‘Destroyed… has it been?’
For some reason, the relief in Ileya’s heart was greater than her disappointment.
It was a combination of her commoner mindset from her previous life and her current noble perspective.
Or perhaps… no matter the era, some things were better left unknown.
But then again, what was she here for?
Simply traveling had taken over one month, and that was considering she likely only had one year of quiet development time.
Scratching her head in slight annoyance, this Lady, who had always been calculating and composed, finally felt a bit conflicted.
Although the truth was right before her eyes, a feeling of not wanting to dig any further arose within her.
She believed she had the confidence to change her tragic ending; given enough time, it wasn’t impossible for her to stand at the peak of this world.
But this matter didn’t just concern her. It concerned her Mother even more — the promise she had made to find the truth about her Aunt.
“Sigh…”
Letting out a soft sigh, Ileya felt her current power was still too weak.
To say she could ignore the Royal Family was too bold; at the very least… she didn’t even have the qualifications to oppose them, let alone negotiate.
‘If only I were a bit stronger… I wouldn’t have so many worries.’
Thinking such rebellious thoughts, Ileya glanced sideways at the idiot clinging to her back, whose breathing had become rhythmic once more.
At this moment, she actually envied this girl.
She didn’t seem to care at all about being banished from the Divine Realm and could still sleep so soundly.
Truly…
Pulling at the corner of her mouth in frustration, Ileya looked over at the injured human. They obviously couldn’t rest here.
The Ratmen had carried several of them to stone beds in another part of the underground cave.
When Ileya arrived, a middle-aged merchant with a headscarf and dark skin had already woken up.
He was repeatedly expressing his gratitude to the nearby Ratmen and stating that they were willing to pay money, valuables, and other items of worth to reward the group.
However… these Ratmen were like subterranean saints.
They simply smiled and shook their heads at the human’s promised rewards, claiming their village had no use for such things.
It wasn’t until the Ratman went to tend to the other unconscious humans that Ileya stepped forward with a smile.
“Um? You are…?” The dark-skinned merchant froze for a moment.
He never expected to see such a stunning young girl in a Ratman cave village.
White hair, red eyes… and her gait… elegant yet steady.
From Kaman’s years of experience as a merchant, this girl’s background was definitely not simple!
“Heh, there is no need for such formality. I am merely a passing noble who happened to encounter some trouble,” the Lady said with a smile, quite discreetly taking a token from her pocket.
Seeing the patterns on it, Kaman felt his weary spirit jolt!
This token… it was the City Lord Token of the City Lord of Gilliris, the Kingdom East City Gate, which was exactly where they were headed!
‘Hiss… is this young girl… the City Lord of Gilliris?’
No, that wasn’t right. His caravan had met the City Lord of Gilliris before; he was a tall, pale man with a face full of fatty meat.
‘Could she be… that City Lord’s daughter?’
It was hard to imagine that a City Lord who looked like a butcher could have such a petite and cute daughter.
Ileya put away the City Lord Token, a gentle smile on her face.
The City Lord of Gilliris had practically forced this token upon her because there were occasional military patrols in the Gobi.
In the City Lord’s words, he was afraid some blind fools might offend her.
She brought it out now because she didn’t want to frighten the merchant.
After all, her reputation among the commoners was a bit… complicated.
“You can call me… Lady.”
“Ah… so it is the Lady. How rude of me, how rude!” Kaman hurriedly stood up and bowed quite humbly. “I am the leader of the Camel Bell Caravan, Kaman Keru’er.”
After their introductions, Ileya asked about the merchants’ previous situation and learned that the surface was currently occupied by an Evil Cult.
“An Evil Cult… do you know specifically which entity this cult worships?” Ileya raised an eyebrow slightly.
She hadn’t expected such things to be happening on the surface during this time.
If it weren’t for the earthquake and the tomb, they probably would have been caught up in it as well.
“Um… I do not know that, but I once heard those cultists mention something about a… [New God].”
‘A New God…?’
‘So it’s not a Supreme Being, but a God?’
‘If they aren’t just a disorganized mob… then their ambitions are far too grand, aren’t they?’
…….
The Holy Sword Bearer stood in the middle of the village path, feeling somewhat bored.
She watched the little Ratmen scurry by.
Although these little fellows didn’t fit human standards of beauty, they were quite cute once you got used to them.
They gave off a vibe like Master Splinter from the Ninja Turtles.
It was just that these Ratmen clearly didn’t know kung fu.
Earlier, Sister Reliel had said she had things to do and returned to the room Jerry had arranged for them.
Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, she was likely tired…
Although Holly was also a bit exhausted, having just replenished her energy, she didn’t want to go back to the room to rest.
After all, she was quite interested in this Ratman village.
As she was thinking this, Holly saw the group of little Ratmen who had been running around earlier now gathered together, crouching on the ground and looking at something.
Curious, Holly leaned forward to look at what the little Ratmen were surrounding.
Thanks to her hard-won height advantage, the Holy Sword Bearer saw two pale blue crabs fighting in the center of the circle.
In terms of combat, the fight was quite intense.
Thus, the Holy Sword Bearer, who remained curious about everything, quickly joined in to watch.
She even started cheering for a crab named “Residual Claw” alongside some of the little Ratmen.
Through this, she successfully managed to blend into the group of children despite being a human.
If it were Ileya, she might have done it for intelligence or secrets.
But for Holly, it was truly just for fun and curiosity.
She followed the little Ratmen as they ran around the village, observing many of the customs of the Ratman settlement.
For example, even under the Gobi, the Ratmen would find twigs to grind their teeth on, treating it as a very joyful form of entertainment.
They would even compete to see whose twig was larger or thicker.
Holly was also fortunate enough to be given a twig, which she bit down on in her mouth…
‘Hmm… it really does feel a bit like chewing on straws or pencils when I was a kid. It’s quite comfortable.’
But… it was nowhere near the level of intoxication shown on the faces of those little Ratmen.
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