Translator: Blushy
Editor: Sam
When the magic stone was removed earlier, anyone with magic would have noticed that something had changed in the quality of the air even if they didnât know that the barrier was gone. Didnât the person who accompanied the Third Prince say something like that?
However, even if they noticed something the moment the barrier was gone, itâs difficult to conclude whether the barrier is up or not. In other words, they only noticed something the moment it went up or down.
Right now, Kingdom is completely bare, with no way to resist the Hollows. I wonder how many people are aware of this. How are they prepared to deal with the Hollows?
I shivered. In the first place, Hollows donât come from Frontier. Just like in Mils Lake, they will come forth from within Kingdom if there is no barrier in place. Wellington Mountains in the west and Yulas Mountains to the east are especially dangerous.
Besides, Hollows can even be found in the rocky areas of the prairie in Wester.
âIthâsh nighth thime.â
âWhat are you talking about?â
âEveryoneâsh shthiww outhshide.â
âYou want to put up the barrier at night?â
âAi.â
I nodded. Iâm sure the Third Prince doesnât expect anyone to put the magic stone back onto the pedestal after heâd taken it off. We can save people if we put the magic stone back for one or two hours. Most people should be back in their homes even if this goes unnoticed for three hours. If people are in their homes, then itâll be a lot better than them being outside.
But I wonder if Hollows can get through the gaps in houses that arenât made out of Rhodolite. I never thought Iâd be in a situation where Iâd have to worry about this in Kingdom. But I canât help but worry about this.
âWeâww waith unthiw nighth.â (Weâll wait until night)
âAlright.â
But even so, we were really tired. We were tired of having to eat hard bread, fruit and water, but we were glad to have food. More importantly, we were tired of sleeping on the narrow and painful floor while having to worry about whether someone would come or not.
âIâm thired.â
âI didnât think I would be this tired since I didnât really do anything.â
Nico was right. He wasnât irritated from excess magic since he had channelled his magic into the magic stone. But we didnât feel rested since we always go home at night and are surrounded by the warmth of our families.
Weâre worried about our families, but weâre occupied with how to keep ourselves safe.
Nevertheless, we got hungry and napped, and looked at each other when we thought it was night time, then we stood up.
âI donât hear anyone.â
âLethâsh go.â
We got up quickly but snuck around the barrier room so that we wouldnât make a sound. Nico climbed up the chair and looked above the table, while I looked at the bottom of the table since the engineer had said that there was something under the table when the magic stone had been removed.
When I looked under the table, I saw that there were indeed five places which can be removed. One of the tiles had been removed. They should have put it back, but I guess the Third Prince thought it didnât matter since he had removed the magic stone.
Thanks to this, I was able to take a closer look at it, and I could reach it since it was under the table.
âMove thhish.â
âOh, Lei. The place where the magic stone was removed?
âI goth ith righth. Now tho move ith thhe othher way.â
âOh. It moved again.â
We were talking in whispers, but then we stopped and looked at the door. We couldnât hear anyone moving.
âNico, thish.â
I took out the magic stone from the Rug Dragon and gave it to Nico.
âHmm. Put it like this.â
It seemed that Nico had put the magic stone in its place, but just placing it down didnât activate the barrier.
âIâww thurn ith thhe othher way again.â
Something was clicked into place and a screeching vibrated through my body. I felt like it was spreading wide around us.
âI did ith!â
âLei! Hurry up!â
âAi.â
I ran into the waiting room, urged by Nico, who carefully got off the chair so that he wouldnât make a sound even at a time like this. We slipped under the bed and nervously peeked out.
âAt least it seems like the soldiers in front of the door didnât notice.â
âI wnow. Buth...â
If one of his subordinates were capable and told the Third Prince that the barrier was back up again then the magic stone would be quickly removed again. We waited for a while, but no one came. We crawled out from under the bed and looked at each other with tired eyes.
âFood.â
âYouâre amazing Lei. I donât feel like eating for some reason.â
Nico rubbed his stomach and sighed. Itâs only normal. Honestly, I felt guilty for being hungry at a time like this.
âAll the food we had is half gone too.â
âAi.â
We assumed that Mark and Gill would be with us so there was more than enough food for us to eat for three days. I nearly said that we didnât have to worry about food.
Even if they didnât notice that the barrier was up, they would notice if they come here tomorrow. Even if they didnât think it was us, they will search more thoroughly than they did today. If they do that, then Iâm sure theyâll find us.
âAlright. Lei. I know.
Nico was tired but he still smiled to cheer me up.
âI think thatâs enough. Havenât we given them enough trouble?â
âAi.â
We canât do anything about this situation even if we manage to escape without getting caught when the magic stone is discovered.
âHey, I donât want to get under the bed anymore.â
âLei thoo.â
âThen, go to the washroom after youâve eaten.â
âWeâww shweep on thhe bed.â
This is fine.
Nico eventually ate happily even though he said he had no appetite, then he quietly went to the washroom, washed his face and we used the bed for the first time since arriving at this waiting room.
âThe bedâsh shofth.â
âHmm. Beds are nice.â
We were going to chat about something, but we quickly fell asleep since the bed felt nice.
So, when we woke up the next day, we were surprised to see an unfamiliar feeling and soldiers watching us. The soldier made eye contact with me, looked uncomfortable, then immediately left the room. He should have at least smiled since he saw a cute baby.
I see, so we finally got caught.
âLei, you can really sleep well no matter where you are.â
âRude.â
Itâs nice that Iâm with Nico at least. Nico woke up first. He was sitting on a chair and elegantly sipping on tea.
âLei thoo!â
âI thought you would wake up soon, so I got them to prepare some for you.â
I cheerfully got out of bed, sat in the chair across from Nico and received the cup of tea. I held the cup gently in my hands and pompously took a sip. Iâm sure I have bed hair and my clothes are wrinkled anyways.
âYummy.â
âHmm. I put a little sugar in it.
Just then, the door opened violently. There was a short pause before he began to speak, âYou two! Why are you two drinking tea so elegantly? Donât you realise youâve been caught?â
I do, but Iâm thirsty, you know. Yup.