to the Stardust vein that Mr. Lanmere used to be in charge of developing?” Mary pondered for a moment. “I am not entirely certain of the exact location, as I have never actually been there myself. However, I have a rough idea of the general direction.”
Siles nodded and said, “That is sufficient. Ms. Mary, perhaps we shall head over there together this afternoon.”
Regarding the route to that vein, Siles had two choices: first, to inquire with Mary; second, to follow the diamond marking on that map provided by the fake Chendo Praia.
But he could also choose to combine the two. He hoped they would be able to locate that vein this afternoon.
Mary hesitated briefly before saying, “We will need to ride horses. Do we need Mr. Chendo…?”
Siles mulled it over. “Perhaps we can—”
“I am coming with you.” Chendo suddenly appeared inside the restaurant, striding over to Siles’s side and cutting off his words. He emphasized once more, “I am coming with you. I will take Siles on my horse.”
Siles raised his eyes to look at him, and Chendo looked down, meeting his gaze from above.
Subsequently, Siles lowered his gaze, his eyes landing on the back of Chendo’s hand, which had already been bound with gauze.
“The wound won’t affect anything,” Chendo said.
There was only their table in the restaurant. The owner stared at them with curious eyes. Chester and Alva maintained an air of wanting to speak but holding back. Ms. Mary observed them with keen interest.
Siles finally spoke: “Chendo, I do not wish to utilize…”
“This is not utilizing.” Chendo pulled up a chair and sat down next to Siles. “I am perfectly willing.”
Siles’s dark eyes quietly studied Chendo.
He thought to himself that he knew this matter wouldn’t be resolved so easily.
He said nothing further, tacitly consenting to Chendo joining their operation. Chendo breathed a stealthy sigh of relief, then partook in a bit of lunch.
After eating, they intended to set out for the mining pit.
They had to return to the low houses first to retrieve the horses. Alva and Chester had woken up too early, so they decided to head back for a nap. As they walked back together, Siles inadvertently fell into step alongside Chester.
Chendo trailed behind him at a consistent, neither-too-close-nor-too-far distance.
Dr. Chester glanced at Siles’s expressionless face, hesitated a moment, then said gently, “Professor, I didn’t expect this journey to the Ashless Lands would bring about such surprises, did I?”
“…I certainly did not expect it,” Siles said in a deep voice.
“What do you plan to do?” Chester asked with a touch of curiosity. “Perhaps you can tell me. I still keep your past assistance to me close to my heart, and right now, I might be able to help you resolve these troubles.”
Siles let out a bitter laugh. He said, “Do you believe I ought to be with Chendo?”
Chester was startled; he hadn’t anticipated that Siles would state everything so bluntly. Ultimately, in this era, people would still find a romance between two men rather peculiar.
Perhaps not entirely bizarre, but certainly out of the ordinary.
Thus, after pondering for a moment, Chester said, “That depends on how much you like Mr. Chendo.”
Naturally, he stood on Siles’s side.
Siles said, “I do not know.”
“So you didn’t deny that you do indeed like him?” Chester asked astutely.
Siles looked at Chester in silence. Finally, he said, “I haven’t thought about this question thoroughly.” He paused. “Tell me truly, Doctor, do you believe I have the leisure to consider these matters?”
Chester let out a chuckle. “The students at the school probably believe you are entirely insulated from romance.”
I used to think so myself, Siles thought.
Rather, it was Chendo who was desperately trying to unearth a shred of gentle, soft emotion from his being.
Chester added, “Regardless, this is a matter that needs to be decided by you.” He paused. “Professor, I believe you can make a suitable choice. You have always been such a wise individual.”
“Romance is entirely detached from rationality,” Siles evaluated objectively.
“Perhaps you could have a rational romance?” Chester cracked a joke, then added, “I am merely speaking casually. But, Professor, you are still so young; there is no need to decide at this point that you are destined to be separate from romance.”
Siles shook his head, trapped between amusement and helplessness. He said, “Let us handle our proper business first.”
They stepped out of the encampment, and Siles halted his footsteps, casting a glance backward. That tall encampment still sat like a fortress upon the barren, withered earth.
“This is the core focus we need to attend to right now,” he said. He paused, then whispered once more, as if reinforcing the matter to himself, “Yes, this is the current focus.”
Before long, they returned to the low houses. Chester and Alva went to take their afternoon nap. Siles also informed the doctor that if any situation arose, they could seek help at Mrs. Audrey’s inn on the third floor. Naturally, he instructed them to maintain their vigilance regardless.
Mary and Chendo each led a feather-horse. Siles brought along the essential Time Trace as well as his magic potions, then caught up to their footsteps.
“We need to head west,” Mary said. “It will likely take an hour or two to arrive.”
Siles nodded.
Chendo maintained his silence throughout, though his emerald-green eyes remained fixed entirely upon Siles. Once Siles mounted the horse, sitting behind him, Chendo took the initiative to reach back, grasping Siles’s hand to make him wrap his arms around his waist.
“Your hands are truly cold,” Chendo muttered, as though the conversation in the circus tent had never occurred. “Professor Noel, could you perhaps wear a few more layers of clothes?”
Siles fell silent for a moment, then looped his arms around Chendo’s waist. He maintained a distance that couldn’t be considered intimate, then said, “We should set out.”
“I knew you would answer like that,” Chendo let out a chuckle. “…I am highly considerate of your busy schedule, regardless.”
They embarked on their path. Over the next hour or two, Ms. Mary focused on finding the way, while Siles observed the flying scenery of the wilderness around them. For a brief period, they appeared to have lost their way.
