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“Wasn’t this supposed to be a strategy game?”

By Karon’s remarks, it seemed like the Blacksmith hadn’t been open for several days, and a chilling atmosphere surrounded the place.

But I couldn’t just turn back after coming this far. Eden dismounted and knocked on the door of a small house next to the Blacksmith.

“Is anyone home?”

No response came from inside, but Eden kept knocking.

“Is anyone in there? Hello!”

Karon, watching him, placed his hand over Eden’s, which was turning red from knocking, and stopped him.

Karon tried pulling the doorknob, but it only rattled; the door wouldn’t budge.

“I’ll try to open it, so please step back.”

He said that as he drew his sword. It seemed he was about to break down the door.

I wondered if it was really okay to go this far, but just as I was about to step back, the door suddenly swung open, revealing a man stained red with wine.

“Who are you!”

Eden quickly scanned the man’s appearance. With a massive build and calloused hands covered in scars, it looked like he was indeed the blacksmith, Tetes.

A strong smell of liquor wafted from Tetes. Eden, welcoming even this, rushed forward and asked,

“Are you Mr. Tetes?”

However, the man glared at Eden with a fierce expression.

“Who are you?”

“Uh, excuse me, but you have a daughter, right? Her name is Ella…”

At that moment, Tetes’ breath caught for a second, and then his face turned crimson.

Misinterpreting it as suspicion towards me, Eden hurriedly took off the cloak that was wrapped around him, revealing the priest’s robes hidden underneath.

“Ah, I’m not a suspicious person; I’m Eden Lillyart, an Apprentice Priest from the Great Temple. This is the Commander of the Holy Knights.”

Despite that, Tetes remained silent, biting his lip.

Eden watched him cautiously and asked,

“I’m sorry, but could I meet Ella?”

“…The Great Temple’s priest… Why would our Ella…?”

Tetes managed to ask in a trembling voice, and Eden quickly provided the answer he had prepared.

“It’s just that Ella was selected in the raffle for the temple experience program held at Haelv Great Temple last year.”

Eden skillfully spun a kind lie with a friendly voice. Even if it wasn’t true, it was fine if he could make him believe it.

Feeling Karon’s curious gaze as he processed the unfamiliar story about the temple experience program, Eden tried hard to ignore it and focused on Tetes. The quest clear was right in front of him.

Then, something surprising happened.

“Ugh… Ella…”

Huh?

Eden held his breath as he watched Tetes sink to the ground.

“Ella!”

Tetes, collapsing, suddenly cried out Ella’s name and began to weep uncontrollably.

When Eden glanced at Karon, Karon, as if sensing something, approached and knelt down, cautiously asking,

“What happened to your daughter?”

Then Tetes roared in anguish.

“Our daughter… Ella…! She’s disappeared!”

Eden’s eyes widened in shock at Tetes’ words.

‘Disappeared?’

Karon, too, grew serious as he looked at Tetes in despair.

At that moment, Tetes’ expression went blank as if he’d been hit, and he grabbed Karon desperately, pleading.

“You said you’re from the temple? Then you must be important people! Please find my daughter!”

At that heart-wrenching plea, Eden was completely stunned, as if he had been hit on the back of the head.

Strange quest letters tumbled down above Eden’s head.

“Please find our Ella!”

The true meaning of this quest was to locate Ella, who had gone missing.

After a while of Tetes weeping, they finally calmed him down enough to hear this.

It had been five days since Ella had gone missing, and they reported it two days ago, but in the wrecked Reblem, there were no means left to find Ella.

Eden and Karon calmed Tetes down with a promise to seek a way to find Ella and then turned away from the Blacksmith.

Now that Eden understood the true meaning of the quest, he held his throbbing head, sinking into troubled thoughts.

‘No wonder everything went too smoothly…’

In Hesmor, it wasn’t rare for someone to disappear.

It was common to think that most of the disappearances were due to monsters, given that it was a place where monsters that harm people coexisted, and thus many resigned themselves to that fate.

“But Reblem doesn’t have monsters anymore.”

