Chapter 143

Translated by: Miss Ruby

Edited by: ShadowDog

* * *

“So…”

After about an hour or so, Anne-Marie opened the door of the room and came out . Her face had obviously grown haggard in that time span .

“I think he’s okay now . I have to keep monitoring his condition but for now, his breathing has stabilized, and his pulse has also gone back to normal . ”

Yuri, who was waiting quietly in the living room so that she wouldn’t disturb Anne-Marie, was relieved to hear that .

“Thank you, Ms . Anne-Marie . Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, it’s alright . Although I can’t be 100% sure yet, I think he’ll be fine as long as we keep watching his condition . Probably . ”

While giving that answer, Anne-Marie turned her head to the side like she was looking for someone . Quickly realizing why she was doing that, Yuri spoke up .

“I think Hestia went out to meet a friend . I saw a note on the table . ”

“Oh, I see . Come to think of it, I didn’t even make breakfast…”

“It looks like she ate by herself before leaving . I’m sorry . It’s because I came so suddenly . ”

“Ah, no, I didn’t say that to get you to apologize…”

Anne-Marie was taken aback by Yuri’s apology and stumbled over her words .

“…”

“…”

Then for a while, a brief silence settled over the house . They had never had such an awkward atmosphere when they were together before and it made them feel itchy inside .

Then Yuri remembered the sandwich which was next to the note on the table and opened her mouth again .

“That reminds me, Ms . Anne-Marie, you haven’t eaten yet . You should eat something . ”

“Oh, you’re right . I’m not that hungry though . You can eat something too, Ms . Yuri . ”

Anne-Marie suggested .

However, her tone wasn’t as natural as it usually was, it looked more like she responded reflexively . As proof of that, Anne-Marie’s face still had some awkwardness and it was a little stiff .

“I’m good . I’ll go change my clothes while you eat . ”

At Yuri’s words, Anne-Marie’s eyes widened slightly as if she finally remembered what she had been forgetting .

“Oh, right . Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere, Ms . Yuri?”

“Yes . I’m fine . ”

Yuri’s outfit was covered in blood and dirt, looking like quite a mess . Of course, Yuri wasn’t entirely uninjured when she arrived at Anne-Marie’s house . But as time passed, her wrists and ankles were already reattached and the minor cuts she got were already healed .

And so, Yuri went to her house next-door and carelessly changed her clothes . Then she went back to Anne-Marie’s house .

“You’re back?”

“Yeah, are you done eating?”

“Yes, it went fast anyway since it was just a sandwich…do you really not want to eat anything, Ms . Yuri?”

“Yes, I’m okay . ”

A while later, Yuri and Anne-Marie sat on the sofa opposite of each other at the table in the living room .

Yuri was thinking about the best way to explain all this to Anne-Marie . No matter what, she couldn’t blab about every single thing and she had to be truthful enough that Anne-Marie could accept it . But it was hard for her to gauge how much that should be .

“Um…”

Just when silence fell over them again because of that, Anne-Marie spoke up first this time after a brief hesitation .

“You, you have a unique friend . ” [1]

A voice that tried to sound bright rang out in the quiet house . People don’t usually call something ‘unique’ after seeing a crow that turns into a human but…

It was obvious she didn’t know what to say about Odin and tried to put it in the best way possible .

Yuri glanced at Anne-Marie and said .

“Ms . Anne-Marie, I know you must have been very surprised because of me . Despite that, you still readily helped me, and I just want to say again that I’m sorry and thank you . ”

Anne-Marie’s lips parted slightly . But she just looked at Yuri as though she didn’t know what to say .

“Honestly, I’ve never told this to anyone so I’m not really sure how to explain this right now . ”

Yuri was also in the same boat, in that she didn’t know what to say right now . She went quiet for a bit then she spoke softly again .

“By now, you’ve probably noticed that I’m different than the average person, so I understand if you’re uncomfortable with me . ”

“I don’t think that…!”

Right then, Anne-Marie suddenly raised her voice .

Yuri studied Anne-Marie’s face opposite hers . Anne-Marie’s face was stiff but for a different reason from before .

“Ms . Yuri, you don’t have to tell me anything . ”

Soon, her gaze on Yuri was filled with a faint determination .

“When I think about it, that’s really the truth . Everyone has their own circumstances . And among those, there are secrets that are difficult to tell other people . ”

As she continued speaking, Anne-Marie slowly regained her original composure .

“To be honest, I’m glad Ms . Yuri remembered me and came to see me in such an urgent situation…and I’m happy too . So don’t think I’m uncomfortable, or anything like that . ”

“…”

“We’re friends, you know . ”

Soon, the familiar smile she always showed to Yuri bloomed on Anne-Marie’s face . The little awkwardness there that she couldn’t hide earlier was nowhere to be found .

