Ed tried to quickly hide behind the pillars, but was still a step too late.

Rey's gaze had already fallen on him, but he didn't react.

For a moment they just stood there, looking at each other in silence with their own doubts and uneasiness, until Ed gritted his teeth and walked over.

“...... What the hell is going on?" he said softly, not pretending to be alarmed enough, "Did you see anyone else? Other...... Didn't faint?"

"They were asleep, not unconscious. Ryan looked at him, not hiding the suspicion in his eyes, "Don't tell me it's my medicine to keep you awake - medicine can't have that effect, I've tried to prick it with needles and no one woke up." They fell for some kind of spell. ”

Ed awkwardly touched his chest, the burlap bag that Ryan had given him was still hanging there, but the smell was no longer so strong.

"I had just woken up - but I couldn't remember how I had fallen asleep. He tried to explain to the old man, hoping to gain her trust.

This statement is not a lie...... But it's still a deception. It made Ed feel a little sad - he liked the straightforward old doctor in front of him, whether she was Rye or Caroline.

Rey looked at him for a few more moments, and finally nodded, as if accepting his explanation.

"I've heard you used to be a pastor. She said she had found for Ed the reason he was able to come to his senses.

Ed blinked, a little delicate. He's still a pastor...... It's just that sometimes even he wants to forget about it.

"You...... Did you just wake up?" he asked cautiously, unable not to be surprised by Rey's unexpected immunity to his spells. As far as he knew. Human spells are equally useful against barbarians, although some are discounted by the barbarian's overly strong constitution...... But although Rye was once the wife of a barbarian, she is still a human after all!

Rey's hand subconsciously stroked to his chest. It was quickly put down again.

"I'll explain to you later. She avoided the topic, "We need to wake up more people as soon as possible." Whoever did this didn't just want everyone to get a good night's sleep - did you see Risek?"

Ed shook his head. He was more concerned about whether Joan and Oylan had entered the temple and where they were now, so he didn't bother to look for Risek at all.

Rye tossed him a cutlass and bent down to find another from the man lying in front of her, nodding to Ed.

"Let's split up. She said.

"But......" Ed hesitated. Having Rye by his side gives him a lot of concerns. But he was even more uneasy about letting her act alone.

"You weren't born when I was alone in the ice field against the wolves. The old man gave him a roll of the eye, "Take care of yourself, little one." ”

While Ed was still looking at her in a daze. She had already walked to the corridor on the other side of the temple, her thin figure standing firm and upright, without the slightest fear or hesitation.

Sio, the priest of the barbarians, would fall in love with such a human woman. Not without reason.

Ryan glared back at Ed as he caught up with her.

"I said, 'Split up'. Is there a word you don't understand?" she asked angrily.

“...... But I was scared. ”

When this lame reason blurted out, Ed couldn't help but blush.

For a moment, Rey seemed to want to laugh, and thoughtfully endured it, leaving only a small arc on her lips.

She continued on without a word, not trying to chase Ed away.

She stopped as she passed the wooden door that led to the altar, looked down at the two guards who had fallen to the ground, and then at the door.

The door was not locked, and it was slightly open. The padlock hangs from the deadbolt and dangles gently with the key hanging on it. There was a faint clicking sound.

It seems like someone had just gone in before them.

Ed's heart tightened, pushing the door open before Ryan could do, squeezing past her.

But there was no one inside.

Torches swayed in the flowing air, illuminating the empty altar. The runes carved into the stone plates were finished, and half of them shimmered faintly in the firelight—the carved runes were filled with some kind of iron-gray sand.

A certain image flashed through my mind.

Ed remembered the female necromancer and the unknown man who had been beheaded by Eric's sword in the graveyard of the ruined city a year ago, both surrounded by runes drawn on the fine sand. He hadn't been able to figure out what that fine sand was—it wasn't something necromancers often used...... Nor is it something he knows that priests or mages commonly use.

Restlessly, he tried to make out each rune again, but still couldn't understand the meaning, and the runes drawn on the snow in his memory had begun to blur by the time they found them...... He couldn't remember.

Behind him, Rey, who had been standing quietly outside the door, suddenly dodged in, gently closed the door, and raised a finger to his lips at Ed, who turned back in shock.

