episode_0098

I arrived at a place called the town of bards and also commonly known as the town of artists.

When we arrived, what we saw was a sight that was different from other cities.

It’s not called an artists’ village for nothing, but there were numerous works of art on the streets.

People dressed in unusual outfits, including comical outfits, walked the streets, and singing voices were heard from all over the place.

They look as if this situation is familiar and natural.

For the first time, I felt intrigued by the city itself.

‘I thought the rumors were a bit exaggerated.’

When I look at the scene now, those thoughts disappear.

This scene, which I think may have been reduced to rumors, was a scene you would never see anywhere else.

If I wanted to, I would have wanted to look around and see the sights, but unfortunately, the purpose of coming here was to find Ares.

To see it, you had to look for traces of it and see it after you had time. I left my regret behind and walked on.

‘I said it was in the surrounding area.’

I didn’t hear the detailed location.

I just heard that it was discovered near the artists’ village.

But it wasn’t a problem to worry about.

‘If it’s nearby anyway, I’ll be able to feel the traces.’

If the last place Ares was discovered was near the artists’ village, there was a way to check whether there were any traces of the sun anywhere.

However, because I wanted to stand out, I had to do it in a place where there were no people, and after continuing to wander around, I was able to find a place where there were no people.

A quiet place where no one passes by.

After checking again to make sure no one was there, just in case, I raised my sacred power.

A pure white light begins to hover nearby.

As the surroundings began to be colored with beautiful light, I gathered the light onto my palm.

Basically, divine power reacts to divine power.

What I will do is look for any traces of divine power in this area.

Nothing was more certain than this.

I sent the light gathered on my palm upward.

Slowly levitating in the air, the light of divine power rises.

The light, which rose high enough to be faintly visible, burst out in an instant and scattered around.

It spread all over, including the artists’ village, and not even 10 seconds had passed. And I could feel traces of divine power in one area.

‘Is it over there?’

Looking in the direction, it was close enough to be said to be right near the village.

I thought as I headed toward the place where traces of divine power were discovered.

‘Now that I think about it, it wasn’t just divine power.’

I couldn’t feel it in detail, but there was some kind of energy that was like divine power.

There was a high probability that it was demonic energy, but there was also a relatively low probability that it was some other energy, so I had to check the details myself.

‘If there was a different energy.’

Ares had a high probability of fighting someone.

‘If you assume the worst.’

He might be dead.

I was assuming the worst, but I couldn’t completely ignore the possibility.

As I had seen before, there were traces of divine power at the place I arrived at with some anxiety.

You might be wondering why the Paladins couldn’t find it even though it was so openly displayed.

‘It’s almost nothing.’

The divine power itself leaves traces for a long time.

But it remains so faint that you can barely feel it?

It was proof that someone had erased the traces on purpose.

‘And at this level, of course the paladins won’t be able to find it.’

It was a trace that could only be found because of his ability as a warrior.

Also, this is a problem that I continued to worry about until this point.

“Magine.”

The faint trace of energy that felt like divine power was, as expected, magical energy.

I took my eyes off the trail for a moment and looked around.

At first glance, it looks like there’s no problem, but the artificial feeling couldn’t be completely erased.

Considering these circumstances, it seemed that Ares had lost the battle.

Otherwise, there would be no way he would intentionally erase his traces and disappear like this.

‘What kind of bastard is it?’

Ares’s strength ranks among the highest among paladins.

To the extent of beating Ares like that.

‘Are you an officer?’

No, even if you are an executive, you won’t be able to defeat Ares.

Especially these days, after killing countless demons, they are doing well.

At least in order to defeat Ares, someone as strong as the Great Demon that fought me had to come.

‘But Ares fought that guy, and the surrounding area is this clean?’

No matter how I thought about it, it was strange.

If the two had fought, it was clear that damage would have occurred beyond the surrounding area and even into the artists’ village.

No, it wasn’t just damage; almost half of it would have been blown away.

However, the artists’ village was extremely peaceful.

As if nothing had happened.

When looking at this situation, there are two possible cases.

‘Someone covered it? Otherwise, what did he do?’

Either someone covered up the fight.

Or that the guy from the demon faction that fought used some method.

I can’t be sure about either one since I don’t really know anything yet.

Personally, I thought the latter was much more likely.

‘It has to be that way.’

Think about it with common sense.

A fight between a being comparable to the Great Demon and a Paladin with the highest level of force among Paladins.

Did someone cover up the fight with that?

How high is the probability that such an assumption is correct?

Even though it’s not even 1%, I said I couldn’t ignore both possibilities.

‘There are quite a few cases of that happening.’

The funny thing is that there are quite a few cases where such a possibility is true.

Because I don’t know everything in this world, and maybe I’m covering it up in a way I don’t know.

‘First, let’s go to the artists’ village.’

I decided to look for information about it there.

I can’t say this decision was selfless, but that’s all I know for now.

‘It’s not like there’s anything else nearby.’

The only place with a certain degree of probability was the village where it was currently located.

So I headed back to the village.

“The performance will start soon! If you want to see the performance, come quickly!”

As soon as we arrived, a voice announced the promotion of the performance.

Naturally, I heard the sound and headed quickly.

‘It’s a performance. I would have liked it if Llewen came too.’

There was something she said from time to time in the past.

I want to see a performance or something like that.

I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but now I couldn’t be more disappointed.

‘I can’t help it.’

I suppressed my regret and walked on with the thought of coming back with Llewen later.

‘By the way, is this a street performance?’

Since it is a village for artists, that possibility also existed.

With that thought in mind, I headed in the direction pointed by the person shouting for me to come see the performance and saw a prepared place.

‘hmm… ‘Is it ambiguous to call it a street?’

Although not on the street.

It is not a performance held in any particular building.

It was wide and open, as if it had been created for a performance.

‘No matter what, as long as it’s fun, it’s okay.’

I took a quick look and sat down in the empty seat.

As I watched the preparations for the performance progressing quickly, someone sat down next to me.

Since the chairs were next to each other, of course someone would sit there, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.

“Did you come alone?”

I turned my attention to a voice that oozed age.

When I turned my head, I saw a man who could be said to have aged beautifully.

He was smiling at me.

‘Have you noticed my identity?’

Currently, a spell is being cast to change perception itself.

So it would have been normal for him not to recognize me, but it seemed as if the old man next to him was looking right through me.

‘Is it an illusion?’

It may be a simple illusion, but why do I feel like the old man already knows my identity?

First, I decided to answer the man’s question.

“Yes.”

“I see. My name is Orten. He’s a minstrel.”

Those words instantly piqued my curiosity.

It was probably because it was my first time seeing a bard.

“It’s a bit burdensome to look at people.”

Only then did I realize that I was staring and looked away.

“Sorry. Because it was my first time here. I was surprised to see a bard for the first time.”

“This is your first time here. You will be quite satisfied. Because you can’t see this performance anywhere right now.”

“You must have seen these performances regularly.”

“Yes. I personally come to see it often. For a bard, seeing many things is inspiration.”

Since I had always been curious about the bard, there were many more things I wanted to ask.

“The performance begins!”

I had no choice but to immediately close my mouth when the host shouted.

I turned my attention to the performance that was about to start.

Immediately a beautiful piano sound was heard.