The Secret No One Could Know

Night quietly fell.

At the foot of the Mangal Mountain Range, Vivian's Squad had already set up their tents and lit a bonfire, illuminating the surrounding area.

At that moment, with Vivian at the lead, the girls of the squad gathered around the fire, their gazes directed to one side.

There, Shien had his back to them as he walked into the distance.

Watching Shien like that, Vivian's expression remained worried.

Tier, Lumya, and Merika, meanwhile, looked at one another.

"Um, Sister Vivian." Lumya asked timidly, "What happened to him?"

Lumya voiced what everyone had been wondering.

Clearly, they had all noticed that something was off with both Shien and Vivian.

"Weren't you two getting along just fine earlier? Why did things suddenly...?"

Merika spoke up as well, but she did not know how to describe it exactly.

Under such circumstances, even Tier cast Vivian an inquisitive look.

Vivian sighed.

"I don't know what happened either." Vivian said helplessly, "For some reason, Shien suddenly became like that."

Thinking back to their earlier conversation, Vivian realized that after she had said something like, "The Hero absolutely cannot appear again," Shien had fallen completely silent and had not uttered another word.

No, Shien had said one thing to Vivian afterward.

"I'll take a short walk around the area."

Leaving those words behind, Shien had departed like this.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Vivian began to reflect on it.

"I don't think this is your problem." Tier finally spoke, saying flatly, "It should be that man's own problem, shouldn't it?"

Tier's words hit the nail right on the head.

But that was simply Tier. Just as Shien had always felt, she was decisive and calm by nature, as well as somewhat taciturn. Even in Lamigium, many male adventurers found a woman like her intimidating.

Lumya and Merika, on the other hand, became much more cheerful now that Shien was absent.

Lumya still looked shy around strangers, but at least she no longer spoke in broken fragments. Her speech had become smoother.

Merika needed no further mention. It was as though her shackles had been removed; even her expression had become much lighter.

This was what the members of Vivian's Squad were truly like.

Vivian was gentle and considerate.

Tier was cold and quiet.

Lumya was timid and shy around strangers.

Merika, contrary to her previously nervous appearance, was actually rather lively. She had merely restrained that side of herself due to Shien's arrival.

Now that Shien was not present, Merika became far less reserved.

"Is Sister Vivian worried about that man?" Merika asked Vivian eagerly. "Sister Vivian has always been kind, but this time seems a little different, doesn't it?"

"Is that so?" Vivian seemed not to have expected that comment and froze for a moment.

"I think so too." Lumya secretly glanced at Vivian, then said hesitantly, "It feels like Sister Vivian is paying more attention to Mr. Shien than you did to the other newcomers before."

After Lumya put it that way, Vivian could not deny that she had noticed it herself.

Although Vivian was generally gentle and considerate toward everyone and took especially good care of newcomers, she did seem to be paying Shien much more attention than she had paid the others in the past.

It could not be helped.

"Ever since Shien defeated the Golem, I've felt that he must be hiding some secret we don't know about." Vivian did not intend to conceal it and spoke honestly. "I don't know what kind of secret it is, but I have to admit that he has caught my attention."

Otherwise, Vivian would not have so quickly revealed the squad's situation to Shien, nor would she have defended him so strongly in front of her teammates.

Even though Vivian would have done the same for someone else, she would definitely have been more cautious about choosing the right time to explain the squad members' circumstances. Nor would she have defended them as fiercely as she had defended Shien.

After all, they had only known each other for a day. No matter how kind and considerate Vivian was, she would not normally care so much for a member of the opposite sex whom she could not yet trust.

Yet Vivian had done precisely that for Shien because she had vaguely sensed that he was different from ordinary people.

Besides...

"You all know that I'm somewhat different from ordinary humans—or rather, from the Human Race—don't you?"

Vivian's words made the girls fall silent.

Vivian smiled faintly and said, "Because of my own special nature, I have particular feelings toward individuals who are somewhat extraordinary."

Tier and the others understood what Vivian meant.

"So, that person gave you that special feeling?"

Tier looked at Vivian.

"That's right." Vivian nodded. "That's why I couldn't help paying more attention to him. Not only is he hiding a secret, but it is no small secret."

Vivian had already made a guess.

"I'm afraid Shien has been blessed by a very high-ranking god." Vivian said with certainty. "That blessing feels even more advanced than the one on the Princess, so I can't help paying closer attention to him."

Those words surprised everyone.

