Chapter 83: 83

Jude and Cordelia entered one of the empty rooms near the entrance and sat down in a corner after thoroughly searching the surrounding area .

They were behind a large fallen stone pillar, which hid them from sight when viewed from the entrance of the room .

“Shall we wake him up now?”

When Jude nodded at her question that was said in a low voice, Cordelia immediately placed her hand on the fainted Kaplan’s forehead .

“ . ”

“Gasp!”

As soon as the spell was cast, Kaplan opened his eyes at once and gasped .

“Haaak! T-this is?! What about the snake? What about the monster?!”

“Jude and I defeated it . So please calm down . It’s safe here . ”

Cordelia gently smiled and spoke in a soft tone, and Kaplan gulped and nodded his head .

“Have you calmed down?”

“Yes, I’ve calmed down . Huuu, I’m fine . ”

Kaplan nodded as his cheeks lightly flushed, and Jude, who had been quietly watching, cut in .

“Ahem, ahem, Sir Kaplan . ”

“Jude . No, Sir Jude . ”

“You can just call me Jude . ”

“Then, Jude . ”

Kaplan was, for some unknown reason, fidgeting .

He wondered if Kaplan was bashful and enamored of Cordelia’s beautiful face which transcended race, but that was thoroughly Jude’s opinion . There seemed to be something else .

“Sir Kaplan?”

Cordelia asked as she tilted her head, and Kaplan tightly clenched his fists and breathed several times before he made a resolution .

He prostrated as if he had made a mistake and then said .

“It’s all my fault . ”

The moment they came down to the underground, they met a powerful monster .

Furthermore, it was Kaplan himself who found the way down to the underground .

Cordelia smiled and said that they defeated it, but it must not have been easy .

She might not know it, but it must have been a life-threatening fight .

“I’m really sorry . I’m really, really sorry . ”

All of this happened because of Kaplan himself .

Because these things always happened wherever Kaplan goes .

As he desperately apologized, Kaplan thought .

What would happen if even Cordelia and Jude hate him?

No matter how kind-hearted the two were like angels, in the end, the two were still humans .

‘It might be better to go on separate ways like this . ’

He thought that he wouldn’t be able to stand it if Cordelia told him that she didn’t want to accompany him anymore, or that this was really Kaplan’s fault himself .

‘Let’s go on separate ways . ’

Let’s move separately .

It’s better that way .

It’s right to do so .

So-

“It’s okay, Sir Kaplan . It’s not your fault . ”

Kaplan flinched . He had no choice but to flinch .

Cordelia’s voice was the same as before . No, it was rather become more kind than last time .

“But…”

“Cordelia is right . ”

Jude helped raise Kaplan up and then looked at him straight into the eyes .

His eyes were full of fear .

Yet his eyes were like that of a child who had not given up hope for their kindness .

‘Is that it?’

Jude realized it now .

The Kaplan who appeared in the middle of Legend of Heroes 2 was always smiling, but he never allowed anyone to be near his heart .

Although it was possible to compel him to follow like stalking, it was impossible to make him a companion .

Because the wounds were repeated .

Because he had closed his heart due to not wanting to be hurt anymore .

He was a man who always pretended to be bright and had a false smile, but his insides were tormented, and he felt worthless and empty .

But not yet .

It was possible to change Kaplan’s future now .

‘Of course…it may be useless meddling but…’

But even so .

‘And one more . ’

Jude glanced back at Cordelia . Her gaze at Kaplan was full of sadness .

So he had to say it .

He had to protect Kaplan’s heart for Cordelia’s sake .

“Is Sir Kaplan a god?”

“Yes?”

“You’re literally a god . ”

“That…like a god of disasters…”

“It’s not like that . A true god . Or someone with divine powers . ”

Kaplan shook his head at Jude’s serious question .

“No . ”

“Yes, Kaplan is just an ordinary dwarf . No, you’re special because you became a lifelong professor at the institutional academy at such a young age…but you’re still a dwarf . ”

It was not a disparaging remark .

It was an enumeration of facts .

“You are not god . You may have bad luck, but that’s it . Does Sir Kaplan create monsters? Can you create and summon monsters that do not exist? No, it’s not . That’s impossible . Sir Kaplan is not a god but a dwarf . You just ran into the monsters who were originally there . ”

Kaplan bit his lips . A faint smile was drawn on Jude’s face .

“It’s not Sir Kaplan’s fault . Saying that it’s Kaplan’s fault…that’s rather arrogant . Who is Sir Kaplan? He’s just a dwarf with moist and attractive eyes . ”

Kaplan’s eyes turned red at Jude’s words .

It wasn’t much, but Jude had told him the words he really wanted to hear and what no one else had said .

“So don’t apologize anymore . Okay?”

