Chapter 16 – Eastern Ruins (8)

“No, Noah!”

Aileen rushed over, lifting Noah who was lying unconscious on the ground.

Thankfully, Noah was still breathing, but blood was flowing from her nose and mouth.

Aileen immediately channeled her divine power to heal her.

But despite the effort, Noah’s body kept bleeding.

Again. Again. Again.

Aileen continued to pour divine energy into Noah without stopping.

Yet, Noah’s condition showed no signs of improvement.

“Noah… Noah! Shin Noah!”

“Miss, calm down for a second. More gnolls will come if you keep panicking.”

“Calm down? How can I possibly calm down right now?”

“She’s not dead. Nor is her life in danger. She’s just asleep, so please, calm down.”

“But… she’s bleeding like this… and you say she’s fine?”

“I guarantee it.”

“Then… why is Noah in this state…?”

The one-eyed man, who had been laughing flippantly up until now, looked at Noah and Aileen with a serious expression.

“Well… first, fewer eyes around would be better for this conversation.”

The man turned around, drawing his sword.

“Gentlemen, I need to have a private chat. Could you move elsewhere?”

The murmuring of knights could be heard.

“Or, if you prefer, I can help you leave. So… what do you think? Shall I send you on your way?”

He slowly walked toward the knights.

“I’ll count to five. I’m a rough adventurer, so I don’t really know how to count properly. Let’s see if I can remember… One.”

Step. Step.

“One.”

He raised his sword.

“…We will retreat.”

The knight who seemed to be in charge clenched his teeth as he spoke.

“Hahaha! Glad to see you’ve been well-educated! Now, get going. I don’t have much patience.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the knights hurriedly withdrew.

“Phew, now that it’s quiet, let’s continue. Miss… Hmm, since Noah’s asleep, I’ll address you properly as Priestess. Do you know how Noah sees the world?”

“…Yes.”

“Good. Then I can skip some explanations. The reason Noah is in this state is because of her Heightened Senses.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Noah was able to sense the gnolls coming long before I or Heinzel noticed. You knew that, right?”

“…Yes, she did.”

“And the distance was considerable, wasn’t it?”

“Uh…?”

Aileen was puzzled. Earlier, Noah had mentioned that she could only sense things within about 30 meters.

Yet the gnolls had been much further than that.

“Well… I’m not sure how to explain it so that the Priestess understands, but to put it simply, Noah forcibly expanded her perception range. And that’s the side effect.”

The man pointed to Noah’s bleeding as he continued.

“I know someone who isn’t blind but also uses perception to see their surroundings.”

“I see…”

“Back when we traveled together, that guy would act as a scout. But every time he did, he’d complain about how exhausting it was.”

“But what does that have to do with—”

“One day, we were searching for a magical beast, but it was nowhere to be found. So we told him to use his precious perception to find it. Frustrated, he pushed himself to expand his perception.”

The one-eyed man smirked, glancing at Noah.

“It took him five seconds. He found the beast 200 meters away, but he collapsed, just like Noah, bleeding all over.”

He pointed to the ruined landscape around them.

“Imagine a vast plain, no structures, no life—just an empty field. Now compare that to this place.”

Aileen looked around, taking in the dense ruins and numerous structures surrounding them.

“The amount of information you take in with perception changes, doesn’t it?”

“…I understand now. The sheer amount of information entering her mind…”

“Exactly. The information overload was on a completely different scale. You might think it’s because that guy was weak, but he was a platinum-ranked adventurer like me.”

“Wait… you’re a platinum-ranked adventurer?”

She looked up at the man, surprised. He didn’t look impressive, more like a typical, rough older man you’d find in any town. Yet… platinum?

“Haha… I get why you might doubt me, looking at my appearance. But still, that guy was no joke. Even so, after that, he swore he’d never expand his perception range again. As for me, I can sense a little bit using perception myself.”

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, then blood began dripping from his nose.

“See that? Just a tiny bit of use, and I’m bleeding like this. The pain feels like my skull is splitting open. But Noah… she’s doing this all the time, as if it’s nothing. Oof, it hurts…”

He spat out the blood from his nose and mouth, continuing his explanation.

“And after pulling that crazy stunt, she went right back into battle. It was partly my and Heinzel’s fault, but it couldn’t be helped. The situation was dire.”

Aileen nodded slightly. The knights of Erden likely caused the situation, and the reason they had to fight was probably related to a contract.

