Chapter 113 - Stagnant Water Puddle (6)
"I can"t believe he is acting so outrageous in a joint mission."
He had left behind Leseti and Deyus. He allowed them to move independently. Afterwards, he infiltrated the Zero Cla.s.s area. He continued to grumble as he moved from one shadow to another.
As he approached level 220, he continued to train as a thief. He was able to sense all life and Mana within a limited region. He also learned how to avoid detection of others. It was as Artpe had said. He possessed genius level talent towards thief-related abilities.
"He trusted in my abilities, and that is why he supported me. Did he do all of this, because he knew this day would come….."
When he thought about it, it was very suspicious. Silpennon frowned. Even as his mind struggled over this problem, there was no adverse effects to the body. He continued to move quickly as he avoided the Mana Net that filled the whole area. He was able to easily get past the traps as he approached Artpe"s lodging.
"I should head over to the room he told me about."
He had received maps with locations of Dungeons from Artpe. As he methodically cleared the Dungeons, he was able to train his thief skills for two years. He had a basic plan of action on how he should act in an unknown territory.
We wasn"t a warrior that was wearing an invincible armor. He wasn"t a magician that possessed powerful magic. If he was asked to fight enemies head on or destroy a building in its entirety, it was beyond his ability.
It didn"t matter if it was a Dungeon or a ruin. He infiltrated them first to make sure that his safety was a.s.sured.
He slowly crawled through a region like a spider as he expanded his knowledge of a region. When he gathered all the information, he seized his target. He did this last. It allowed him to cleanly escape after acquiring his target. This was Silpennon"s mindset as a thief.
"There really is a d.a.m.n fine mesh of magical energy interwoven in this place. It would have taken me a long time to a.n.a.lyze this place. How did Artpe manage to twist the structure of this place?"
He used his quick feet to safely avoid several secret traps, and he was able to enter into the residential area. He was able to read the signature of the people moving within. He moved quickly and stealthily as he avoided coming across them. He reached the room pointed out by Artpe.
No. In truth, there was another room that worried him before he reached Artpe"s room.
"I don"t know why that room has a Yes sign on the door, but I feel an incredible amount of Mana within."
Did he perhaps need to seduce the person within the room? Did he have to do it for the prosperity of Paladia and the advancement of the hero"s party? If so, he could accept doing such a task. Since she was this talented, he could understand why she wanted to enter into the hero"s party using whatever method within her means. The only problem was the fact that he had to seduce her.
"I"m sure her appearance is perfect, but her personality is probably terrible. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Artpe. He keeps an angel like Maetel by his side, yet he wants me to….. Ah ah ah. I don"t care. I want to rest first."
Silpennon let out a sigh as he grabbed the door to the room. He used a specialized thief skill called "Quiet Infiltration. He disabled the alarm and observation type magic as he picked the lock. He opened the door. He was able to do everything without making a sound..
There was one girl inside.
“Uh······.”
“Ah······.”
Both of them were at a loss for words at the unexpected situation. She wore a headpiece and a plain ap.r.o.n. She wore loose one piece dress that was comfortable to move in. No matter how he saw it, she had the appearance of a servant. A thought came to him as he looked at the girl.
"With your skills, you won"t be discovered by the servants."
Ah ah. That"s right. Artpe clearly said those words, yet Silpenon let Artpe"s words go in one ear and out the other. Silpennon had every reason to be ashamed.
He really didn"t expect to be found out by a maid!
“W…..who….who are you?”
He wore a sword strapped to his body. He also wore a tight black suit, and a black hood covering his face. Silpennon looked entirely suspicious. The maid looked ready to cry as she asked her question. She had a.s.sumed he would kill her if she let out a scream. That was why she was keeping her voice low, and he was thankful for it.
“First······ I"m not a bad person.”
“Liar!”
Silpennon spoke as he closed the door. He acted as if nothing was wrong. The maid loudly refuted his words. Silpennon let out a bitter laugh.
“If you follow my words, you won"t die. I"ll try to find a happy outcome for the both of us.”
“Hoo-hoohk. How were you able to enter into the Zero Cla.s.s? I was expecting to meet the hero-nim. Instead I met a thief…..”
Silpennon wondered if he should tell her that he was able to come into this place thanks to the hero. However, he decided to hold that information back for now. First, he closed the window, then he looked at the girl as he sat on the bed.
“Hmmm······.”
“Hee, heek.”
She looked plain, but she wasn"t a pumpkin. She actually had clean and bright skin. Her eyes were large and clear. If she was made-up, she would look quite pretty.
However, her appearance wasn"t what was important right now….. It was the fact that her presence was very faint.
