“So…”

After about an hour or so, Anne-Marie opened the door of the room and came out. Her face had obviously grown haggard in that time span.

“I think he’s okay now. I have to keep monitoring his condition but for now, his breathing has stabilized, and his pulse has also gone back to normal.”

Yuri, who was waiting quietly in the living room so that she wouldn’t disturb Anne-Marie, was relieved to hear that.

“Thank you, Ms. Anne-Marie. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, it’s alright. Although I can’t be 100% sure yet, I think he’ll be fine as long as we keep watching his condition. Probably.”

While giving that answer, Anne-Marie turned her head to the side like she was looking for someone. Quickly realizing why she was doing that, Yuri spoke up.

“I think Hestia went out to meet a friend. I saw a note on the table.”

“Oh, I see. Come to think of it, I didn’t even make breakfast…”

“It looks like she ate by herself before leaving. I’m sorry. It’s because I came so suddenly.”

“Ah, no, I didn’t say that to get you to apologize…”

Anne-Marie was taken aback by Yuri’s apology and stumbled over her words.

“…”

“…”

Then for a while, a brief silence settled over the house. They had never had such an awkward atmosphere when they were together before and it made them feel itchy inside.

Then Yuri remembered the sandwich which was next to the note on the table and opened her mouth again.

“That reminds me, Ms. Anne-Marie, you haven’t eaten yet. You should eat something.”

“Oh, you’re right. I’m not that hungry though. You can eat something too, Ms. Yuri.”

Anne-Marie suggested.

However, her tone wasn’t as natural as it usually was, it looked more like she responded reflexively. As proof of that, Anne-Marie’s face still had some awkwardness and it was a little stiff.

“I’m good. I’ll go change my clothes while you eat.”

At Yuri’s words, Anne-Marie’s eyes widened slightly as if she finally remembered what she had been forgetting.

“Oh, right. Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere, Ms. Yuri?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Yuri’s outfit was covered in blood and dirt, looking like quite a mess. Of course, Yuri wasn’t entirely uninjured when she arrived at Anne-Marie’s house. But as time passed, her wrists and ankles were already reattached and the minor cuts she got were already healed.

And so, Yuri went to her house next-door and carelessly changed her clothes. Then she went back to Anne-Marie’s house.

“You’re back?”

“Yeah, are you done eating?”

“Yes, it went fast anyway since it was just a sandwich…do you really not want to eat anything, Ms. Yuri?”

“Yes, I’m okay.”

A while later, Yuri and Anne-Marie sat on the sofa opposite of each other at the table in the living room.

Yuri was thinking about the best way to explain all this to Anne-Marie. No matter what, she couldn’t blab about every single thing and she had to be truthful enough that Anne-Marie could accept it. But it was hard for her to gauge how much that should be.

“Um…”

Just when silence fell over them again because of that, Anne-Marie spoke up first this time after a brief hesitation.

“You, you have a unique friend.” [1]A voice that tried to sound bright rang out in the quiet house. People don’t usually call something ‘unique’ after seeing a crow that turns into a human but…

It was obvious she didn’t know what to say about Odin and tried to put it in the best way possible.

Yuri glanced at Anne-Marie and said.

“Ms. Anne-Marie, I know you must have been very surprised because of me. Despite that, you still readily helped me, and I just want to say again that I’m sorry and thank you.”

Anne-Marie’s lips parted slightly. But she just looked at Yuri as though she didn’t know what to say.

“Honestly, I’ve never told this to anyone so I’m not really sure how to explain this right now.”

Yuri was also in the same boat, in that she didn’t know what to say right now. She went quiet for a bit then she spoke softly again.

“By now, you’ve probably noticed that I’m different than the average person, so I understand if you’re uncomfortable with me.”

“I don’t think that…!”

Right then, Anne-Marie suddenly raised her voice.

Yuri studied Anne-Marie’s face opposite hers. Anne-Marie’s face was stiff but for a different reason from before.

“Ms. Yuri, you don’t have to tell me anything.”

Soon, her gaze on Yuri was filled with a faint determination.

“When I think about it, that’s really the truth. Everyone has their own circumstances. And among those, there are secrets that are difficult to tell other people.”

As she continued speaking, Anne-Marie slowly regained her original composure.

“To be honest, I’m glad Ms. Yuri remembered me and came to see me in such an urgent situation…and I’m happy too. So don’t think I’m uncomfortable, or anything like that.”

“…”

“We’re friends, you know.”

