Her sparkling pinkish eyes began emitting clear light. Blink, blink. She blinked her eyes a couple of times, and a thin smile spread on his lips.

“Good morning~. Did you sleep well?”

She used her right arm to prop up her upper body. She then rubbed her eyes while yawning softly. Seol Jihu was rendered speechless from her asking if he slept well. For a moment there, he thought they were a blissfully married couple waking up on the same bed to greet a refreshing morning together.

'In reality, we’re in dire straits….’

He mocked himself just a tad but quickly changed his mindset. Their situation certainly wouldn't get resolved by stomping one's feet in anxiety. Of course, being calm didn't leave them in a better position either, but he thought that, at the very least, they needed to be realistic and be more relaxed about their fate.

'Okay, my body first….'

Huu, huu… Seol Jihu regulated his breathing and slowly put strength into his body.

“Euhk!”

Knife-like pain stabbed him. He wanted to give up and lay down again but gritted his teeth and pushed his upper torso up anyway. Leaning against a nearby wall infinitely made it better.

“You gotta move your body, even if it's only a little.”

Teresa Hussey stared at him quietly before offering up her opinion.

“I'd love to tell you that you can take it easy for a while, but unfortunately, we don't have that luxury. If we're planning to move again, it'll be better to get used to the pain.”

He briefly recalled the forced nighttime marches he had to partake during his military days and unconsciously nodded his head. If one developed blisters on his feet, it might hurt like hell initially, but by walking on continuously, one would eventually grow desensitized to the pain.

However, there was nothing he could do about the state of his left shoulder. There was a hole the size of a bottle cap on his shoulder muscles, and he could only barely feel the connection to his arm. He tried to clench his fist only to be subjected to pain so severe that he nearly blacked out.

“Haa….”

In the end, he gave up on his left shoulder and took a look around. To the side, he spotted an altar with the transfer magic circle on the surface, just like the other hideout.

Just in case, he activated Nine Eyes but the altar rapidly turned red. Indeed, it was a pie in the sky. No, make that a poisonous pie – taking a small bite would lead to one's immediate death.

“Is this true? What's written here. That we are not supposed to use that.”

Teresa Hussey spoke while looking at the map.

“If you're referring to the transfer magic circle…. Yes, I heard that it's connected to the center of the Empire.” (Seol Jihu)

“What the fuck? Let's just forget about it, then.”

Teresa Hussey immediately gave up on the idea.

“….”

“….”

For a long while, they didn't say anything. It wasn't as if either of them knew what...