chapter 25
The paladin does not back down
In the end, the sparring ended only when Idelia collapsed from exhaustion and was left blind and sobbing. Hyunjoon was only sweating a little. The reason why Idelia was exhausted was because she cried too much. I cried like that for over 4 hours, but I can’t be sane.
Hyeonjun hugged Idelia, who was dirty with dust, tears, runny nose, and sweat. In fact, she was very light, only a little bit heavier for her size. It is because the body is so small. He supported his hip with his left arm and hugged him with his right arm, resting his head on his shoulder. I had no choice but to lift it like this because I was worried that my neck would break if I lifted it incorrectly due to exhaustion. I’m sorry for carrying it on your shoulders.
“Listen carefully to what adults say in the future.”
“Huh…”
“What’s up?”
Ethelia tried to say something, but all that came out was a song. Hyeon-joon smiled and entered the building. And I got stuck on a small problem.
“Hey, where is your room?”
“Huh…”
“No, it is. Priest Deliana!”
Hyunjoon shouted loudly. It rang loudly throughout the facility. Idelia struggled to push Hyeon-jun away with all her strength, but she was exhausted and had no choice. Not long after, Deliana quickly approached. She looked at the two of them and smiled softly.
“You are both messed up.”
“yes. I don’t know where to put this kid.”
In the meantime, hearing Hyun-joon’s voice, the children began to flock to him. Hearing the children’s voices, Idelia struggled more violently, but Hyeon-jun, staggering, did not let go. It is truly ignorant power to make Hyeon-jun stumble even after collapsing from exhaustion.
“sister!”
Hearing the children’s voices, Idelia planted her head in Hyeon-jun’s arms. Even when the children gathered around me, called my name, grabbed my leg, and shook it, I didn’t budge. I guess the reason I struggled was because I didn’t want to show this to my children.
“Don’t bully my sister!”
A child hit Hyeon-jun on the leg. Hyeon-joon didn’t mind, but the child who hit him grabbed his hand and cried.
“I didn’t bully you, I scolded you.”
“You bullied me!”
“no. Your older sister made a very big mistake and your older brother scolded you.”
Confusion came over the children’s faces.
“My sister did nothing wrong. An apprentice paladin.”
“Little boy, when you grow up you will know everything.”
“Adults always say that and try to sneak past it.”
She broke into a cold sweat at the sharp point of a child and winked at Deliana.
“Guys. Please go to your room.”
The children followed Deliana’s instructions and went in while glancing at Idelia.
“Ugh…”
“You are really good at pretending to be dead. I thought he was really dead.”
Idelia, who had regained her energy, slapped Hyeon-jun on the shoulder. It hurts but it’s bearable.
“I’m proud of you for even giving me a shoulder massage.”
When Hyeon-jun giggled, Idelia remained motionless with her head buried.
“Please come this way.”
“yes.”
Hyeonjun followed Deliana into a small room. It was a room with a bed, a desk, a few books, and a statue of Karios. It is a desolate room that is difficult to think of as a room for a girl of this age.
“Please put it down here.”
Hyeonjun put Idelia down on the bed. The bed will be a mess, but you can just take the fabric off and wash it.
“Do you remember the location of the first room you went to?”
“yes.”
“I put food and water there. Just wait a moment and I’ll be right there.”
“All right. You can come slowly.”
Hyeon-jun entered the room he was first led to. As Deliana said, there is a bucket full of water and a cloth, and there are bread, sausages, and even stew on the table. Hyeonjun took off his armor and clothes, wiped his body, and even wiped the armor clean. In fact, he didn’t sweat much, and the reason his clothes got dirty was because he was holding Idelia. It was late, but I finished my meal and leaned back in my chair.
‘It’s amazing.’
This is the story of Combat Skills (Basic) and Longsword 1. Hyeon-jun was able to test how strong he had become in the sparring with Idelia. Idelia’s swordsmanship is mediocre, but her growth was terrifyingly fast, so she captured the posture she once showed like a ghost. Of course, I couldn’t respond right away, so I had to repeat the same motion several times to make sure she responded. Thanks to this, Hyeonjun was able to bring out all the swordsmanship in his head.
‘It’s kind of scary. If this is 1, what about 2 or 3?’
Combat skill is basic, longsword is now only 1. However, although his swordsmanship is inexperienced, he was able to cook at will against an opponent several times stronger than himself. He turned a mere adventurer into a master swordsman.
‘I was thinking wrong. Strengthening the body is good enough, but swordsmanship will be more powerful than that.’
As Hyeonjun was organizing his thoughts, the door opened and Deliana entered.
“Forgive me for being late.”
“No, I’m several hours late, too, to be honest.”
The two faced each other and laughed. Deliana said as she sat down.
“Idelia is already cheered up. I asked him to say hello, but he kept insisting.”
“ha ha ha. Isn’t that embarrassing?”
“I don’t know how long it has been since that kid whined and called me grandma.”
A soft air flowed. But you can’t stay like this forever.
“Let’s get back to the point.”
“yes.”
Deliana said, scanning the marked spot on the map.
“Most of the missing children are closer to the beach. The same goes for the South.”
“This is a very remote place. It would be nice to see it as an exception.”
Hyunjoon thought for a moment and said.
“Could you please re-mark them by date?”
“of course.”
