I Thought Your Friend's Sibling Wasn't a Girl? - Chapter 62

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 62
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The warmth had receded, and humid air rushed in to fill the void.
Though there was no reason to feel cold, Aiden couldn’t shake a sense of chill and emptiness.
It was strange.
He squinted one eye, listening for sounds outside. The presence of the men had vanished completely.
Sena would handle the rest, and they’d continue tracking from their positions. That worked out fine.
Which meant he had a moment to spare—a moment to soothe the rigid new knight trembling in his arms.
The thought of Olivia fidgeting in his coat brought an unbidden smile to his face.
“Olivia. Better now?”
It was a thoughtless question, really.
Until a moment ago, Olivia had looked tense as a drawn bowstring. So it fell to Aiden, her senior, to ease that tension.
He’d asked without thinking, and held no expectations until the answer came.
“……Yes. I’m fine.”
But the moment her voice reached him, his heart stumbled and creaked.
Wide eyes, round and open, fixed on his. Green irises catching what little light there was.
Everything was dark, yet somehow all of it burned into his vision with perfect clarity.
Once he’d noticed, everything else followed—and his fingertips trembled faintly.
A raindrop slipped from his raincoat and fell onto her cheek with a soft tap, tracing a line across her pale skin. His gaze followed it as though drawn by invisible thread.
It traced her cheekbone, then her jaw, sliding downward past the gentle angle of her chin. For reasons he couldn’t name, he couldn’t simply watch it fall. His hand rose, and he caught it away.
“Senior.”
“You’re wet. Don’t speak.”
The trace of water across her cheek and the small drop that had been trailing her jaw—both transferred now to his fingertips.
The wet pad of his hand carried the warmth of her skin, a faint heat that lingered. He closed his fingers around it, holding tight.
Rain drummed against the ceiling above, loud enough to drown everything—loud enough to hide anything.
Aiden composed his expression and turned to her with careful indifference.
“Should we move on? We need to finish the task.”
Her response came slow, as though from far away.
The two of them turned back toward the rain. The drops striking their raincoats were heavy and thick.
Crackle. Patter.
-Hideout location confirmed. There’s some kind of cave here. Two guards at the entrance. The rest have gone inside.
-Good. We’ve got movement here too. We’ll arrest the other mercenaries today—you handle that side.
-Roger that. We’ll incapacitate the two on watch first.
-Aiden? How’s your end? Can you get in?
Right on cue, Yugin and Sena’s voices crackled through. A step further from Olivia, Aiden gripped his Magical Device with one hand and replied quietly.
“……Yes. We’ll be there shortly. No issues.”
Right. There mustn’t be any issues.
Aiden clenched his jaw hard and pushed forward. Light footsteps followed at his heel.
* * *
By the time Olivia and Aiden reached the Hideout entrance, the guards had already been subdued. This made entry smooth enough.
Though not entirely smooth, perhaps……
“What’s with that irritating expression?”
“Why are you starting with me the moment we meet?”
“Aiden Oblion. Just a friendly warning—don’t indulge in personal grievances.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Bored lately?”
Either way, they’d made it inside without incident, so Olivia figured it was fine.
The cave ran deep—far deeper than any mercenaries posted here months ago could have carved out.
Sparse lamps punctuated the darkness, lighting their path.
“Watch you don’t slip. It’s a bit wet underfoot.”
“I will. Don’t worry.”
He was right—the ground below was slick. Olivia kept her mouth shut and focused on placing each step carefully.
Silence descended.
Silence and idle thought always travel together. In the oppressive quiet where even footsteps disappear, Olivia’s mind wandered again.
Back to what had happened a short while ago, beneath the roof of an Abandoned Building where rain poured down hard.
The lingering gaze that had swept across her face, her cheek. The warmth that had touched her skin.
It all shook her. She held her breath for several seconds, steadying herself.
Stop thinking about it, Olivia. You’re in the middle of a mission.
She repeated this to herself like an incantation until finally her mind cleared.
The feelings she hadn’t quite suppressed escaped in a short sigh.
