Chapter 156

“We need to be stealthy from this point on.”

The sun was beginning to rise after a long night, and Ulan’s group finally reached their destination: the Valley of the Falling Stars, a meadow of Star-Gazer flowers and the place where Delia would undergo the Trial of the Hero.

Noa pressed her finger to her nose, signaling everyone to be quiet.

“I believe the Rangers are probably out searching for Delia right now,” she explained.

Delia was the Princess of Arpen, so whenever she went to pick flowers, she had a decent-sized escort with her. This was a plot point that never failed to appear in the original story.

‘If we happen to run into them…’

Things would definitely get complicated. Now that Delia had disappeared into the trials, anyone moving suspiciously would be met with suspicion—no exceptions.

So they needed to move carefully.

Right after Noa’s warning, Ulan shook his head.

“I don’t think we need to worry about that.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

Before she could finish her sentence, he pointed to a corner of the valley.

As soon as she glanced in the direction he was indicating, Noa’s eyes widened in shock.

“……!”

Dozens of corpses piled up like a mountain.

These must be the Rangers who should have been out looking for Delia. Staring at the gruesome scene, Ulan scrutinized the bodies.

“It seems someone has intervened, just as you said.”

There was a commonality among some of the corpses: they all had their heads cleanly severed by a sharp blade. This skill could only be used by at least an Expert-level practitioner.

Some of the bodies had turned completely black, as if they were charred. Meaning there was a Mage among those who attacked the Rangers.

‘But just this doesn’t reveal…’

It wouldn’t be easy to uncover the identity of those who attacked the Rangers and disrupted Delia’s trials.

Ulan frowned, but he didn’t need to ponder for long.

“Looks like it’s time to use this.”

Noa pulled out a talisman from her pocket.

She scattered the talisman around the mound of bodies. Ulan, curious about her seemingly meaningless action, asked, “What are you doing?”

“It’s a new spell I learned. It allows us to read the memories of residual thoughts.”

Even with such a detailed response, Ulan looked utterly confused. Noa sighed and explained as simply as she could.

“In other words, it’s a magic that lets us know what happened here.”

“I see.”

Looks like he finally got it.

Once Noa finished her preparations, she infused magic into the formation she set and the talisman.

Vrrrooom!

A powerful vibration followed, and soon memories of the residual thoughts began to replay before them like a movie.

“That’s…”

A scene of the Rangers from the Arpen Duchy engaging in combat with unknown assailants unfolded.

It was almost too embarrassing to call it a “combat.”

Before long, the one-sided massacre began.

In the blink of an eye, the Rangers who were searching for Delia turned into mere chunks of meat.

“……”

A little while later, the talisman finished reading all the memories, bursting into flames and turning to ashes.

After that, silence enveloped the area.

Ulan’s mouth was tightly shut, and Noa’s eyes were wide with shock. There was only one reason for it: the identity of the mysterious attackers who ambushed the Rangers.

“Ulan, those guys are…”

“Yeah. It’s them.”

As he spoke in a shaky voice, Ulan slightly nodded.

The familiar gray robes.

The feast of all sorts of forbidden magic.

With these two clues, both Ulan and Noa deduced the identity of the attackers that targeted Delia.

“…Abyss Worshippers.”

Uninvited guests that came to disrupt the Trial of the Hero.

As he recalled the figures of the attackers in the footage, a cold glint shone in Ulan’s eyes.

7.

In the Holy Nation in the northeastern part of the continent,

it was early morning, but Eloden Academy buzzed with numerous students due to the weekly Monday morning prayers.

After the brief prayer was over,

students gathered in groups, heading towards their dormitories to prepare for morning classes.

Then, one girl caught everyone’s eyes.

A graceful girl moving with dainty steps. With teal hair and amber eyes, she had an enchanting appearance.

Laurea Ro Sharvel, a second-year student at Eloden Academy.

The next Saintess.

“Good day, Lady Laurea.”

“Good morning, senior.”

Those who had even the slightest acquaintance with Laurea greeted her without hesitation.

Every time they did so, Laurea nodded with a gentle smile, and the students who received her greeting showed touches of sheer excitement on their faces.

A little while later, after reaching the dormitory,

“Haa.”

She closed the door with a short sigh.

Her tired expression was evident.

A moment later, Laurea strode to the window and opened it wide, gazing intently at the southern sky.

That was the direction of Arsen Academy.

“……”

What was she thinking?

Laurea stared into the sky for a while.

Just as her eyes were glazing over with faint emotions, suddenly, a voice caught her off guard.

“Are you thinking about Ulan?”

“……!?”

“Looks like I got it right.”

Startled, she turned around.

The one who appeared was Ian Marcus, a boy with navy blue hair.

Ian, her junior and the one who had recently been assigned to guard her.

“What? When did you come in?”

“I’ve been waiting for a while.”

“…In an empty room?”

“It’s too hot outside.”

Ian shrugged nonchalantly.

His shameless reaction left Laurea dumbfounded. After a moment, she quickly turned and opened the door as if to leave.

“Saintess?”

She didn’t respond.

Did she feel uneasy? Ian hurriedly grabbed her arm.

“Wait a minute. What are you trying to do?”

“I’m going to visit Sir Shanktus.”

Paladin Master Kadel Dun Shanktus, the strongest knight in the Holy Nation and Ian’s swordsmanship instructor. He was also known as the one Ian feared the most.

Just mentioning Sir Shanktus caused Ian’s complexion to turn pale.

“Huh? W-Why suddenly…?”

“It seems like Marcus has forgotten the etiquette required of a knight; I wanted to ask for re-education.”

“I’m sorry! Please spare me!”

Ian prostrated himself on the floor.

In the blink of an eye, as he offered his apologies, Laurea clicked her tongue. Just as the situation looked like it was coming to a close, Ian spoke up again.

“Oh, and Saintess.”

“What now?”

“You don’t have to worry about Ulan.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“If the only person around Ulan was Ivella, you’d probably be worried. But it seems Delia has feelings for Ulan too.”

Laurea’s eyes narrowed.

Ian had always been surprisingly perceptive. It was clear he realized right away that she was thinking about Ulan.

“So, they’re likely too busy eyeing each other to accomplish anything.”

It was a reasonable speculation.

She thought the same way, after all.

Instinctively nodding, Laurea soon realized her behavior and cleared her throat softly.

“Ahem! Let’s stop with the empty chatter for now.”

With her bright yellow eyes focused on Ian, she soon sparkled her reflective eyes and asked, “What brings you here?”

“I found it.”

“Found what?”

“The name ‘Sven Isaac’ that you requested, Saintess.”

“……!”

Seeing Laurea’s eyes widen, Ian handed over the report he had prepared. As Laurea received it, she meticulously began reading through the contents.

[Name]: Sven Isaac

[Race]: Beastkin