The Absolute Unknown Secret

Chapter 35: A Secret Absolutely Unknown

Night fell silently.

At the foot of the Mangal Mountain Range, the members of Vivian's party had already set up their tents and lit a bonfire, illuminating the surroundings.

At this moment, led by Vivian, the girls of the party gathered around the bonfire, their gazes fixed to the side.

There, Shien was walking away, his back to them.

Looking at Shien like this, Vivian's expression was filled with worry.

Tier, Lumya, and Merika exchanged glances.

"Um, Vivian, big sister," Lumya asked timidly, "What's wrong with him?"

Lumya voiced what everyone else was thinking.

Clearly, everyone had noticed something unusual about Shien and Vivian.

"Weren't you just chatting fine? How did it suddenly..."

Merika also spoke up, but she didn't know how to describe it precisely.

In this situation, even Tier cast a questioning glance at Vivian.

Regarding this, Vivian sighed.

"I don't know what's wrong either," Vivian said with a hint of helplessness. "I don't know why Shien suddenly became like this."

Recalling their recent conversation, Vivian realized that after she said, "The Hero must never appear again," Shien had fallen completely silent and hadn't said another word.

No, Shien had said one more thing to Vivian later.

"I'm going to walk around nearby."

Leaving those words, Shien had departed just like that.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Vivian began to reflect.

"I don't think it's your problem," Tier interjected, stating calmly, "It's probably that man's own issue, isn't it?"

Tier's words were quite blunt.

But that was just Tier. As Shien had always felt, she was decisive and calm, and also somewhat taciturn. Even in Lamigium, many male adventurers feared her.

In contrast, Lumya and Merika became much more cheerful than before now that Shien was absent.

Lumya still appeared shy, but at least her speech was no longer hesitant and had become fluent.

Not to mention Merika; it was as if she had shed her shackles, and even the expression on her face had become much lighter.

This was the true appearance of the members of Vivian's party.

Vivian was gentle and considerate.

Tier was aloof and taciturn.

Lumya was timid and shy.

Merika, contrary to her previous tense demeanor, was actually quite lively, but she had restrained that side of her personality because of Shien's presence.

Now that Shien was not around, Merika became less reserved.

"Are you worried about that man, Vivian, big sister?" Merika asked Vivian excitedly. "Even though you've always been so gentle, Vivian, big sister, you seem a bit different this time?"

"Do I?" Vivian seemed surprised to be told this and was momentarily stunned.

"I think so too," Lumya secretly glanced at Vivian, then said hesitantly, "I feel like you're paying more attention to Mr. Shien than you did to other newcomers before."

With Lumya's words, Vivian couldn't deny it.

Although Vivian was generally gentle and considerate towards everyone and took good care of newcomers, her attention towards Shien seemed to be significantly higher than towards other newcomers.

It couldn't be helped.

"Ever since Shien defeated the Golem, I felt that he must be hiding some secret we don't know about," Vivian stated truthfully without any intention of hiding anything. "I don't know what kind of secret it is, but I have to admit, he has indeed captured my attention."

If it weren't for this, Vivian wouldn't have revealed the team's situation to Shien so quickly, nor would she have defended him so vehemently in front of her teammates.

Even if it were someone else, Vivian would have done the same, but she would have chosen more cautiously the appropriate time to reveal the teammates' situations and wouldn't have defended them as strongly as she did with Shien.

After all, they had only known each other for a day. No matter how gentle and considerate Vivian was, she wouldn't be so caring towards a man she couldn't trust yet.

As a result, Vivian acted this way towards Shien precisely because she had sensed something extraordinary about him.

What's more...

"You all know that I'm a bit different from ordinary humans, or rather, from humankind, right?"

Vivian's words caused the young girls to fall silent.

Vivian smiled slightly and said, "Because of my own special nature, I tend to have special feelings towards individuals who are somewhat unusual."

Tier and the others understood the implication of Vivian's words.

"In other words, that person gave you such a special feeling?"

Tier looked at Vivian.

"That's right," Vivian nodded. "That's why I can't help but pay a little more attention to him. Not only is he hiding a secret, but it's a significant one."

Vivian had a guess.

"I suspect Shien has been blessed by a very high-ranking god," Vivian stated with great certainty. "That blessing felt even more advanced than the one on the princess, prompting me to pay more attention."

This statement surprised everyone.

"A blessing more advanced than the one on the princess?" Lumya asked, clearly astonished. "How is that possible?"

