"Do you need something from me?"
Isabelle's first question was cold, and her eyes were narrowed dangerously when I asked Garcia to bring her out of the church's dining room.
After cleaning ourselves from our last activity, we decided it was time to depart, so we picked Isabelle from the church, who had no idea she was invited to our mission.
I expected something more from her reaction. Like aggression or something after meeting me, but that wasn't the case at all. She just showed a cold and distant expression as if we were strangers.
'It's truly unexpected, but it works for me. At least she's not avoiding me.'
Currently, we were standing right outside the church, in the hallway leading to the training ground. I stood beside Garcia with our backs facing the wall as Isabelle stood in front of us.
"Yes," I replied to Isabelle with a nod. "We will be going on a separate mission from Sophia and the other two." I continued, observing her expression.
"… Is it mandatory?" She asked, heaving a sigh.
Her attitude wasn't something a church knight would or should show in front of me, a Paladin. Even Garcia glared at Isabelle with a death stare after the onyx-haired girl showed disrespect by heaving a sigh after answering my question.
It wasn't like this mission was mandatory for her.
After talking with Sana yesterday, we arrived at the conclusion that the church needed to investigate Lima Port City too.
And talking about missions wasn't mandatory for me, too, as I got no mission from the System. This event wouldn't cause any trouble for me, I assumed, and they gave me time to settle my personal problem first.
'It's like someone controls the system and knows my every move. It's unsettling.'
Anyway…
"It's not. The decision is left to you. There is also nothing to force you to go with me, but I want to hold a personal investigation too in Lima Port City. Especially the World-End Waterfall." I replied seriously.
It was a gamble. What I implied with the personal investigation could be taken in two different ways.
For Garcia, I assumed she thought I wanted to investigate it by myself to make sure everything was alright and wouldn't cause trouble to the church and citizens.
As for Isabelle… It was a bit complicated.
If she had lived in this world for a few years already, surely she already knew this world's terrain and about the world's edges.
The mysteries around the end of the world were something interesting. Many questions appeared in my mind last night, and the end of the world could probably answer one of them.
Such as how Isabelle could get into this world. Or probably…
'I can find the way home without having to die.'
Even now, I still wanted to return home. If I died, I would return home; that was the promise the person behind the system gave me.
However, I wasn't that naïve to believe that promise. I also created new bonds here, and if possible, I'd like them to be able to visit my world too.
Looking at Isabelle's current expression, I knew that she was thinking the same thing. Or at least she was also curious about what my personal investigation was.
The World-End Waterfall was called the gate to another world. If she was just interested in that just a bit, then…
"How long will we stay in that city?" She looked at me with upturned eyes. "I need to prepare my luggage first."
'Got her.'
Just like I thought, she would agree to go with me. The corner of my lips curled up slightly in response.
"Probably 7 days at most. And you don't need to prepare a tent as we will use [Teleportation Gem] to reach Lima Port City. Archbishop Sana gave enough for the three of us."
"Alright."
With that, Isabelle turned around and left, not toward the dining room, but to the knight dorm beside the church. Her steps were steady, and her expression had resolution written on it.
"Sir Arthur… Is that the knight you wanted to bring along on this mission?"
When Isabelle was gone from our sight, the perverted nun suddenly asked such a question.
"She's rude toward you."
"Hahaha…" I laughed dryly.
That might be true from the other's perspective, who didn't know about our situation. But Isabelle earlier warmed up a little bit compared to before. At least she didn't give me a death stare like last night.
Thankfully, it didn't seem like she was hostile toward me. And that would make me able to get close to her easier and ask her why she had that pendant.
"That's not a problem, Garcia." I patted her head and ruffled her hair.
Garcia purred happily and closed her eyes, enjoying my touch. Her hands even held mine and pushed it against her head, wanting more.
I smiled softly at the sight before pulling my hand away. She looked at me with a disappointed gaze, but it quickly disappeared and was replaced by her usual soft smile.
"Isabelle has a lot inside her mind," I said, looking at the intersection where she disappeared earlier. "Besides, it was my fault for not recognizing who she is when she clearly knew me from the past. So I don't blame her."
"You know that knight, Sir Arthur?"
"I do…" I replied.
That pendant… I wanted to know why that pendant was with her. The biggest regret I couldn't solve back in Horizon Online was the fact I never retrieved Tristan's items because she was gone.
What if she didn't die and was actually hiding from me? What if she was still alive and still in Horizon Online?
While I said I was the last player, I didn't know those who went into hiding and were probably still alive somewhere. Would they be ejected and returned to Earth? Or did they follow me to this world because of that person behind the system?
The answer probably lay in Isabelle. If I knew how she arrived in this world, finding the answer and the way to return home besides death would be easier.
"I am supposed to know her." I continued.
Garcia didn't ask anything more afterward, and I also didn't say anything.
Many nuns walked past, bowing their heads to me when they noticed who I was. Obviously, they emphasized their breasts and moved their hips with each movement in order to seduce me to sleep with them.
They understood it was useless, and I only slept with those I liked, but they still did it nonetheless.
The knights saluted when they passed by.
Before long, Isabelle returned with a leather bag slung over her shoulders. She had also changed her outfits to the [Night's Armor] I gave her yesterday.
Because it came from Horizon Online, the design wasn't as open as the armor from this world. It had metal shoulder pads, gloves, and greaves. The dress underneath the armor itself exposed her cleavage, and the slit on the right side of the skirt showed her smooth thighs.
[Night's Edge] was strapped on her left waist, completing the set from Shadow Mantis. Looking at her like that and the fact she wore the silver pendant around her neck reminded me of Tristan. She really liked that armor.
The image of a long blonde-haired girl with a bright smile overlapped with Isabelle's cold face. However, I immediately shook my head to clear it. They were too different. There was no chance Isabelle was, in fact, Tristan.
And then, she stopped in front of us.
"I am ready anytime, Sir."
"Alright."
I nodded at her and took three [Teleportation Gems] from my inventory. I gave the other two to Garcia and Isabelle. They took them and gripped the gem in their palm.
"Let's get going then. To Lima Port City."
With my signal, we activated the [Teleportation Gem] and disappeared with a bright blue light covering our bodies.
