Lawrend opened his eyes. It was still dark. The serene moonlight entered the room through the window.
He slowly sat up and looked at everyone around him. They were asleep.
Humility and Aleshia slept beside him.
"Hmm?"
Aleshia raised her head and looked at Lawrend in confusion. As she was an assassin, she's very sensitive to movements around her even if she's asleep.
"I'll go get some water," Lawrend said.
Hearing his words, Aleshia laid down on the bed again and closed her eyes.
Lawrend released a sigh of relief and got out of the bed. He looked at all of them who were sleeping on the bed. As for Elena, she was already sleeping on her bed.
Lawrend silently left the room and released a deep sigh.
"This is for the better…" Lawrend whispered.
He exited the mansion and sneakily walked towards the gate. He hid behind a bush. There were guards watching beside the gates. Most of them had swords on their waist.
'Should I show myself? Maybe, I should,' Lawrend thought to himself.
He stood up and showed himself. The guards immediately turned their heads towards him.
"Who is that!?" a guard shouted. He gripped the handle of his sword tightly as he took a stance.
The other guards around them did the same.
"It's me."
Lawrend walked towards him. Moonlight hit his face and the guards were finally able to recognize him.
"Master Lawrend!?" the guard exclaimed in surprise.
"What are you doing at a time like this?" the guard asked as he relaxed. The other guards followed after him.
"I'm gonna leave, and I didn't tell them. Can you relay my message to them?"
Lawrend smiled at the guard.
"Uhh… sure?" The guard nodded his head in confusion.
And so, Lawrend relayed him his message before exiting the gate. He waved his hand a little before disappearing into the streets.
As it was still nighttime, it was impossible to leave the city unless you were a merchant. Lawrend walked towards a random merchant he came across the street.
"Mister, do you need some help?" Lawrend asked.
Lawrend didn't need to ask if he was leaving the city. It would be odd for the merchant to be awake if he wasn't gonna leave. It was that simple.
"Oh! What a savior. That's what I need right now. Can you help me transfer these goods to another carriage?" the merchant asked.
"Sure." Lawrend nodded his head.
He opened the back of the carriage and saw various crates. He grabbed one and carried it to another carriage waiting in front of it.
After a while, Lawrend finished. His body was dripping with sweat. He thought of it as a light workout.
"So, what do you need? A place to stay? Money?" the merchant asked.
"I want to leave the city. I'm in a hurry," Lawrend replied.
"Oh?"
The merchant raised an eyebrow hearing his words. It was suspicious.
"I can even pay you," Lawrend added.
"Nah. Alright. But I'll only take you as far as outside the city. I won't take you to another city," the merchant replied with a wave of his hand.
"That's fine with me."
"Okay. Let's go. I have a shipment to catch up down south," the merchant said. He beckoned Lawrend into the carriage with his hand.
Lawrend rode the carriage, and they soon arrived at the gates leaving the city. The guards this time were stricter. They opened the carriage and looked at Lawrend inside.
"Who is he?" a guard asked.
"He's my helper. Look at how sweaty he is. He helped me move my goods earlier," the merchant replied.
"Hmm… Okay. Pass!" the guard responded.
The carriage moved past the gate and left the capital city.
The carriage slowed down somewhere a distance from the city.
"This is as far as I can take you. Remember, if you're doing something illegal, don't pull me down with you. I have a family to feed," the merchant said before he left.
"Was he guilt-tripping me?" Lawrend muttered in thought.
He shook his head and turned around to face the Undrasil Monster Forest. He walked towards it and entered inside.
Clova Whitebird, the Venerated White Roc opened her eyes the moment he entered the Undrasil Monster Forest.
"He's here," she muttered.
She expanded her wings and flew towards Lawrend.
Meanwhile, Lawrend looked around him. He didn't bring anything to heat himself with.
At this time of the night, the edge of the forest was freezingly cold. He would feel like being frozen if he stayed still. As a result, he continuously walked deeper into the forest. He only stopped when he reached 50 meters in.
He could feel it. If he went a little bit further, death would swallow him. It wasn't like the time when he's with Aezel.
"Lawrend, where are we?"
Suddenly, Daisy's voice sounded out. It startled Lawrend as he jumped in fright.
"W-Why are you scaring me?"
"I didn't know you're such a scaredy-cat, Lawrend," Daisy replied.
"I'm not. Also, we're in the Undrasil Monster Forest."
"Let me tell you something. I can feel it. Something is calling me in here. One of my other soul fragments should be here."
Daisy felt this resonating feeling inside her soul. She felt something close to her calling her.
"I-I can feel it too?" Jasmine, the ghost that looked like Daisy, said.
"What?"
"What?"
Both Daisy and Lawrend responded to her in surprise.
"It's like I'm coming home…" Jasmine continued.
Hearing their replies, Lawrend felt even more interested in this ancient temple. He would surely discover a lot of things inside it.
Who knows? He might even benefit a lot from it.
*Fwoosh, Fwoosh*
Lawrend looked up and saw the Venerated White Roc landing on the ground from the sky. She flapped her powerful wings slowly before landing in front of Lawrend.
"Where is the demon?" she asked.
"I'm doing this alone. I want to keep her safe," Lawrend replied.
"Admirable." She nodded her head at him in satisfaction.
Clova pecked inside her feathers and pulled out a ring. She then gave it to Lawrend. It was the same one before.