Soon, the familiar smile she always showed to Yuri bloomed on Anne-Marie’s face. The little awkwardness there that she couldn’t hide earlier was nowhere to be found.

“Later, when you’re more comfortable talking about it, you can tell me everything, Ms. Yuri.”

Yuri looked at the smile which made even the person looking at it feel at ease.

…Somehow, she felt a little strange inside, like something had wormed its way in. It wasn’t a bad feeling per se; it just felt unfamiliar to Yuri.

Yuri didn’t know what to say to Anne-Marie when Anne-Marie was being this considerate of her.

“But if it’s okay, can I ask you one question?”

Anne-Marie hesitated a little then she looked at Yuri and asked.

“The person who took me to Hestia at the festival, it was Ms. Yuri, right?”[2]

Yuri flinched.

Perhaps Anne-Marie’s eyes were just that sharp because when she saw Yuri earlier, she immediately recalled what happened that day. If Yuri wanted to lie, she could but for some reason, she didn’t feel like it. So Yuri simply answered honestly.

“Yes, you’re right.”

At that, Anne-Marie’s complexion relaxed as if she had been unsure inside.

“That’s all I wanted to ask.”

Her eyes were shining much brighter and clearer. The smile on her lips was also much brighter than before.

There were certainly a lot more things Anne-Marie wanted to know but she really didn’t ask any other questions.

“Would you like a cup of tea at least?”

“Sure, thank you.”

Like any other time, Anne-Marie asked in a light-hearted tone. She was still kind and friendly to the strange and suspicious woman next-door. Perhaps Yuri was a little happy because of that.‘Wait…why do I keep feeling like I forgot something?’

Then a strange feeling suddenly flashed through her mind and she tilted her head. But because Anne-Marie soon brought the tea, the thoughts that were about to float up to the surface in Yuri’s mind sank down to the depths again.

* * *

What Yuri had forgotten due to the hectic situation with Odin was none other than Kalian and Damon.

“Damon Salvatore.”

Kalian called the name of the person he was carrying on his back. But he only got a small groan from his back and no other reply.

Eventually, he managed to take Damon and escape from the enemy’s lair. But as expected, it wasn’t an easy task and there were a lot of small and large wounds on Kalian’s body.

Blood was flowing from his head, down his chin, and dripping to the ground.

Right now, Kalian was thinking about the blond man, whom he had been in a fierce battle with earlier. Judging by the fact that the man was using a strange ability, he was obviously a heretic as well. However, the man was on a different level from the heretics Kalian had encountered so far.

Even though Kalian was dealing with a hostage situation, the fact that he was hurt this badly was proof of that.

For now, Kalian moved with Damon’s rescue as a priority. Thanks to his luck, he was able to injure the blond heretic and get Damon out of there successfully.

However, he wasn’t able to bring Yuri out.

When Kalian tried to go back and get her, the building was suddenly flooded with a sturdy, white material so he judged it was best to get out as quickly as possible.

Then after escaping from the building, Kalian decided to move Damon to a safe place first.

‘That man, I have definitely seen him somewhere before.’

But even now, the image of the blond heretic was clearly imprinted in his mind. The clean features. The blond hair, the sharp light-blue eyes. He had definitely seen it somewhere else recently…

.

‘Step aside; don’t block the way.’

.

And the moment the memory that was buried deep in his mind resurfaced, Kalian’s eyes shook immensely.

.

‘I’ll take her somewhere safe myself.’

‘You’re the Hero of the East, go take care of the other injured inside.’

.

It was the very same man who disappeared with Yuri after the explosion in the shopping district.

“Lord Crawford!”

Right then, the voice of someone calling Kalian came from afar. Thankfully, it seemed the emergency signal he sent out had reached them.

“What happened?”

Instead of giving his men a long explanation about the situation, Kalian handed over Damon who he was carrying, and only conveyed the necessary instructions.

“I’ve contacted the Salvatores. Also, it looks like he’s hurt his head, so have them hurry up and take him to a doctor.”

Then he turned around immediately with a cold gleam in his eyes.

“The rest of you, follow me. I found a place swarming with heretics.”

Right now, he was thinking of going back to the heretics’ den to rescue Yuri right away.

Of course, she had already escaped there by herself.

“What is this now?”

And around this time, the real Lakis arrived where Kalian had begun heading back to.

Translator’s Corner:

[1] The unique here can also be translated to: eccentric or individualistic. Usually used on someone that stands out.

[2] This is in Chapter 32. I forgot what chapter this was and had to search ‘festival’ on the site. (＾▽＾)