263 Ch. 263 'Sealed Memory'

"Richard! Richard!"

Hearing his name echoed repeatedly, Richard opened his eyes and saw his three friends looking at him worriedly.

"What happened?"

"You got caught by Izzy's illusionary trap and fell unconscious." Hokuto's explanation made Richard frown.

"You didn't pass out?" he asked Edward, wondering why he had so often fainted lately.

"No. Just frozen. But yes, I might fall unconscious if the purple knight didn't stop her skill."

"What did you see that made you pass out?" Izzy asked curiously. "I'm sure I'm just creating an illusion to make people confused and dizzy."

Richard seemed to think for a moment. What had he seen?

"I have no idea. I don't really remember."

"Alright. The important thing is you are conscious. "

"What happened to that giant bear?" Richard had missed what happened to the bear because he had passed out while trapped in an illusionary world.

The three of them moved away from Richard's sight so he could see clearly. The bear had fallen lifeless with the head that was no longer in place.

"So, looks like our mission is over," said Richard, relieved.

"Are we going home now?" Izzy couldn't wait to go back to Bieger academy and meet Yuki.

Ever since she became an Elementalist knight and met Yuki, the two of them were almost inseparable, as if they were sisters who had a strong inner bond like Richard and Niken's.

"We can go back to using my teleport. How about you?" Hokuto remembered that Edward had told him that Richard wanted to go to the South because he wanted to meet his twin sister.

"Richard, are you coming back?"

Richard glanced scornfully at Edward. The man clearly knew that his purpose in accepting this mission was because he wanted to meet his sister.

"I'll stay here. I want to meet my sister."

"Then, I will accompany you."

Richard rolled his eyes lazily at Edward, who declared it as if he were an older brother who had to look after his younger brother if he wanted to venture into an unknown place.

"Alright, then. See you at Bieger academy."

Bzzt!

A second later, a bolt appeared from the sky and hit Hokuto and Izzy's figure before they finally disappeared in seconds.

Richard sighed at the departure of Hokuto and Izzy. For the first time since he accepted a mission with Edward, Richard was finally able to find time to relax and have fun.

Every now and then, he wanted to rest and wished to experience what it was like to live like an ordinary person. Because of that, he would not let go of this opportunity to relax as much as he could.

He was also excited to be reunited with his twin sister to see the city together like they used to when they were together in the orphanage.

Unfortunately… this time it wouldn't be just two of them as now Niken has another person, and their time together would be lessened.

For some reason, Richard felt blue, but he also happy when he imagined his sister's wide smile whenever she is with that person.

"What are you thinking?"

Richard glanced at Edward, who was now looking at him with a complicated gaze.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Do you really not remember what you saw while trapped in the illusionary dimension?"

"…"

"I heard Izzy's illusory ability could dig into the deepest memories of a person's mind. It could be that your sealed memory is excavated and becomes an illusion that you saw earlier. That's why you fell unconscious."

"My sealed memory? How could I know it was mine if it was sealed and hidden? But... I saw someone..." Richard held his head as he felt a hazy image of the memory flash through his head.

He saw a woman sitting on her knees under his feet while... crying?

Why is that woman crying? Why can't he see the woman's face?

The more Richard tried to see into his recollection, the more pain he experienced.

"Hey, you don't need to think about it. I don't want you to fall unconscious for the umpteenth time."

Richard paid heed to his advice, and only then he breathed a sigh of relief when the pain in his head began to fade away.

"You don't need to worry about me. I think I'm starting to accept the fact that someone sealed my memory like that person sealed my sister's."

"Then, it's good. But I'm not worried about you. I'm just too lazy to carry you if you pass out again."

Richard scoffed as a response to Edward's earlier comment, and the two both walked towards the center of the city in the Southern continent.

Meanwhile, Niken, who was currently on his way to the southern continent, woke up suddenly when she felt something.

Niken blinked several times to get her eyes to see in the dark because all the lights were turned off so that the sky train passengers could rest comfortably.

Niken looked to the across the position where Sir Lionel was still sleeping soundly, while Kazuto…

Niken did not find that man in this VIP room.

Where is he?

Niken removed the blanket to the side and rose to her feet before walking out to find Kazuto. However, she felt the same feeling once again.

This feeling… the aura of energy that was approaching her… Something powerful approached her, but Niken didn't know what was coming to her. Could it be possible she was the one who approached that energy?

Without realizing it, her footsteps stopped because she wanted to find out the energy's vibe around her that made her wake up.

"Niken?"

Niken lifted her head only to see Kazuto standing in front of her while slipping his hand, circling her waist.

"I thought you're asleep."

"I woke up and saw you were not there. So I looked for you."

Kazuto offered her a gentle smile and a gaze full of love. "I couldn't sleep. Something is bothering me."

"What's wrong?"

Kazuto's gentle smile vanished into a severe expression. "It seemed a lot of the dark beasts appear in the Mortal Realm."

"??"