Nightfall quietly descended.
At the foot of the Mangal Mountain Range, Vivian's Team had already set up their tents and lit a campfire to illuminate the surroundings.
At this mont, led by Vivian, the girls of the team gathered around the campfire, their gazes cast to the side.
There, Shane, with his back to them, was walking away into the distance.
Watching Shane like this, Vivian's expression was filled with concern.
anwhile, Tielle, Lu Muya, and rica exchanged glances.
"Um, Sister Vivian," Lu Muya shyly asked, "what's wrong with him?"
Lu Muya voiced the question everyone was thinking.
It was clear that everyone had noticed sothing amiss between Shane and Vivian.
"You were just having a good conversation earlier, so why suddenly...?"
rica spoke up too, though she didn't quite know how to describe it.
In such circumstances, even Tielle cast an inquiring look at Vivian.
To this, Vivian sighed.
"I really don't know what's wrong," Vivian replied helplessly. "For so reason, Shane suddenly beca like that."
Recalling the conversation from earlier, Vivian realized that after she ntioned "The Hero must never appear again," Shane fell completely silent and didn't say another word.
No, Shane did say one more thing to Vivian afterward.
"I'll take a short walk nearby."
Leaving those words, Shane left just like that.
"Did I say sothing wrong?"
Vivian began to reflect.
"I don't think it's your problem." Tielle spoke up in a calm manner, saying, "It should be that man's own issue, right?"
Tielle's words were quite piercing.
But that was Tielle, just as Shane had always felt, decisive, calm, and a bit taciturn. Even in Lamijion, many male adventurers found her intimidating.
On the other hand, with Shane not present, Lu Muya and rica seed more cheerful than before.
Lu Muya still exhibited a shy deanor, yet at least her speech no longer faltered and beca more fluent.
As for rica, there was no need to say; without the constraints, even her expression grew much lighter.
This was the true nature of Vivian's Team.
Vivian was gentle and caring.
Tielle was indifferent and taciturn.
Lu Muya was timid and shy.
rica was quite lively, in contrast to her previously tense deanor, though she had restrained this part of her personality upon Shane's arrival.
Now that Shane was absent, rica beca less restrained.
"Sister Vivian, are you worried about that man?" rica asked Vivian enthusiastically. "Though you've always been so gentle, this ti seems a bit different, doesn't it?"
"Is that so?" Vivian appeared taken aback by this statent.
"I feel the sa way," Lu Muya said hesitantly, sneaking a glance at Vivian. "It seems like Sister Vivian's attention toward Mr. Shane is even more than toward newcors before."
With Lu Muya pointing this out, Vivian couldn't deny the awareness.
Though towards everyone, Vivian was generally gentle and caring, especially attentive to newcors, this ti, her attention toward Shane really seed more than with other newbies before.
It couldn't be helped.
"Ever since Shane defeated the Golem, I felt there must be so secret we don't know about him," Vivian admitted candidly, saying, "While I don't know what secret that might be, I must say he indeed piqued my attention."
Otherwise, Vivian would not have confided in Shane so quickly about the team's situation nor protected Shane in front of the team.
Even though she would have done the sa for others, Vivian would definitely be more cautious in choosing the right mont to disclose the team mbers' conditions and the extent of protection would not be as great as for Shane.
After all, having only spent one day together, Vivian, no matter how gentle, would not normally give such consideration to a male she couldn't yet trust.
Ultimately, she did so with Shane because she'd noticed sothing unusual about him.
Moreover...
"You know, I'm not quite like the usual humans, or Human Race, right?"
Vivian's words quieted the girls.
Vivian smiled slightly and continued, "Due to my unique traits, I tend to develop special feelings toward so unusual individuals."
The underlying aning of Vivian's words was understood by Tielle and the others.
"So, that person gave you such a special feeling?"
Tielle looked at Vivian.
"That's right," Vivian nodded, saying, "That's why I couldn't help but pay more attention to him, as he not only carries a secret but a significant one."
Vivian had so suspicions.
"Perhaps, Shane is blessed by a very high-ranking God." Vivian asserted with certainty, "That blessing feels even more advanced than Her Highness the Princess's, which compels to pay extra attention."
This statent stunned everyone.
