“Cough, cough… Ileil… Quick… Help me up…”
After understanding what Ileil was trying to convey, Gro suddenly began panting heavily and broke into a violent fit of coughing, his face flushing bright red.
He staggered over to a nearby tree trunk for support and waved at Ileil.
“Kid… Help me get my medicine… It’s in the left pocket…”
“Huh?”
Ileil didn’t recall Gro having any health issues.
His body had always been perfectly healthy.
The young girl’s golden eyes swept over Gro, who was winking exaggeratedly at her, and she finally understood his intention.
So I’m supposed to play along with your act? This should be interesting.
Ileil let out a cold snort and decided to cooperate with Gro for now.
She helped support the trembling Gro.
Once her figure blocked the others’ view, Gro spoke in a voice only she could hear:
“You think that nun has a problem. What did you discover?”
“It’s hard to explain in just a few words.”
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting fragmented shadows across Ileil’s face.
She pretended to search for a medicine bottle, her lips barely moving:
“You just need to know this—I suspect she’s connected to the recent disappearance cases in Renn Town.”
Gro accepted the nonexistent pill and pretended to swallow it.
“Then do as you see fit—keep an eye on her.”
After completing this series of actions, he let out a long breath, turned to face Saint Dorias Angus’s scrutinizing gaze, and raised his voice:
“Sorry… for making a fool of myself in front of everyone. My old liver problem is acting up again.”
“……”
The saint watched Gro’s masterful performance.
If he didn’t know exactly what kind of person Gro was, Dorias Angus might have almost believed it.
“Would you like one of our priests to treat you, Mr. Gro?”
However, Saint Dorias Angus didn’t seem intent on making things difficult for Gro.
He sighed lightly and asked with apparent concern.
“No need, no need. Thank you for your concern, Your Holiness. I have medicine with me, so it’s nothing serious for now.”
Gro walked toward Dorias Angus and asked casually,
“By the way, Your Holiness—this unknown nun sister, how did she end up coming with you? To my embarrassment, I don’t even know her name yet.”
Before Dorias Angus could reply, the nun who was using tracking magic lifted her head and looked at Gro.
“My name is Emilia. I’m a nun from the church in Renn Town. I’ve long heard of your great reputation, Mr. Gro.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Sister Emilia.”
Gro responded to the nun with polite courtesy.
Earlier, while listening to Ileil recount her day’s experiences, he had learned that it was Emilia who had invited the princess to the church and provided them with clues about the missing members.
Emilia’s expression was calm.
She forced a slight smile before redirecting her attention back to tracking Kaze and Alyssa.
Gro’s gaze lingered on Emilia for a moment.
The nun’s profile as she focused on casting her spell looked exceptionally serene under the moonlight, but her clasped hands drew his attention to one detail—her fingernails were trimmed with unusual neatness and even carried a slight sheen.
They didn’t look like the hands of someone who performed manual labor year-round.
“May I call you Miss Emilia?” Gro asked tentatively, and the nun nodded:
“Of course, Mr. Gro.”
“As someone who doesn’t understand magic, I’m a bit curious—how were you able to track people who seem to have been taken away by teleportation magic?”
As Gro spoke, he glanced at Dorias Angus.
Even a saint of his level couldn’t accomplish such a feat, yet an ordinary nun from Renn Town claimed she could track the missing Kaze and Alyssa.
Combined with Ileil’s sharp intuition and her suspicions toward Emilia, Gro refused to believe she was as innocent as she appeared.
“I studied some basic magic theory during my time at the seminary, Mr. Gro.”
The nun’s fingers paused briefly but soon resumed tracing the magical traces.
Her voice remained gentle as usual.
“The Dawn Goddess’s blessing allows us to track the traces of the living. Just as Mr. Dorias Angus said—the scene retains quite a bit of residual mana from the spell cast. With holy arts, it’s naturally possible to trace its source.”
Gro nodded thoughtfully.
Her explanation seemed to hold no obvious flaws.
Meanwhile, Dorias Angus, standing behind Emilia, fixed his gray-blue eyes intently on the nun’s actions, his brows slightly furrowed.
“Thank you for the explanation.” Gro asked as if casually, “However… it’s quite late now. Why did you appear here together with His Holiness the Saint?”
“I was keeping vigil for the townsfolk who have gone missing at night.” She explained softly, “Lately, townspeople have been reporting strange sounds in the outskirts at night… Considering what the witch did last week, I naturally couldn’t ignore these anomalies.”
Gro narrowed his eyes and pressed with a tone of doubt: “Strange sounds? What exactly did they sound like?”
“Like… the clash of metal?” Emilia replied.
Holy light swirled in her palms.
“And the roars of wild beasts? In any case, I needed to confirm these clues personally—to ensure the safety of the townsfolk.”
“You’ve worked hard, Miss Emilia. Thank you for your continued contributions to Renn Town.” Gro said respectfully, though his words carried an underlying meaning: “It was my own arrogance—I hadn’t noticed that someone else was working tirelessly elsewhere to maintain stability within the town.”
The smile on the nun’s face froze for an instant before she nodded.
“Thank you for your recognition, Mr. Gro.”
…….
After asking that, Gro had nothing more to say.
For the next period of time, everyone waited to see if Emilia’s so-called ‘tracking’ would yield any results.
“Miss Emilia, have you found any clues yet?”
After waiting for nearly half an hour, Gro finally couldn’t hold back and asked.
During this time, he had practically scraped the ground clean at the scene, yet there was still no progress on Emilia’s end.
The holy light in Emilia’s hands flickered unsteadily.
“They headed northwest… but the traces are very faint.”
Her voice sounded somewhat weak.
“It’s as if they were deliberately… obscured by some kind of power…”
Gro noticed that fine beads of sweat had formed on the nun’s forehead.
Her breathing grew rapid, and the holy light at her fingertips began to flicker unstably.
“Let’s stop here for now, Miss Emilia.” Seeing this, Dorias Angus reached out to press a hand on her shoulder.
“Overexerting your mental strength with divine arts will harm your body.”
“But I… still can’t stop…” The holy light in the nun’s hands suddenly extinguished.
Emilia staggered, but Dorias Angus steadied her firmly.
Her face was as pale as paper.
“I must ensure the safety of the missing personnel…”
“Do as His Holiness says. It’s already very late, so let’s leave it at that for now.” Gro yawned and rubbed his temples as he spoke.
“Since we’ve confirmed that Alyssa and the others used teleportation magic, they should be safe for the time being. Miss Emilia, you should head back first. I’ll have my people think of other ways.”
Dorias Angus, showing rare agreement with Gro, added: “I’ll escort Sister Emilia back to the church.” His gaze fell on Gro.
“Miss Ileil should have already told you about the princess being attacked today, right—?”
“I know.” Gro nodded.
Dorias Angus didn’t say anything more and turned to leave:
“We’ll discuss these matters later. Make sure Miss Ileil returns to Her Highness’s side soon.”
With that, Dorias Angus helped the weakened Emilia away, disappearing from Ileil and Gro’s sight.
—But just before Emilia turned away, the nun’s gaze met Ileil’s.
Their eyes locked for a brief moment, yet the look Emilia unintentionally revealed was nothing like what an ordinary nun should have in a moment of weakness.
It was like gazing into the depths of an unfathomable abyss.
This familiar, eerie feeling… the only thing it matched in the young girl’s memory—
Was that witch who wielded the Black Gold Flames.
Keep silent, my kin.
Ileil was about to inform Gro of her discovery when a low whisper suddenly echoed in her ear, stopping the young girl from acting.
It won’t be long now… Soon you’ll have the chance to destroy that unforgivable man by your side.
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