Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 105 - 28: The 4th One_1

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"There are many suspicious points about your situation, Lina. Perhaps there’s a conspiracy hidden behind it all. " Having finally lifted her eyes from the map, Pannis looked at Lina with a complex look in her eyes: "Have you carefully considered this?"

"Of course, I’d thought about it. However, it’s pointless." Lina sighed, her voice bearing the weight of her sadness: "No matter what, I can’t lie to myself. No matter how suspicious it is, it doesn’t change the fact that I truly once wanted to do it and found it increasingly harder to resist the thought at the time. So no matter how many suspicious points there are, the differences only lie in whether I lost my sanity willingly or unwillingly. It doesn’t change anything."

"Who are the ultimate beneficiaries of all this?" Pannis suddenly asked.

"No one. Everybody lost. There were no winners. I exiled myself. My sister, heartbroken, joined the cloistered sect of the temple and barely appears in public anymore. The Pope lost all potential successors, and even now, doesn’t have a successful candidate." Lina shook her head, lightly touching the crescent mark on her forehead: "So, nobody benefited in the end."

Pannis laughed softly, stopped in her tracks, turned around to pat Lina’s shoulder: "No one will despise you. At least you know you made a mistake, you’ve been repenting, and you’ve been trying to atone. That’s enough, isn’t it?"

"Thank you." Lina seemed to let out a breath: "I’m okay now. Let’ s keep going."

"Let’s not go on just yet." Pannis removed her backpack and placed it on the ground: "Let’s set up camp and rest for a bit. It’s already past one in the afternoon. It’s lunchtime; let’s eat something first."

"It’s already past one? Does that mean we’ve been walking for over five hours?" Lina was taken aback and couldn’t help but ask: "Just how vast is this place? We haven’t finished walking after five hours?"

Pannis didn’t lay out the various arrays for camp, but merely scattered some insect-repellent powder around and then lit the crystal energy stove. As she heated up the food, she replied, "It’s not as big as you think. From here to the exit, if we keep walking, we should be able to get out in about two hours. The reason we’ve been walking for five hours is that we have traversed every branch of the rift. We had no choice—the path here branches frequently, and if we want to find our target, we have to explore every turn. That’s why it’s taking so long."

"Denia, this place is seriously messed up," Lina said in a frustrated tone: "I’m starting to doubt if we can finish exploring the whole place today."

"Don’t exaggerate." Pannis replied with an amused smile. "With good luck, we could finish in another one or two hours. With bad luck, we’ll need another four to five hours, but we should be able to finish either way."

"And you’re saying that isn’t being dramatic? Ten hours? That’s a whole day!" Lina, indignant, poked at Pannis’s arm that was busy heating the food: "A whole day. The middle day of the Harvest Festival is the most fun, and yet we have to slog underground. Ahhhh! I’m going crazy."

"I think you have gone crazy already. Stop disrupting me; we’ll spill the food." Pannis defended her actions while dodging Lina’s fingers: "Why have you suddenly become so frantic? Did something upset you?"

"Haha, no, nothing’s wrong. But," Lina giggled happily, "Now that you know about my past, you’re totally family."

"Alright, I get it." Pannis pulled an awkward face: "So you mean, you were pretending to be a proper lady before, but now that you consider me as one of your own, your true colours are showing. So you’re actually a lun... Uh, don’t glare at me. Let’s eat."

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At No. 6 Fox Street in the afternoon, all was as peaceful as usual.

The autumn sun shed a warm glow on the slightly yellowing lawn. Two stray cats, nestled together, lay lazily on the grass, licking each other’s fur. Not far from the cats, a small pile of leaves was covered with oilcloth to keep the wind from blowing them away.

On the other side of the lawn stood three oak trees. One had already matured, reaching over five meters in height, its crown thick with branches and leaves, full of acorns. It looked like it had been there for some time already. The other two were still growing, each already nearly two meters tall but their branches and leaves still sparse and tender, giving the impression they were only three or four years old. Upon close examination, one can find a sapling near the three oak trees. This tender sapling had just emerged from the soil and was in its most vulnerable stage of growth.

Beneath the mature oak tree, a freshly bathed Catherine, unusually dressed down, leaned against the tree. Her damp black hair casually draped over her shoulders, adding a lazy air to her otherwise gallant demeanour. She was flipping through a novel borrowed from Lina. Near her, Vivian, who had just finished a day’s teaching, lay flat on the ground, her head resting on Catherine’s thigh. With her eyes half-closed, she was enjoying Catherine’s intermittent gentle strokes on her head like a contented cat.

Next to the pair, a black lacquered wooden tray lay on the ground. It held a teapot of red tea, a pair of teacups, and several exquisite cherry cakes. The simple items on the tray added a quiet and peaceful atmosphere to the autumn afternoon.

This is an average afternoon at No. 6 Fox Street.

"Still not happy?" Catherine closed her book and took a small sip of her tea along with the question.

"No, I’m very happy." Vivian reluctantly opened her eyes, sat up with her legs crossed, and picked up a piece of cake, "Pannis is really a great cook, even a simple cake tastes so delicious."