“Hey, who’s there—Ugh!”
Thwack.
They’d subdued the men they encountered in the corridor cleanly, using a Magical Device to keep them down. They wouldn’t cause trouble before the mission ended.
-Priestess’s Hideout confirmed. Proceeding with suppression.
-Understood. We’ll move on our end immediately!
-Good work, everyone.
Contact came from the others at the same time. No reason to hesitate now.
“Olivia.”
“Yes, Senior?”
“What waits ahead is probably more gruesome than you expect.”
Olivia nodded. Probably so.
Livestock that looked as though they’d been tearing at their own flesh. Corpses left in that state.
And now even the possibility that people had gone missing.
She was beginning to understand that this wasn’t simply a “lost dog” task, that the Lux Knight Brigade didn’t just take on simple civilian requests.
“I’m prepared.”
“It’ll be worse than you’re prepared for.”
“Then I’ll prepare myself a bit more……”
What kind of sight awaited them that warranted such a warning? Tension coiled tighter in Olivia’s chest.
She felt his gaze on her, steady and measured. Olivia met it calmly, clasping her cold hands together.
“You’re nervous again.”
“I’m not.”
“Am I not the one who’s known you for years?”
He let out a quiet laugh and squeezed her clasped hands once, firmly.
“I knew this would happen.”
Just as they always had, back when they were much younger.
Aiden’s hand was always warmer than hers. Younger Olivia had loved that warmth so much she used to feign extra nervousness in front of him, whimpering just for the comfort of his touch.
It was their habit, in a way. She’d show her anxiety, and he’d pretend not to notice while extending his hand anyway.
Everything was the same—so why did he keep trying to push her away?
Olivia’s fingers fidgeted in his grip as she swallowed back a troubled breath.
“Let’s go.”
Her hand, which had gone cold from poor circulation, warmed gradually beneath his touch.
At last, the end of the cave drew near.
Screech. Creak. Grinding rumble.
Chaotic sounds grew steadily louder. Olivia stopped at Aiden’s hand signal and held her breath.
“……I’m telling you, it just—work!”
“But that won’t—”
There were people inside; the commotion intensified. A faint glow wavered against the corridor walls.
Looking deeper, a spacious and empty Stone Chamber came into view. Each wall bore neat rectangular marks, as though some device had been mounted there.
“Did you actually do this right?”
And within stood men with their backs to the entrance, gathered around something in serious deliberation.
“You said pressing this would work, didn’t you? Why isn’t it listening today?”
“Wait. If I press it like this—”
Click.
“Oh, it worked. So you had to press it that way?”
“Move back a little. Something’s coming out.”
Grinding whirr……
As if on cue, tremors ran through the marked sections of wall, and movement began.
The marks were doors. The thick walls shifted forward with a gentle vibration, rotating slowly on their axis.
The space that had looked impossibly empty was now filling with neat rows of small Stone Chambers.
And with it came a sickly, nauseating stench.
‘This can’t be real.’
Livestock—each one, their eyes vacant and unfocused, chewing mindlessly. Blood dripped from their mouths in steady rivulets.
“Just stop that for now, like I said. Should we treat them too?”
“It’s disgusting. That this power actually exists……. How in the world do those Guardian Family bastards live with such strength?”
“All right, all right. It’s stopped. Next, we—”
The moment they manipulated something, the livestock stopped their mindless chewing and went still. The sight made Olivia’s skin crawl.
Was this something humans could actually do?
Faced with this incomprehensible sight, Olivia’s whole body went rigid.
Tap-tap.
With a light noise, the person beside her vanished in a blur. Then, immediately—
“Ugh.”
“Kh, who—who are—Aack!”
Crash!
The men fell.
Having incapacitated them, Aiden moved slowly toward the object they’d been grasping and arguing over. Olivia’s gaze naturally followed his movements.
A stone tinged with red light.
‘That’s……’
“A Mana Stone?”
Whimper. Whimper……
The livestock’s cries—anguished and spine-chilling—filled the Stone Chamber. Both their faces had gone hollow.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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