Siles produced the map, inquiring if it could offer any assistance to Mary.
Mary compared the map with the information in her memory, after which she stated, “This position is incorrect. Well, it’s not entirely mismatched, but there are some deviations…”
With that, she fell into deep thought, tracing lines upon the map.
After a short while, she exclaimed in pleasant surprise, “I understand! Follow me.”
Evidently, she had located the path.
They galloped swiftly across the muddy soil of the Withered Wasteland in early winter. Roughly another half hour later, they finally arrived at their destination—the dead end of an abandoned railway, where a mining pit entrance lay concealed beneath a uniquely shaped stone signpost.
Siles dismounted, saying with slight surprise, “An underground vein?”
“Yes,” Mary introduced. “Stardust is located entirely underground. It isn’t very deep, but it requires highly meticulous excavation and development work. Mr. Lanmere’s pit once suffered a collapse accident, roughly during the summer of last year, which caused several casualties.
“But fortunately, Mr. Lanmere did manage to amass quite a fortune from this pit.”
Siles thought to himself: Can that really be considered a stroke of fortune?
…Forget it. A merchant.
Siles redirected the conversation: “So, this vein is currently abandoned?”
“Yes,” Mary said. “This place isn’t particularly safe either, so many people avoid heading in this direction.”
Siles nodded.
Not far away—roughly a kilometer from the mining pit entrance—a patch of unsettling, ash-black mist gathered, billowing and prominently broadcasting its presence.
“Is this place still considered Glaston?” Siles said, somewhat troubled. “To be this close to the mist…”
Chendo said, “Naturally it is Glaston. If that patch of mist over there dissipates, then that land can be called Gainsde. Gainsde is the terrain where the mist has only recently vanished.”
Siles nodded thoughtfully.
However, with the mist situated right next to the vein, and with a safety clearance of a mere kilometer… did the workers truly never inadvertently step into the terrain covered by the mist while excavating Stardust?
…Perhaps, that was the true reason they turned into statues?
“I must head down into the pit to take a look,” Siles said. Following that, he donned the Akamara’s Eyeglass Frame that always hung from his neck. He had already re-consumed his magic potion just now, which could maintain the ritual time for nearly ten hours.
Chendo furrowed his brows in disapproval, but ultimately said, “I will go with you.”
Mary spoke up at the right time: “Then I shall guard the horses out here.”
Siles tacitly accepted this arrangement. He turned to look at Chendo, intending to say something, when his gaze suddenly froze—he caught sight of the mist behind Chendo.
The Akamara’s Eyeglass Frame possessed the property of peering through the mist; this was something Siles had known for a long time. However, he hadn’t actually counted on being able to see anything, as it was merely a ritual after all.
Yet at this moment, Siles could genuinely perceive that behind the mist… no, within the mist, several peculiar figures were moving.
Those were… humans. One humanoid silhouette after another stood right there, as if quietly staring at the three of them. Siles’s gaze caused the eyeglass frame to automatically zoom in. He witnessed one black silhouette after another peer through the ash-black fog, watching them.
Suddenly, one of the figures raised its head. It seemed to notice Siles’s gaze, and within the mist, the corners of its mouth pulled back into a gruesome smile.
Siles stared back at them, his expression unchanged.
“What are you looking at?” Chendo asked, perplexed.
“I am wondering,” Siles heard his own calm voice, “what exactly lies behind the mist.”
“No one knows,” Mary said. “Everyone who enters the mist falls into a state of lost direction and madness. Therefore, in the end, no one knows what lies behind it.”
Chendo didn’t answer this question, merely staring at Siles with a thoughtful expression, his eyes lingering on the spectacles resting upon the bridge of his nose.
Siles withdrew his gaze smoothly, letting out a sigh as he said, “Perhaps that is the case.”
Yet he had already seen them—the black silhouettes appearing within the mist.
What kind of people were they?
Mutated creatures? A bizarre tribe? Maddened cultists? A string of possibilities drifted through Siles’s brain, but in the end, only a solitary question remained: Why would they appear there?
He didn’t ponder this question further, redirecting his gaze back to the Stardust vein before him.
They made their preparations. Siles retrieved the small black umbrella and the shield fragment from his bag, intending to bring these two items into the vein. Chendo likewise produced his own Time Trace—a peculiar booklet.
Siles stole a curious glance at it, though he didn’t display his curiosity too overtly.
Chendo looked as though he wanted to explain, but since Mary was present, he ultimately kept his mouth shut.
Mary said, “There is no need to worry about the light conditions inside the mining cave. You will understand once you step inside.” She flashed a mysterious smile.
Siles was indeed puzzled by her words.
He said to Chendo, “Let us go.”
Chendo nodded and said, “I will walk ahead of you.”
Siles felt a slight urge to object, but after a silent pause, he said, “I understand. Thank you.”
Together, they walked toward the entrance of the pit. The path downward continued for a brief while before turning level. Following a momentary stretch of darkness, a soft, faint blue glow illuminated Siles’s vision.
…Stardust.
Those unmined, microscopic fragments of Stardust adhered to the walls, quietly lighting up the path ahead amidst the darkness. Siles’s gaze instinctively drifted over, marking the very first time he studied Stardust at such close proximity through the Akamara’s Eyeglass Frame.
Under ordinary vision, Stardust was a blue crystalline structure, carrying the glittering, brilliant texture of a gorgeous mineral; overall, it was highly beautiful.
Yet under his current vision…
Siles instinctively took a step forward.
Through the Akamara’s Eyeglass Frame, he witnessed… how should one describe it… the embers of a corpse?
