Finding where Mezzlen was being held wasnât too difficult. After all, the Whispering Leaf was designed to be a plot-convenient item, perfectly reliable for locating lost people or items no matter where they were.
Our party of fourâEthan, the Hero, Cerista, and Iâfollowed the leaf to the back of the academy, near the mountain behind the tech department dormitory.
"...It seems like we need to head down somewhere around here. That would mean Princess Mezzlen is somewhere below this mountain," I deduced.
"Be-below the mountain...?" Cerista stammered, fear creeping into her voice. "D-does that mean she's already...?"
"Thatâs not what I meant, Saintess! This artifact cannot locate the dead!" I quickly corrected her, worried her words would spark unnecessary fear.
"Ah, I-I see... Sorry, that was a strange thing to say..."
While I explained to Cerista, who was clearly shaken by the thought, the Hero offered his own thoughts.
"There's probably a hidden facility around here, like that professorâs hideout we found under the alchemy lab last time."@@novelbin@@
"Ah, l-like that time..." she muttered.
"Though I doubt we'll run into any horrifying monsters like we did then. They wouldnât take Princess Mezzlen to a monster-filled hideout."