"Even though you're quite an intriguing person with a few secrets, I still wonder how you managed to attract their attention. As far as I know, those guys have been obsessed with only one thing throughout their existence."
Avilia knew just why the Temple of Time used to create chaos in the past. They were searching for something to the point of being obsessed. It was only because they failed to find what they were looking for despite the amount of effort they put in that they stopped.
Even she didn't know just why those people would take an interest in Gabriel. From what she could guess, the Temple of Time most probably thought that Gabriel had something to do with what they were looking for. Only that made sense for her.
"That can't be. If you had something they were after, with their personality, they would've already destroyed the city and taken you hostage." She lightly shook her head, realizing that things weren't as simple as she would've liked them to be. There was something else... Another undercurrent that she didn't know about.
"It doesn't matter what they're after. I'll deal with them when the time comes."
Gabriel didn't think too much about that. Even if the Temple of Time was spying, as long as they didn't directly take action, he couldn't do much. No one knew where they were after all. For now, he had only one focus... Solving the mystery of the Garden of Legacy.
He turned his back on the shattered mirror and went deeper into the castle. He still had a few things to do.
As Gabriel walked, he was followed by Avilia but he didn't care. Avilia was like a curious observer. As long as he didn't show too many secrets, he didn't care if she followed him. He couldn't feel any malice from her after all.
His mind was instead lost in some other thoughts.
'The Garden must have some secret that I must find out about! However, how can I? Even with my strength, I can't remove a single blade of grass from there. That means it's impossible to find the mystery behind the garden with force.'
He rubbed his chin, so deeply immersed in his thoughts that he even forgot about the surroundings for a moment.
'There must be another way to get that treasure. But what way is that? I've tried everything I could think of, even using the aura of the Grimoire but nothing worked. Even the eye of Osiris doesn't work in the garden. Where can I find the answers from...?'
As he walked, he noticed another mirror in the distance. The second mirror was completely intact. As Gabriel walked past the second mirror, he once again glanced at his reflection which appeared a bit blurry. He didn't think too much about it.
It was only after he took a few steps past the mirror that he suddenly froze! His eyes lit up suddenly.
"That's right! How could I forget it?!" He exclaimed.
Stopping behind him, Avilia looked at him in confusion. Just a few moments ago, Gabriel e was looking all gloomy, but now he was full of excitement as if he had solved a great mystery.
"What made you so excited?" she asked Gabriel
Gabriel turned around, revealing his bright face. "I need to leave the Empire for the time being. Can you help me with one thing?"
"Where are you going?" Avilia looked at him suspiciously. Whenever Gabriel left the Empire, that meant the world was in for a wave of chaos. She couldn't help but wonder just what he was after this time.
"And what help are you looking for? As long as it doesn't involve directly getting involved in your conflicts, I can think about it."
"Don't worry. I won't ask you to fight for me. I just want you to look after someone while I'm gone," Gabriel answered. "Follow me."
He was sure that after his current display, no Empire or church were going to attack the Empire, at least for a few months. This display was certainly intimidating for anyone who knew about it. This gave him the confidence of traveling freely. However, there was still one person he wanted someone to keep an eye on in his absence.
Gabriel took Avilia to his bedroom. Avilia didn't think much and followed Gabriel inside his bedroom.
Only after entering the room did she find out a young lady, standing in the middle of the room, being surrounded by three Death Knights.
"Who is she?" The Holy Priestess of Summoning asked. The young lady before her didn't seem very weak. If she were to guess, the young lady had strength comparable to a Head Priest of a Church. She could also feel that something was preventing her from using her abilities.
"She is a subordinate of Lambard. She was spying on me so I caught her," Gabriel explained. "In my absence, I wanted you to keep an eye on her so that Lambard couldn't take her back until I'm back. She'd be a burden if I take her with me and I don't want to leave her behind without oversight."
"Just that? I should be able to help you with that." Avilia smirked. "But I have one condition."
"What condition?"
"I want you to tell me where you're going and why you're going there?"
To keep an eye on a little girl was child's play for Avilia. In fact, she had thousands of ways to solve this problem.
For a moment, Gabriel was silent, glancing at the young maid in the distance.
Avilia also understood what he was implying. She cast an isolation barrier around her and Gabriel so that no one else could hear what they were saying.
After the Barrier was cast, Gabriel finally said, "I'm going to Lumen."
"What? The land of the Church of Light?" The Holy Priestess of Summoning frowned. That place was the riskiest for the time being, especially for a person like Gabriel since the Mages of Light were more sensitive to Darkness Element.
The Church of Light was at its weakest because of the absence of the Holy Priest of Light, but that didn't mean Lumen was weak. Not only did Lumen have the Church of Light, it also had the Academy of Elements which probably hated Gabriel to death! To go back there? Just what was Gabriel planning?
"It's too risky. Why would you want to go there?" The young lady asked Gabriel, not understanding his reasoning.
For him to take such a risk right after he went against the Church of Flames was confusing for her.
