Chapter 109
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Jailbreak
"Huff... huff..."
Celine caught sight of the outside world for the first time in a month as the prison walls crumbled down. Even the cloudy night sky, devoid of moonlight, felt incredibly welcoming.
Her eyes should have ached terribly from the sudden exposure after so long, but fortunately the awful weather meant she adjusted almost instantly.
Celine quickly scanned her surroundings, her mind racing at full speed.
'What do I do...? I have to rescue the unit members... but I don't even know where they are...'
With no idea what time it was, she couldn't afford to dawdle.
Deep inside the base's stables, a few horses slumbered peacefully.
'I can escape...!'
Seizing her glimmer of hope, Celine dashed to the stables and roused one of the horses.
"Shh, don't cry... please don't cry... there, good boy."
Once she calmed the horse, Celine swiftly mounted it and spurred it onward.
"Giddyup!"
The horse carried her into motion, and with a heart-wrenching pang, Celine departed the Empire's Second Western Outpost Base.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I don't even know where you are, so I can't save you right now... But I swear... I swear I'll come back for you. Just hold on a little longer."
Shoooo—
Not long after she rode out, a torrential downpour began.
"Ugh, of all times... Come to think of it, the rainy season's just about to hit."
A full month had passed since her capture, which meant the annual monsoon—the massive deluge that blanketed the entire Empire—was now underway.
Being drenched to the bone wasn't exactly pleasant, but at least with the rain dumping like this, Alvis and his gang wouldn't have an easy time tracking her.
Anyway, she'd pulled off an escape when all hope seemed lost, so she told herself to stay positive and kept riding along the road.
After a full day in the saddle, clutching her growling, empty stomach, she finally reached a nearby city. There, in the central square, stood a statue of a somewhat familiar face.
"...Brayden?"
Engraved at the statue's base for all to see were these words:
[Sublime Sacrifice]
[The XXth Holy Warrior Brayden rose above personal grief, sparing no effort as he traveled region to region, providing relief to citizens suffering in the war's aftermath for the greater good. It was relief work any Holy Warrior might do, but the reason he earned such special regard from the people was that mere days after enduring the agony of his lover's death, he devoted himself not to the nearby dead, but to the distant living, and...]
The moment she read it, Celine's mind went blank.
Lover's death? Me? They think I'm dead?
Beside Brayden's statue stood a memorial dedicated to her.
Standing there in the rain, staring at it, Celine finally snapped back to reality.
'Right... a whole month with no word. It's natural they'd assume the worst after that long missing. But they knew I went to the outpost—why didn't they check? One visit and they'd have known I was there...'
After mulling it over, Celine concluded, 'Brayden must've been swamped. Too many places calling for the Holy Warrior—he couldn't just up and go.'
It stung a little, but Holy Warriors weren't free to roam at whim; that much was true.
'He'll be thrilled when he learns I'm alive.'
Celine yearned to rush to Brayden right away and prove she was still breathing.
Grrrooowl—
Having barely eaten all day, her stomach rebelled fiercely, but penniless as she was, food was out of reach.
All she had were the necklace and ring on her person...
— So, Celine, will you stay with me? Even after we graduate this academy.
— ...! Brayden... Pfft... You have no idea how long I've waited for those words.
— Celine...! So that means...
— Yeah. I'll be with you. Until graduation... and after.
The necklace and ring were gifts from him the day before they wrapped up their three years at the academy—the day they became an official couple.
She could've pawned them for some quick cash, but Celine refused.
They symbolized the bond between her and Brayden, nothing less.
Asking around at nearby shops for news of the Holy Warrior, Celine pieced together leads. Luckily, she learned Brayden and his Goddess's Sword Unit were just three days' ride away on horseback.
'Thank goodness—it's close! I'll be there soon, Brayden!'
Brimming with reunion-fueled excitement, Celine urged her horse toward Brayden's city.
Along the way, hunger forced her to hunt a wild animal. With the weather too wet for a fire, she choked down raw meat, retching repeatedly from the revulsion and weeping piteously over her wretched fate. Yet as Brayden's city drew nearer, even those trials felt endurable.
At long last, she arrived where Brayden was said to be. Even in the downpour, crowds gathered, singing the Holy Warrior's praises and welcoming him to their city.
'This is the place!'
Clutching her chest against its explosive pounding, Celine made for the upscale inn where Brayden was lodged.
With the Holy Warrior in residence, Goddess's Sword Unit members stood guard from the entrance, their tight security a stark reminder of just how much Brayden's stature had soared in the past month.
