Chapter 40: The Weight of a Promise

After chatting with Vladir for a while, laughing loudly, Elias felt as if he had forgotten he was in the middle of a dark and dangerous forest. He even lost track of time.

He was so absorbed in their conversation that he didn’t notice Evelyn and Elysia had already started getting sleepy. Evelyn was still trying to listen in, even though her head kept threatening to drop, while Elysia had already fallen asleep using Elias’s thigh as a pillow.

Elias then told Vladir to rest in the tent the soldiers had prepared.

Vladir followed Elias’s instruction without complaint. After days of not being able to sleep properly, he probably missed sleeping somewhere warm anyway.

After Vladir stood up and walked off, leaving Elias and the two girls alone, Elias also intended to take the girls back to their tent.

"Lady, let’s move to the tent."

"Uhm..."

Evelyn flinched slightly when Elias suddenly called her name, but she only answered with a small nod before standing up and stumbling her way toward her tent.

Elias followed behind while carrying Elysia, who was already fast asleep.

Once inside the tent, Elias laid Elysia on her bed and covered her with a blanket. Before leaving, he realized neither of them had even cleaned themselves up yet. But since they were both too sleepy and too exhausted to move, Elias could only let out a small sigh before stepping out.

"Well... They did work hard today."

It was true they were talented and possessed great strength, but at the end of the day, they were still girls.

Elias walked toward his own tent, completely unaware that Evelyn and Elysia had actually been pretending to sleep.

"A few days ago you told me you don’t really like acting and prefer going straight to the point. But what the hell was that earlier?" Evelyn turned her body toward Elysia with a mischievous smile. "Was that really the Elysia I know?"

Hearing her sister’s clearly teasing words, Elysia turned her face away slightly with a blush on her cheeks.

"Hmph! I never said anything like that before."

"You didn’t, but you enjoyed it, didn’t you? When your body was touched by him. When you were lifted by those hands bigger than your own. When you could feel his body heat. When you felt those hard muscles." Evelyn then brought her face close to Elysia’s ear to whisper. "You enjoyed it, didn’t you~?"

Elysia’s whole body tingled as Evelyn’s breath hit her ear. Her face grew even redder and her heartbeat spiked drastically.

"W-what are you talking about! I didn’t feel any of that. Stop making things up and go to sleep!"

Evelyn only laughed softly at her little sister’s adorable, shy reaction as she started covering herself with the blanket.

"Good grief, Elysia. You really won’t be honest~"

"I-I’m telling the truth... Probably."

Feeling that Elysia still wouldn’t admit her feelings, Evelyn only let out a small sigh with a smile before deciding to drop it and go to sleep.

"Good night, Elysia."

"Good night, big sis."

* * *

At the same time, Elias was sitting in one of the chairs after cleaning himself up. He sat with a straight posture, staring at the system screen showing his previous Quest.

He glared sharply at the time limit before finally letting out a long, depressed sigh.

Elias thought about immediately changing his plan for finding the Heartbloom flower, considering the time limit was still two days. But with this many people and a forest this vast, finding that flower within two days would be nearly impossible.

"If only we knew where that flower grows."

Setting that aside, Elias suddenly thought about Vladir. He did seem like a good, easygoing person, but there were a few things about him that struck Elias as odd. Even though he hadn’t pinpointed what exactly felt off, Elias still couldn’t shake his suspicion toward Vladir. He wanted to think about Vladir, but there was a problem he considered bigger than worrying about some stranger.

"For now, I’ll focus on a strategy for finding the Heartbloom."

* * *

The next morning, Elias stepped out of his tent and saw the soldiers already preparing to continue the search. But for some reason, the atmosphere among them felt different from usual. Some soldiers looked gloomy, while others only spoke when necessary, their faces showing little hope.

Elias noticed them but didn’t think too much about it since his mind was still busy trying to figure out how to find the Heartbloom. He had even started thinking about how to divide the search groups so they wouldn’t keep wasting time searching the same areas.

While he was mulling it over, the captain approached him.

"Kid, the soldiers are ready. But I don’t think we can keep searching like this."

Elias turned to him. "Why?"

"Because we’ve spent a lot of time in this forest and haven’t found a single clue. If we still don’t find the Heartbloom today, I’m worried we won’t make it back to the Lady in time."

Elias fell silent at the captain’s words. He then looked at the soldiers standing nearby and only now realized their expressions had been gloomy since yesterday. All this time they had been searching for that flower without knowing if their efforts would pay off, while the remaining time grew shorter and shorter.

But Elias himself had been so busy thinking about strategy that he got complacent and assumed they still had two full days.

Elias immediately opened the system screen to check the Quest he hadn’t paid attention to since last night.

[Quest: Find the Cause and Cure for the Marquis’s Wife’s Illness!]

