This Also Counts as an Online Friends Meetup

Going home with the Grand Guardian has at least one advantage—it saves you a lot of time on the journey.

Griffins have a strong carrying capacity. They can carry even fully armed, heavily armored knights at supersonic speeds and still have the strength to protect the knights from wind damage.

The Grand Guardian's griffin, Philip, carried the three of them on his back, and also carried Iver's wheelchair... He didn't even fly at full speed, and in a short while, he brought them home.

Iver, riding a griffin for the first time, couldn't help but exclaim, "Griffins are indeed very powerful..."

It felt like speeding at full speed—but without the worry of getting into an accident.

No wonder Hai Na keeps talking about her griffin that she hasn't received yet.

George's invitation to Iver was a spur-of-the-moment decision, which is why David didn't know Iver was coming. He didn't even know Iver was back... so when he saw Iver, he was even taken aback for a moment.

"Dad, did you bring Mr. Moriarty back to life?"

David's voice was filled with worry.

The Grand Guardian raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

—You little brat, you're not even going to pretend anymore, are you?

If I really manage to bring Iver back, then who are you worried about?

"No, I escaped on my own. Or rather, she let me go."

As he spoke gently, Iver climbed down from the griffin and went to sit in his wheelchair.

"Huh?"

David paused for a moment, then asked, "You can actually walk...?"

"David!"

Feeling that his son was being somewhat impolite, George immediately frowned and scolded him.

"It's alright, Your Excellency the Grand Guardian."

Iver explained gently and patiently, "Before I was attacked, someone provided me with treatment—the same person who helped me repel those assassins. I'm almost fully recovered, but my legs are still a bit weak and I'm not very steady on my feet... I should be fully healthy again after a while."

"Before that, she also gave me this..."

As he spoke, Iver raised his finger.

The flame butterfly on his shoulder flew up automatically and landed on his finger.

David's eyes widened immediately upon seeing such a beautiful little creature.

He curiously approached and stared intently at it.

He asked cautiously, "Mr. Iver... may I touch it?"

"OK."

Iver answered decisively.

This was, after all, merely a disguise for the Paradox Flame Butterfly, serving as its camera. Essentially, it was just a slightly more intelligent Flame Butterfly; it was not aggressive, and its flames had no temperature whatsoever.

"Thank you, Mr. Iver!"

David was very happy, but also a little timid.

He carefully touched the butterfly wings that were flaming with flames, but to his surprise, they weren't hot to the touch. Instead, a warm current flowed into his body... just like drinking hot water.

"Did Aleister give this to you as well?"

The Grand Guardian asked from the side.

Iver shook his head. "No. This is another lady... her name is the Paradox Flame Butterfly."

This can also be considered part of Iver's strategy.

To be fair, those people were indeed burned to death by the Paradox Flame Butterfly, and Iver wasn't lying. The Little Butterfly could indeed be called a lady—though calling her that would be somewhat an exaggeration.

But in doing so, Iver could explain why he was able to walk and escape... and also explain where he learned his powerful dedication skill of summoning Flame Butterflies from.

Unlike Aleister, whose whereabouts are nowhere to be found, the "Paradox Flame Butterfly" has proof of existence. In the warehouse explosion, Yulia left behind Flame Essence—proof of the existence of the Phantom Demon Egg.

Now that Yulia is no longer the Phantom Demon Egg, this is just another set of evidence that appears out of nowhere. The Paradox Flame Butterfly could very well be a Dedicated Being, similar to a Demon, capable of wielding Magic Power.

Although such a profession doesn't exist now, it's possible that a similar lineage might be found in some Grimoire. In this world, anything is possible.

This way, Yulia would no longer be suspected of being the Phantom Demon Egg, and Iver would no longer be suspected of being able to extract Phantom power. After all, the warehouse explosion and Iver's attack were connected, so it would be perfectly reasonable to say later that she had a conflict with the Noble Red Society.

After all, with just Aleister, the Noble Red might be able to quickly uncover the truth; but if there's also the Paradox Flame Butterfly, the situation will become more complicated. At the very least, it can serve as a delaying tactic.

"Another lady..."

Upon hearing this, David suddenly recalled what Iver had just said, "She let me go."

He blurted out, "Is Aleister a lady... or a young lady?"

Upon hearing this, Iver remained unmoved. "If the lady who took me away is Aleister... I think so. And she should be a young lady of high birth, and she looks like she might be Iris Person."

At this point, he was certain in his heart that this child must be the "knight" he had met in his dream.

When Iver heard that the other person's real name contained the word "Barton," he suspected that the other person might be the child of the Grand Guardian.

After all, to receive a griffin as a gift when one is a child, one must at least be from a family of mid-level military officers.

