Chapter 192: Restless

The hair on Ishiki’s arm stood to their ends. Cold sweat instantly dropped down his forehead.

Nina’s hand found his arm, gripping tight. “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” Ishiki admitted, still scanning with his skill. “But we’re not staying to find out. Come on.”

They gathered their selected books quickly—no longer concerned with careful organization. Ishiki dismissed the [Sorrow’s Edge], relying entirely on Ghost Blade’s awareness to navigate through the darkness.

From somewhere deep in the ruins, that scraping sound came again. It seemed to be coming from everywhere… but Ishiki saw nothing with Ghost Blade. It was bone chilling.

They made their way back across the great hall, navigating around fallen pillars and dried blood stains. The Silver Moon’s light streamed through gaps in the ceiling painted their path in shades of pale accusation.

They reached the end of the hall and the starting of the Archway. Nina’s breathing came quick and labored, but she kept pace without complaint. Ishiki carried the books in one arm, keeping his other hand free to summon weapons if needed.

They moved through the debris, leaving the darkness behind but unable to escape the sense of something watching.

Finally, they burst out of the ruined cathedral entrance into the open air of the Inner Ring. But Ishiki didn’t stop moving until they have descended the stairs and put at least two blocks distance from the cathedral.

Only then did he pause, chest heaving and Ghost Blade still searching for pursuit.

Nothing followed.

The ruins sat silent under the Silver Moon’s cold gaze, giving no indication that anything within had stirred at all.

“Is it… is it gone?” Nina whispered, her voice barely audible.

“I don’t know.” Ishiki kept his awareness extended. “But we’re not going back to find out.”

Nina nodded quickly, still catching her breath.

They moved through golden-cobbled streets with careful attention, avoiding main thoroughfares where dragon loyalists might patrol. The Inner Ring sprawled around them in pristine emptiness. At this hour most of the people were asleep.

Beautiful houses stood vacant, artificial lakes reflected the void and a single pale circle of the sky.

The shop where Nina had stashed her basket sat dark and undisturbed. Ishiki checked with Ghost Blade first, confirming no one was inside, before allowing Nina to retrieve her supplies.

She emerged moments later with the woven basket. “Where to now?” she asked quietly.

Ishiki considered. His house in the Inner Ring would be the obvious destination, but that made it the wrong choice. Too predictable. If the dragon or his followers wanted to monitor his activities, they would watch his residence first.

“Your house,” he decided. “Where are you staying?”

Nina pointed toward the opposite direction to the graveyard. “Near that lake with a bridge… I met you there remember?”

“Yeah.” Ishiki adjusted his grip on the books. “Lead the way.”

They walked in silence, two figures moving through moonlit emptiness. They encountered a few players on their way but ignored them without striking up a conversation and went straight to their destination.

Nina’s house proved to be a modest two-room dwelling tucked between larger structures. Simple architecture with minimal decoration which could be easily overlooked.

“Wait here,” Ishiki instructed, then circled the building with Ghost Blade active.

He returned to find Nina unlocking the door. They slipped inside quickly, and she secured the entrance behind them.

The interior smelled of dust and disuse—a residence abandoned for quite some time. Nina had made some effort to clean, evident in the cleared spaces and arranged furniture, but the weight of ages hung heavy regardless.

“Put the basket in the kitchen,” Ishiki said, moving to a table near the main room’s center. “Then bring candles. We have work to do.”

Nina complied without question. She returned moments later with several candles salvaged from other houses, placing them around the table to create a circle of warm light against the darkness pressing at windows.

Ishiki arranged their collected documents carefully.

“Alright,” he said, settling into a chair. “Start translating. We need to know what these documents actually say.”

Nina pulled up a chair opposite him, her expression focused despite obvious exhaustion. “Where should I begin?”

“The history book. The section about the City of Dreams. Then anything mentioning the Emperor, the Angel, or Mandecium directly.”

She nodded and opened the books one by one reading through them.

Ishiki watched her work, occasionally taking notes on spare paper they had found. The candlelight painted shadows across her young face, making her look simultaneously older and more fragile.

Hours passed. Nina translated passage after passage, her voice growing hoarse but never faltering. The documents revealed fragments of Aethelburg’s golden age.

“Here,” Nina said, pointing at a passage near the blood-stained section’s end. “This part here”

’’The Emperor had took in a boy who was a prisoner of war as his kin. That makes him the direct rival of the Emperor’s only Son. But I highly doubt that he could Inherit the throne… after all he does not have the Blood of a Dragon, one of the -”

She stopped, frustrated. “The rest is soaked in blood.”

Ishiki’s jaw tightened. ’The owner of this book seems to be quite knowledgeable about everything… Was he murdered? ’

They continued working through the night, translating document after document until Nina’s voice became barely more than a whisper and Ishiki’s eyes burned from reading by candlelight.

Finally after working endlessly for whole night, Ishiki called a halt.

“That’s enough for tonight,” he said, noting how Nina swayed in her chair. “You need rest.”

“But there’s still so much—” she began.

“And it will still be there tomorrow.” Ishiki stood, gathering the documents into a neat pile. “I’m taking these with me. If someone searches your house, I don’t want them finding evidence you’ve been associated with me. If they ask… tell them you don’t know me and I came here to steal food.”

Nina nodded, too exhausted to argue. “Will you come back? To translate more?”

“Maybe. For now, lock this door after I leave and don’t open it for anyone except Filch, Yuki or me. Understood?”

“Understood, Big Brother Ishiki.”

He left through the entrance, books cradled against his chest, and disappeared into the network of empty streets and silent houses.

Ishiki made his way back to his own residence through circuitous routes, doubling back twice to ensure no one followed. The house sat dark and undisturbed.

He secured the door, checked every window, then finally allowed himself to relax. The books went onto the dinning table as he sat and opened the notes that he had made.

He was not going to rest… the questions that followed him made him uneasy… so he was going to continue.

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