Deliana pulled out a small piece of parchment and started marking again on the map, checking it. Hyeonjun looked at the newly arranged map.
“At first it was a bit sporadic. I deliberately worked in several places, probably thinking of tracking. If you look at it, the scope will be like this.”
Hyeonjun drew a line on the map. It is the entire northeastern outskirts of the city.
“You’re getting bolder over time. Maybe I was impatient.”
Hyeon-jun drew a circle by grouping the places where the incidents occurred by date.
“The incidents that occurred on the same day are concentrated in one place.”
“yes. It must have been kidnapping children passing by. I don’t know what method they used, but without being seen by others.”
Hyeonjun said, trying to keep his cool. not anger On the other hand, joy creeps in. It’s hard to believe that dozens, maybe more, of the children are missing. It’s like looking at a map and solving a puzzle. He now understands why the commanders are so busy partying and partying when war breaks out. For them in a safe place, it’s just a fun pastime.
“Where have all these children gone? is it a building? No, the building is too fragile. The slum buildings are crude and not soundproofed. It’s strange that it hasn’t been caught for so long.”
Hyunjoon began to speak his mind out loud. Deliana just listened to Hyeonjun’s words.
“How did you kidnap them? No matter how slum it is, it is not without people. It attacks in an instant and closes its mouth, or faints. It won’t leak right away, but it’s so noticeable. It’s too bulky no matter how well you hide it. And do you know when the child will wake up? how did you move There is no car… Machado is not too conspicuous in the slums. there was a person Then he kidnapped the child and suddenly disappeared.”
Hyeonjun looked at Deliana.
“There is a high probability that there is an underground passage.”
“…”
“Priest?”
“Are you very good at it?”
“…”
Hyunjoon kept his mouth shut. As soon as I said to be cool, I immediately got excited and started talking a lot. Hyunjoon calmly tried to feel his expression. Fortunately, it was a frown. This is because he has a habit of making an impression when he concentrates.
“Where I live, I also learn how to deal with these situations.”
“okay.”
Hyunjoon said calmly. Deliana nodded and replied. The atmosphere got awkward. Hyunjoon cursed himself inwardly.
‘I was so excited because I was drunk with swordsmanship. Don’t be an idiot.’
“There will be an entrance here and here, here and near here.”
Hyeon-jun tried to ignore the atmosphere and marked it on the map.
“Looking at this, it happened the other day, but the location is very close. No matter how daring I became, I would not have wanted to take the risk of repeat kidnapping in the same place.”
“There aren’t that many entrances.”
“yes. This is the most recent case. overlapped with the previous one. It seems to happen sporadically, but each one is centered on one point. If you check the location of each one, you might be able to find the entrance.”
Deliana nodded slowly.
“It’s really great.”
Hyunjoon shook his head.
“no. It cannot be evaluated until it is resolved.”
“Having a clue is enough. It would be better to move immediately.”
“Is it a search?”
“no. First of all, I will move all the children from the facility to the temple.”
Deliana’s eyes flashed coldly.
“I will leave the defense of the temple to Idelia and the other priests, and I will form a search party with combat priests and enter.”
Deliana didn’t even say brother or sister anymore.
“It should have been like this a long time ago, but my indecisiveness increased the damage.”
This facility is not simply a building for slum relief. It is a symbol to show that the light of God is shining here as well. Unlike the southern slums with temples, the northern slums had none. Because of this, more people died and many children disappeared without a sound. Because security has been destroyed. However, the situation improved greatly when a building bearing the mark of a temple appeared in the northern slums. The number of cases has decreased significantly and the number of deaths has also decreased. Children can roam the streets unlike before, and those who can afford to send their children to facilities for education. Emptying the facility would seem to give up the northern slums. Because of that, I couldn’t go anywhere. It’s too late now. But I can’t hold on to it and drag it further. Deliana made up her mind.
Deliana wrote quickly on the parchment. It is a great calligraphy, even though it is written in haste. After writing on several sheets of parchment, I unfolded them to dry, closing my eyes and being silent as if organizing my thoughts. Hyeonjun couldn’t move in the heavy air. Unlike the soft atmosphere so far, there is charisma as if the person has changed. Deliana, who opened her eyes as if she had finished her thoughts, jumped up, opened the door, and shouted loudly.
“Idelia!”
The sound that Hyeonjun had just shouted was so loud that it could be regarded as a child’s play. It’s about to deafen my ears.
“yes!”
Ethelia, not even properly dressed, hurriedly came running. His face is swollen, probably because he has recovered from exhaustion, but he runs around fine. It is definitely a physical ability that is not like a human.
“Get ready. We will move to the temple.”
“yes? What are you doing here?”
Embarrassed by the sudden words, Idelia panicked.
“We will sort this out as quickly as possible. I’ll tell people. As soon as you’re ready, keep the children and head to the shrine. June, please pass this on to Zilenai. After that, do whatever you want.”
“yes.”
Hyeon-jun rolled up the dried parchment, put it in his bosom, and left the room. At the same time, he roughly stroked the head of Idelia, who was lost in embarrassment, slapped her on the back, and moved on.
“Little boy! Wake!”
“Cee…”
Idelia murmured from behind, but Hyeon-joon hurriedly moved on. It is still a sunny day. The kidnappers are moving at night. If you time it right, you should be able to hit the ball from this side.