"It is indeed impossible," Tier said after a moment of silence. "That princess was blessed by one of the Three Great Goddesses. A blessing more advanced than that... there's only one such being in the entire God Race."

"Exactly, only one," Vivian whispered. "But if it's that one, she's been living in seclusion in the sacred realm at the very end of the divine world since the war ended a thousand years ago. She hasn't appeared since. How could anyone possibly possess her blessing?"

It should be said that even in the distant past, no one had ever possessed that one's blessing.

At least, Vivian had never heard of that supreme existence ever blessing anyone.

"But if not, then what is this?"

It was precisely because of this question that Vivian couldn't help but pay more attention to Shien.

Tier and the others finally understood what was going on.

"So, you mean Mr. Shien isn't an ordinary person?" Lumya asked doubtfully. "But he hasn't learned any skills and only reached level ten at the age of twenty. Isn't he a novice adventurer with low potential?"

Precisely because of this, the more likely it was that this person harbored a secret.

At this moment...

"I think I understand what you're feeling, Vivian," Merika suddenly said, hesitating slightly. "Actually, I also feel something unusual about that person."

"You?" Vivian, Tier, and Lumya all looked at Merika with great surprise.

"Mhm," Merika replied a bit shyly, speaking evasively. "For some reason, ever since we met, I've felt a kind of... how should I put it... an unusual sense of closeness from him?"

This was a very surprising matter.

After all, Elves were known for being a pure and holy race. Generally, they shouldn't feel any sense of closeness towards a strange man.

Furthermore, considering Merika had been nearly assaulted by a male adventurer in the past, how could she possibly feel a sense of closeness towards a strange male adventurer?

Yet, Shien had evoked such a feeling in Merika.

If this feeling were to be translated into the novels of Shien's previous life, it would probably be a signal for a guaranteed romance, wouldn't it?

But in reality, Merika wasn't happy about inexplicably developing this feeling; rather, she was somewhat afraid.

Because of this, Merika had been acting overly nervous in front of Shien.

Perhaps, this was the true reaction of a genuinely pure and untainted woman.

Vivian and the others were very surprised.

"Even Merika feels this way?"

Lumya exclaimed in surprise.

"..."

Tier, however, seemed to frown.

"Elves are beings born from nature, closest to nature and the world. They are even hailed as the race closest to the God Race," Vivian murmured, a hint of surprise in her voice. "To be able to evoke a sense of closeness in an Elf from the very beginning, logically, it should only be a member of the God Race."

Could Shien be of the God Race?

Impossible.

"Aren't all members of the God Race female?"

Tier stated plainly.

"That's right," Vivian affirmed. "Because the first god to be born, the Supreme God Omnis, is a goddess. All other gods were born by receiving power from that goddess, obtaining their respective duties and authorities. They can be considered life forms modeled after the Supreme God Omnis, which is why all members of the God Race are goddesses, and only goddesses."

With that explanation, Shien naturally couldn't be of the God Race.

So, who exactly was Shien?

Recalling his recent behavior and his excessive reactions to "Demon Lord" and "Hero," Vivian's eyes flickered.

(Could it be...)

Before Vivian could finish her thought, Tier looked up.

"Since that man is so special, what do you plan to do?" Tier asked.

"What do I plan to do?" Vivian came back to her senses and pondered for a moment before replying, "We don't need to do anything special. Let's just train him as a regular newcomer."

Whatever secrets he held, Vivian didn't intend to delve too deeply until she could confirm they weren't malicious.

After all, who didn't have secrets?

If nothing else, Vivian herself had secrets that no one else could possibly know.

And it wasn't just Vivian; even Tier...

Vivian looked at Tier, thought for a moment, and said, "Shien's emotions seem a bit off right now. Letting him act alone is too dangerous. Could I trouble you to follow him discreetly and protect him for the time being?"

Upon hearing this, Tier didn't reply but stood up a moment later and headed in the direction Shien had gone.

Lumya and Merika continued their conversation while watching Tier.

As for Vivian, she couldn't help but think to herself.

I hope it's not what I'm thinking.

Otherwise, this world would likely be in turmoil again.

Second update!

This chapter has over three thousand characters, which is why it's an hour late.

You guys don't want to see broken chapters again, right?

So, this extra thousand characters is a bonus, and also a change made to adjust the pacing.

I hope you guys can show some support for how diligent I've been! o(╥﹏╥)o