Karon explained as if addressing Eden’s doubts. The two briefly dismounted to rest and chat.

It was true. Crime was rampant in Reblem, and as a backlash, the monsters had vanished. At one point, monster hunters who dealt in monster hunting had flocked to this area.

“No, it’s unlikely she got attacked by a monster. Ella must be somewhere.”

Eden unconsciously murmured in a serious tone. Karon looked at her intently.

When Eden finally noticed his gaze, she realized that she had made a mistake.

‘Will he let this slide again?’

This time, Karon wouldn’t hold back either. He stopped speaking.

“Priest, may I ask why you wish to find this girl named Ella?”

Eden stifled a deep sigh inwardly.

‘Here it comes.’

This trial was something she had expected since proposing Karon’s company from the start.

Of course, it made sense that wandering around looking for someone named Ella without knowing who they were would seem strange to Karon.

Eden had chosen Karon knowing she would have to face all of this from the very beginning.

‘I can’t afford to lose Karon.’

Unless I offered something seriously enticing, it seemed unlikely that Asmun would help me amidst the antagonism of Ibthan and Jepar; Karon was Eden’s last hope.

But she also knew that flimsy tricks wouldn’t work on Karon.

So then, what could she absolutely provide Karon?

There was only one answer.

“You might find it hard to believe.”

Eden subtly dropped the bait, and Karon’s brilliant golden eyes grew noticeably deeper. Eden didn’t avoid those eyes and slowly parted her lips.

“If I told you that I receive revelations through dreams… would you believe me?”

As expected, Eden could already see Karon’s eyes harden at her revelation.

Using Hamun for a scheme, the odds were fifty-fifty. With Karon being so devout, he might get offended or choose to believe and help Eden.

“Hamun will save Reblem. For that, He ordered me to find Ella.”

Eden spoke the lies, which also bore elements of truth, with an impassive face. She was surprised to find that she felt no pang of conscience whatsoever.

From the moment Eden had seen the dire state of Reblem, she had made a deep commitment.

She would find peace for this poor city by successfully navigating the Reblem episode.

“I’m going to find Ella and fulfill that purpose.”

Karon’s eyes, unwavering and solid, without the slightest tremor, gazed at Eden as she made that monumental statement.

It was a known fact from the beginning that Eden wasn’t the culprit.

But a revelation? They didn’t come easily. But the intentions of Hamun were difficult to grasp; sometimes they manifested through a stable stableman or an illiterate little believer, so it wouldn’t be weird if Eden received a revelation.

However, was it possible to entrust a grand revelation to a powerless apprentice priest?

Since Eden claimed the revelation came through dreams, she wouldn’t have the Holy Stone, the evidence of the revelation.

For a moment, the moment Eden had pierced the neck of Seruka flashed before her eyes, and her heart sank.

Karon, looking at Eden’s earnest eyes, as if believing that she would truly accomplish her goal, parted his dry lips.

“For that purpose, is His Highness the 3rd Prince necessary?”

It was a precise question. Karon had also noticed the strange connection between Eden and Asmun.

Eden could again present a response that would apply to both truths and falsehoods.

“Yes. And it will continue to be so.”

With no hesitation in her answer, Karon fell silent for a moment.

As for Asmun, he had had plenty of chances for proof, but Karon hadn’t.

Originally, anyone receiving a revelation here would be given the Holy Stone as a token of evidence, but Eden didn’t have any such precious item.

So, she prepared herself for the worst-case scenario in the event that Karon didn’t believe her words.

‘Since I don’t have a Holy Stone, I have no choice but to unleash my monster-slaying skill.’

Eden had a vague awareness of the skill’s power. Since both Jepar and Asmun had been so astonished, once Karon verified it, he likely wouldn’t be able to deny her exceptional capability either.

Given that Asmun had warned her to keep it absolutely secret, increasing the number of those who knew this secret could be dangerous, but Karon was worth it.

“Commander, I…”

Just as Eden was about to reveal that secret, feeling impatient.

Beep!

 

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