"A blessing more advanced than Her Highness the Princess's?" Lu Muya expressed her surprise, "How is that possible?"
"...Indeed it's not possible," Tielle remained silent for a mont, and then said quietly, "Her Highness received the blessing of one of the Three Great Goddesses. Such a higher blessing exists with only one entity in the entire Divine Race."
"Right, just one," Vivian said in a low voice, "But since the war a thousand years ago ended, that one has stayed secluded in the Holy Sanctuary at the world's edge, never appearing again. How could anyone possess their blessing?"
In fact, even in the distant past, no one had supposedly possessed that one's blessing.
At least, Vivian had never heard of that supre being bestowing their blessing upon anyone.
"But if not, then what is going on?"
It was precisely because of this question that Vivian couldn't help but pay more attention to Shane.
Tielle and the others just began to understand what was happening.
"So, Mr. Shane isn't an ordinary person?" Lu Muya asked in puzzlent, "But didn't he fail to master any skill, and only reached Level 10 at age twenty—a low-potential adventurer rookie?"
Precisely because of this, there was more possibility of secrets hidden within this person.
At this mont...
"I might understand Sister Vivian's feeling," rica suddenly spoke, hesitated a bit, and said, "Actually, I also felt sothing unusual about that person."
"You?" Vivian, Tielle, and Lu Muya looked at rica in surprise.
"Yeah," rica said a bit bashfully, with hesitation in her words, "For so reason, ever since we t, I felt from him a sort of... how should I say, a sense of closeness unusual for strangers?"
This was quite astonishing.
After all, elves were known as a pure and sacred race, generally unlikely to feel such closeness toward unfamiliar males.
Adding to that, having almost been offended by a male adventurer in the past, how could rica possibly feel close to a stranger male adventurer?
Yet, Shane evoked such a feeling in rica.
This sensation, if placed in one of the novels from Shane's previous life, might have beco a signal of a romantic offer.
But in truth, rather than feeling happy about such spontaneous emotions, rica felt sowhat afraid.
Because of this, rica was overly tense in front of Shane.
Perhaps this was the most genuine reaction of a truly pure woman.
Vivian and others were all quite surprised.
"Even rica feels that way?"
Lu Muya expressed her astonishnt.
"..."
Tielle seed to frown slightly.
"Elves are beings born from Nature, closest to Nature and the world, even revered as the race nearest to the Divine Race," Vivian remarked with so astonishnt, mumbling, "To make an elf feel close from the start, logically, only the Divine Race could do it."
Could Shane be of the Divine Race?
Impossible.
"Isn't the Divine Race all female?"
Tielle straightforwardly pointed out.
"That's right," Vivian nodded in affirmation, "Since the first god born, the Supre God Ominis, is a Goddess, and all other gods split their power from that Goddess, acquiring respective jurisdictions and authorities, becoming life forms modeled after the Supre God Ominis, hence all Divines are Goddesses, only Goddesses."
Thus, Shane was certainly not of the Divine Race.
Then, who exactly was Shane?
Recalling his earlier behavior and excessive reaction to "Demon King" and "Hero," Vivian's eyes flickered.
(Could it be...)
Before Vivian could finish her thought, Tielle raised her head.
"Since that man is so special, what do you plan to do?"
Tielle asked anyway.
"What to do?" Vivian ca back to her senses, pondered for a mont, and said, "We don't need to do anything special, just treat him as an ordinary newcor and train him."
Regardless of the secrets he bore, unless they could confirm it as sothing bad, Vivian didn't plan on delving too deeply.
After all, doesn't everyone have a little secret of their own?
Not to ntion, Vivian herself had secrets unbeknownst to others.
Not just Vivian, but even Tielle...
Vivian glanced at Tielle, thought for a bit, and said, "Now that Shane's emotions seem a bit unstable, letting him act alone might be too dangerous. Could I trouble you to follow him secretly and protect him for now?"
In response, Tielle didn't give a reply, but after a mont stood up and walked in the direction Shane had departed.
Lu Muya and rica watched Tielle and continued their conversation.
As for Vivian, she couldn't help but think inwardly.
(I hope it's not what I think.)
Otherwise, this world might find itself in turmoil once again.
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