### Chapter 58: Opposite Directions (Part 1)
“At that time, I almost confirmed it in my heart—what he said was the place we had been searching for.”
The man leaned back in his chair, swapping his crossed left leg to the right: “I had that softie mark the town’s location on the map. To make sure he wasn’t pulling a fast one on me, I showed the marked map to others, including the team leader. Their reactions made it clear that heading here next was definitely the way to go.”
“Due to our rushed departure, we didn’t have time to deal with those folks. After finally getting the intel and making some progress, Leah and I rushed back day and night to the previous town to regroup with the teacher and the others. After a quick chat, we didn’t waste time, packed our bags, and set off to the southern desert, heading straight for the town’s location…”
“However, while crossing the Bahama Plateau Desert and passing through Wind Erosion Valley, we were suddenly hit by a massive sandstorm. The howling winds and whipping sand halted us in our tracks, and we ended up stuck in Wister Town for nearly two months. It wasn’t until June that the storm finally decided to calm down…”
“We set off that night, following the marked direction on the map, and after several days, we finally caught a glimpse of… the true face of what they call Meiser Town.”
At this point, Carlos shot me a curious glance.
He then chuckled in a way that made me uneasy. While laughing, his gaze momentarily drifted outside the earthen building, seeming to hint at the identity of the little girl at the door. It felt like he had already figured it out.
…What the heck.
Can’t someone just say it out loud?
What’s with that look…
I wasn’t pleased.
But my little grumpiness didn’t show on my face.
“That town is mostly populated by folks like me, white-haired and blue-eyed.”
Carlos returned his gaze, an odd smile still plastered on his face. After a brief pause, he continued, “To avoid drawing attention, only the teacher and Leah went in first. They looked less suspicious. As Leah said, Granny Apfel is too intimidating; she scares people, and I… well, let’s just say I have the face of a crook.”
Carlos pointed at his face, looking quite innocent: “Do I really look like a crook, not a good person?”
“……”
I didn’t respond.
But he didn’t seem to mind.
“They went under the guise of visiting, not revealing their actual identities. After chatting, they didn’t uncover anything unusual, so they told them they were knights. That was meant to gauge their reactions, but the outcome was completely unexpected. The townsfolk didn’t seem to react excessively; at least it didn’t show on the surface. They didn’t take any action whatsoever.”
“Even though the teacher and Leah were on high alert, the mayor of Meiser Town just gave them a tour, talking about their hard lives. The townsfolk seemed to actually enjoy it and made it clear they didn’t want to move. They said this was their land, and they would rest here for eternity.”
“Those folks… they seemed like simple farmers. Their lives were ordinary, and white hair and blue eyes were actually common in the Eastern Continent. When you think about it, it doesn’t seem that special… We didn’t let our guard down but also didn’t press them too hard. Chances of success were low, and that could lead to unnecessary tragedies.”
“So, for the next half month, we found a suitable cave outside the town as a temporary camp and took turns observing the townsfolk without being spotted, trying to figure out what they were up to every day, to see if they had any unusual behaviors…”
…So that’s why you killed those lizards?
Claiming their nests, killing them, but not eating them…
How disgusting…
A thought popped into my mind, but I didn’t harbor any deeper resentment or insights. Clearly, those little matters weren’t the focus anymore. I listened as the man continued, “Then, during one of our observations, Leah spotted that woman again… the one ‘disfigured’ who had followed the caravan before.”
“She wasn’t disfigured at all. With silver hair and blue eyes, she stood out like a sore thumb. She suddenly appeared in the town at night, with no attempts to hide herself, carrying her bag and heading toward the western gate… It looked like the woman, who had been hiding in the town after the knights visited, finally realized a crisis was looming. After a brief silence, she seemed ready to take action under the cover of night.”
“So after some thought, we went after her.”
“Of course, not everyone followed.”
“We left Leah near the town to keep an eye on things. We thought about leaving Apheir behind too, but worried she might slip away. Even though no one could survive three moves against the teacher’s sword nowadays, he was getting on in years, and his stamina didn’t match the young ones. Since we didn’t know what that woman was truly capable of, I decided Apheir should come along with me.”
At this point, Carlos started tapping on the table, creating a rhythmic “thud-thud” sound.
He suddenly squinted his eyes: “That night was dark, and you could hardly see the moonlight. The woman’s pace quickened, and I noticed her physical strength exceeded our expectations. The three of us were nearly pushing ourselves to the limit to keep up, trying to encircle her from behind.”
“At first, we didn’t want her to notice us. We were hoping to use the cover of night to see where she was headed. But as she ran faster, it became harder to chase without revealing ourselves. By then, she probably had already sensed our presence, maybe even before leaving the town. Realizing this, we changed our plans and aimed to catch her first.”
“And then…”
Carlos paused: “In the chase, as the pressure mounted and we nearly caught her a few times, she finally snapped and unleashed the power of Sin Fire.”
“When that moment came, we had predicted she could use Infernal Fire. However, we never expected the power would surpass everything we had encountered, including any known heretics as well as large demons.”
“Hmm…”
I instinctively nodded, agreeing with Carlos’s statement.
I recalled Ailna’s power— she had never gone all out against anyone, including that Jester, except facing the deity. She always seemed to handle things effortlessly, and the power she wielded wasn’t just simple Infernal Fire…
That brown, unpredictable prism…
And the Divine Miracle.
Her strength was unquestionable…