“Okay…I understand . ”

Kaplan sniffled and replied before he eventually broke down in tears, and Jude patted Kaplan on the shoulder and turned to Cordelia .

‘Good job . ’

Cordelia gave a thumbs up and widely smiled, and Jude was satisfied . After patting Kaplan on the shoulder once again, a small smile formed on his face .

Cordelia’s smile was kept, but it was also because of his own feelings of satisfaction about something in his mind .

‘A complete happy ending . ’

The best ending where everyone was happy .

Jude smiled again at the thought that came to his mind, and he waited for Kaplan’s crying to cease .

And a dozen minutes later…

“Are you fine now?”

“I’m fine . I’ve shown you something embarrassing . ”

“It’s okay, it’s just between us . ”

Cordelia mischievously laughed and said, and Kaplan began to be flustered as his cheeks reddened again, and Jude cut in for the second time .

“Ahem, ahem, anyway, Sir Kaplan . ”

“Yes, Jude . ”

“We plan to continue the exploration as it is . ”

Jude and Cordelia had yet to find any clues about Lena .

They absolutely couldn’t leave Endymion while that was the case .

But not for Kaplan .

“This is the second time we’ve encountered a monster from hell in Endymion . Perhaps there are a few more of those monsters roaming around Endymion . ”

It was a very dangerous place .

At Jude’s explanation, Kaplan gulped and nodded his head . Because he roughly understood what Jude was trying to say .

‘Let’s go back . ’

Because he would only be a burden if they went together .

“Okay…”

“That’s why this is our selfish request from here on . Sir Kaplan, will you continue to explore with us?”

“Yes?”

“It is as we had said . Cordelia and I belong to the academy, but we are still very inexperienced . It would be a great help if you could join us as a veteran archeologist, Sir Kaplan . ”

Jude wasn’t just talking with the Kaplan effect in mind .

Endymion was an area that did not even appear as a cinematic movie in Legend of the Heroes 2 .

Therefore, even if Jude and Cordelia were rotten waters, they would inevitably have difficulties in exploration .

Even if Jude was knowledgeable about stars, he knew little about archeology or exploring ruins .

But Kaplan was different .

Kaplan’s archeological knowledge and exploration experience would definitely be of great help .

“May I ask you a favor?”

“Please . ”

Kaplan immediately nodded when Cordelia spoke at the end .

Because it was the first time he was asked to continue the expedition together, despite already having an accident once .

‘No, that’s not all . ’

He wanted to be helpful to Jude and Cordelia .

He thought he could do anything for the two who were like angels that came down on earth .

“I’m not good enough, but I’ll be with you . I’ll try to help . ”

As Kaplan’s eyes burned with enthusiasm, Jude was satisfied, and Cordelia breathed a sigh of relief .

‘Fortunately, he didn’t lose his motivation . ’

‘You’re right . ’

In any case, Cordelia was kind .

After thinking about Cordelia again, Jude proceeded with the conversation .

“I’m thinking of going inside a little more . The map of Endymion that we found does not show this place, but I think it is roughly connected in this way when viewed on a larger scale . ”

Jude opened the map and talked, and Kaplan nodded with a very serious face, while Cordelia took a step back and began to look around .

Thinking was Jude’s role .

And in fact, Jude was thinking of several things at the same time .

One of them was the origin of the monsters from hell that began to appear in Endymion’s underground .

‘The most likely is a demon summoning . ’

Over a thousand years had already passed since Endymion’s destruction .

It was hard to think that the demons who had destroyed Endymion in the past would still have remained here .

‘If they were summoned, was it the Devil’s Eye?’

The Devil’s Eye were the only demon followers who were active in the wild lands .

But then, there was something that was a little strange .

Why did they summon the demon in Endymion?

Wouldn’t it have been better to do the summoning in the main camp or the land of the attacking wild gods?

A considerable sacrifice was needed for demon summoning, and sacrifices didn’t just rise from the ground .

In a larger scale, it was a commodity that was scarce after all .

‘What I can think of is the distinct characteristics of Endymion . ’

It was the land where the overlord of hell came down in the past . Maybe it was a land that had something advantageous for summoning demons .

‘The Devil’s Eye, the newly summoned demons, and Lena . ’

Lena fought to the death in Raptor Canyon, not Endymion .

Maybe she had a big fight against the Devil’s Eye and the demons in Endymion’s underground?

As a result she wiped out the demons in Endymion, but she was also seriously injured and ended up losing her life .

It was quite a plausible hypothesis, but in the end, it was only a hypothesis .

He had to move to confirm the truth .

“Let’s begin again . ”

They finished talking about the route while they were taking some rest .

“Go-go-go . ”

“I’ll take the lead . ”

Cordelia and Kaplan stood up from their spots and said, and Jude nodded his head .

Although Kaplan fainted in every battle, he was a man who had overcome many crises .

They were able to easily proceed while carefully not making any sounds .

