Chapter 247

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Chapter 56. The Unveiling Truth (3)

5.

Meanwhile, at that moment.

While Laurea was meeting with the Knights.

The remaining heroes, excluding Ulan and his crew who had gone out earlier, gathered in the hotel lounge.

With nothing to do until tomorrow, they were also trying to guess the secrets of the three mentioned earlier.

“What could they possibly be hiding?”

Pertisha muttered, sounding curious.

At that moment, Ian spoke up.

“Could it be that Ulan and Miss Noah have been promised to each other since childhood…? Oh, I’m sorry! I take that back!”

Ian quickly retracted his words, having thrown out a joke only to be met with terrifying glares from all around.

Now that Ian had broken the silence, Delia decided to speak next.

“Maybe they’ll reveal Noah’s identity first.”

Noah had always been suspicious. From being introduced as a prophet to having knowledge and information that seemed unattainable through regular means.

Thus, the truth the three were hiding must allude to Noah’s identity. Agreeing with Delia, Ivella chimed in.

“Oh, right. There was something a bit suspicious last time, too.”

“Huh? When was that?”

“When Laurea was swallowed by the Abyss.”

Delia interrupted, recalling how, at that time, Noah opened an Abyssal Rift to save Laurea and Ulan.

In the chaos, they hadn’t realized that only Abyss Worshippers could open such rifts until later.

“Could she be an Abyss Worshipper?”

Upon hearing Delia, Sven narrowed his eyes as if he found Noah suspicious.

It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption based on her response. However, both Delia and Ivella shook their heads simultaneously.

“No, that possibility is zero.”

“Noah said she grew up on the prairie and then enrolled at Arsen Academy with Ulan.”

If, as Sven suggested, Noah had a past as an Abyss Worshipper, Ulan would have never recognized her as a colleague.

Thus, this guess was impossible.

“Then what the heck is the secret?”

“Who knows? We have no way of finding out for now.”

All they could do was wait for tomorrow.

Ian shrugged his shoulders.

As their conversations reached a lull and a heavy silence hung in the air, Sven’s pointed ears perked up suddenly.

“You know, something feels off.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The next room is unusually quiet.”

“Oh? Now that you mention it…”

It was indeed quiet. If they were wrapping up a conversation, they should be chattering away.

And there wasn’t a single presence to be felt.

As the three girls realized the oddness, Ian jumped to his feet.

“I’ll check it out.”

As if he were going to assess the situation.

A short while later, Ian returned to the lounge. With an awkward smile, he delivered the situation from the next room.

“There’s no one there.”

“Huh? Then where did they go?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Ian had been in the lounge the whole time.

At that moment, Sven chimed in with speculation.

“Could they have run away…?”

“That’s impossible.”

“Ulan isn’t the type to do that!”

Before Sven could finish his theory, Ivella and Pertisha strongly denied it. Delia also nodded in silence.

“True. If it’s ‘Ulan’, he wouldn’t.”

“That means…”

“If it’s not Ulan, then a Third Party could have pulled everyone out.”

There was only one candidate fit for that description.

A sly girl who had been waiting for a chance to be alone with Ulan, like a thief. The thought of her made the three girls narrow their eyes.

“…Laurea.”

Realizing the situation, without a second thought, they all sprang into action to find Ulan and the others who had slipped away from the hotel.

6.

After leaving the market for a while.

Laurea, traversing through the dark alleyways, eventually came to a stop after some time.

She had arrived at a building within the alley.

Unlike the cafe they had first seen, this place had a somewhat gloomy yet noisy atmosphere. Noah, with a doubtful expression, asked a question.

“Is this the place?”

“Yep, how is it? A nice spot, right?”

“What’s nice about this place?! It’s a bar!”

Noah shouted in disbelief.

As she had said, the place Laurea led them to was a bustling tavern squeezed into a corner of the market alley.

“Are you really planning to drink during the day?”

“You don’t get it, do you? During the day is when you can really enjoy it. At night, you drink just because you have no choice, due to the whisper of the stars.”

“…You’re not drinking reluctantly, you just enjoy drinking normally.”

Noah glared at Laurea.

But no response came back.

Having dodged the question, Laurea quickly found a corner table and started placing orders.

“I’ll have a beer. Ulan?”

“Same as you.”

“Got it. Noah, what do you want?”

“Uh, I’ll…”

Noah hesitated for a brief moment.

It was only natural. She had never drunk alcohol before.

Not when she was on Earth, and not after arriving in this world either. However, the hesitation didn’t last long.

“Three beers are ready for you!”

Having already placed the order.

Noah’s expression turned to shock.

“W-wait, you ordered already?!”

“You weren’t saying anything, so…”

After that simple explanation, Laurea eagerly lifted her glass to take a gulp. Then she frowned, amazed.

“Wow! This is refreshing!”

“Not bad.”

Ulan smiled satisfyingly in response as well.

Encouraged by the reactions of the two, Noah mustered her courage and cautiously took a sip. Watching closely, Laurea asked.

“So? Is it drinkable?”

“…It’s bitter, dry, and weird.”

“Really? I think it tastes great.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Laurea gulped down some more beer. Meanwhile, Noah took that single sip and didn’t touch it again.

As the boisterous atmosphere continued and they all had their drinks, Laurea’s gaze fixed on Noah.

“By the way, I’ve been curious about something.”

Having finished her beer, she suddenly tapped Noah’s wrist, asking.

“What’s that bracelet all about?”

A bracelet made by threading beads onto a string.

While it was the type of shoddy bracelet commonly found in the market, there was a specific reason Laurea showed interest.