There are people outside the door.

Ed didn't hear the footsteps, and the comers were clearly as cautious as they were. Rye leaned against the door, peering through the crack in the door, before turning back a moment, his eyes twinkling and looking thoughtfully at Ed.

"Who is it?" asked Edby, silently with an exaggerated mouth.

Rye didn't answer.

She was silent for a moment, then stepped aside, slammed the door open, and slashed out with the scimitar in her right hand with the sound of the whistling wind.

The crisp sound of weapons clashing echoed through almost the entire temple. Ed jumped to his feet and shouted as he rushed over, "Don't do it!"

He could already see the figure that appeared outside the door—it was Rosa.

Her longsword rested on Rhy's scimitar, a look of surprise on her face, and she looked at Ed.

"Don't do it! Don't do it!" Ed cut between the two awkwardly, trying to separate them, "We're not enemies!"

Rye snorted coldly and withdrew her cutlass.

"If this 'friend' of yours can explain why she is also sober, maybe I will consider not treating her as an 'enemy'. She sneered at Ed, "As far as I know, she seems to be just a warrior hired by the king, and she shouldn't be able to resist spells." ”

Ed smiled stiffly, and he could certainly explain why Rosa was still awake...... But he couldn't explain it.

He couldn't tell Rye that he had set a trap in the main hall...... No, there's a modified sleep emblem. The spell was originally a triggered area spell, but with Oylan's help, it imprinted the emblem on everyone who entered the main hall, just waiting for him to trigger. The devotees of Nesses prayed in the main hall every evening, and it was something that no one would miss...... Except for Rosa, who is not a believer at all.

As planned, he would deal with Joan and Oylan, and Rosa should have seized the opportunity to search carefully for any places they had previously been unable to search to see if they could find Sergio - but it seemed clear that she hadn't found anyone yet.

Rosa looked at Rhy, who was still in front of her, raised an eyebrow, and asked with a smile, "Maybe I can ask you the same question?"

Ryan didn't answer, just glanced at Ed and said sarcastically, "I think she can protect you better than I can - if you're no longer afraid, maybe we'd better go our separate ways." ”

Ed grinned wryly, avoiding Rosa's interested gaze, searching for an excuse to dispel Rey's rightful suspicions and act with them, but Ryan had already pushed Rosa away without a word and walked out.

"Wait! wait...... Carolyn!" In desperation, Ed blurted out the name that had been swirling in his head for days.

The name froze Rey's footsteps, causing her to stand stiff as if she had been transformed into a statue, before she slowly turned around and asked coldly, "...... How do you know the name?"

Her blue eyes were frighteningly bright—those piercing eyes that didn't look like an old woman would have.

“...... I think you probably know I've been to the ice fields. Ed met her gaze frankly and replied softly, "I met an old priest in the Benlu tribe...... His name is Sio. ”

Ryan opened her mouth, seemingly repeating the name silently. Her expression changed, surprised, suspicious, nostalgic, sad......

"He wouldn't mention it to anyone. The old man's tone sounded very cold, but his eyes wavered.

"He probably won't mention it to his people...... But I'm a human being. We stayed together until he died...... He was the one who brought me back to the Giant's Spine, where you once lived...... Your home. Ed looked directly at Rey, his eyes heating up. He could not forget the old priest's tears of longing, and all the affectionate memories, "He never forgot you...... Caroline. ”

“...... Is he dead?" Ryan asked in a low voice, looking at him distractedly.

Ed nodded slightly: "It's me...... Sprinkle his bones back in the valley in front of your house. ”

The old man's gaze fell to the ground blankly, and he was silent for a long time.

She kept her head down. Ed couldn't see the expression on her face, but he could feel the hopeless sadness. He didn't know how Caroline was leaving, pushing her husband back into the midst of those who needed him, knowing that even if she did return to her family, she would only live in the eyes of sympathy or contempt...... That may be the reason why she changed her name and survived with a different identity.

After a while, Ryan looked up and spoke calmly, "Even if that's true...... It doesn't prove anything. Tell me, young man...... Why the hell are you here?".

(To be continued......)