The two-story building, made of wood and stone, stood in the middle of the forest clearing, its massive structure towering higher than the forest itself.

  Lord Garrett’s steps came to a sudden halt, as if he was wary of stepping outside the forest. He turned to look at the imperial knight, who only nodded in response.

  Garrett sighed and resumed dragging Noah by the chains bound to his shackles, leading him deeper toward the Adventurers’ Guild.

  The surroundings were silent—an eerie stillness that belonged only to an abandoned place. Even the heavy rain only seemed to enhance the intensity of that silence.

  As Noah walked, he kept his head lowered, avoiding the pair of eyes that had locked onto him the moment he stepped into the clearing.

  Something about the gazes from within the guild didn’t sit well with him. It felt as if he had been exposed—but that was impossible.

  Once again, Lord Garrett’s steps came to another halt. The entrance to the Adventurers’ Guild was only a few meters away.

  ‘So we’re waiting?’ Noah thought to himself.

  Unlike Lord Garrett and the imperial knight, who stood like statues, Noah started looking around, observing his surroundings—without making eye contact with those eyes watching from inside the guild.

  The empty clearing was clean, even beautiful in its natural greenery. But that only raised questions and curiosity in Noah’s mind.

  ‘Wasn’t half the town’s forces supposed to be here, besieged?’

  Yet, the ground wasn’t torn up as he had imagined. There were no bloodstains indicating battle, no damaged terrain, no footprints in the muddy soil. The only thing present was the ominous silence that lingered after a fight had ended.

  ‘But how could a battle end if, judging by the evidence, it had never taken place?’

  That wasn’t the right question, though.

  ‘Where is the small army of knights? Or better yet, What happened to them?’

  Even with his soul senses, Noah couldn’t find an answer. Within the range of his perception, he felt no presence of the knights—only the enemies who had been besieging them behind the illusion, now even more numerous than before.

  ‘Did they relocate them somehow? They couldn’t have just killed them all and cleaned up as if nothing had happened... could they?’

  Noah had no idea. And that only reinforced the seriousness of this terrorist group in his mind.

  Almost as if in sync with the end of Noah’s fruitless thoughts, the guild’s entrance swung open wide. A single person stepped out.

  The man in question was an old gentleman with white hair, dressed in formal servant attire. His blue eyes, like the sky on a sunny day, fell upon the three of them. He looked at them with a warm smile, as if greeting his own children.

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  He descended the small steps with a grace that betrayed his age, approaching them until he was only ten steps away.

  "Welcome. It’s nice that we can finally talk in a civilized manner," the old man said with a smile, raising his hands slightly. "Unproductive conflict was never the solution. And I must apologize for the harsh message."

  Lord Garrett scowled at the man’s double meaning. He seemed as if he would hold his composure for a moment, but he failed, letting his restraint slip.

  "Where are my men?" he asked, his expression a mix of anger and concern.

  The man’s smile did not waver, but he remained silent, not answering. His sharp yet strangely gentle eyes observed all three of them, lingering the longest on Noah, who met his gaze without even a change in expression.

  The man returned his attention to Garrett, who had now calmed down somewhat, and finally responded.

  "You can rest assured; your men are in perfect condition. Their safety is not in question."

  Garrett didn’t seem to believe the old man’s words, and he made that clear in his response.

  "Unfortunately, I’m going to need solid proof, or..." Garrett trailed off, only glancing at Noah from the side. But his meaning was clear—he was threatening to test the value of the person they had gone to such lengths to obtain.

  The old man said nothing, his smile unchanged—if not slightly wider. His silence lasted for a minute longer before he took two steps forward.

  "Unfortunately, your threat would have worked if the boy was our target," the man said, his smile widening even further.

  He didn’t wait for Garrett or the imperial knight—who were now visibly tense—to react. He simply continued speaking with the same unsettling smile.

  "But I will appreciate your efforts and take the boy. You may reclaim your town and your men later."

  Noah kept watching the old man in servant attire, his expression outwardly unchanged. Even internally, he found himself unable to care much. Because right now, he was witnessing something that should not exist in any human.

  Though the man wore white gloves to complete his uniform, Noah’s senses could perceive what ran through his blood and what had fused with his mana—tainting it. The clothes couldn’t hide this kind of corruption from Noah’s senses.

  ‘Why does this old man have divine energy? Or is it divine blood? No... it’s neither. How is this possible? How is he even alive with it? No god would grant something like this to a human, and for what reason?’

  Questions flooded Noah’s mind, but no answers came. All he could do was watch the man while doing his best to maintain a calm expression. Even when the man said he would take him, Noah found himself almost welcoming the idea—just to understand what was happening before his eyes.

  ‘I have to understand this... I have to!’ Noah thought. But what could he do...?

  Before Noah could reach any conclusions, Lord Garrett spoke up first.

  "What the hell are you talking about, you crazy old man? Do you have any idea what we went through to find this rat? I’m not going to let you take him, only for you to turn around and say he’s not the one. Why would you even say that? If you’re just trying to mess with my head, congratulations—you’ve only succeeded in pissing me off. Now, I want to see my men."

  ‘He’s trying to buy time.’ Noah concluded, his eyes never leaving the white-haired man.

  The man himself seemed fully aware of Garrett’s act, yet he did nothing. He simply stood there, that same unsettling smile on his face. He truly looked like a butler patiently listening to complaints with practiced professionalism.

  Only after Garrett’s faux outburst settled did the man take another two steps forward.

  "To give you the blunt truth, our organization did not know which town the target was in—only that it was a border town with Astrolise. So, we simply attacked every town along the border, from the northernmost point to the southern coastline. So, you don’t need to be too angry."

  The man announced this with a smiling face, pausing to take in Lord Garrett’s shocked expression. He then turned his head toward Noah, showing a slight hint of disappointment at his lack of reaction.

  Regardless, he opened his mouth again, his professional smile returning in full force.

  "Now, hand over the boy, and you may reclaim your men."