Chapter 157
Kyle stopped after going somewhere far enough that the people inside the house wouldn’t be able to hear our conversation, then let out a sigh.
Just what was he trying to say for him to look so dispirited? I was slowly starting to feel scared.
“I thought of it after seeing that person who was cursed earlier… As expected, no matter how I think about it, it would be better for you to wait for us here, Lysian.”
But at those completely unexpected words, my eyes widened on their own. I usually thought Kyle often said strange things, but this time, I was so stunned it felt as if I had been punched in the pit of my stomach.
He had made such a fuss about me going with him before, and now out of nowhere, he was saying he would leave me here.
“What are you suddenly talking about? After we came all the way here together?”
Just then, a chicken passing beside us crowed noisily. Because I paused, the flow of the conversation was briefly cut off, and I missed the timing to get even angrier.
But at Kyle’s serious voice that followed, my expression distorted without my realizing it.
“No matter how much I think about it, I’m still uneasy about you going to the ruins of the fallen kingdom.”
“What are you—”
“You saw it earlier too. Just being exposed to the curse puts someone in that condition. If we fail to look after you even by mistake, you really might end up in danger.”
I was grateful that Kyle worried about me, but I wasn’t as weak as he thought.
Of course, I couldn’t deny that I had been a little frightened after seeing Macy’s condition. Even so, I didn’t want to run away. The Black Flame Dragon had his pride, after all.
“I have to find out about the mana crystals.”
“Yes, I know that. But there’s no guarantee that there will be information related to the mana crystals in the ruins of the fallen kingdom.”
That was true, but I was certain that my returning to this place where Sal was wasn’t a coincidence. So I opened my mouth with the feeling of grasping at straws.
“No, there is a connection. Everything throughout the entire process of coming here was connected to the mana crystals.”
“What does that mean?”
I looked calmly at Kyle and began organizing the things I had found out until now, one by one.
“The mine in the Grand Duchy of Serendal was the place that produced the high-purity mana crystals the Devotees of Darkness were spreading. The Borbos we met in the snow mountains were the ones who processed them, and the forest fairies said there have recently been more dark elves corrupted by mana crystals.”
While I continued speaking, Kyle silently nodded. It had been quite a long time since I had spoken this much, so it felt rather awkward.
“Yeah, I understand that too. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to find out about the mana crystals in the ruins of the fallen kingdom, does it?”
Since Kyle didn’t seem likely to be persuaded easily, I decided to give him a more definite reason.
“Sal told me that I had stopped by this village in the past.”
I had decided to keep this matter secret with Sal, but in the end, I ended up telling Kyle.
“What? You said you met Sal for the first time yesterday.”
“…I asked him to keep it a secret. I didn’t want the other party members to find out.”
Kyle looked a little confused. But because he knew the secret about the scar on my chest, he didn’t criticize me harshly. Still, his expression seemed to show that my lie weighed heavily on his mind.
“I don’t know what I was trying to do here in the past, but it will be related to the reason I lost my memories. So I have to find out.”
“…If you say so, then there’s nothing I can do.”
Kyle looked down at the ground as if he had no choice and let out a resigned sigh. After being lost in thought like that for a moment, he soon raised his eyes to look at me and continued speaking.
“I know very well why you lied to us. It’s because you were afraid of being blamed for the possibility that you might be connected to the Black Flame Dragon.”
“…Yes.”
“I promised to protect your secret, so I won’t go and tell the party. But the party members trust you completely, too. So like you did with me, it would be better if you told them the truth soon as well.”
