Lucian sat beside the Site of Grace before the Gatefront, with lina quietly by his side.
From his pack, he retrieved a worn scrap of parchnt—his map fragnt. Unlike in the ga, this one hadn't been floating conveniently in the open. It had been buried beneath a stone monunt, tucked away in a slit barely wide enough to dig into. Perhaps the one who left it feared it might be blown away by the wind. Or maybe they had hoped to hide it from the prying eyes of patrolling soldiers.
Whatever the reason, the map fragnt had survived, and along with it, a line of text:
"If you have found this map, I hope it helps. And if you can, leave sothing behind to help the next person."
Lucian wasn't sure how long ago those words had been written, nor who the author had been. The edges of the parchnt were frayed and stained, but the script remained legible, the lines of ink still strong.
There was no magic to the map—no glowing markers, no helpful icons. Sites of Grace he'd touched before didn't shimr to life across its surface like they had in the ga.
He handed the map to lina, pointing to a rough location.
"I want to return to the Church of Elleh," he said. "I touched a Grace there before. Can you take ?"
lina studied the parchnt, her fingers gently brushing over the ancient markings.
"I can transcribe this onto enchanted parchnt," she said, looking up at him. "Once bound to you, it will allow the locations of Sites of Grace you have visited to appear."
"Oh? That's possible?" Lucian raised a brow. "Then I'll leave it to you."
From the satchel on Torrent's back, lina withdrew a massive scroll of blank sheepskin and began setting up her tools—small, rune-etched implents that shimred faintly in the light. She knelt on the ground, flattening the parchnt, and began her work in silence.
Lucian hesitated as he watched her, brow furrowing.
"Wouldn't it be easier if we found a table or sothing? You look uncomfortable like that."
She shook her head without glancing up.
"No need. I accepted the duty of the maiden, and I intend to fulfill it fully. Besides, you're the one who has to do the fighting. This is nothing compared to that."
Lucian didn't press further. lina was clearly soone who valued responsibility, and he respected that. He simply sat beside her quietly, watching the side of her face as she worked.
'If only you could live for yourself… not just your duty,' he thought.
Then—
"Lucian…"
Her voice caught him off guard.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Could you… stop staring at ?" she muttered, casting a sideward glance at him.
He blinked, flustered. "Ah—sorry. I didn't an anything by it. I'll stop."
He quickly turned away, ntally chastising himself. From her perspective, they'd only just t, and here he was staring like a weirdo.
To distract himself, he pulled a handful of Rowa Fruit from a nearby bush and fed one to Torrent. The spectral steed chewed contentedly. Curious, Lucian popped one into his own mouth—and imdiately regretted it.
Definitely not human food. He made a face and silently scratched the fruit from his ergency rations list.
As he stroked Torrent's silky mane, he began to ntally chart his next moves. First, he'd go back to the Church of Elleh and sell off the extra gear he'd scavenged. Kale would probably give him a good amount of Runes for it. With the spoils from earlier and the enemy soldiers he'd fought, he might even have enough to level up twice.
And if Lady Ranni happened to be there, he could try to get the Spirit Calling Bell for free.
But that was unlikely.
Ranni had only shown herself in the ga because she'd been keeping an eye on Torrent's previous owner. Now that Lucian had only just acquired the mount, and all the witnesses at the Gatefront had been silenced, there was no reason for her to show up so soon.
Still, it didn't matter. He'd et her eventually. He had ti.
After that, he'd make for the Weeping Peninsula. On the way, he could detour slightly to find Boc the Seamster and et Sellen, the Glintstone Sorcery teacher.
The only real decision was whether to pass through Mistwood first to enlist Blaidd's help and retrieve the Bloodhound's Fang, or head directly south.
After weighing the options, Lucian made up his mind.
To the Weeping Peninsula. Every day he delayed, the odds increased that Lady Irina would be killed.
In the ga, I couldn't save her. This ti, I will.
Not for any grand reason.
Just because he wanted to.
He'd co to this world with a goal: to give everyone the ending they deserved. A perfect one. If he didn't have the will to do even that, he might as well have stayed ho and beco a farr.
lina handed him the finished enchanted map without ceremony, her expression calm as ever.
The massive sheepskin scroll now shimred faintly with magic, but only a portion of the lower left corner was filled in. The rest remained blank.
"This fragnt corresponds to the area known as Limgrave" she explained. "The rest will be filled in over ti, as you explore."
She reached for his hand.
"Let bind it to you."
Lucian placed his hand in hers. Despite kneeling in the dirt monts ago, her skin was pristine—smooth and warm.
A mont later, a strange but familiar sensation stirred in his chest. He could now feel a faint link between himself and the parchnt. His position on the map beca visible, and dots of light marked the sites of Grace he'd previously touched.
"You may now choose a Site of Grace to return to" lina said. "Speak it, and I shall take you there."
But Lucian shook his head.
"Wait here a mont. I'll be right back."
Taking the old map fragnt in hand, he returned to the stone monunt and reburied it, sealing it carefully beneath the stone where he had found it.
When he ca back, lina looked at him in quiet surprise.
"You buried it again? That map was hidden so well, even I would not have found it easily. Why?"
Lucian smiled softly.
"I have a new map now. This one should stay behind for the next person. If they're lucky enough to dig it up, maybe it'll help them too."
lina blinked.
"But what if those who follow are your rivals? If they aim to beco Elden Lord as well, you'll be enemies."
Lucian shrugged.
"The person who left this map didn't worry about that. Why should I? If soone beats later, that just ans I wasn't good enough. I wouldn't have any right to complain."
He looked her straight in the eyes.
"But I don't plan on losing."
lina stared at him a mont longer, sothing shifting in her expression.
She had to admit—he was honest. Blunt to the point of being endearing. And for a mont, she almost smiled.
She didn't speak again, rely extended her hand once more.
"Then let my hand rest upon you. I shall take you to the Grace you desire."
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