The Hypocritical Faces Gradually Permeate

When Fatenai returned to the wooden house, she was surprised to find horses parked in the yard—she recognized them as Helise and Hubert's horses.

They were back again?

Fatenai's mind was focused on Myel's invitation, so she didn't think much about why the two mages had suddenly appeared here. She pushed open the wooden house door—it was indeed Helise and Hubert. Fatenai's sudden entrance had clearly startled them, and they both jumped up—Fatenai had no idea what they were doing before she arrived.

"Hello," Fatenai greeted them politely. Her noble upbringing told her to pretend she knew nothing in this situation.

"Fatenai, it's you." Helise seemed a bit dazed, her face slightly flushed. Fatenai's pretense of seeing nothing indeed helped her recover quickly. "Your parents still haven't returned?"

"If there's anything, just tell me." Fatenai had originally wanted to avoid trouble, but now that things were becoming more troublesome, she was still very reluctant. She also found it strange, as these people knew she lived alone. "They won't be back during this time."

Helise's expression immediately became troubled, and Hubert looked thoughtful.

Is it something they need to avoid telling a "girl"? Fatenai understood somewhat, but she didn't want to cause herself any trouble, so she chose to remain silent.

"Would you like something to eat? The Waterdrop Grass Salad is quite good," Fatenai suggested.

"Hmm... Thank you very much." It seemed to be an urgent matter, as Helise was not as lively as before and appeared preoccupied.

In contrast, Hubert looked no different from the last time Fatenai saw him. This clearly showed the difference between the two, and Fatenai could roughly guess why they had teamed up.

Thinking of this... Fatenai remembered that night when she overheard the two mages talking. They mentioned graduation, seemingly from some school. The noble circles in the Kingdom of Luther did not have schools. Girls received home education, with specially hired tutors, while boys would go to higher-ranking noble families to receive knight training.

Therefore, Fatenai was quite surprised when she first heard about schools.

However, she had no information to exchange with them at the moment, so she could only keep this question in her heart for now.

After Fatenai went to prepare food, their discussion seemed to become quite heated. Fatenai could hear many key words from the next room, without needing the ability of the Eye of Connection.

"She's just a little girl, what can she do?"

"Didn't you say she lives alone? Why not just ask her directly?"

"It's too risky..."

"Isn't coming out here precisely for adventure..."

When Fatenai returned to the wooden house, they still hadn't reached a conclusion. Helise, in particular, was preoccupied and seemed to want to speak but hesitated. Hubert, who held the opposing view, faced Helise, seemingly reminding her to restrain herself.

These people were truly indecisive.

Time ticked by, and Fatenai could feel their intermittent glances, which also made her feel conflicted about Myel's matter.

The atmosphere became somewhat stiff, even though no one spoke.

"Alright, friends, if you need help, please tell me."

"Fatenai... I'd like to ask for your help, if possible..."

"Helise, if you insist..."

The Waterdrop Grass Salad was nearly gone, and the atmosphere was as stiff as it could get when the three of them spoke at the same time. Then they all froze, looking at each other with a rather comical expression.

"Ahem, alright, let's talk about the matter of help..."

"Ah, what a coincidence, we were just about to talk about..."

"She doesn't mean anything else, she just hopes you can..."

After a brief stalemate, the three spoke simultaneously again. This time, the atmosphere didn't become more awkward; instead, it unexpectedly livened up, and all three showed expressions of relief.

"Alright, I wanted to ask if you know... the Champagne Tavern?" Helise gradually regained her usual liveliness, but at first, she asked Fatenai cautiously.

Fatenai said, "I know—what happened there?"

"We are conducting a related investigation, but we can't find this place." Helise's sincerity was very pleasing to Fatenai. She remembered that she had come to seek help, so she told the little girl in front of her all the information she could provide—even though Fatenai didn't seem very reliable.

"We heard that only recognized adventurers in this forest know where it is."

Helise's information made Fatenai suspect even more what meaning lay hidden behind Myel's invitation.

"Investigation?" Fatenai thought of Myel, and her words to Helise were slightly distracted, slipping out of her mouth.

