Ch.396Chapter 396 – Information Gathering (3)

A moment later.

As Noah suggested, we decided to sit down and talk first.

We lit a fire a short distance from the carriage and sat in a circle around it.

As a precaution, we placed the unconscious bear beastman where we could see him clearly, and Beatrice set up a barrier in case of emergency.

Then, with their hands tied, Noah and Sonya sat down first, followed by Sera and Chris who sat right next to me. Noah looked at me with a grin.

“You seem to be loved by many people.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but I’d prefer if we got to the point.”

I made it clear upfront to prevent him from wasting time with irrelevant talk.

“How did you know about me? What did the Star-Gazing Priestess leave behind?”

“I’ll explain directly without beating around the bush.”

Noah said quietly, his smile fading.

“First, as I mentioned earlier, I came looking for you based on the words left by the Star-Gazing Priestess, the first Sword Saint.”

Noah adjusted his posture to sit more comfortably as he spoke.

“What she said was as follows.”

Noah slowly began to speak.

“Someday, one from another world will come seeking the snow fields.

He will surely come to break the seal of the noble god beyond the snow fields.

When that time comes, find him and make him walk the path I once walked.”

There were some puzzling words, but surprisingly, I could immediately recognize some of them.

The words referring to me, and my purpose matched exactly.

Noah took a breath, then continued.

“I warn you, you must guide him on that path. And do not interfere with this task. If you fail to make him walk the path I once walked, only a world of oppression will remain.”

“A world of oppression…”

“We hear that phrase again.”

As Sia muttered with narrowed eyes, Eve quietly added her comment.

After our exchange ended, Noah spoke quietly again.

“That’s all the message she left behind that I’ve seen.”

“I see.”

I nodded at Noah’s words and asked again.

“But I have a question. How did you know I was the person referred to in that message?”

“Because she left behind an object that could find you.”

Noah said this while raising his bound arms.

Pointing eagerly at something in his pocket, he said:

“Um, it’s in a pocket around here. Sorry, but could you take it out for me?”

“I’ll do it.”

Before anyone else could step forward, I reached out to Noah.

And as he said, I found the object he mentioned in his inner pocket.

“…A ring?”

“Yes, but it’s not made to be worn on a finger. It’s extremely small, isn’t it?”

Indeed, as Noah said, the ring was too small.

Of course, Noah laughed and said some people might be able to wear it.

“Rather than a ring, it would be more accurate to call it a loop. It’s an object that automatically vibrates to alert you when it detects certain characteristics within a certain range.”

“What kind of characteristics?”

“It’s said to detect people from another world.”

Noah continued speaking.

“According to the explanation left by her along with that object, beings from another world have certain characteristics, and the ring helps identify them.”

If what Noah said was true, he used that small loop to find me.

Since he actually found me, there’s definitely a possibility that it works…

“…What if that’s a lie?”

“To be honest, I thought it was a lie myself.”

Noah said with a gentle smile.

“But even when I wanted to get rid of it, the thing would return to my pocket after a while. I gave up on throwing it away, thinking it was some cursed object.”

“I see.”

“By the way, since it always returned to me, I once thought about misusing it to make some pocket money, but it doesn’t look particularly valuable and it’s so small, you know? So I couldn’t use it to make money. If only people had recognized its value, I wouldn’t have had to worry about travel expenses.”

Noah spoke as if joking, but judging by Sonya’s expression beside him, I suspected he might have actually tried it.

“Shouldn’t you take a cursed object to a proper cleric?”

“I did try that, but they all said there was no real problem. It has curse-like effects, but apparently it’s not actually a curse.”

Noah replied to Chris’s comment.

“Would you like to see it?”

“Yes.”

Chris immediately examined the loop Noah had.

When her expression changed, Noah smiled and said:

“It seems the priestess sees the same thing?”

“…It’s definitely not a curse. But this is…”

Chris looked somewhat perplexed.

Ignoring Chris’s reaction, Noah continued speaking.

“As I continued traveling with it, I had the opportunity to ask a magician to analyze this loop. They told me it automatically returns to its place of origin when it loses its owner. However, they said various locks prevented further investigation, so they couldn’t tell me anything more.”

“…It’s true. Something is blocking the analysis.”

Beatrice, who had immediately begun analyzing it upon hearing Noah’s explanation, confirmed his words.

Then, she quietly asked:

“In other words, you had nothing reliable to go on except the explanation left by the Star-Gazing Priestess.”

“Yes. So from then on, I gave up and just carried it in my pocket. Besides, according to what the first Sword Saint left behind, its creator was no ordinary person. So I kept it thinking it might serve as some kind of charm.”

“I suppose the creator was mentioned there as well?”

“Yes.”

Noah nodded and said:

“According to what the first Sword Saint left behind, that loop was… made by the Hero who dropped a single drop of blood onto metal, mixed it, and cast a spell on it.”

“The Hero?”

Sia showed interest and stood up from her seat.

“Is that true?”

“If what’s written there is correct, yes.”

“Then let me see it for a moment.”

Without waiting for Noah’s response, Sia took the loop.

Her eyes were shining, as if she had forgotten the atmosphere of this place.

Leaving Sia to her devices, I looked at Noah, who nodded and continued speaking.

“So I was traveling around with that loop when one day, it suddenly started vibrating intensely. And along with that, a single purpose appeared in my mind.”

“A purpose?”

“That I should wait for him in Bestia, that sort of thing.”

He explained that he had been traveling around the world with Sonya, whom he met along the way, when the magic on the loop brought him back to Bestia.