“Later, when you’re more comfortable talking about it, you can tell me everything, Ms . Yuri . ”

Yuri looked at the smile which made even the person looking at it feel at ease .

…Somehow, she felt a little strange inside, like something had wormed its way in . It wasn’t a bad feeling per se; it just felt unfamiliar to Yuri .

Yuri didn’t know what to say to Anne-Marie when Anne-Marie was being this considerate of her .

“But if it’s okay, can I ask you one question?”

Anne-Marie hesitated a little then she looked at Yuri and asked .

“The person who took me to Hestia at the festival, it was Ms . Yuri, right?”[2]

Yuri flinched .

Perhaps Anne-Marie’s eyes were just that sharp because when she saw Yuri earlier, she immediately recalled what happened that day . If Yuri wanted to lie, she could but for some reason, she didn’t feel like it . So Yuri simply answered honestly .

“Yes, you’re right . ”

At that, Anne-Marie’s complexion relaxed as if she had been unsure inside .

“That’s all I wanted to ask . ”

Her eyes were shining much brighter and clearer . The smile on her lips was also much brighter than before .

There were certainly a lot more things Anne-Marie wanted to know but she really didn’t ask any other questions .

“Would you like a cup of tea at least?”

“Sure, thank you . ”

Like any other time, Anne-Marie asked in a light-hearted tone . She was still kind and friendly to the strange and suspicious woman next-door . Perhaps Yuri was a little happy because of that .

‘Wait…why do I keep feeling like I forgot something?’

Then a strange feeling suddenly flashed through her mind and she tilted her head . But because Anne-Marie soon brought the tea, the thoughts that were about to float up to the surface in Yuri’s mind sank down to the depths again .

* * *

What Yuri had forgotten due to the hectic situation with Odin was none other than Kalian and Damon .

“Damon Salvatore . ”

Kalian called the name of the person he was carrying on his back . But he only got a small groan from his back and no other reply .

Eventually, he managed to take Damon and escape from the enemy’s lair . But as expected, it wasn’t an easy task and there were a lot of small and large wounds on Kalian’s body .

Blood was flowing from his head, down his chin, and dripping to the ground .

Right now, Kalian was thinking about the blond man, whom he had been in a fierce battle with earlier . Judging by the fact that the man was using a strange ability, he was obviously a heretic as well . However, the man was on a different level from the heretics Kalian had encountered so far .

Even though Kalian was dealing with a hostage situation, the fact that he was hurt this badly was proof of that .

For now, Kalian moved with Damon’s rescue as a priority . Thanks to his luck, he was able to injure the blond heretic and get Damon out of there successfully .

However, he wasn’t able to bring Yuri out .

When Kalian tried to go back and get her, the building was suddenly flooded with a sturdy, white material so he judged it was best to get out as quickly as possible .

Then after escaping from the building, Kalian decided to move Damon to a safe place first .

‘That man, I have definitely seen him somewhere before . ’

But even now, the image of the blond heretic was clearly imprinted in his mind . The clean features . The blond hair, the sharp light-blue eyes . He had definitely seen it somewhere else recently…

.

‘Step aside; don’t block the way . ’

.

And the moment the memory that was buried deep in his mind resurfaced, Kalian’s eyes shook immensely .

.

‘I’ll take her somewhere safe myself . ’

‘You’re the Hero of the East, go take care of the other injured inside . ’

.

It was the very same man who disappeared with Yuri after the explosion in the shopping district .

“Lord Crawford!”

Right then, the voice of someone calling Kalian came from afar . Thankfully, it seemed the emergency signal he sent out had reached them .

“What happened?”

Instead of giving his men a long explanation about the situation, Kalian handed over Damon who he was carrying, and only conveyed the necessary instructions .

“I’ve contacted the Salvatores . Also, it looks like he’s hurt his head, so have them hurry up and take him to a doctor . ”

Then he turned around immediately with a cold gleam in his eyes .

“The rest of you, follow me . I found a place swarming with heretics . ”

Right now, he was thinking of going back to the heretics’ den to rescue Yuri right away .

Of course, she had already escaped there by herself .

“What is this now?”

And around this time, the real Lakis arrived where Kalian had begun heading back to .

Translator’s Corner:

[1] The unique here can also be translated to: eccentric or individualistic . Usually used on someone that stands out .

[2] This is in Chapter 32 . I forgot what chapter this was and had to search ‘festival’ on the site . (＾▽＾)