Thus, thirty minutes passed .

Jude praised himself for his decision to join Kaplan .

Because Kaplan discovered a secret path that was hidden in the dead end .

“This way . ”

Since it was a secret door frequented by the slender elves, it was a little hard for Kaplan, whose body was shaped like a keg, but it was not to the point where he couldn’t pass through it .

“It seems like a real secret passage . It’s like a drama theatre . ”

As she whispered very small on Jude’s ear, Cordelia pointed at their feet .

There was a floor about seven meters down, and where the party was standing now was above the ceiling with holes on it .

Although it was a stone floor, it reminded Cordelia of the scaffolding that hang from the ceiling of the theatre .

‘I’ll keep going . ’

It was the moment when Kaplan expressed his intention using a hand signal instead of speaking as he began to take a step .

‘! !’

Cordelia hurriedly reached out to Kaplan and cast two spells, while Jude held his breath and focused his consciousness on his hearing .

They had heard footsteps .

Jude and Cordelia had become more sensitive to things happening on the ground than before, perhaps due to the Earth Protection .

‘Monsters . ’

It wasn’t one or two . There seemed to be about a dozen monsters like Lacto and Nazarus that were moving together .

It was more than they imagined .

Moreover, seeing the magic lights lit up everywhere, it was highly likely that they had been using this path for a long time .

‘Let’s wait . ’

The group let them pass by . No matter how strong Jude and Cordelia were, that number was too much .

Cordelia nodded at Jude’s eye signal .

Kaplan couldn’t move because he was paralyzed, but thanks to that, he was able to stay still .

They stood still like that .

They waited for the monsters to pass by…

“Ceiling!”

A Nazarus suddenly shouted, and the Lactos wielded their whips at once .

It was right under their feet, so they didn’t even have time to react .

Craaaaash-!

The ceiling collapsed .

Jude hurriedly flew with Kaplan in his arms after Cordelia cast magic .

It was impossible to go back the way they came from because of the Lacto’s whipping here and there .

Boom! Thud! Crash!

Debris fell and crashed onto the floor .

Because of that, some of the Nazaruses and Lactos were distracted as they avoided the falling rocks, and Jude and Cordelia used that opportunity .

“Run!”

An all-out battle was too much .

As soon as he touched the floor, Jude ran like a gale, and Cordelia repeatedly chanted spells right after casting several times .

“!”

“!”

“!”

She made the floor slippery .

She froze the air to make a thin wall of ice and made the floor rise to block the path .

However, all of these were just temporary measures .

The Lactos avoided the greased area by flying low, and then literally threw themselves to destroy the ice wall and the rising floor .

“Continue!”

But it was not without effect .

To widen the distance even a little, Cordelia continued to cast spells . Jude ran while carrying Kaplan as he checked the surroundings .

‘It’s a place on the map!’

It was in his memory .

So he could imagine the path they should take .

“! !”

She even mobilized the Spell’s Echo, and in an instant, four layers of stone walls were created .

Jude thought of an escape route, or to be exact, a route where they could get rid of those who were following them .

Because it was a path that forked into two, their pursuers would have to make a good choice .

But it was at that moment .

[This way!]

A sharp voice rang in their minds .

It was magic .

Who was it?

Where did it come from?

“Over there!”

Cordelia figured it out through her instincts .

Jude turned his gaze, and at that moment, a stone wall that was much larger than Cordelia’s rose from the floor .

Baaang!

The stone wall that rose with a terrifying speed then crashed into the ceiling .

A succession of clouds that came from somewhere covered the stone wall .

[Hurry!]

It was the magic once again .

“This way!”

Cordelia ran, and Jude erased the map from his head .

Her beastly instinct was also an intuition, but she was a wizard . Her ability to feel and understand magic was far superior than that of Jude .

Boooom!

Loud noises came from their backs . At the same time, they also heard the roars of the monsters .

They had to hurry .

Jude looked straight ahead, and Cordelia pulled on Jude’s shoulder . Like that, he threw himself straight at the wall on his side .

Swooosh-!

It wasn’t the noise of an impact .

Instead of crashing into the wall, Jude and Cordelia went past through the wall and crashed into the floor .

“Gaak!”

Kaplan squawked as he fell on his stomach, and while protecting Cordelia in a hurry, or to be exact, Jude hugged her and put her on top of himself . Having succeeded in protecting her, Jude breathed a sigh of relief .

And above such Jude’s chest, Cordelia raised her head and swallowed her breath .

She swiftly raised her upper body from Jude’s chest .

What happened?

No, he understood .

Therefore, with Cordelia still on his chest, Jude turned his head and looked at the same place as her .

The reason why Cordelia swallowed her breath .

The person who made her cheeks blush in excitement .

“Lena . ”

A blonde woman with a gray hood over her head stood before their eyes .