Chapter: 406
Thanks to the quest handed down by that pathetic God, I realized that the discomfort in the streets was created by the presence of the Evil God’s energy. However, there wasn’t much I could do right at that moment.
My intuition could tell that something was off, but it didn’t specify exactly what was wrong.
Unless I could identify the anomalies myself, moving around aimlessly would only provide our enemies with a chance to react.
If they were just regular Evil God followers, both my grandpa and I would have been able to trace their energy and follow them. No, I could have sensed their presence without the need for my aesthetic sense at all.
But until my aesthetic sense pointed out the oddities, neither my grandpa nor I had noticed anything.
While I might be forgiven for being dense, fooling the sharp senses of Grandpa’s spirit was beyond ordinary capability. This issue likely involved those who served the God of the Void.
As I’d seen before in the Art Guild, the followers of the Void possess the power to erase their presence and mimic others, and this ability boasts an overwhelming level compared to any similar powers.
They aren’t without weaknesses, though. Their focus on stealth means their individual strength is pretty pathetic.
When it was still a game, they were notorious for being the easiest foes to handle among the Evil God factions.
What good is stealth if veteran players who’ve seen the endings multiple times already know exactly where and how they’re hiding?
They were so easy that the standard practice was to hit the restart button as soon as the Apostle of the Void appeared during a speed run.
But now that I had to face them in real life, it was quite a hassle. They were so specialized in stealth that finding them was a challenge.
Moving based on in-game knowledge felt too unreliable in this situation, which was drastically different from a game.
But if I just blundered around, they’d probably notice and hide even deeper.
While I pondered my next move with my arms crossed, rather than following the discomfort, I headed into an alley.
If Karia and Alsetin were gathering information about this street, they should be able to give me some intel on the unease I felt.
“Sorry, Lady Alrn. Both of them are absent at the moment.”
I had hoped that these capable individuals would solve everything for me, but my wish was unfulfilled. Both Karia and Alsetin were away due to their own engagements.
Of course, their subordinates were still loitering in the alley, doing their jobs, but I couldn’t trust them. It was impossible to be sure none of them were hiding as followers of the Void.
That said, pretending I was gathering information while secretly looking for the followers didn’t help much since I had no idea what to ask them for.
Ugh! Why did both of them have to be gone in this situation? They need to be here for me to trust them and delegate tasks!
“Hey, Grandpa.”
[I can provide advice, but don’t rely on it too much. I didn’t get bogged down by dilemmas like this when I was active.]
The words of my grandpa, who had never spent time pondering how the followers of the Evil God hid, were infuriating and yet somehow compelling.
In his prime, Grandpa was a tremendous paladin, nothing like my current self.
During the mythical era, he faced the Evil God head-on, so why would he have to concern himself with such matters?
Ugh. Even my trusted grandpa is being vague with his answers; this is really annoying.
If only that Clumsy Fox were around, I would have asked it to rummage through people’s minds for me, but that was not an option.
While I wanted to ask my friends for help, the only person in the academy right now was Frey, who was as weak as a twig.
What should I do? Should I just gamble on my luck and instincts and start wreaking havoc somewhere?
I did have a place I wanted to smash.
Or should I provoke everyone under Karia to distinguish between the followers of the Evil God and the rest?
Oh. That’s actually pretty clever. If emotions get stirred up, the powers of those involved will surely become sloppy.
Alright. So, I’ll start by messing with the thugs watching me closely.
Just as I was contemplating that, the door of a store in the alley opened, and an unexpected face walked in.
The poor Jackal, who had been dragged off by Karia several months ago, slowly bowed his head when he saw my face.
“Lady Alrn. It’s been a while.”
No idea what he went through while following Karia, but the Jackal I hadn’t seen in months looked worn out.
He had dark circles under his eyes that stretched down to his cheeks, his face sunken as if he hadn’t been eating well, and the forced smile he put on didn’t have any strength behind it.
“What on earth have you been doing to end up looking like this?”
He looked even worse than when he was training with the Alrn Knights. What in the world did Karia subject him to?
“…It’s hard to explain. I can’t possibly summarize it.”
The arrogance that subtly lingered in Jackal’s behavior had vanished. Standing seemed to take all his effort, so he hardly had the energy to care about how he acted.
“I’ll tell you the details later. For now, I’ll take my leave. I have some tasks given by my master.”
“Your master? Are you talking about that hysterical old maid?”
“Old maid… Cough! Cough cough!”
When Jackal received such a blunt assessment, he coughed for a while and then cautiously nodded.
“If you’re referring to Lady Karia, then yes.”
“What did she instruct you to do?”
“That is…”
“Why hesitate? Do I appear worse than that lady? This is a bit irritating. I’d prefer you not to make me feel inferior…”
“Lady Karia asked me to meet with the scion of the Newman family to discuss matters! The Newmans are planning to settle down here!”
They’re bringing people from the Newman family here?
…Karia really has completely swallowed up that guy Kurz Newman.
Even without handing over the seal, this is the state of affairs; I can only imagine how chaotic it’d be once the Crow’s seal is passed on.
Is Kurz going to go completely bald from stress-induced hair loss?
Oh, that sounds amusing. Should I send it over and test Kurz Newman’s disguise skills?
While I was concocting such a mischievous thought, I was also surprised that Karia had recognized Jackal.
Karia is usually super harsh on her subordinates. To allow Jackal to call her his master and trust him with something as important as negotiating with the Newman family is quite something indeed.
Jackal must have made quite an impression on her.
…Wait a minute.
If the Newman family scion is Chester Newman, then I’m talking about the kid I saved.
He’s just recently recovered too; is he really capable of being involved in such negotiations?
Thinking of the boy’s background, I realized that Chester Newman could actually be the person to help me with my concerns.
Despite being annoyingly diligent, he has the skills expected of someone from the Newman family.
Even just earlier, he showed a shy response when I teased him, appearing nothing like a follower of the Evil God.
Knowing his character, he wouldn’t harm the person who saved his life.
If I bring him into this, he’ll labor enough to contribute.
Jackal seems promising too.
While I hadn’t seen Jackal act as an informant, if Karia acknowledged him as her disciple, he must possess considerable talent.
If I explain the situation to these two, even if they aren’t as efficient as Karia or Alsetin, we can surely manage reasonably well.
With that thought in mind, I stood up to execute my plan.
“Lady Alrn?”
“Wait here. I’m going to fetch the kid you’re searching for.”
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