Truth-Telling Magic

"You don't need to do that. My family has declined; our titles and lands have been revoked, and we are no longer considered nobles."

Arume waved his hand, as if to comfort others, or perhaps to encourage himself.

They're not nobles! I knelt for nothing.

Stark scratched the back of his head, feeling incredibly ashamed of himself just now, and hoped that Dugu Qing and Fern wouldn't look down on him.

"So, what are you doing here? Slaying monsters?"

Frieren pointed to the empty surroundings and asked the question that had been bothering her.

"In a room beneath the fortress lies the treasure accumulated by my family for generations. I wish to defeat the monster guarding the gate and retrieve it. Would you be willing to help me? If so, I can offer you half of the treasure!"

Arume sat down on the ground, his expression sincere.

"Treasure? Treasure is great! I want some too."

Upon hearing this, Stark stepped forward, looking at Frieren with urging, wanting her to agree.

Frieren gave a curt "oh," clearly indicating she was allergic to gold and jewelry.

"Gold is extremely valuable to Frieren! We put all the gold coins in Frieren's suitcase before, and Frieren was almost exhausted. In the end, she just put all the gold coins in my Spatial Ring."

Dugu Qing recalled the amusing incident from before and couldn't help but tease Frieren.

"That's right, gold and jewels are too heavy. Even if you could use magic to make them lighter, they would still take up a lot of space."

Frieren's eyes had become small and beady, and her demeanor was gentle and mild; she clearly no longer wanted any more gold.

"Ah! My gold!"

Unable to make money, Stark was going to die, clutching his head in despair.

"Don't you like gold? I happen to have several ancestral Grimoire on hand. Let me see. Here, if you help me complete this task, I'll give you the 'Tell the Truth' spell."

Arume rummaged in his pocket and found a miniature magic book.

Upon hearing this, Frieren's hesitation vanished instantly. She stood up, shook hands with Arume, and accepted the request.

"Truth-Telling Magic, that's rare! And Ms. Frieren actually got a practical spellbook."

As an elder of Frieren's mother's generation, Fern smiled with relief when he saw that Frieren had finally obtained a useful magic book.

"Let's go! Let's complete this task cleanly and efficiently!"

Frieren, carrying a briefcase, led the way, entering the underground palace first.

The winding corridor stretched into the depths, and the group fought their way through, slaying a large number of monsters, until they finally arrived at a spacious hall.

Inside the hall, a giant, dark green snake with horns on its head, sharp eyes, and a long, narrow forked tongue flicked out. With its massive body erect, it opened its blood-red maw and lunged at the crowd with murderous intent.

A flicker of fear crossed Arume's eyes as she gazed at the immense magical power emanating from the giant serpent's body.

"Adventurers, if you feel it's dangerous, run away now! I won't blame you."

Dugu Qing smiled disdainfully, his figure transforming into a fleeting afterimage, piercing through the giant snake's body in an instant, and then sheathing his sword.

Everyone heard a sword's cry, and the giant snake's body snapped in two. They all looked at Dugu Qing with surprise and delight.

A gasp escaped Arume's lips as she looked at Dugu Qing with awe.

"Wow, that's impressive. I never imagined your strength was so terrifying."

Dugu Qing waved his hand dismissively, pushed open the basement door, and went inside.

Countless gold jewels, divine weapons, and sharp blades were piled up in layers, radiating a dazzling golden light, almost filling the entire basement.

"I never imagined there was so much gold left by our ancestors! This is wonderful! I can get married now... Waaah!"

Arume looked at the gold, his face beaming with joy, and he danced with glee.

He then delivered the promised Grimoire to Frieren.

Frieren took the Grimoire and readily prepared to leave.

Arume turned to look at the crowd, his eyes gleaming with a strong desire to share. "I will never forget this great favor. Aren't you all going to take some treasure?"

Stark was about to wave his hand in refusal.

Dugu Qing turned around, took out one hundred gold coins from the mountain of gold coins, and hugged them to his chest.

"Can I still take it?"

Stark was taken aback that Frieren had already claimed her reward, yet Dugu Qing was getting another one, and stood there dumbfounded...

"Since Mr. Arume has said so, I certainly won't let him down."

Upon hearing this, Stark's courage surged, and he quickly stepped forward, grabbed a pile of gold coins from the mountain of gold, and happily returned to Dugu Qing's side.

Fern looked at Dugu Qing and Stark, who were returning laden with their spoils, and a helpless expression appeared on his face.

"You two are really too greedy."

Dugu Qing and Stark placed the gold coins into two cloth bags, and with a light touch of their Spatial Rings, the two bags were instantly absorbed into the ring's space.

Frieren opened the Grimoire that urged people to tell the truth, smiled wryly, and looked at everyone.

"By the way, have you ever done anything to wrong me? Tell me honestly."

Dugu Qing found Frieren adorable and couldn't help but tease her, "Frieren, you're not going to use this magic against us, are you? How scary!"

"The Truth-Telling Magic can make those with less magical power than yourself speak the absolute truth. From now on, if any of you ever say I'm old, I won't be so polite."

Frieren closed the spellbook and confidently stepped forward.

"I feel like I'm being targeted!"

Stark sighed helplessly and quickly followed.

The group emerged from the basement and followed the forest path, traversing the vast Lin Hai as they continued northward.

In the 31st year of the Xinshi Era, in the Imperial Territory, at the Ofergaber Range.

Frieren, Fern, Stark walked along the road, where the underground surface gradually became muddy, wet, and sticky.

Fern walked for a long time, falling to the back of the group, looking enviously at Dugu Qing floating in the air.

My legs are so tired, I can't walk anymore.

Hearing the sound, Dugu Qing turned around calmly and saw that Fern's legs were covered in mud. Overwhelmed with sympathy, he flew down from the sky.

"Fern, how about I give you a ride?"

Seeing Dugu Qing's magic power being depleted, and knowing that her own would likely be consumed even more, Fern hesitated, wondering whether to refuse.

Dugu Qing laughed heartily, summoned the Clear Radiance Sword, and stretched out his hand to pull Fern onto the sword.

"Thank you so much."

Fern's legs trembled, and she leaned back into Dugu Qing's arms, closing her eyes comfortably.

Dugu Qing helped Fern up and used Cleansing Magic to remove the mud from her skirt.

Stark noticed the commotion behind him and saw that Dugu Qing and Fern were once again showing off their affection. He couldn't help but complain.

Why must we march through this muddy forest?!