“Delia and Ivella wear similar bracelets. Is it some kind of friendship bracelet?”

“Oh, this is…”

What should she say in response?

As Noah pondered, someone else interrupted with an answer. It was Ulan.

“I gave it to her.”

“Huh? You did?”

“Yeah. Since I received help at the Academy, I gave it to her as a token of gratitude.”

“Oh, is that so? It’s a gift then.”

Once that reply came out, Laurea narrowed her eyes again. A hint of discomfort crossed her expression.

“I wish I could receive a gift too.”

She sighed, sounding rather discontented.

Ulan looked puzzled and asked.

“Can’t you just buy something for yourself?”

“I would love to but it’s a bit tough.”

“Why’s that?”

“Saintesses must always be frugal.”

So, wearing jewelry other than sacred items was strictly prohibited. It just occurred to her that even in her past life, Laurea was the same.

Without wearing any jewelry besides sacred items. As Ulan’s eyes widened, Laurea added an explanation.

“Of course, there are exceptions. Gifts from family or friends are allowed. As long as they aren’t too extravagant or flashy, most will be permitted.”

“I see. I didn’t know that.”

After spending over a decade in her past life, Ulan found it surprising that there were still things he didn’t know.

As their conversation wrapped up.

Suddenly, a strange presence was felt.

From a distance, two men approached their table.

“Excuse me…”

“Are you perhaps a Priest?”

The two approached Laurea, likely having noticed the black ceremonial garb she wore. It was an emblematic outfit worn by novices.

However, if she answered “Saintess” here, chaos would ensue. That wasn’t what Laurea wanted, so she casually brushed it off.

“It’s kind of similar.”

“Oh, I see.”

Their faces brightened instantly.

Shortly after, the two men briefly explained why they had approached Laurea.

“We’re part of the Murka guard.”

“We’re about to head out for a monster extermination mission. If it’s not too much trouble, could we ask for a blessing?”

Finishing their request, the two guard members showed her the silver necklace they wore.

An emblem indicating their status as believers of Eloden.

Seeing that, Laurea smiled widely and nodded eagerly.

“Of course!”

“T-thank you!”

The two kept bowing deeply.

Afterwards, Laurea stood up and walked over to the table where the guards were seated.

While she was away, Noah suddenly poked Ulan’s waist.

“Ulan, take this.”

“Huh? What’s this…?”

What Noah handed over was a silver coin.

Forcing it into Ulan’s hand, she gestured toward a corner of the tavern.

“Buy something from over there.”

“What should I buy?”

“Like a bracelet or necklace.”

There was a girl selling jewelry right where Noah pointed. Ulan realized the situation, but furrowed his brow.

“If you want it, go buy it yourself.”

“No, it’s not for me! Get something for Laurea!”

“Then you should buy it and gift it yourself!”

Man, he really has no clue, does he?

Realizing that cluelessness had been pushed into the Abyss, Noah stubbornly shook her head.

“Nope. It’s got to be bought by Ulan and gifted by Ulan.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because Laurea has helped so much during this extermination. So it would be nice to give her a gift as thanks.”

Thinking about it, that made sense.

Not just during this extermination, but Ulan had received plenty of support from Laurea.

He could give back in the same way he did before to Noah, Delia, and Ivella.

“Okay. I get it.”

Accepting Noah’s suggestion, Ulan approached the girl selling the jewelry with the silver coin in hand.

Meanwhile, the huge barbarian approaching startled the girl, who looked frightened.

“D-do you need anything?”

“I’m looking to buy a bracelet.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, but we’re all sold out.”

As the girl said, the display only had earrings, rings, and necklaces.

What would he gift instead if there were no bracelets?

As he pondered this choice, a memory suddenly struck Ulan’s mind.

‘Wait a second…’

Before Shulfern became ruins.

During the battle against the Undying Minions, Laurea had lost a pair of earrings that were sacred items.

Recalling that, Ulan smoothly grabbed the closest pair of earrings.

“I’ll take this.”

“Oh, that’s just one silver coin, though…”

And the price was just right.

After paying for the earrings, Ulan stashed them in his pocket and returned to the table. At that moment, he noticed Laurea was also coming back.

“What’s up? Why are you staring at me like that?”

“You somehow look like a real saintess.”

“…I am a real saintess, you know?”

Laurea pouted indignantly.

Then Ulan subtly asked.

“Did you give a proper blessing?”

“Yep. I told them to come back safely. Since I was at it, I blessed the other guards too.”

“Even though they’re not from Eloden?”

“What’s the big deal? Every human born and raised in this land is a creation of the Divine Being anyway.”

She replied as if it were no big deal.

After her cool response, Laurea settled back in her seat and ordered more beer.

“Alright, shall we drink again?”

“When are we going to talk about our stories?”

“We can get to that later.”

There was still plenty of time left.

So for the moment, she wanted to enjoy the present. Delaying the task, Laurea clinked her glass with Ulan’s and gulped down the beer again.

‘Now’s a good time to give it.’

Ulan had reached into his pocket to present the earrings to Laurea.

But he couldn’t hand over the gift.

Suddenly, someone interrupted their conversation.

“…You guys.”

After hearing that voice, Noah felt her heart drop for a second.

The voice itself was chilling, but more so, it was an incredibly familiar one from her memory.

“What are you doing here?”

Along with the familiar voice came the appearance of familiar faces, freezing the room in an instant.

At the same time, a short phrase representing the current situation swirled through Noah’s mind.

‘We’re screwed!’

Delia, Ivella, and Pertisha too.

With the chilling glares surrounding the table, Noah’s complexion quickly turned pale.

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