An Explorer
An Explorer
"Idiot!" Cara coughed with pain, her hands clamping to the wound. She could no longer feel her legs. "Hurry, go kill that traitor!"
However, at that time, Nightingale had already disappeared into the Mist with Wendy.
Back at the crossroad, Nightingale found that Wendy was still in a coma. Her forearm had turned black, and the poison was obviously spreading through her blood. She could not hesitate any longer. She took a deep breath, rolled up the sleeve of Wendy's injured arm and bound the upper arm as tightly as possible. Then she drew a dagger from the sole of her boot, and cut deep into the arm.
It took her nearly a quarter of an hour to amputate Wendy's arm completely. She carefully wrapped up the removed arm with her cape and tied it steadily on her back with two straps. As long as she could bring Wendy back alive to Border Town, Nana would be able to heal her and reattach up her arm.
But... could Wendy bear such pain for so long?
It took her three days to come here alone, and she would be slower when carrying Wendy on her back. If she walked too fast and accidentally slipped off the cliff, she was unsure whether she would be able to climb back up again.
Wendy's arm was still bleeding and she might die in three or four days. But Nightingale had no other option. She would never leave Wendy behind. After all, Wendy was wounded because of her.
"Do you need a hand?"
Startled by the random voice, Nightingale released the Mist and simultaneously looked around in a defensive position.
But there was no-one in front of her.
"Don't be nervous, I won't hurt you."
Nightingale looked up and saw a girl flying in the air. "Who are you?"
"I'm Lightning. I just joined the Witch Cooperation Association recently. I usually wander around, so it's natural that you don't know me." She tried to give a reassuring smile. "But I know you, famous Nightingale, the killer in the shadows."
"Did Cara send you here?"
"No, no, you misunderstand me." Lightning slowly fell, one foot treading on the ground. "I want to go with you."
Nightingale could not believe what she heard and asked, "Pardon?"
"You said that we should have the right to choose our own way of life." She paused. "I choose to go with you. That's simple."
"But... why?" Nightingale had been completely disappointed with the Witch Cooperation Association. The sisters refused to go with her, and even Wendy could not fully believe in her. Yet the girl in front of her... she was actually still a child, 14 or 15 years old, about the age of Nana, believed her. She had short blonde hair and a face high in spirits. Her speech and manners were full of confidence that did not match her age. She did not wear the robes of the Witch Cooperation Association, and instead, she was dressed in a fitted coat and trousers. Outside she wore a short and shabby leather jacket with many pockets and patches. Around her waist was a crude-looking belt, which seemed to be picked up from somewhere. At first glance, she dressed like a man.
"Because I'm quite interested in what you said. The black machine which puffs out white smoke, the gray powder which will turn into a rock when mixed with water, and the powder which explodes like thunder. I want to see them." She held her head up and said, "I'm determined to be an explorer, so it's only natural I go to any and all interesting places."
[What kind of reason was that...] Nightingale was stunned. However, she knew that the girl was not lying.
"I don't understand... why would you join the Witch Cooperation Association if you want to be an adventurer?"
"Not an adventurer, an explorer!" Lightning stressed. "I'm different from those people who work for money and call themselves adventurers. They're nothing but greedy wolves that will do anything for cash. Explorers only do things that we're interested in! As for my reason for joining the association..." she said confidently, "Isn't it a great adventure to look for Holy Mountain? But Cara doesn't have the slightest sense of adventure. She has been totally driven by that ancient book, trying to connect everything we saw with the description in it. She said she had found the Stone Gates which rose from the ground, but they were just two old pillars. If she keeps on like this, she'll never be able to find the real Holy Mountain. An explorer must honestly record what they see. We can never find a horse by reading its description. My father has emphasized that point again and again."
Nightingale had a lot of questions that she wanted to ask. For example, what kind of father would cultivate a daughter full of strange thoughts? But she knew it was not the right time to talk, as Wendy might die at any moment. She was happy to get a hand from Lightning since she was not an enemy.
"Is your ability flying?"
"Uh-huh." Lightning nodded. "Even if I carry both of you, I can fly like the wind."
"Then I'll have to trouble you." Nightingale quickly bound Wendy on her back and climbed onto Lightning's back, hugging her tightly.
"Ugh... you're so heavy." Lightning gritted her teeth and rose slowly. "Maybe I won't be as fast as the wind."
...
They hurried toward Border Town. When Lightning was exhausted, Nightingale would carry her under her arm to walk through the Mist and when Lightning had recuperated her vigor, she would fly with Nightingale on her back.
Only when both of them were exhausted would they stop to take a short rest. At that point, Nightingale would ask Lightning some basic questions about things like her father and her family.
Lightning claimed that her father was the greatest explorer in the world, who left his footprints everywhere. He owned an ocean fleet and was kindly addressed as "Thunder" by the crew. Lightning lost her mother when she was little, so she did not have much memory of her. In a violent storm, her father's ship hit a rock and sank, and then she was carried to a small island by the ocean currents and lost contact with her father. With the knowledge and skills taught by her father, she managed to live on the island alone for nearly two months. When winter came, she awoke as a witch.
After that, she flew all the way to the west and arrived in the Southern Territory of Kingdom of Graycastle through the strait. She wandered here and there, and finally joined the Witch Cooperation Association. She believed that, as long as she kept exploring, one day, she would be able to meet her father in some wonderful land... if he was still alive.
Nightingale failed to acquire much useful information from what she said. With her ability, she could only tell whether someone was lying or not, but she could not judge the objective truth of the words. In other words, if someone said that the sun was square and did not doubt it, then her ability would still show that they were telling the truth.
Anyway, she could guess from some of the information, that Lightning must have been born in a rich family. People who were struggling with poverty would not have the time to explore. In addition, the fact that her father owned an ocean fleet further confirmed it. So Thunder was probably a wealthy ocean-crossing businessman. Besides, Lightning's blonde hair showed that she might come from the Fjords across the sea rather than from one of the kingdoms on the continent.
Wendy woke up several times, drank some water with Nightingale's efforts, and then she quickly fell unconscious again. Nightingale was increasingly anxious. She felt that Wendy's body was becoming colder and colder.
Nightingale and Lightning took turns to hurry forwards, and it took them one and a half day to finish the three-day-long path. At the entrance, the horse given by the prince was still tied to the ground, and the heap of straw in front of it was half eaten.
Without catching her breath, Nightingale mounted the horse with Wendy on her back and rushed toward Border Town, with Lightning flying after her.