Because it was close to the border, the lord's manor in Leyden City was not as ornate as those in other cities. Instead, it pursued simplicity and practicality as much as possible.
Even though Leyden City's commercial tax revenue ranked among the highest in the entire Yagrant Kingdom.
Of course, this practicality only applied to decorations. Under Bals's warm hospitality, they enjoyed a feast.
As the first meat Aaron had eaten in another world, it left a deep impression on him. He had not expected the quality of the food in another world to be surprisingly good.
He had assumed that the food in another world would mostly be the sort of thing that belonged in Stargazy Pie.
To put it in Aaron's words, the meal was another world's version of beef stew with potatoes.
The beef here, however, was replaced with the meat of a type of wild wolf commonly found outside Leyden City, while the potatoes were replaced by another similar ingredient. It had a soft, tender texture and tasted somewhat like konjac.
The wild wolf meat had been carefully prepared by the chef and stewed until it was falling apart. Paired with konjac's distinctive fragrance, it completely masked the meat's original sourness and gamey smell. The konjac itself had also absorbed the broth and become even more flavorful.
Even though Aaron came from a nation of food lovers and had high standards for cuisine, he still ate with great relish, completely failing to notice Alice's repeated meaningful glances. As a noble, maintaining proper table manners was only natural.
However, such reminders were naturally useless to someone who had never regarded himself as a noble in the first place.
This sort of meat was Bals's standard fare. He ate it for most of his three meals a day, so it could not be considered a special treat for Aaron and the others.
Although he emphasized living simply and did not indulge in extravagance like the noble lords of other cities, he still paid considerable attention to his daily meals—or rather, this was also one of his personal interests.
Having the build of a wall did not necessarily make someone a foodie, but it definitely made him a bottomless pit.
The only price of enjoying delicious food was time. By the time Aaron and the others bid farewell to Lord Bals, night had quietly descended.
The night was dim and gloomy. Dark clouds silently covered the moon, confining its light to a small patch of darkness.
The lord's manor was not brightly lit. On the contrary, only a few scattered torches illuminated the entire estate.
At Alice's insistence, several guards carried torches to lead Aaron and the others through the night toward Tien's room.
No one had much objection. Aaron was eager to see a murder in a locked room from another world, while Sart was concerned about the dispersing Heretical Cult Aura.
According to Lord Bals, Tien had died several days ago. During that time, Bals had done his best to preserve the scene and gather relevant evidence as quickly as possible.
Even though he was a Gold Tier expert of the Holy Grail Path, most of his abilities lay in charging into battle. When it came to preserving Heretical Cult Aura, his skill might not even match Sart's, despite Sart being only Bronze Tier.
If the Heretical Cult Aura continued dispersing unchecked, it would probably fade to the point of becoming untraceable within a few days.
Sart did not know when his junior, Siosand, would arrive, so he could only preserve as much of the Heretical Cult Aura as possible.
"It's already nighttime. Why haven't they lit the torches?" Aaron could not help asking.
He used the torchlight to examine his surroundings, but the light was limited, making it difficult to see the lord's manor in its entirety.
After several turns, he had completely lost his sense of direction in the darkness and could only follow the torches step by step.
Heaven knew how these guards knew where they were going.
"That's to protect the common people," Alice said solemnly. "It's to keep them from seeing things they shouldn't."
"Uh-huh?"
Aaron froze for a moment, then immediately understood.
The things they should not see presumably referred to supernatural phenomena.
"Leyden City is the kingdom's city closest to Badipila. No one knows how many people covet it. Every year, there are one or two occasions when invaders forcefully attack the lord's manor."
As she said this, Alice seemed to remember something. She moved to Aaron's side and continued explaining, "You're already a supernatural being. You should understand the difference between ordinary people and supernatural beings."
Aaron nodded thoughtfully. Vaguely, he had grasped another distinctive trait of this plane.
In this world, the difference between ordinary people and supernatural beings was neither especially great nor especially small.
At least for Aaron at present, he was still little different from an ordinary person. Ordinary swords and knives could still inflict fatal wounds on him.
That was also why Alice and Sart were especially concerned.
As the saying went, the key to Enlightenment Black Iron lay in the word "enlightenment."
At this stage, supernatural beings were actually like children who had just started school. They knew nothing about supernatural knowledge and needed to keep learning and understanding supernatural aura before they could ultimately enter a world capable of accepting it.
Only after they had gained sufficient understanding of supernatural aura and formed a relatively stable perception of it could they take the second step: determining their supernatural path.
The Gold Coin Path was anchored in the soul, the Holy Grail Path in external objects, the Sword Affinity in the body, and the Scepter Affinity in knowledge.
In other words, only after a supernatural being reached Bronze Tier could they be considered a true supernatural being, because only then would they display some traits that surpassed those of ordinary people.
Aaron suddenly stopped and deliberately lowered his voice as he asked Alice, "Then how do you determine whether someone has the potential to become a supernatural being?"
His voice was very low, but the surroundings were utterly silent except for everyone's somewhat disorderly footsteps. In such an environment, his voice sounded particularly clear.
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that the surroundings suddenly fell silent. Almost everyone stopped walking, then, as if by silent agreement, began moving again.
By the light of the torches, Aaron could feel several people secretly looking at him. He also saw Alice purse her lips, her expression somewhat complicated.
She said nothing, only secretly making a silencing gesture at Aaron and indicating that he should not speak.
Wait, what did I say wrong?
Aaron instinctively looked toward Sart, only to see Sart staring at him solemnly and gently shaking his head.
Vaguely, Aaron felt the atmosphere suddenly become strange.
The group walked on for a while. The atmosphere was growing increasingly oppressive when, fortunately, Ed said to Alice, "Miss, Tien's residence is just ahead."
Rather than saying this for Alice to hear, he seemed to be saying it for Aaron and Sart.
However, Sart's attention was not on those words. Instead, he stared thoughtfully into the darkness ahead. He could sense a dense Heretical Cult Aura not far away.
Then, in the pitch-black night, a sudden creaking sound rang out.
A door had opened.
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