Fallen Chronicles

Eileen felt like she had plunged into an ice cave.

The realization of this "truth" left only one thought in the girl's mind.

'Save Renji!'

She had to rush back to the abandoned sewer below the Church, quickly returning to Renji's side!

However, a new problem had arisen.

Although Eileen wished she could rush out immediately, the problem was how she could get into the Church's underground?

In the morning, they had used Maria's teleportation to go directly there. But now, if she wanted to go back, she could only take another route, the one Renji had originally planned and negotiated with the Knights, a secret passage from the Knight's Order.

The Church's underground Archive library.

But now that Eileen knew the truth, that Maria was suspicious and the nun was likely an enemy from the Church, could this passage also be a trap?

If she rushed over recklessly, she might fall into an ambush before she even see Renji.

"Calm down. In times like these, you must stay calm, Eileen!" she coached herself internally, repeating it over and over.

Unfortunately, it was easier said than done. Eileen couldn't calm down at all now. When she thought about the possibility of Renji falling into the hands of a dangerous woman, 'how can I stay calm?'

"Damn it!"

Eileen preferred action over thought. Especially after spending time with Renji. She cherished the feeling of not overthinking, of blindly charging forward whenever Renji commanded. That was when Eileen felt most at ease.

That feeling of not needing to think about anything, just blindly following whatever crazy plan Renji had in mind, was the most comfortable feeling for Eileen.

'So, why didn't you use your brain for this, old timer?'

'You used to be so powerful, so in control of everything, always seeming to have a plan, but now that it's a real critical moment, you're falling apart!'

'Why couldn't you see through Maria's true identity, how did you fail to see her true nature?'

'Now, what should I do?'

'How can I find you?'

In the moment when Eileen hated herself for being useless, she inadvertently touched something in her pocket.

This made Eileen pause for a moment, and when she quickly took out the "object" from her jacket pocket, she found it to be a...

"A business card?"

The card had holy symbols embroidered on the corners, with a background of a cross and a sword. Eileen immediately realized – "wasn't this the card Renji had gotten from that knight? No, not the captain, but the young knight called 'Tamic' who was with him? So, why was this card in my pocket?"

She was absolutely certain that before setting out, there had been nothing in her pocket. Now, a card had mysteriously appeared, a card that should have been with Renji.

'Wait a minute!'

A scene suddenly flashed in Eileen's mind.

It was when they were underground in the Church, just before parting ways. Renji had used a "hug" to reassure her.

At the time, Eileen had felt that Renji's hug was strange, a bit abrupt, but given old timer's quirky and unconventional personality, she didn't think much of it.

But now...

'That's right! It was at that moment! This business card from the Knight's Order must have been quietly placed in my pocket by old timer!'

'Why would Renji do that?'

The only explanation Eileen could think of was this.

So...

'Renji had also discovered the nun's identity too!

'Renji had already realized that something was wrong with Maria!!'

Realizing this, Eileen trembled with excitement, even though Renji wasn't by her side at the moment, she suddenly felt much more relieved, and the pressure on her diminished suddenly.

Because now, she had a "clue" given to her by Renji!

She just needed to follow the clues and steps that Renji had hinted at, one by one! And as for the hints a "business card" could provide...

Even a fool could figure it out!

'It all connected!'

'Everything fell into place!'

She had been worried about whether the underground entrance of the Knight's Order might be a trap, but the business card from Renji had dispelled all her concerns.

Eileen stared at the name "Tamic" on the card and the corresponding string of numbers on the back. Obviously, this knight was the one that Renji had hinted at, the key to her return to the secret sewer!

But...

'Considering Maria's strength and cunning, probably holding a higher position than that foul priest from Blackhole Plains, it seemed excessive to say Tamic was the boss of her boss's boss'

 Eileen couldn't think of any reason why Tamic would help her

Furthermore, what she was about to do would expose the darkness of the Church, causing the Church's image to collapse. Once the Church fell, the Knight's Order, which was affiliated with the Church, would also be severely affected. Any normal person wouldn't accept it, right?

Even if the hope was slim, Eileen chose to believe in Renji,

'after all, Old Timer always seemed to be able to create miracles.'

'No, isn't Renji himself a miracle?'

With her thoughts organized, Eileen immediately sprang into action.

"Mom, take care of yourself. I have something urgent to do!"

After saying goodbye to her mother in bed, the girl finally made it out the door. In the living room, Brian had just prepared a hearty home-cooked meal, but before he could even invite Eileen to eat, the girl, in a state of urgency, interrupted him.

"Quick! Brian! Lend me your phone!"

Brian: "Huh?"

"No time to explain, just hurry!" Eileen's house only had a landline, and she would definitely need a cellphone when she went outside next.

Just like when Brian had lent his phone to Renji without hesitation, the uncle, seeing Eileen's anxious expression, didn't even ask a question and simply tossed the phone over.

With the phone in her hand, Eileen rushed out of the house, running toward the church while dialing the number on the business card.

However...

What completely caught Eileen off guard was that before she could even finish entering the number, Brian's phone rang.

It was an incoming call.

At this point, Eileen didn't have time to borrow another phone, but just as she was about to reject the call and hang up, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Standing still, Eileen carefully looked at the incoming call on Brian's phone.

Or more precisely, she checked the incoming number.

It was identical.

'This…Tamic!?'

'What's going on?'

Eileen didn't know that Renji had used this phone to call Tamic before, and while she found it strange, it saved her the trouble.

The girl immediately answered the call and held the phone to her ear.

Quickly, a voice spoke, -"Hello! Is this Mr. Renji? I'm Tamic. I don't know if you're available right now, but could I – no, I must ask – could you please meet with me?"-