[Time Limit: 1 Day 15 Hours]

"Ah, you bastard! Damn it! FUCK!"

Elias cursed out loud the moment he saw the time limit on the screen. He had completely forgotten that time kept moving while they were in the forest. Yesterday, he still thought they had two days to find the Heartbloom, so much so that he hadn’t realized their time was almost up.

Nearby, Evelyn stared at Elias with a flat expression. The faint smile that usually graced her face slowly faded, replaced by a sharp gaze that didn’t leave the young man’s figure. She rarely saw Elias lose his composure like this, let alone curse because of the pressure he was facing.

Meanwhile, Elysia furrowed her brow. One of her hands unconsciously gripped the fabric over her chest, her gaze fixed on Elias. She looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only bit her lip lightly and held herself back.

Elias himself didn’t notice either of their reactions. His mind was still filled with frustration at himself for forgetting something this important.

’How could I forget something this important?’

Elias rubbed his face and let out a long sigh. He had been trying to find a way to make their search more effective, but that didn’t mean he could afford to ignore the remaining time. Besides, this wasn’t just some ordinary Quest. If they failed, Valeria’s life could be at risk.

He looked back at the soldiers still waiting for his orders. Now Elias could understand why they looked so hopeless. They had been searching for days without any results, and the remaining time wasn’t even two days.

Meanwhile, he had forgotten to check the Quest’s time limit because he was too busy thinking about other things.

"...I’m really careless."

Elias couldn’t blame anyone but himself for his own mistake. He was only human, capable of forgetting even something that should have been his top priority. But realizing it now wouldn’t bring back the wasted time.

"Alright, we can’t keep going like this. I’m changing our search plan."

Elias took a long breath before finally lowering his hand from his face. Even though his expression was starting to return to calm, a bit of anger was still visible. He was frustrated at himself for making a mistake like this, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

He then shifted his gaze to the captain.

"Captain, how many soldiers are still in good enough shape to fight?"

"Most of them are still in good condition, kid. Only a few have minor injuries."

Elias nodded before looking back at the soldiers gathered before him.

"Then we’ll split them into five groups. Each group will consist of ten people, including the group leader. I want every group to have enough people to defend themselves if they run into monsters."

The captain nodded, then immediately called several soldiers to help organize the division.

"Everyone listen up! You’ll be divided into five groups. I’ll determine each group’s members based on combat ability and your current condition. Don’t pick your own groups or cluster only with people you know!"

The soldiers began moving toward the captain. Some seemed like they wanted to ask questions, but the captain quickly pointed out five soldiers he considered most capable of leading groups.

"You five will be group leaders. Make sure your members can work together and don’t act recklessly. If you run into a monster that’s too strong, retreat immediately and report to the other groups. Don’t gamble your lives just to prove yourselves."

After naming the leaders, the captain began distributing the remaining members. He checked each soldier’s condition, making sure those with minor injuries weren’t placed in groups that were too vulnerable, and placed soldiers with better combat ability in each group.

"First group, you’ll be led by me. We’ll check the northern part of the forest that we haven’t fully explored yet."

He then pointed to the second group leader.

"Second group, check the eastern section. Third group heads west, while the fourth group will check the southern area. For the fifth group, you’ll recheck some of the areas we’ve already passed, especially places we didn’t get to examine thoroughly."

Once the division was done, the soldiers began gathering with their respective group members. Some checked their equipment, while others discussed the routes they would take. The captain also made sure each group carried enough supplies and had a way to report their findings.

Elias watched the process before finally speaking again.

"Don’t just focus on finding the flower. Pay attention to your surroundings too. If you find a plant that looks different from its surroundings, changes in the soil, or a place with an unusual concentration of mana, mark the location and report it to your group leader."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"I don’t know if any of that is related to the Heartbloom. But we can’t keep searching randomly without gathering any clues. If a few groups find similar signs, we can compare the results and figure out which area is more worth checking."

"What if we find something that looks like the Heartbloom?" one soldier asked.

"Don’t pick it right away. Report it first and wait until I come to check it myself. We can’t risk bringing back the wrong flower after spending so much time searching for it."

The soldiers nodded, though some still looked worried about the remaining time. Elias could understand how they felt. This plan didn’t guarantee they would find the Heartbloom, but at least they weren’t searching blindly anymore.

The captain then stood before the five groups to give final instructions.

"Make sure you stay within a distance where you can still help each other. Don’t push yourselves if things get dangerous. If you find a clue, report it immediately. We’ll regroup here to compare our findings."

Once all preparations were complete, the soldiers began moving toward their assigned areas.

Elias watched them for a moment before letting out a small sigh. The frustration at himself still hadn’t fully faded, but he couldn’t let it interfere with his work anymore.

With only one day and fifteen hours left, they didn’t have much room for mistakes.

* * *