Chapter 623

Chapter 8: The Basement Emotions

I…

Should I be grateful to her? Should I thank her?

But that woman, she’s nothing but an outright villain.

She did those things, causing so many deaths…

Yet, she saved me…

Why…

I stood there, slowly, slowly, clenching my fists.

“Who asked you…”

Who asked you to save me…

These words were ultimately impossible to say out loud.

Because if it weren’t for her saving me, the consequences… I just thought about it briefly, and my whole body tensed up, feeling emotions surge in my chest, nausea almost making me want to vomit.

I was indeed very fortunate.

Fortunate that I didn’t end up in Angel’s hands, or in the Church’s grasp, losing important memories and becoming a tool of the Church once more. These feelings, even if I don’t want to admit them, are real, flowing from my heart to my fingertips, to every strand of hair on my head.

I shook my head forcefully, trying to stop thinking about these matters, temporarily throwing off the complex and tangled emotions from my body.

So, how long had I been asleep…

I don’t know.

Earlier, I didn’t dare ask the townspeople. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been away from West Continent, when I arrived here… I should have asked them.

Father, Mother, brothers, and Vickie…

They must not know that I’m already in East Continent…

And regarding the end of the war in Silgaya, the divine body that appeared in Woodward Forest, about that battle, about me, how did the Church handle everything in the end…

Did they conceal the news, or publicize it widely…

Would everyone think that I died in that battle…

My mind was in turmoil, the more I thought, the heavier my heart felt, my soul wandering, eyes blank, slowly walking to the wooden table, picking up the lantern that had been there for who knows how long, holding it up to examine it. The wick was completely black, but there was still some wax left.

So I searched around the mud hut again, finally finding flint and dry grass on top of the cabinet. It took me quite a while to light the lantern, holding it in my hand as I lifted the wooden cover and stepped onto the stone steps leading to the basement.

The steps were steep, almost at a 45-degree angle, extending straight down. The entire passage seemed to be manually carved out, with the earth walls uneven and very narrow, forcing me to crouch to walk down.

If ordinary people walked this path every day, they might accidentally trip and tumble down, ending up seriously injured… This passage must be at least twenty meters long.

To avoid falling into meaningless contemplation, I imagined that woman tumbling down and getting battered.

When I reached the bottom of the steps, ahead was the decaying wooden door, with rusted chains hanging on it. But the lock on the chain had been opened. Holding the lantern, I pushed the door open.

Creak—

Heavy air rushed towards me, dust falling from above. I frowned, raising my hand to brush off the dust on my shoulder, then walked into the basement. Suddenly, I remembered something, subconsciously touching my forehead, looking down at myself.

No horns on my head…

No wings on my back either. I was now wearing a rough fabric robe, somewhat like the robes of West Continent, but with slight differences. The hem of the robe was split, almost reaching my knees. The robe was embroidered with colorful patterns, looking very splendid, but also giving off a strong cheap feel.

Of course, I was also wearing pants, loose-fitting trousers that covered my feet, with the same patterns as the robe. The fabric quality was still poor, but they were windproof and probably effective against sandstorms.

I wasn’t wearing shoes; my bare feet touched the cold ground. Earlier, I hadn’t noticed this—this outfit was clearly put on me after I arrived here…

Who changed my clothes!?

I was suddenly startled, but then I thought

Here, judging by the subtle attitude of the townspeople towards me, the one who should do this thing would only be that woman…

“Tsk.”

I raised my hand to scratch my buttocks, and then realized that I was currently naked inside, wearing nothing at all… Uh… What should I do?

Although the pants were windproof and didn’t make me feel chilly, it still felt odd. But I couldn’t go ask the townsfolk for clothes…

And come to think of it, it must have been a long time since I last bathed, right?

Thinking of this, I lifted my arm, brought my nose close, and sniffed my wrist.

Hmm…

The scent of cloves was very strong…

But besides that, there wasn’t any other unpleasant odor…

Can I bathe here?

My hair was itchy…

I pursed my lips, thinking about various things as I held the lantern and walked to a nearby wooden table. I placed the lantern on the table and looked around. Yes, it was indeed spacious, larger than I had imagined, with at least two hundred square meters… possibly more.

Boxes and baskets were piled up everywhere in the cellar, and there was also a heap of discarded stones in the corner. Besides that, there wasn’t much dirt; it actually looked quite clean, even cleaner than the earthen hut outside. I saw the bed I had previously lain on; it was actually not a bed but a long bench made of flat stones, covered with a cotton quilt, surrounded by white curtains, probably to keep bugs away.

Huh…

I could stay here for two days.

After lighting the lamp, the entire cellar seemed very bright and spacious. The ceiling was at least three meters high, providing ample space for movement. I could even practice swordsmanship here.

Just Captain Gray is missing…

“Haa—”

I sighed.

Forget it, let’s take a look at those books first…

I stepped towards the bookshelf beside me when footsteps were heard again outside the door. I turned my head and saw the little girl from before return.

“Grampa, Grampa, let me… light the… lamp…”

The little girl had changed into another pair of pants and shoes. When I came in, I hadn’t closed the wooden door, so she stood at the entrance, holding a torch in her hand, looking nervous. Seeing me looking at her, she froze like she was under a spell, standing far away, too afraid to get closer, as if she was about to cry.

I nodded at her.

Then the girl slowly shuffled in, hesitant to approach me. She went to light the wall lamps first, glancing at me furtively while doing so, quickly averting her gaze every time she did. Her cautious expression made me smile inwardly as I shook my head slightly and walked to the bookshelf, picking up a book at random.

“Um, Miss… Lady…”

The little girl spoke again from a distance.

“Grampa… told me to tell you that recently… a knight has come to the town…”

I had just opened the book in my hand when I heard the girl’s words, and immediately frowned.

“Kn,ight?”

“Mm… Grampa said they… might want to catch you…”

My heart skipped a beat.

“W-Who…”

Noticing my stern tone, the girl trembled and dared not light the torch anymore, stammering: “I-I don’t know… I think they’re not good people… Grampa, Grampa told me that I’m still young, and that telling you this might make you believe… and be willing to hide in the cellar, not being found by those people…”

What’s going on…

Could it be that the Church has already found this place!

That’s impossible…

“No, Grampa also said to respect you, and to talk to you more, get closer to you, so you know we have no ill intentions… but, but I’m scared…”

The little girl was extremely nervous, blurting out everything her grandfather had told her before I could even ask. As she spoke, her voice choked up: “Mi-Lady, can you… can you tell Grampa to find someone else…”