"A blessing even more advanced than the Princess's?" Lumya said in shock. "How could that be possible?"

"It really shouldn't be possible." Tier fell silent for a moment before quietly saying, "The Princess received the blessing of one of the Three Great Goddesses. There is only one being in the entire God Race who could grant a blessing more advanced than that."

"That's right, only one." Vivian could not help murmuring, "But ever since the war a thousand years ago ended, that one has remained secluded in the Sacred Realm at the end of the Divine Realm and has never appeared again. How could anyone possibly possess that one's blessing?"

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

At the very least, Vivian had never heard that the supreme being had ever blessed anyone.

"But if it isn't that, then what is going on?"

It was precisely because of that question that Vivian could not help paying more attention to Shien.

Only then did Tier and the others understand what was happening.

"So Mr. Shien isn't an ordinary person?" Lumya asked doubtfully. "But isn't he just a novice adventurer with low potential, someone who learned no skills at all and only reached Level Ten at the age of twenty?"

That was exactly why it was even more likely that he was hiding a secret.

At that moment...

"I think I can understand how Sister Vivian feels." Merika suddenly spoke. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Actually, I can sense something unusual from that person too."

"You?" Vivian, Tier, and Lumya all turned toward Merika in astonishment.

"Mm." Merika looked somewhat embarrassed as she spoke vaguely. "For some reason, ever since we met, I've felt something from that person... how should I put it? A sense of closeness that doesn't feel ordinary?"

That was an extremely surprising matter.

After all, Elves were renowned for being pure and holy. Under normal circumstances, they should not feel any sense of closeness toward an unfamiliar man.

Furthermore, Merika had nearly been assaulted by male adventurers in the past. How could she possibly feel close to an unfamiliar male adventurer?

Yet Shien had given Merika that feeling.

If this had been a novel from Shien's previous life, it would probably have been a sign that she could be won over for free.

But in truth, Merika was not happy about developing such an inexplicable feeling. Instead, she was somewhat afraid.

That was why Merika had behaved so nervously in front of Shien.

Perhaps that was the truest reaction of a genuinely pure and innocent woman.

Vivian and the others were all quite surprised.

"Even Merika feels that way?"

Lumya asked in surprise.

"..."

Tier seemed to frown.

"Elves are beings born from nature. They are closest to nature and the world, and are even praised as the race closest to the God Race." Even Vivian was astonished as she murmured, "Logically speaking, only the God Race should be able to make an Elf feel close to them from the very beginning."

Could Shien be a member of the God Race?

Impossible.

"Only women belong to the God Race, right?"

Tier stated it bluntly.

"That's right." Vivian said firmly, "Because the first god to be born, Supreme God Omnis, was a Goddess, all other gods were born only after receiving portions of that Goddess's power and gaining their respective duties and authorities. They can be considered lifeforms modeled after Supreme God Omnis, so every member of the God Race is a Goddess. There are only Goddesses."

In that case, Shien naturally could not be a member of the God Race.

Then who exactly was Shien?

Thinking of his earlier reaction, as well as his excessive response to the "Demon King" and the "Hero," Vivian's eyes flickered.

Could it be...?

Before Vivian could finish the thought, Tier raised her head.

"Since that man is so unusual, what are you planning to do?"

Tier asked, at least for the moment.

"What am I planning to do?" Vivian came back to her senses. After pondering for a while, she said, "We don't need to do anything special. Let's just train him as an ordinary newcomer."

No matter what secrets he carried, Vivian did not intend to pry too deeply before confirming that they were anything harmful.

After all, who did not have a few secrets?

Not to mention anything else, Vivian herself had a secret that absolutely no one else knew.

And not just Vivian—even Tier...

Vivian looked at Tier, thought for a moment, and said, "Shien seems to be in a bad mood right now. It would be too dangerous to let him act alone. Could I ask you to follow him in secret and protect him for the time being?"

Upon hearing that, Tier did not answer. Yet after a moment, she rose to her feet and headed in the direction Shien had gone.

Lumya and Merika watched Tier as they continued talking.

As for Vivian, she could not help thinking to herself.

I hope it isn't what I think it is.

Otherwise, the world would probably become unsettled again.

Second update!

This chapter had more than three thousand words, which was why it was delayed by an hour.

You all don't want to see another abrupt chapter break, right?

So this extra thousand words is a bonus, as well as a change made to adjust the pacing.

I hope you all can support Ru Qing more, seeing how hardworking she is! o(╥﹏╥)o