Chapter 70 ❆ Let Me Try

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The trip back to the Temple was brief. Kaiser had arranged for their family's coach to bring us to the gates of the Temple, then asked the driver to park on the side to wait for our return.

Maun was in a foul mood the entire way, which made it harder for Kaiser to strike up a conversation under his constant glares. I felt bad for the guy since he did nothing wrong, but Maun did not have the most mature mind—not to mention he wasn't really the type to suppress his emotion. In this regard, Kaiser had no choice but to bear Maun's spite.

I assumed Elion would be in the Temple, but I recalled that we went out just a few hours ago, so it was also likely that Elion could be found elsewhere. However, we did part ways in the Temple, so I hoped I wouldn't have to go somewhere else to find him.

"Wow, it's been so long since I've been here..." Kaiser muttered. "I think the last time was during the examination for the accepting of disciples in my year. My last one was nearly three or four years ago, I think..."

"You didn't get accepted?"

"Haha! No. My qualifications were too poor—I mean, I at least did qualify in the top five. I did win a few rounds, but somehow, I always lose towards the end. Even more so, my opponents were really tough and monstrous. I got accepted in the Academy, though," Kaiser said.

Maun looked smug on the side, signing, "I came first, loser."

"What'd he say?" Kaiser asked.

"He said good for you."

"Oh, thank you...You both go here, right? I've heard you mention it a couple of times."

"Yep," I replied.

"How many tries did it take for you?"

"About once..." I said.

"You—how did you...Some people repeat every year and you—" He sighed. "Never mind."

"By the way, I have a friend who's coming to the Academy in the next semester. If by any chance I'm right about this, can I take this as an opportunity and have you help me take care of him?"

"I thought you'll throw in this help as an extra," he teased.

My lips twisted. "Right. Almost forgot about that...Then, I'll owe you another favor."

"I was just kidding. You're too serious and easy to bully," he said.

Maun was even more displeased with him.

"Just kidding. If you're right about this, I think I still owe it to you for giving me answers. My dad taught me not to owe too much debt of gratitude. Besides, isn't it just helping look out for someone? How hard can it be?"

"Well...s—he can be quite a handful. And his accent's rather thick. I'm afraid he's gonna get bullied."

"Who makes fun of people's accents?" Kaiser asked, tone full of disbelief.

"The ignorant and the intolerant," I said.

We finally arrived at the campsite. Kaiser was startled and had to stop by the mouth of the camp, perhaps not expecting this site before him.

"Thi—all these people." His gaze swept over the tents, the crowdedness. It was not a very comfortable place to live in if you would look at it from an outsider's perspective, but it wasn't dirty—and it was currently all these people could manage.

"There are more out there who hadn't been offered shelter," I replied. "All these people have been displaced from their homes, forced to flee, because their continent started on the very sickness we're seeing on your mother today. So I do hope I'm wrong."

Kaiser was speechless, and so we continued inside. I asked one of the children who greeted us enthusiastically if Elion was around, and they pointed me to their tent.

Thankfully, my hunch was right.

He was still in the Temple, but he was preparing to set out to shop for food. Probably use some of the money he most recently earned to prepare a feast for his family. Upon seeing me return, his face stretched with surprise.

"Evyionne? What happened?"

"I need your help with something," I said. "Can you please come with me for a while?"

Elion seemed thrown off pace with my sudden request, but he adjusted and nodded. "I was supposed to head out, anyway. You actually came just in time."

I breathed out a sigh of relief. Kaiser behind me was a little clueless, considering we just talked in a different language.

"Your friend?" Elion asked, full of accent, in Lovardi.

"Yes. He'll need your help," I replied.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Kaiser." Kaiser held his hand out for a shake.

Elion gladly took them and shook his hands with fervor. "What can I do for you?"

"Can you come with us for a while? There's something we need you to confirm. But I'm afraid we can't discuss it here."

"Anything for you, Evy," Elion replied smilingly. "What is it about?"

"Maybe...the sickness. The Unseen."

His jaw tightened. "I understand. I will come with you."

"You learned their language?" Kaiser asked as we went. "That's amazing! It sounds like a beautiful language too!"

"Well, I am half Vertvaldenian."

"Oh...Yes..." Kaiser seemed to realize this point. "I actually almost forgot. You don't look like them much...So you're a half Erindalian and half Vertvaldenian?"

"Should be right," I said.

"Well, kudos to your parents because you turned out really pretty," he said sincerely.

He said that with no trace of lies that I actually felt a little embarrassed.

Maun, who was silent, burst out in anger. His hands flurried around, throwing one sign after another. His cheeks ballooned as he grunted left and right.

I calmed him down as Elion chuckled on the side, seemingly amused with the scene before him. Kaiser remained unaware, but realizing what he said, his cheeks bloomed red.

He said nothing the rest of the way, leading us back to the carriage and boarding with no delay. I said nothing in response to the compliment which must have either made his embarrassment worse or lessened it. I did not know. Anyway, I did not know how to respond to people's compliments, so I had better keep silent to prevent saying something that would make me want the ground to swallow me whole.

