Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance Chapter 69

“We have to go after Jessie.”

 

Eileen picked up Star from the ground. Looking out the window, dark clouds were gathering, and she had a bad feeling about the weather, which reminded her of the day in the original story.

 

Hurrying out of the dorm, Eileen ran into Cordelia on the stairs.

 

“Eileen?”

 

Cordelia had actually come out to track down Laquerta, but when she saw Eileen’s pale face, her expression turned grim.

 

“What happened?”

 

Eileen hesitated, then spoke.

 

“Jessie’s out, and I have a bad feeling about it, like something’s going to happen on the street.”

 

“Then I’ll go with you.”

 

Cordelia spoke up before Eileen could finish her sentence.

 

“Eileen, your instincts are good for this kind of thing, you can explain later.”

 

Cordelia dragged Eileen’s hand, who didn’t answer right away, and continued.

 

“If you’re going to worry about me, I’ll pass. I took care of Lucian, remember? I’m pretty strong.”

 

Eileen nodded without answering, feeling the firmness of her hand in hers.

 

“Let’s go right across the lake. The carriages will be crowded since it’s the weekend.”

 

It was pure coincidence that they ran into Felix and Lucian as they made their way to the lakeshore.

 

They were just leaving the training grounds after a long day of swordplay when they caught the faint aura of Eileen and Cordelia running in the distance.

 

They quickly caught up to them and asked.

 

“Did something happen?”

 

“Not yet, but something could happen on the street.”

 

Cordelia glanced at her as she answered for Eileen. Eileen hadn’t even realized Lucian and Felix had arrived, and she’d been staring at the sky.

 

Dark clouds suddenly gather. The heavy rain. Jessie’s last.

 

Star raised her head in Eileen’s arms. The young elemental, always as cheerful as a warm puppy, closed her mouth tightly for the first time in a long time and stared at the sky, which looked as if it could rain at any moment.

 

‘It must be today.’

 

Eileen cursed her own complacency. This time, she thought, Jessie would be less likely to get caught up in things since she wasn’t so close to Cordelia, and she’d bought herself some time by giving her the magical ring as a precaution.

 

‘Been there, done that a few times already.’

 

She squeezed her palm so hard the blood showed through. There were more important things to do than wallow in self-pity.

 

Eileen turned her head and looked at Cordelia, Felix, and Lucian in turn. None of them seemed to have the slightest intention of backing out of this.

 

Then.

 

“Lend me your strength.”

 

Eileen decided to trust them.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Jessie had tried a hundred times to get out of the alley. But no matter how many times she ran, broke windows, and even crawled to a high place and jumped off, she couldn’t escape.

 

Her well-groomed hair was a mess, and blood showed under her nails. Overcome with a terrible sense of hopelessness, she finally gave up trying to escape and slumped down in an alleyway.

 

“I hate this…”

 

She buried her head in her knees and covered her ears. She desperately hoped she’d wake up and be in her dorm again.

 

“…time, Jessie!”

 

“Huh?”

 

A hand grabbed Jessie’s shoulder. Jessie’s eyes widened and her head jerked up at the first hint of recognition. Neumann stood before her, sweat beading on his forehead.

 

His usually neat beige hair was matted with sweat.

 

“Neumann!”

 

Jessie burst into tears and hugged him tightly, the familiar face confronting her just as she was about to give up on everything. The blood finally rushed to his body, which had been stiff with nervousness.

 

As Neumann sucked in a panicked breath, he realized that Jessie was all over the place.

 

“Neumann, It’s so weird here. No matter how hard I try to get out, I can’t. Everywhere I go, I end up back in this alley!”

 

Neumann’s eyes softened at that.

 

“So,” Neumann’s eyes widened, “I went in prepared, but it really is a separate space, but how?”

 

A most realistic subspace, created by separating time and space. It was a magic that was not difficult for a high-ranking mage to create, but the scale of this one was far different.

