"The silence is gone..."
Feeling sunlight on his face, Lorne instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes.
The sky seemed to have brightened again.
Was it an illusion...?
Lorne remained on guard. He opened his satchel, rubbed Orange Cat's head, and asked softly,
"Lucky, did you notice anything?"
Animals were more sensitive than humans in situations like this. Besides, Lucky was a rather unusual Beyonder herself. Perhaps she could detect something amiss.
"Meow~"
Orange Cat poked her head out of the satchel and pricked up her ears. Her whiskers brushed the edge as she sniffed twice into the wind, looked around, then withdrew again.
Nothing unusual, then...? Seeing no particular reaction from Lucky, Lorne frowned slightly.
He trusted his "Assassin" cat's senses.
When it came to detecting malice, Lucky was clearly better than he was.
It was just that the incident he had experienced moments ago had left him too on edge to relax.
Looking at the streets around him, as peaceful as ever, Lorne released his grip on his gun.
Was I overthinking things?
Behind the Chanis Gate.
Sprawled on the floor, Klein slowly opened his eyes. He dug his fingers into the floor tiles with all his strength and propped up his upper body on trembling elbows, forcing himself into a sitting position. He gazed around, somewhat dazed.
"I'm still alive..."
Klein instinctively lowered his head and unbuttoned his clothes to examine himself. Apart from a few scrapes, he seemed unharmed.
Looking around the deserted basement, Klein sighed.
It looked like the Blazing Sun charm hadn't managed to kill him.
At least the man who attacked me has left.
"He didn't finish me off?"
Klein was puzzled. That man hadn't looked like someone who would spare an enemy.
His arrogant refusal to defend himself, which had