The passage should be somewhere nearby. If I am not mistaken, it lies within this very room. Eva had slipped into a storeroom that held various ingredients for medicine. She ran her hands along the walls, as though searching for some hidden thing, and when her fingers closed around a rope hanging from the ceiling, the floor before her yawned open.
"How did you know there was a secret passage here?" Startled, Eva immediately readied herself to attack.
"Whoa, calm down, it is me, Louis."
Eva stared at Louis in utter disbelief and kept flicking his forehead until he toppled to the floor. Who would have imagined that a peer reputed to be among the strongest in the kingdom would reveal such a ridiculous side?
"Can you not begin with a greeting before you start questioning me?" Her tone sounded fierce, and yet, for some reason, it felt as though she were merely speaking in her usual way. Still, this was an improvement over Sai, who seemed utterly ignorant of even the simplest courtesies.
I could not help but chuckle, while Eva merely sighed, as if allowing her anger to dissipate before it could flare further.
"Do not ever do something like that again. Understood?" Her finger was leveled at me, her gaze a clear warning. I simply nodded in response.
I just nodded. Maybe she had not expected that I would kill the monsters within the time given, considering my vulnerabilities. I do not blame her; in fact, I rather agree, since it was my first experience facing monsters head-on. But to be blunt, it was all thanks to a brief moment of enlightenment I received from Eva that I was able to slice through them so easily.
After that, we walked along the dark path. The path sloped upward beneath my feet, and it felt as though it were slowly making me climb, so perhaps it led toward the surface, where I could finally get out. It was utterly silent, and the only sound was that of Eva's and my footsteps, echoing as we made our way toward the exit—even though there was still no sign that we were anywhere near the end.
I was the one who finally tried to break the silence by asking Eva a question. "Eva, how do you know everything here? Have you ever been to this place before? It feels like you know all the secrets of Radiance Lab that are hidden from the public."
Her head turned slightly towards me.
"I used to…" Her words broke off, as though something within refused to let her continue. "It does not matter. Just assume that I know every nook and cranny of this building." She continued with her slower voice than before.
Walking behind her, I watched her pace grow slower, more measured. Had something terrible once happened to her here? I wanted to ask, yet I had only just become acquainted with her. Would she not think me unbearably intrusive? So I smothered my curiosity and merely followed the sound of her footsteps as she led me away from that place.
"Louis, regarding the evaluation test, you needn't be so disappointed. Besides, there are many other things you can do to support yourself, even if the rewards aren't as good as those who work as hunters. But isn't it better than nothing?" Eva said to me with a sympathetic expression.
I only nodded, slowly. Even if Eva was correct, was it not unbearably bitter to endure a life in which one's dreams could never be fulfilled? That was what occupied my thoughts at that moment.
"Eva, why did you follow me here? I thought you were preparing to go back before that mad professor dragged me off."
Her gaze cut straight through me.
"I was simply wandering near where you live, and at the same time that man was watching you with a terrifying look in his eyes. When I followed his line of sight, I realized he was staring at you. So I suspected he might be planning something dreadful."
Hearing Eva's explanation made me exhale in quiet relief. Had she not noticed that old lunatic, I would almost certainly have become nothing more than a test subject in the hands of Radiance Lab.
Speaking of Radiance Lab, should I inform the superiors whose duty it was to protect the public? I halted mid-step and allowed my thoughts to settle. Eva, hearing that my footsteps had suddenly ceased, turned toward me at once. "Why? Is there a problem?"
"Eva, should we report this incident to the higher-ups?"
Her lips parted slightly.
"And then what? Do you truly believe the Radiance Lab group will be apprehended? Compared to them, you are powerless. They can smother the truth with a simple bribe. It would be a grave mistake. You would be the one punished for spreading so-called slander, even though every word you speak is true."
I fell silent. I could not refute anything she had said. I am not a person of influence. If I misstep, it will be as though I myself have begun to dig my own grave.
"Then can you guarantee that I will be saved again? Perhaps I escaped this time because of you, but can you be certain Radiance Lab will not come after me once more, Eva?"
Yes, that was the question I had truly wished to ask her. To be spared now does not mean I will not be abducted again later.
Eva shook her head.
"I do not know," she replied briefly, her voice trembling as though she herself could not fathom what the future might hold.
I heard her answer and remained wordless. My mouth stayed closed, devoid of any response to offer her. What I felt was neither sorrow, nor regret, nor shock. It was something closer to a hollow quiet, an emptiness in which no single emotion could firmly take root. It was compounded by the memory of my encounter with the Matriarch, which only deepened the unease that now weighed upon my mind.
At last, I discerned what seemed to be the end of the path before us. Night had probably fallen by now, and I was still in the heart of the forest; thus the view ahead was dim and indistinct, as though the world itself were fading into a blur.
After walking for what felt like a very long time in that shadowed place, I finally arrived and stepped out before the so-called Radiance Lab—though to me, it was more like a waking nightmare than any kind of radiance. Then we sat upon a massive rock, one that looked as though it had been there for decades, perhaps longer. We said nothing at all, the silence stretching between us, making me feel more awkward—and more exposed—than ever.
So now, how do we get back? I asked Eva with my eyes only focused on her.
"You don't need to worry. I already called my butler to pick us up right away. Maybe he will arrive here at any moment, I guess?" She answered nonchalantly while raising her shoulder in a casual shrug.
"With what? What if someone spotted us while we try to get back? With the noises that will attract the attention of anyone nearby, there's no way we can escape from here." To me, though the moon lit up above our heads and we stood amidst the deep forest, you can't be sure if Radiance Lab hasn't stationed bodyguards or mercenaries to mark the boundaries and make sure no one intrudes on their territory.
"Do you think I'm an idiot who wouldn't consider something that obvious? Since when did I say we'll be picked up by a vehicle?"
"Then what?" I did not understand what she meant. Does she have something up her sleeve?
"Greetings, young lady. Can we go right away?"
The shock was so great that I nearly lost control of myself. I had already been restraining the urge, too anxious that I might be ambushed in such a vulnerable moment. Fortunately, my manhood proved steadfast, and disaster did not ensue.
"And who are you, suddenly calling out to Eva like that?!" I yelled, still startled, at the elderly gentleman before me, impeccably dressed in a classic, dignified manner.
"I am her assistant. Did the young lady not summon me to escort you two?" he replied.
His words stirred uncertainty within me. How could he possibly have arrived in such a brief span of time? My gaze flicked toward the space behind him.
Ah. I had forgotten that a high-ranking noble possessed ready access to a portal by means of a teleportation scroll. I turned back to look at Eva's hand and, as I had suspected, there it was: a white, softly glowing bracelet, a device meant to transmit the precise coordinates required to activate the teleportation scroll that had just been used.
My face flushed crimson, my smile stretched thin as it strained to conceal my embarrassment, only rendering the moment more peculiar. I had not believed myself to be quite this foolish. Had I struck my head somewhere? I rapped my forehead sharply with my knuckles.
Eva, witnessing my behaviour, merely widened her eyes, as if to wordlessly declare how childishly foolish I was.