 

‘Even a magic tower would need to have crystal artifacts everywhere to create a subspace of this size, but I don’t sense any artifact energy anywhere.’

 

Neumann patted Jessie’s shoulder, who was trembling as he tried to push down his rising anxiety.

 

“Do you think you can move? We need to get out of here.”

 

“Can we get out?”

 

“If this place is magical, there must be a loose connection, and if we can find it, we can get out.”

 

Energized by Neumann’s determined words, Jessie took his hand and pulled herself to her feet. 

 

Neumann removed the robe he was wearing and draped it over Jessie’s shoulders. It was the robe Bella had saved him, enchanted with a protective spell.

 

“Your hand, do you mind if I hold on to it for now? If we get separated here, I don’t know when we’ll see each other again.”

 

“Yeah. It’s okay.”

 

Jessie nodded vigorously, afraid to be alone. The two of them began to walk slowly, looking for the exit of the alley.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Star, let me know if you find any strange energy.”

 

Meanwhile, across the lake and into the street, Eileen put her hand to the ground. A violent rainstorm was raging, but thanks to Cordelia, the raindrops were deflected before they reached her.

 

Leaning her head against the ground, Star scanned the street extensively before baring her fangs and growling. Cordelia’s eyes narrowed at the rare display of aggression.

 

“I see.”

 

Eileen shuddered as she felt the earth’s energy directly in her body. Soothing the still-excited Star, she loosened her grip.

 

This eerie feeling in her chest was clearly no stranger.

 

“Felix, can you send a messenger to the professors?”

 

“Is it that dangerous?”

 

Eileen said, nodding slowly.

 

“If my guess is right, it’s something similar to what entered the greenhouse back then.”

 

The greenhouse.

 

The three faces darkened as they remembered the day that had scarred them all. 

 

Nodding, Felix closed his eyes for a moment and cast a spell, and a bird of light flew from his hand.

 

“Sent.”

 

“Thank you. But you won’t listen to me if I tell you to wait until the professors get here, will you?” Eileen asked the last of them.

 

The enemy they were up against now was something huge and alien, something she didn’t know much about. There was no duke to save them this time, no knights to save them.

 

Cordelia met Eileen’s eyes unflinchingly and imbued the Sword of Lorea around her neck with elemental power. Holding the sword, which had returned to its true form, Cordelia asked,

 

“So, Eileen, you’re going to leave us and go rescue Jessie?”

 

Cordelia’s mouth quirked up at one corner.

 

“Eileen, I think I heard you say that once before.”

 

Dead or alive.

 

Behind the searing Cordelia, Felix and Lucian shrugged, indicating that they had no intention of going back. Lucian was glad they were in training, he thought, gripping the scabbard he’d brought with him with a firm hand.

 

“Eileen, it was our choice to follow you, and if you truly believe in us, give us a chance to stand by your side.”

 

Felix nodded at his words. Eileen glanced at each of the three of them, then turned her gaze back to the stormy sky.

 

“Okay, let’s go.”

 

Whether there would be night or rainbows when the clouds cleared remained to be seen.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile, the room Neumann and Jessie were in was silent and windless, unlike the real world where the rain was pouring down.

 

‘A gap. A gap.’

 

The crack he’d entered through had long since disappeared, and the beginning and end of the alley were inaccessible, so the next best thing was to find a door that connected to the real world.

 

“Huh?”

 

Noticing that a breeze was leaking out of the ground-floor entrance of a three-story building, Neumann approached it with a flush of color. Separate spaces were removed from the flow of time, so if it was windy, it was most likely real.

 

Grabbing Jessie’s hand, Neumann put his hand on the doorknob to open the door.

 

Drrrr-

 

The window opened and a human shadow fell over Jessie and Neumann’s heads. The shadow spoke in a languid voice.

 

“Oh no.”

 

They forced their stiff, unmoving heads up to look at it. A man with closed eyes sewn shut with black thread was peering down at them, his upper body out the window.

 

“Cute little rats in here.”