With a knowing smile at the corner of her lips, Catherine looked into Vivian’s eyes, "Don’t change the subject. Do you think, as your older sister, I can’t tell? You’ve been unhappy these past two days."

"Okay, I admit it." Vivian lowered her head in disappointment, subconsciously pulling her short ponytail in annoyance, mumbling, "I am unhappy. I wanted us to go to the Harvest Festival together. I wanted to play with everyone. I am acting childish."

Catherine broke into a light laugh, watching Vivian’s childish behaviour and shaking her head, "You, you’re already twenty, yet you still act like a child."

"Who says so? Who says so?" Vivian jumped up on the spot, hands on her hips, "I’m obviously still a child. Don’t make things up, Catherine."

"That’s right, you’re still a child." Catherine said with a gentle smile, "Don’t be unhappy, I promise that all four of us will definitely go to the Harvest Festival together next year."

Upon hearing Catherine’s guarantee, Vivian’s face became gloomy. Lifting her head to look at the autumn sky, she forced a smile and said, "Alright, let’s make that a promise. We’ll all go together next year."

Catherine hugged Vivian tightly into her bosom, comforting her softly, "Don’t worry, you’ll be able to hang on until that day. I firmly believe in this."

"Hmm." Vivian still seemed gloomy, but her smile became more natural, "I also think I might be able to live a few more years."

Catherine felt a twinge of pain as she kissed Vivian’s cheek, she lowered her head in thought before speaking up, "What do you think about us running over there tomorrow after you finish class?"

"Maybe not." Vivian shook her head, "It’s too far away. Even if you ride a horse, it would take more than five hours to get there and the same amount of time to return. Most of the time would be spent on the road, it’s not worth it. It’s a pity my body can’t withstand operating the magic-powered motorbike for long periods of time, otherwise, we could take that there. Let’s leave it until next year, this sort of thing gives me a goal to hold on to, haha, this might be a good thing."

Catherine sighed but before she could speak, she suddenly heard the tinkling sound of a doorbell coming from the courtyard gate.

"Who would be visiting at this hour?" Catherine complained before standing up to walk towards the door, "Wait for me Vivian, I’ll be back soon."

After a while, Catherine returned with an opened letter in her hand. She had a serious look on her face. Sitting back down, she remained silent and drained a cup of red tea in one gulp.

Curiosity piqued, Vivian watched Catherine’s actions before reaching out her hand, "Someone sent a letter? Who is it?"

"See for yourself." Catherine handed the letter to Vivian, then turned to drain another cup of tea.

"Hmm? Five days later? A cocktail party? A ball? An invitation for you?" Reaching the end of the letter, Vivian suddenly looked up at Catherine with a bemused gaze, "Oh! The debt collector has come a-calling again, haha, this will certainly be interesting."

"Stop making noise, I’m troubled." Catherine replied in annoyance, "Hmph, this time I’m going to bring Pannis with me."

"That seems like a good idea." Vivian, trying to act matured, stroked her smooth chin as she formulated her response.

—————————————————————

"Denia, it’s night time already." Lina said wistfully, "You said if we’re lucky we could finish in an hour or two, right?"

"Well, that just means." Pannis nonchalantly shrugged, "We’re not lucky."

"Damn Pannis." Lina grumbled, "How dare you deceive me, giving me false hopes for the future. You’ll be judged by the warriors of justice."

"Eh, I was about to tell you that we’re about to reach the end of the rift." Pannis let out a whistle, tipped his head back, and said in a carefree manner, "But since you’ve cursed me, I guess I’ll keep that to myself."

"Haha, I already know." Lina punched Pannis lightly, "Are you sure about this? How do you know?" freewёbnoνel.com

"The reflection of sound." Pannis pointed at his ears and nose, "And the smell. They both tell me that we’re almost there."

"Great, it’s finally coming to an end." Lina heaved a sigh of relief, "We should be able to find traces of the Ryan couple on this last stretch. But what if we don’t find them here?"

"Then it means the worst case scenario - they have another lair." Pannis replied, "In that case, we’ll have to wait till the Harvest Festival is over and report to the Guild. It will be up to them to decide how to handle the situation. It’s hard to say what other complications might arise by then. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that."

"Let’s think positively. We’ve been traveling underground for a whole day. The goddess will surely help us find the Ryan couple." Lina made a square on her chest, "God says... "

"Be careful." Before she could finish her sentence, Pannis abruptly pulled Lina back. The spot where Lina had been standing cracked open with a crisp sound, flinging several shards of stone up into the air. They landed painfully on Lina’s arm.

"Damn it, it’s an Earth Walker again." Lina looked around warily but naturally, she couldn’t see any sign of the invisible beast. Meanwhile, the walls of the rift echoed with the repeated sound of footsteps.

"It’s very fast." Lina suddenly pressed a finger on each of her eyes and began to chant softly, "Holy Word Technique, True Sight."

She activated her ability to see through all forms of invisibility and disguise. In her black and white vision, an Earth Walker, about three meters long, was leaping back and forth at high speed between the walls of the rift, cautiously inching closer to Lina and Pannis.

"This is... the fourth Earth Walker." Lina tightly gripped the hammer in her hand, "And it’s likely to be a Gold Rank magical beast."