Chapter 9: The Absolutely Safe Place

The next day, Lindsey woke up again.

He was still coughing.

The red disease symbol in his status bar had not disappeared.

However, this simple house was different from when he woke up yesterday.

On the dark wooden table, a candlestick with a tallow candle had been added, facing the wooden chair newly inserted under the tabletop. The dust on the cabinet at the other end had been wiped clean, and there was a piece of dry bread, a bowl of water, and a few bright red rowan berries.

Wait, his body felt a bit heavy?

Lindsey felt his body was weighed down, as if something was pressing on him.

He glanced down and saw that he had an extra blanket, not new but warm enough, covering him.

While he was sleeping, the old woman had added another blanket to help him fight the disease that plagued him.

"..."

Lindsey pulled himself out of the blanket, stunned for a moment, and his stomach began to growl.

During this process, he also noticed a brazier at the foot of the bed.

The feeling of having slept all day without eating quickly made Lindsey get up from the bed and take the dry bread and water from the cabinet.

Creak—

He couldn't bite into it.

Lindsey looked at the bread, then took another bite, not giving up.

Crunch—

Still couldn't bite into it.

"..."

"Turns out this water is for soaking the bread!"

Lindsey realized, and after soaking the bread in water, he finally managed to take his first bite of the main meal.

This hard bread was very filling, and the effect was doubled after soaking it in water.

After eating for a while, Lindsey's hunger subsided.

Next, his gaze naturally fell on the bright red rowan berries. These were the berries of a shrub, resembling mini apples and used in medicine.

Lindsey didn't know this and took a bite.

"Ugh—so sour!"

The sourness immediately filled his mouth, and his face twisted into a bitter expression.

Stimulated by this medicinal taste, he began to organize his thoughts.

He had been lying here for a whole day.

The old woman had heard his story, and if she had any ill intentions, he wouldn't be eating this hard bread now.

First, it was Yarvith, and then this old woman.

Lindsey thought to himself.

If there was a luck attribute in his status panel, it must be pretty good.

After a while,

With the food in his stomach, Lindsey gradually regained some strength.

The old woman had prepared clothes for him at the head of the bed. As for Lindsey's original clothes...

In the fire at Anvil Village, they had been charred black, and during his escape in the snow, they had been torn to shreds. Even calling them rags would be an insult.

But this was the clothes his mother had given him.

Without this protection, Lindsey would have frozen to death in the snow.

Lindsey carefully put away the black, tattered rags, changed into the clothes the old woman had prepared, and opened the door to go outside.

"Ah—"

The winter sun immediately shone on Lindsey.

Even in the cold air, it felt warm, as if the whole world had been illuminated.

The heavy snow from yesterday had stopped.

The snow in the church courtyard had been swept into a pile by the old woman, placed next to the bare garden.

Lindsey looked around.

A courtyard of about twenty square meters, a few low houses surrounding it, and a chapel connected to the courtyard.

This was everything that presented itself to Lindsey, simple and plain.

At the same time, a sound came from the chapel.

Lindsey, not seeing the old woman, naturally walked over to the chapel.

The old woman was standing inside the chapel.

In front of her, a simply dressed man was talking to the old woman. Behind them was a yellow wooden coffin, and a man and a woman were sobbing softly. The three of them were leaning forward slightly in the chapel.

Lindsey carefully observed the simply dressed man.

When he spoke to the old woman, he often avoided her gaze, not out of guilt or impatience, but out of respect and nervousness.

The old woman was highly respected by the townspeople.

Seeing this, Lindsey didn't dare to disturb them and waited at the door.

He thought of the cemetery he had seen outside the day before.

The small chapel was connected to it, and with the coffin in front of him, this chapel was clearly where death matters were handled, and the old woman was the nun responsible for everything.

This might be the reason she was so revered.

Lindsey analyzed the situation.

After a while, the elderly nun finished her conversation with the simply dressed man.

The yellow wooden coffin was placed in the center of the chapel, and the three of them left the church and returned to the town.

The elderly nun circled the coffin, muttering a prayer.

After completing the ritual, she tapped the coffin seven times with her right hand, clasped her hands together, and bowed her head in respect.

She stood quietly for a moment.

Then she walked to the back corridor and saw Lindsey waiting for her.

"Child, you still have a fever."

The elderly nun's tone was calm, without pity or blame, as smooth as flowing water.

Lindsey replied seriously,

"Auntie, I have something I want to talk to you about."

The elderly nun did not refuse but led Lindsey away from the chapel,

"We cannot disturb the deceased. Let's go back to the house first."

The two returned to the room where Lindsey had been resting.

The elderly nun had Lindsey sit on the bed while she sat in the newly added chair.

Her cloudy, dark eyes looked at Lindsey.

Lindsey understood that she wanted him to speak first, so he began,

"As you know, I am being hunted by the Law Knights. This identity will bring a lot of trouble. You saved my life, and I cannot stay here for long."

"I only ask that you let me stay for a few days until my fever subsides, and then I will leave."

The old nun, who had been silent, suddenly spoke,

"Child, this world is far from the world where the City of Law is located."

"I also want to know which direction Anvil Village is... what?" Lindsey was describing his desire to return home, but the old woman's reminder was like a bolt from the blue, "This world?"

"Wait, this world, what do you mean by this world?"

The sudden term made Lindsey a bit flustered.

The final outcome of his hometown, whether his parents were alive or dead, and whether Yarvith had defeated the Law Knights—these were questions that Lindsey couldn't avoid.

But what did the elderly nun say?

He was now in a world different from the territory of the City of Law!

If Lindsey's understanding from his compulsory education was correct, this joke was a bit too exaggerated.

Lindsey's nervousness did not move the elderly nun.

She continued in her characteristic, calm, and slow tone,

"This universe is composed of thousands of worlds. The world you are currently in is at the very edge of the known universe."

"..."

Lindsey wiped the sweat from his forehead, unsure if it was from nervousness or his fever.

He tried to remain calm and asked,

"Since you know about the City of Law, does that mean these worlds are interconnected?"

The elderly nun continued,

"Each world's edge is connected to the nearest other world, but this is the end, so only one side connects to the path back to the center of the universe."

At this moment, Lindsey once again remembered Yarvith's words before she sent him away.

—The absolutely safe place.

A sense of foreboding rose in Lindsey's heart.

He suppressed the trembling in his heart and asked cautiously,

"Then, through these connections, I should be able to return, right?"

The elderly nun shook her head,

"The world next to this one is called Black Mountain."

"A terrifying dragon beast occupies Black Mountain, and with its followers, it has isolated this place from the rest of the world. No one can return."