The young girl looked no different from an ordinary girl. She seemed quite young, probably 17 years old at most. Beyond her beautiful face, blue eyes, and long dark hair, she was pale and thin to the point that she was almost malnourished.
In any other circumstances, he would have easily taken pity on her. But not at this moment.
As Viktor silently observed the strange girl, all sorts of warnings were triggered in his mind. There was a good chance that she could be the witch those Templars mentioned
Right now, the girl was so close to Eva and from the gesture, she appear to be protecting her.
"Eva, who is she?" Viktor asked in a gentle tone as he tried his best to show a friendly smile to avoid alerting the other party.
At the same time, Jessie, who was standing next to him, took out a stick. It then emitted a yellowish glow a moment after, illuminating their surroundings.
However, to his surprise, the girl quickly hid behind Eva in fear when the stick lit up. Eva was also a little startled by the girl's sudden action, but she partly turned her body to hug the girl.
"It's all right, you're safe. They are my friends," the princess gently assured while patting the girl's back.
Upon hearing Eva's words, the girl slowly peeked from beyond Eva's shoulder and talk in such a child-like manner.
"Friend? Eva… friend?"
"Yes. They are my friends... and they are your friends, too."
The girl then curiously peeked to look at Viktor and Jessie, but she quickly hid back when Viktor looked back at her in the eye.
The situation was certainly worrisome. Viktor turned to look at Jessie, and the two tacitly understood the moment they made eye contact.
Eva was too kind and trusting, it was up to them both to save her.
Jessie slowly approached the girl intending to talk to her closely, but the young girl shrank back when Jessie had only taken a few steps her way. After thinking for a moment, she decided to stay where she was.
"What is your name?" Jessie softly asked.
The girl seemed to be afraid of the two strangers in front of her, but she still answered in a barely audible voice, "Liza…"
"Liza, tell me… how did you end up here?"
The girl only shook her head in response, either she doesn't want to answer or she was just confused.
Jessie was about to talk to the girl more, but all of a sudden, the blue husky came out from the shadows and barked.
"Woof woof!"
<This place is full of abyss creatures. I suggest you get moving, staying here for long will do you no good.>
Now that the Djinn was here, Viktor could finally check the girl's status.
[Female - Mortal realm peak stage]
Seeing the displayed piece of information, Viktor heaved a sigh of relief. The girl was only at the mortal realm, there was no way she was the witch that terrified those 10 powerful Templars.
'Djinn, can you find us a way out?' Viktor asked the Djinn.
The Djinn did not respond, but he immediately walked back into the shadows.
Now that the matter of looking for a way out was settled for the time being, Viktor walked toward Eva.
"Eva, are you all right?" You're not wounded, are you?"
"I am fine, dear, but Gucci here was afraid," the princess replied and pointed at her clothes.
Sensing that it was being talked about, the lemming came out of the inside of Eva's clothes and looked at Viktor.
When Viktor saw Gucci slowly coming out, he immediately asked the little mouse.
"You're a rat, aren't you? Can't you help us find a way out?"
The lemming quickly shook its head before returning back into the princess' jacket.
Viktor was a little annoyed by the rat's response, but he did not say anything. Instead, he turned to look at the pale girl with an amiable smile.
"What about you? Are you hurt?"
The girl shook her head, pointed her finger to her mouth, and said, "Liza… hungry…"
Liza's words quickly stirred Eva.
"Ahh, poor girl, Sister Eva will feed you now!" the princess exclaimed and looked at Viktor. Under her rushing gaze, Viktor took a loaf of bread from his storage ring, bent down, and handed it to her.
The young girl momentarily hesitated before finally accepting the bread from him. However, to their surprise, instead of taking it from him, the girl started directly eating it from his hand. Not only that, but she even licked his finger until all the crumbs were gone.
When the girl was finally satisfied with her meal, she looked at Viktor with a smile.
"Liza… Liza friend."
Right after, the girl began coughing heavily. Eva panicked when she saw this and quickly helped her drink.
While Eva was busy taking care of the little girl, Viktor turned to Jessie, who had been checking out their surroundings.
"So, Jessie, what do you think?"
"The girl or the way out?"
"Both."
"Hmm… I didn't find anything threatening from the girl. She could be a family member of an adventure who came looking for spirit stones and got lost or She could also be one of the victims captured by the gargoyles who managed to escape."
"You really think so? Is it really possible?"
Jessie seemed briefly stunned when she heard his questions, but she then let out a chuckle. With her usual cheeky smile, she said, "Of course not! I think it's most likely that she's the witch, but I think it's all right to have her for now since I haven't seen anything threatening about her"
Viktor nodded. It was indeed great to have a smart person like Jessie on his team.
As for the cliff's condition, Jessie found it not too hard to climb what seemed to be at least 500 meters cliff. Though, instead of the height of the cliff, she was more worried about if Eva and the girl would be able to keep up. Not to mention, they would be vulnerable to attacks from creatures like those gargoyles while climbing.
"How about having only one of us climb and ask the others for help? Or maybe we should just try shouting?" Viktor voiced whatever came to mind.
Jessie shook her head. "Shouting is a terrible idea. If we make too much noise, the gargoyles will most likely come for us."
"How about climbing then?"
"It's a pretty good idea, but that would mean one of us two would have to go. I worried it will be unsafe for any of us to leave with the two of them.
Viktor deeply sighed. This meant that they had to find another path apart from climbing. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided that it would be better to wait for the Djinn to find a path.
Jessie had been observing his expression as they were talking, and when he was thinking, she somewhat guessed that Viktor was planning to wait for the mysterious dog.
"So, I guess that blue dog you summoned is part of your secret?" she asked with a much curiosity, yet knowing smile.
Viktor almost reflexively sighed when he heard Jessie's direct question. This was one of the disadvantages of having a smart person on the team. It appears that in just a few more days, Jessie would have uncovered all of his secrets.
Noticing that Viktor was reluctant to explain, Jessie continued to speak.
"You know, there's a spell from the pillar that allows you to summon a creature. Some creatures have sharp senses useful for tracking or scouting."
This…
Viktor looked at Jessie, and the girl winked at him. She just gave him an excuse in case someone were to ask about the blue dog. Viktor gave her a thankful smile, but he still did not answer her previous question.
While waiting for the Djinn to return, Viktor suddenly remembered about the matter with the people above.
"What about you and the Templar? Is there anything I can help you with?"
Jessie shook her head. "It's all in the past. To tell the truth, I don't want to be involved with them anymore."
Jessie briefly told him how she was one of the lucky orphans who were raised by the Vatican. She received the best education and training within the Vatican and was treated very well, but not long after the apocalypse started, she was banished.
Her story piqued Viktor's curiosity even more. He wished to know more about these Templars, but unfortunately, now was not the time.
A while later, the blue dog finally returned.
"Woof woof!"
<I found a path.>
Hearing this, Viktor's eyes lit up.
'Great! Lead the way, Djinn!'
With that, Viktor and the three girls carefully walked in the dark cave following the blue dog.
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,
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