And he had been making a living near the gate, waiting for me to arrive.

“Being near the gate, news traveled fast. Word came that Lizanis had been defeated. Not long after, the loop reacted again, and I realized that the person the first Sword Saint mentioned was truly approaching.”

“You managed to find me with just that much information.”

“Ah, no. I had heard rumors about you, but I only learned today by chance that you were the one the Sword Saint mentioned.”

Noah said with a smile.

“The loop kept vibrating as you approached the area. And it vibrated more strongly as it pointed in your direction. Once I realized that you, a foreigner, were the one the Sword Saint mentioned, the vibration stopped as if it had read my mind.”

“Are you sure?”

“When I thought ‘maybe not,’ it vibrated terrifyingly strongly.”

After saying this, Noah closed his eyes and muttered something as if making a suggestion.

Then.

The loop in Sia’s hand suddenly began to shake violently.

“Uh… huh?”

“Point that toward me.”

When I told Sia this, she immediately brought the loop toward me.

As she did, the vibration of the loop began to intensify.

And when I looked back at Noah, he closed his eyes again with a satisfied expression and muttered something.

Mysteriously, the loop’s vibration stopped.

“That’s how I came to know about you. It was a long story.”

“Indeed.”

I nodded to Noah and spoke.

Then Sera, who had been listening, quietly asked:

“Where exactly did you get this loop?”

“From the Warrior’s Sanctuary deep in the snow fields.”

Noah said quietly.

“According to old tales, it’s known as the place where a young human woman once ventured deep into the snow fields alone to train herself, cutting down monsters as she trained.”

I suspected that woman was probably the Star-Gazing Priestess herself.

“If it’s for training, I guess there must be a lot of monsters?”

“That’s right. Monsters are always roaming around that area. For some reason, they never approach the sanctuary itself. Perhaps because of that, the sanctuary itself feels like it has some kind of mystical energy.”

“…Could it be.”

Chris fell into thought at Noah’s words.

Again ignoring Chris’s reaction, Noah continued:

“Anyway, the path there is certainly filled with monsters, making it good for training, and given the nature of the stories, warriors who want to test themselves often challenge it. It’s like a pilgrimage route for priests, perhaps? For reference, they say no Great Warrior in history has failed to reach it.”

“That means…”

“Yes. Lizanis, who became the Great Warrior a few years ago, also challenged that path. Sonya tried too, but ultimately couldn’t make it.”

“T-the monsters there were too strong, I tell you!”

The wolf beastman Sonya shouted as if making an excuse.

Noah had mentioned earlier that she used to work as a mercenary, and while I didn’t know Sonya’s level, it sounded like a pretty dangerous place.

“I believe the Sword Saint’s message is asking you to guide you, someone from another world, there. I think she wants to tell you to visit that place first before heading to the seal.”

“I see.”

I nodded at Noah’s words.

‘Come to think of it, according to what he said, he’s been there too.’

Considering the sharp energy he emitted earlier…

Perhaps he’s also like Lizanis…

‘I’ll ask about that part later.’

For now, I was able to learn what I was most curious about—how Noah knew I was from another world and what message the priestess had left.

“Anyway, you know the way there well, right?”

“Yes. I know the geography of the snow fields well. I also know Bestia’s geography well. I know a lot about the subtle relationships between tribes, what they like, and so on.”

Noah grinned as he began to promote himself.

“Taking me along will be very beneficial, I guarantee it.”

“Is that so.”

“Do you now understand that I approached you without any ill intentions?”

Noah said with a smile.

I did feel that his lack of ill intent seemed genuine.

‘If I’m a bit careful, I think I can trust him…’

But I couldn’t completely let my guard down.

I should consult with the rest of the group before making a decision.

‘I seem to have learned quite a bit, but should I push a little more?’

I had other questions too, but I thought I should ask just one more for now.

“…I have questions about Bestia too, but for now, let me ask just one more thing.”

“Go ahead. Don’t worry about other questions either, since we’ll be traveling together for a while anyway. I’ll answer within the scope of what I know.”

Noah said with a smile.

I asked him:

“A world of oppression. What exactly does that mean?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“The lizardmen were ranting about some prophecy that had been passed down to them.”

I recounted the lizardmen’s prophecy exactly as I heard it.

Noah’s expression changed slightly.

“I see.”

“Do you know something about it?”

“Yes. I can guess why the lizardmen call it a prophecy, and why a similar phrase appeared in the message left by the Sword Saint.”

Noah nodded with a smile.

“It’s because…”

Everyone’s attention focused on Noah.

Noah, with a face that suggested he’d always wanted to try this, smiled and said:

“It’s a secret.”

“I see.”

He said he’d answer within the scope of what he knew, but suddenly changed his words.

‘I didn’t want to use this method, but…’

Still, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to teach him a lesson once.

So I looked at Sera and quietly said:

“Sorry, but could I ask you a favor, Sera?”

“Yes.”

Sera, who had been standing by, nodded and placed her hand on Noah’s shoulder.

Sonya, who had been quiet, immediately shouted:

“W-wait! Don’t do that to Noah!”

“It’s fine, Sonya.”

Noah quickly said with a smile.

“I don’t know why you’re sending the young lady, but I’m tougher than I look. I don’t scream for just anything.”

“I hope that’s true.”

I was curious if Noah would really be okay, as some victims in our group who had experienced Sera’s methods were slightly trembling.

I looked at Sera and said:

“Begin, Sera.”

“Yes.”

Sera nodded.

A moment later.

A pathetic scream immediately burst from Noah’s mouth.