"Why should I die?"
Angel stood at the boundary between light and shadow. Alex glanced at the floor and saw no shadow. He seemed to understand something. "I can be sure that no one in Gust Town has a deeper understanding of this continent. I guessed that you would leave Gust Town and head for the Holy City."
"So in your eyes, as long as I leave Gust Town, I'll die?"
Alex nodded. "That is indeed the case. Since Mr. Pat did not die, could you tell me why you came back?"
Angel's gaze flickered. Instead of answering, he asked, "Do you want to know the truth behind those deaths?"
Alex shook his head without hesitation. "No."
"Since you don't want to know, why ask me why I came back?" Angel looked at Alex with a smile.
Alex fell silent for a moment. Since Angel had asked that, the murders really were connected to leaving Gust Town? Was someone slaughtering those who left, or had the leavers discovered something and someone was preventing them from leaving?
If it were slaughter, it could not have left no trace. Then they must have discovered something.
But what had they discovered?
Alex looked at the smiling Angel and finally murmured, "So... it's a cage?"
Angel raised a brow. "Looks like you're not stupid."
Alex had once said that Gust Town was like a birdcage—once you went out, your wings would break. So it was not difficult for him to infer the answer from Angel's questions and answers.
However, Alex did not fully believe Angel's words. Angel himself was a mystery to him; it was also possible that he was misleading him. Still, Alex kept those thoughts buried in his heart and did not reveal them.
"Once I crossed that river, there was an