Helise paused, then glanced at Hubert. He clearly had some reservations. Helise turned back to Fatenai, feeling that this girl seemed trustworthy, so she said, "Yes, it's our investigation. We were looking for that stone platform and discovered that important items had been moved elsewhere, related to people at the tavern."

"What are you looking for, the Eye of Simorely?" Fatenai thought of recent events.

Hubert, who had initially thought Fatenai was asking too much, changed his expression. From the light that lit up in Helise's eyes, Fatenai was certain they were looking for such an item.

"What is the Eye of Simorely used for? I roughly know where it is, but I'm a bit curious," Fatenai asked, unable to suppress her curiosity.

Since it could lead to the whereabouts of the Eye of Simorely, explaining this not-so-important matter to Fatenai seemed like a favorable deal, so Helise began, "It's an alchemical item that stores magic power, created by the great archmage Simorely. Magic power can accumulate within it."

No wonder they were looking for such a thing.

Fatenai understood roughly—the Eye of Simorely could store magic power, and its significance would become clear if one considered how magic power was used.

Mages gathered magic power from the air and then converted it into various elements for use. However, the amount of magic power in the air was quite limited. Therefore, a large number of mages did not necessarily mean they could simultaneously use enough skills to kill enemies. If they carried alchemical items that stored magic power, they could cast spells without using the magic power in the air.

"Ed Ansendil of the Ansendil Family took it," Fatenai said, having obtained the information, and she didn't deceive them. "About half a month ago, they killed Wickel at the stone platform and took the Eye of Simorely."

However, Helise and Hubert, who now knew the "truth," fell silent. Their expressions held a hint of strangeness, which made Fatenai feel uneasy.

"Do you have any clues?" Fatenai asked.

After a long pause, Helise finally said, "Our investigation results indicate that the Eye of Simorely was taken by an adventurer team, also about half a month ago."

Fatenai couldn't help but ask in surprise, "I saw it with my own eyes..."

"The person we questioned also saw the Eye of Simorely with their own eyes at the Champagne Tavern. There's only one Eye of Simorely in this area—could you have mistaken it?" Hubert clearly didn't believe Fatenai.

"I guarantee it's the real Eye of Simorely." If it weren't real, they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to find it, so Fatenai was very certain.

"Then that's very strange—we still need to go to the Champagne Tavern," Helise found it peculiar. However, both of them seemed to have very solid evidence, which made it impossible for them to reach a conclusion through argument at this moment. "I request your help; this matter is very important to us."

With that said, Fatenai had no reason to refuse them anymore, and she was planning to go to the Champagne Tavern anyway.

"Tomorrow afternoon, I promised a mage I'd go there, so I can take you. But I also want to ask for your help, as I might run into some trouble." Fatenai thought for a moment and proposed her "price." In reality, it wasn't excessive; both requests were within her capabilities while doing her own things.

"Then it's decided. It's wonderful that we can resolve one matter," Helise said sincerely. She didn't seem to be in good spirits, clearly having been busy with related matters recently.

Fatenai then told them to get a good night's rest.

"Oh, right, did you meet Ed Ansendil earlier?" Helise asked, just as she was about to head to the guest room, as if remembering something.

Fatenai nodded. She actually didn't really want to bring up that person, so her expression turned a bit awkward—but Helise didn't notice the subtle change in her expression.

"Rumor has it he's the most likely candidate to become a great mage in decades, with incredibly powerful control over magic... Oh, you might not understand, but he's a very peculiar person, it's just a shame..." Helise said. Seeing Fatenai's questioning look, she added, "The magic he can control has surpassed what his body can bear, making him very weak. In such a condition, people usually don't live long."

Fatenai remained silent, but in her heart, she didn't want Ed to die so soon from being unable to sustain his magic.

She then recalled the time she met Ed: a young man lying under a tree, eyes closed, his pale skin radiating weakness, dressed in luxurious clothes she herself couldn't afford—when he opened his eyes, they were as blue as the ocean, incredibly beautiful, and his nature was as unfathomable as the ocean.

She wanted to kill him herself.