Forcing her way through the throng, she approached the guards at the door. Soaked to the skin, she was unrecognizable at first, and they barred her path.
"Halt. No entry beyond this point. This inn houses the Holy Warrior, so I'm afraid you'll need to find lodging elsewhere—"
"It's me. Celine. I'm here to see Brayden."
"...Huh? What're you... Gasp, C-Captain?"
"No way, you're... alive..."
"Where's Brayden? I have urgent business."
Celine pushed past them into the inn, the two guards scrambling after her.
"C-Captain! You're alive? But right now, the situation is..."
"P-Please, see the Holy Warrior later..."
"It's really urgent. I tracked down where terrorist Alvis and his crew were operating—not everything, but enough on their combat strength. We lost last time, and the soldiers I led got captured, but with Brayden, we won't fail."
"That's not— Oh, right! Captain! You're drenched—why not wash up first? It'll be tough talking like that."
"Ah... yeah. Excuse me a moment, then. Let him know I want to talk right after."
"Y-Yes..."
Four days since her last bath, Celine savored the brief respite as she cleaned up, then finally quelled her raging hunger.
But amid the Goddess's Sword guards at this fancy inn, she sensed an odd tension in the air.
Subtle glances from the unit members, eyeing her like some unwelcome intruder.
Returning after a month, she'd expected questions at least—what happened, how'd she escape?—even without a hero's welcome. Nothing.
'What's going on...? Feels like I don't belong here... Am I paranoid from the long confinement?'
Uneasy, Celine sipped tea in the separate room provided, awaiting Brayden.
A little longer than anticipated, Brayden burst in wearing pajamas.
"Celine...?"
"Brayden...!"
Spotting him, Celine flung herself into his arms, hugging her lover tight and sobbing out all her bottled-up misery.
Brayden awkwardly patted her back, consoling her. It took nearly five minutes of bawling before Celine steadied herself.
"Sniff... Hm...? What's that smell? Brayden, perfume?"
"Eh? Uh, y-yeah..."
"Since when? You've never worn any."
"Haha... J-just changing things up..."
"Oh right—not the time! Brayden, listen! Guess what hap—"
Then Celine recounted everything to Brayden, skipping only the part where Alvis wanted to claim her—to spare her lover needless distress.
Brayden pondered deeply once she'd finished.
"I see... So the body they found wasn't you? Makes sense—it was charred beyond recognition..."
"Those bastards are dangerous. Ravi, Elfin, Lenis—they're not the girls we knew from the academy. Brayden, it'll be tough, but we need to act. Five hundred of our unit members are still prisoners there. Dead or alive, who knows. They must know I escaped by now; expect moves soon. To save even one more, we have to hurry—"
"Celine, I'd love to, but we can't right now."
"What? Why not...?"
"I've tried stopping it, but the Empire-Kingdom war's only growing. Soon it'll spill over to the Kingdom's exiled elves, the Bunnyfolk of Carrot Duchy too. Calls for us everywhere—I can't split the forces."
"But letting them roam means more terror anywhere! And five hundred of our people..."
"Sorry, Celine. It just doesn't line up. Best we can do is pray they don't slaughter the prisoners wholesale."
"Then... if manpower's the issue, how about this? Announce I'm alive, expose Alvis's gang's crimes. Righteous folk will volunteer even without our unit! One word from you, and even if position keeps you sidelined, troop morale skyrockets! I won't screw up like last—"
"Absolutely not, Celine. Sorry... but officially, you're dead. Can't undo that. You have to stay dead."
In that instant, Celine felt hammered in the skull.
"What... do you... mean? Stay dead...? You're keeping my survival secret...?"
"......"
"Why!? Social chaos? Church announcement's weight? If that's it, tell the unit at least! Colleagues knowing our people are captured—"
"No, Celine. Even the unit's better off thinking you're dead. Only those two guards and I know—and that's how it'll stay."
"Brayden...? What're you saying? You're... off. Something happen—"
Then the door flew open. Two scantily clad women sauntered in.
"Holy Warrior♥"
"We're so lonely♥ You left us hanging, thought your business wasn't done... Oh, sorry."
Oblivious to the guest, they spotted the stranger and beat a hasty retreat, door slamming shut. But Celine had seen it all.
Her head snapped back to Brayden, who was sweating profusely, pale as a ghost.
"C-Celine. I can explain—"
"Hey. Who the hell were those women? What've you been up to? What'd you do this whole month? Reason no Alvis hunt, no unit rescue—what is it? Spill it!!!!!"
For the first time since knowing Brayden, Celine screamed like a woman possessed.