The silence worked for everyone, although it grew a little tense when we finally came before the residence of Kaiser's family. The carriage parked in the yard with familiarity and we all disembarked into the welcome of Kaiser's uncle, Herrin.

"Finally here?" he hummed.

"Uncle! This is..." Kaiser awkwardly turned to Elion.

Only then did I realize I did not give everyone the proper introductions earlier. "My bad," I said. "This is Elion. He's from Vertvalden."

Herrin did not look anywhere else. There was no perusal in his eyes, although there was some question. He gave a brief nod at Elion, saying, "Thank you for coming here today."

I quickly translated it for him.

He nodded back and said with a thick accent, "It is my horror."

We all fell silent.

I awkwardly gazed between Herrin and Elion, unsure whether to say something. Kaiser coughed on the side, trying to hide his smile, while Maun huffed with some giggles. In the end, Herrin smoothed over the twitching of his lips and politely led all of us inside.

"This way."

Elion was sensitive enough to realize he said something that wasn't right and leaned over to me as we walked. "Did I say something wrong?"

I pursed my lips. "You said horror instead of honor."

Elion burned with embarrassment. He scratched his head and could not help chuckling under his breath, which he tried to hide with coughs.

"Don't worry. They know what you mean," I said consolingly.

When we arrived at the room of Kaiser's mother, his father, Pier, was sitting on the bedside chair holding his wife's cold and pale hands. I didn't need to touch them to know it was cold. Just looking at her appearance and remembering the incident earlier was enough for me to infer. This time, however, her condition was a lot worse than when I first came in.

She was weak, sweating, and short of breath. Compared to when she was able to greet and smile at me the first time around, this time she was knocked out cold. Her eyes rapidly moved under her lids—like having a bad dream.

Elion stopped by the door short. His eyes automatically traveled across the room, landing on the pale woman lying in bed. At this moment, he froze. He got that look like a deer in the headlights. I had experienced this fright before, when my throat froze up and stopped me from screaming even though my body fraught to escape. All those mixed signals in the brain chaotically firing at the same time, messing up my responses.

Although my situation back then was a little worse considering the emergency, Elion's resembled the post-traumatic stress version of it. His reaction probably reiterated the feelings he'd felt back then, something he wasn't prepared for no matter how much he'd been preparing the whole way here.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly.

Hearing my voice, he stirred out of his daze. "I'm okay...then, I'll take a closer look?" He swallowed.

"I'll come with you?"

He nodded, then nervously crossed the room, quietly making his way to the bedside. Elion turned to Pier, giving him a solemn bow of greeting.

"Brother," Herrin said. "Kaiser brought back this boy to look at my sister."

There was a hint of disapproval in Pier's eyes, but he nodded sternly and looked away. "If he can give answers that even the doctor cannot diagnose, then so be it."

"I know what it is," Elion firmly stated.

I translated for him.

The air in the room was suddenly so still.

"This is not something I will forget. My friends, my neighbors, my grandparents, my cousins—all were affected by this very sickness."

I translated word-for-word, leaving no gaps.

"This sickness is from the Unseen. I thought we had escaped from it...but we have not..." His throat bobbed up and down, eyes turning glassy from the pain of the memories. Having to reiterate this, even in another language, made me feel the agony. "I did think it would follow us here...But too soon. This sickness has no regard for boundaries. It is not passed on by air, or by blood, so segregating the sick from the healthy does not work. It is indiscriminate when it strikes. It is carried by the Unseen, it affects the soul, and leaves the vessel hollow."

Pier stood up. "You mean there is no cure?"

"A decade it has been that this inexplicable disease has torn our lands," Elion replied. "If there is a cure, we would rejoice. But so far there is none."

"There must be a mistake," Pier said firmly.

"If you must insist, so be it. But I would recommend your city—if not this country, prepares. The Unseen are only affected by items of death and are almost impossible to kill. Hollowed bodies, what we call the Returned, are fierce. And if I'm right, this woman will soon turn into one."

"Nonsense!"

Elion flinched but quickly steeled, his back straightening. "You can call me crazy. But I will warn you in advance. Death relics, those which have bathed in its energies. If you do not prepare, this place will quickly fall into ruin, just like my home had," he said. "I had to put my family to rest. My own hands. Because I could not help seeing others do it."

I did not know whether to translate the last three sentences.

They all looked at me, and I hesitantly relayed his words.

Pier's eyes were full of storm. Even Kaiser's were full of denial. The atmosphere was gradually freezing over, and I could feel the turbulent build-up of emotions. I had a feeling if I didn't say anything now, we would be banned from this place because of the absurdity and impetuousness of this confrontation. And I might lose the chance to help the woman completely.

In this regard, I could only lend my help in an aboveboard manner.

But just before the damn cracked and spilled over, I decisively raised my voice. "I may be able to help."

They all looked at me.

Herrin, Kaiser, Elion, Pier, and Maun—all gazed into my direction.

Maun gazed at me, then shook his head.

"Would you let me try?"


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