A job received in Alrba.

The client was likely Hermilla.

And the mission… was probably to protect Noah.

In the end, it was her own fault. Noah was in this state… because of her.

“And the most important thing is… that.”

The man pointed toward a crumbled wall.

“Are you suggesting Noah destroyed that wall?”

The man nodded.

“You know there are only ten Masters in the world, right?”

“Suddenly, what are you—”

“Do you know?”

“Yes, I do.”

A Master. The pinnacle every knight and adventurer dreams of reaching.

She’d never seen one herself, but the rumors were well known.

They say that when two Masters fight, a mountain gets sliced in half with a single strike, and a sea gets overturned in the next.

Of course… she didn’t believe such rumors.

If such people existed, the monsters would have been wiped out long ago.

“I’ve lived over forty years, and I’ve only seen a Master once. But when that Master swung their sword, a castle wall collapsed. It was the wall of a ruined kingdom, but still.”

Listening to him, Aileen looked back at the collapsed wall.

“So… you’re saying Noah did that?”

“I don’t know how, but yes. She swung her sword once, and the wall crumbled, just like that Master.”

“That’s impossible… Are you saying Noah is a Master?”

“Hm, not yet. But she’s likely on her way.”

Aileen gazed down at Noah, still cradled in her arms.

Her small frame, light weight, and fragile arms that seemed unfit to wield a greatsword.

Yet, despite enduring a pain that even platinum adventurers struggled with, she pushed through and fought.

To protect… me?

No, that can’t be.

There’s no way Noah did all this just to protect me.

She doesn’t even know I’m a priestess.

We barely know each other.

Which is why it’s so hard to understand.

Why is she fighting so desperately? What is she striving for with such determination?

It frustrated Aileen that she didn’t know or understand any of it.

“She forced her perception wide open, took in an overwhelming amount of information, and then swung a weapon that can’t even be called a sword anymore, killing at least a hundred gnolls. That tiny girl.”

Aileen hugged Noah closer.

“Why… Why would she go this far…?”

“She probably has some kind of compulsion. Something painful from her past drives her forward. I’ve got one. Heinzel does too. We all do, to some extent. It’s just worse for Noah, I think.”

Aileen had suspected something when she saw Noah’s expression change so dramatically in battle. The way her demeanor, tone, and even her aura completely shifted. That might be Noah’s true self.

Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion, making her feel nauseous, like she was about to cry.

The more she learned about Noah’s hidden side, the more she regretted her own decisions.

She had abandoned her duty and fled, and now she was deeply ashamed of herself.

Seeing Noah peacefully asleep in her arms only made her feel worse.

“For now… I understand the situation. This fight is over, so I should let Noah rest comfortably.”

“I’ll carry her—”

“No. I’ll do it. Just… stick to your job and escort us as per the contract.”

“Heh, you’ve got sharp instincts… Sure. But it’s pretty ironic, isn’t it? Escorting you from knights sent to retrieve you?”

“I’ll explain everything later. Right now, Noah is my priority.”

The man nodded, smiling as he took the lead.

“Alright, I’ll guide us to a good place. It’ll be perfect for resting.”

The place they were before wasn’t bad, but Aileen followed him without protest, as long as it meant Noah could rest better.

“Oh, by the way, you don’t know my name, do you? Noah did.”

The man turned to Aileen as they walked.

Noah knew his name?

“No… I don’t.”

“Hmm. Let me formally introduce myself then. It’s only proper to use honorifics, right?”

He sheathed his sword, placed his right hand over his chest, and bowed slightly.

Speaking in a low, deliberate tone, he introduced himself.

“I’m Luchi, a platinum-ranked adventurer. People call me ‘One-Eyed Luchi’ among adventurers. But feel free to call me Luchi, or even just ‘old man’ if you like.”

“One-Eyed Lu… Luchi?”

“I’m not too fond of the nickname, so ‘old man’ works better. Priestess.”

“Ah, alright…”

“Shall we continue?”

With that, Luchi resumed walking.

The survivor of Hablon that Noah had mentioned was walking right in front of her.

And Noah… knew this man.

Aileen looked down at the sleeping Noah.

She had hidden her identity as a priestess from Noah, but it seemed Noah also had secrets of her own.

They weren’t close yet, but…

Still.

She wanted to get closer, to understand her better.

Once Noah regained consciousness, they would need to have a long, deep conversation.

About her own story.

And about Noah’s.

Everything.