But there are quite a few people named Barton, and many people with the surname Barton. It's really not a particularly rare name. But to know Aleister and think of Aleister as a "gentleman"... is a one-of-a-kind person.

It now seems that Barton really was Saint George's son!

This could be considered a kind of Online Friends Meetup, but it's one-way— Iver knows the other person's identity and pseudonym, but he has no idea about his own identity.

Although Iver didn't know the family of the Grand Guardian Saint George, he knew that the entire Grand Guardian family had perished in the future war. In other words, the future "knight" also died in that war of annihilation.

Thinking about this, Iver suddenly felt a little guilty.

Speaking of which, wasn't it a bit inappropriate for him to teach the Grand Guardian's son the basic principles and introductory methods of the Path of Transcendence...?

But after thinking about it, Iver chose to forgive himself—after all, it had nothing to do with him.

I advised him at the time, "You can keep this idea, but don't advance to the Path of Transcendence for now!" The one who really lied to him was that werewolf with the Iris...

Speaking of which, that werewolf seemed to have said he was coming to Avalon.

"They should be here soon, right?" Mr. Knight asked, his face full of confusion. "Is Aleister a young lady? Or Iris Person?"

"That's right," the Grand Guardian nodded. "Aleister is indeed the surname of the Iris People."

"... So Aleister is a surname?"

David fell into deep thought, murmuring softly, "But she said she was from Avalon. She said she was also the child of a priest..."

... Huh, he seems to have a pretty good impression of me.

They can't forget it.

Iver raised an eyebrow.

"Could it be that my heroic posture while stewing myself in an iron pot is too dashing?" With great interest, Iver pressed on, "Do you know Miss Aleister?"

"Ah, actually we've only met in dreams."

David said somewhat awkwardly, "She helped me complete the advancement... I'm very grateful to her. But she also said that she was a member of the Noble Red, so... I didn't really trust her at the time."

"That's not necessarily true."

Iver shook his head and said softly, "I don't think she considers herself a member of the Noble Red."

He had to try and salvage the situation; he couldn't leave things unsaid. If it turned out she wasn't actually from the Noble Red, he could say she was posing as someone from the Noble Red to deceive people.

"Is that so! That means she might have joined the Noble Red for some purpose—"

Upon hearing this, David's eyes lit up at first, then his face fell. "So it was all a lie..."

Upon hearing this, the Grand Guardian suddenly showed displeasure.

He hadn't said anything when David mentioned Aleister before. But when David said, with a wronged expression, "How could she lie to me?", he suddenly became stern:

"In the Promotion Ritual, any lie is permitted and even justified. It's a place for mutual deception and attack. If you didn't properly conceal your identity, that's your fault—can you accuse others of lying?" The subsequent ceremonies are not like this child's play; people really die, and people are killed.

"If you can't adapt, it's best not to continue, David. You'll only hurt yourself and others."

"... Yes. I understand, Dad."

George rarely lost his temper. His sudden reprimand startled David, who immediately became obedient.

To help the knight change the subject and ease the stiff, silent atmosphere, Iver asked, "Did she say she was a gentleman?"

"No... that's not true."

David honestly shook his head and said, "Because I arrived late. I saw everyone before me saying that, so I just followed suit..."

Mainly deer antlers.

As soon as David entered, he saw Antlers talking to Aleister. Not daring to interrupt, he could only listen. He then memorized Aleister's name and personal information.

But David still held back a bit.

Because he didn't mention that Aleister was completely enveloped by the Shadow Fiend, and that "her" voice was rough and deep, he "misidentified" her.

Now, he can no longer distinguish how much of what Aleister said was true and how much was false...

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself to you yet!"

The boy, who was at most fourteen or fifteen years old, suddenly realized what was happening, apologized, stood up straight, bowed, and said earnestly, "I am David Barton. Good afternoon, Mr. Moriarty."

"You can just call me Iver, David."

Iver nodded gently and said with a smile.

"Yes, Mr. Iver..."

David hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "May I ask what Miss Aleister looks like?"

...Um?

Iver paused for a moment.

Why do you care so much about what Aleister looks like?

Even if Aleister taught you what transcendence is and prevented you from embarking on the Path of Transcendence... at most, it was just a fleeting master-disciple relationship.

Do you really want to know what she looks like, or whether this "online friend" is pretty? Or are you actually planning to meet Aleister in person? That's incredibly bold! Aren't you afraid she's a wicked, Noble Red woman who'll just slice you to pieces and take you away? Update complete! Brothers, do you prefer updates at 12 PM and 2 or 3 PM, or would it be better to move both updates to 3 PM? Or maybe I can take a day off and adjust my schedule back to normal...?