Chapter 421 422-Deteriorating Situation
It was an inexplicable intuition, but every time Howard woke up and looked in the mirror, he felt he was becoming more and more like his former self, as if someone who was supposed to be dead was coming back to life.
This wasn't a pleasant sensation; the displacement left Howard feeling exceptionally weary.
Sometimes, he couldn't even distinguish whether he was in a dream or reality.
However, this transformation had become Howard's lifeline.
Perhaps that's an exaggeration, but its significance extends far beyond.
The body becoming more familiar day by day means Howard's control over it would increase accordingly, and with it, his adaptability in combat situations would improve.
Although this body was currently paralyzed, he had a feeling: the paralysis was temporary.
When this body was fully transformed, that would be his time to leave this place.
With a chuckle, the girl stopped her feeding game and turned to leave the room.
Watching her retreating back, Howard's fingers twitched involuntarily, a smile appearing on his face.
...
Over the next three days, the girl took up the responsibility of caring for Howard with considerable diligence.
Meals were delivered on time every day.
Though she remained silent throughout, she never neglected feeding him.
She also took care of Howard's personal hygiene on a regular schedule, providing attentive care that Howard found somewhat uncomfortable.
Such behavior was starkly at odds with the personality she had previously revealed, inducing in Howard a strong sense of dislocation and unease.
The more diligent the girl was, the more uneasy Howard became.
The girl still didn't divulge any information about herself, but Howard had managed to deduce his approximate location.
He was still within the bounds of Lorinda, meaning he wasn't far from Antalya and the others.
He always believed in seeing things through, and he would feel uneasy until this matter was resolved.
Once, Howard faintly heard Gazel's voice.
Though he harbored no fondness for the greedy militia captain, Howard remembered his slightly hoarse voice quite clearly.
He refrained from rashly calling out for help, unsure of how the girl might react.
If she decided to silence him by rendering him mute, or worse, it wouldn't bode wel.
Even if the girl wasn't that cruel, Howard decided against taking any hasty actions.
Unfamiliar with his surroundings and without a map, Howard knew that straying more than twenty kilometers from Breeze City would leave him utterly lost.
Rather than relying on someone else's rescue, Howard trusted more in his own hands and strength to leave this place.
This also served as a retort to the girl's mocking disdain.
Howard wasn't one to dwell on grievances, but for some reason, he found her cold, mocking smile particularly irksome.
Judging by the time, Howard realized it was nearing lunchtime again.
Though he hadn't stepped out of the room once in three days, various external clues allowed Howard to make some basic assessments.
Despite the vagueness, he had to act this way to conceal his gradually returning mobility.
While the range of motion in his limbs was still limited, he could distinctly feel that the transformation of his current body was nearing completion, expected to finish by tonight at the latest.
The completion of this transformation would mark the optimal time for Howard to leave this place.
The slightly ajar door was pushed open, and the now somewhat familiar girl entered carrying a tray.
It was the same steaming bowl of meat porridge.
Although Howard had no complaints about the delicious and rich porridge, he still had questions, which the girl, as always, did not answer, acting as if she were mute.
The girl sat down beside the bed with practiced ease, lifted the coarse porcelain bowl, and picked up the spoon, looking into Howard's eyes.
"Still not willing to tell me anything?" Howard asked almost out of habit, not expecting an answer but holding a sliver of hope nonetheless.
"Not yet the time."
To Howard's surprise, the girl spoke.
Though she didn't directly answer Howard's question, the change in attitude was the best response.
This was the first time she had spoken since their initial meeting, which had ended on a sour note.
Howard looked at the girl with a mix of astonishment and scrutiny.
Her gentle demeanor was in stark contrast to her previous behavior, and the girl's unpredictability instilled a profound sense of unease in Howard.
"Don't worry, I mean you no harm. That's the only thing I can tell you for now," the girl scooped a spoonful of meat porridge, blew on it gently, and extended it forward, "The Spirit Church, you've heard of it, haven't you?"
Although still uncertain of what the girl was trying to convey, Howard decided to listen.
Any piece of information could be valuable.
He leaned forward to swallow the porridge, signaling with his eyes for the girl to continue.
"As the sole divine religion on the Avalla continent, the status of the Spirit Church is extraordinary. However, due to ancient covenants, the Spirit Church's influence is confined to being a spiritual aspiration," the girl spoke softly, her words laced with a touch of gentleness.
"The divine technique is a unique energy system of the Spirit Church. With the aid of the true God, divine techniques can accomplish many things that mana spells struggle with, such as discerning the compatibility between a person's soul and body."
After these words, the girl fell silent again, merely continuing to feed Howard the meat porridge.
Once the large bowl of porridge was finished, the girl stood up, collected the utensils, and turned to leave.
Her steps hesitated at the doorway, and she softly added, "Lorinda has been peaceful these days, but there have been quite a few new faces."
The girl left.
By the time Howard noticed, it was already nearing evening, and the girl hadn't appeared all afternoon.
He changed into the new clothes the girl had left for him and tentatively stepped out of the room.
Outside was a small courtyard, apart from Howard's room, there was only a kitchen and a woodshed.
It was clear the girl couldn't possibly be spending the night in the woodshed.
After making a round of the courtyard, Howard found no signs of anyone living there, indicating that the girl had never resided here from the start.
In the woodshed, Howard found Greg's dual swords, gathered them up, and slung them over his back.
Pushing open the gate of the small courtyard, he was met with a somewhat unfamiliar street.
The flow of people moving back and forth seemed hurried yet carried an air of tranquility and contentment.
This was the scene Howard had hoped to see, indicating that the conflict between Red Eye and Antalya hadn't escalated to the point of becoming apparent to the average person.
Glancing back at the small courtyard where he had spent three days and nights, Howard didn't linger.
He closed the gate behind him and quickly merged with the stream of people, walking away.
From beginning to end, he never learned the girl's name.
But he knew they would meet again, likely in the not-too-
distant future.
This was also his unexplainable intuition.
Although intuition is often unreliable, Howard always chose to trust it.
...
"White... do you think this person is genuinely naive or just pretending? My hints were so obvious, yet he kept probing, wasting time."
In the blind spot of Howard's vision, on the rooftop of a house beside the street, stood the girl who should have disappeared, with a large white dog crouching beside her.
"Let's go, White. We'll go back and report to the boss, see what our next move should be."
She reached out to pat the top of the dog's head, speaking softly, then turned and vanished with the wind.
...
When Howard returned to the inn, only Greg, who was still unconscious, and Vivia, who was taking care of him, were there.
Not just Antalya and Ali were absent, but Jelia was nowhere to be found either.
Seeing Vivia quietly reading a book with her head down in the room, Howard's hand paused as he knocked on the door.
"I'm back."
But the pause was brief.
He was met with Vivia's surprised gaze.
"Howard. You're alive."
The girl abruptly stood up, restraining herself from stepping forward, but the joy on her face couldn't be concealed.
"Of course, I haven't completed the tasks the shopkeeper assigned to me yet.
How could I possibly die?" Howard glanced around the room and casually asked, "Where are the shopkeeper and the others? Where's Jelia?"
Vivia explained everyone's whereabouts.
Upon learning that Howard had disappeared after confronting Soma, Jelia and Ali nearly went berserk.
The mana collapse triggered by Howard also caused considerable unrest in Lorinda.
With people panicking and some stoking fears from the shadows, the management quartet, including Harry, worked from dawn till dusk to calm the residents.
The workload for Antalya and the others had significantly increased.
Jelia, taking the initiative, also joined in the commissions, blending into the crowd to keep an eye on Harry.
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