“How come you weren"t detected by my senses? I was sure this room was empty.”
“It started from when I was young….. I heard similar words about me from others. That is why my father said I was suited to become a maid in the Zero Cla.s.s……...”
“It isn"t just faint. I think it"s an ability.”
“I was able to meet a thief thanks to this ability. Hoo-eeeeeee.”
It seemed the girl was overwhelmed by her fear, so she finally started to cry. Did this girl really think he was going to kill her? It seemed she had an innocent personality befitting a maid of Paladia. A smile came unbidden to his mouth.
“Stop crying. I won"t kill you.”
“Hoo-ggoo-oooh. Really?”
“Yes, I won"t if you heed my words.”
The thoughts within Silpennon"s head became complicated, since his plans were starting to go sideways. Still, he wasn"t someone that would kill a person to uncomplicate a situation.
Anyways, Silpennon had planned on resting in this room for a little bit. He was going to recover his Mana as he checked what was going on nearby. Instead, he decided to cajole information out of her.
“You should let go of your cleaning supplies for now.”
“The hero-nim might enter this room at any moment, so I have to clean it…...”
“Let it go.”
“Yes, sir.”
The maid quickly let go of her cleaning supply, and she approached him. When he made sure no one else was approaching Silpennon"s domain, he took off his hood. He revealed his face. If he wanted to communicate with her, he would have to get rid of attire that was causing the fear within her.
“Ah······.”
“What? Are you surprised, because I"m too young?”
“That… Yes.”
Silpennon possessed red hair and burning red eyes. His appearance spoke of his n.o.bility. He couldn"t reach the growth speed of Artpe and Maetel, but he was 15 years old. He wasn"t a boy, but a young man. He had grown that much.
The unknown thief suddenly changed into a dignified and handsome young man. The maid couldn"t help, but feel less threatened by him. When he saw that the maid had relaxed a little bit, he became relieved. He asked her a question.
“What is your name?”
“My name is…..Aria Kuar Serieta.”
“Kuar? Serieta? What the h.e.l.l? Are you a disciple studying under a high rank priest?”
“The servants of the Zero Cla.s.s are made up of those that have the potential to become high rank disciples…..”
He had acquired a very surprising yet useless information! Silpennon nodded his head as he continued to speak.
“All right, Aria. My name is Silpennon. I came here, because I want something from this place. If you cooperate with me, my work will become easier, and your life will remain safe. It will also help out Paldia.”
“Liar. Aren"t you a thief? You probably came here to steal Paladia"s precious holy relics….ooh-mmm..”
She thought Silpennon was being shameless as he continued to lie. She thoughtlessly undercut his words. However, she suddenly remembered what kind of situation she was in, so she shut her own mouth. However, Silpennon didn"t show any signs of anger. She was careful as she opened her mouth again.
“I"m the daughter of a priest. I can pretend that you aren"t here, but I cannot cooperate with any actions that would hurt the people of Paladia. I also cannot help you steal any of our relics.”
“You will do so even if the consequence of your actions will result in your death?”
“······yes.”
He saw a pretty resolute expression on her face. He hadn"t seen the sign of her backbone when she had been cowering in fear. When Silpennon saw this….
“In truth, I am here at the request of the hero.”
“Is that really true!?”
He thought it was truly easy to use the name of the hero.
“Just think about it. I came here on the day when the heroes entered into the Zero Cla.s.s. No matter how you look at it, doesn"t it look intentionally done? Moreover, I immediately came to the hero Artpe"s room. If I didn"t have foreknowledge of this place, it would be impossible for me to do this.”
“N...now that I think about it…. However, why would he do that? Why would the hero-nim need to hire a thief…...”
“If you wait a little, I can give you proof. I want you to listen to me closely. This is the important part, Aria.”
He had just met her, yet he took the liberties of calling her by her name.
“This generation"s heroes had refused the summons from their kingdom before. Moreover, they took a very roundabout path to get to the temple. You know this, right?”
“I...is that so? Not much outside information comes into the Zero Cla.s.s…. H...however, I do know that the hero-nims took an unusually long time to come to the temple after they were discovered…… They had to cancel the planned event several times within the Zero Cla.s.s······.”
A small smile appeared on Silpennon"s lips. She looked like a maid, but in the end, she was a lady that had been cultivated within a greenhouse. He just had to mix 10% lie with 90% truth. She was merely a prey that could be tricked.
He was also a prince that was cultivated within a greenhouse. It hadn"t been too long since he had put behind such an environment, yet he thought in such arrogant terms.
“The hero know that there is corruption within the temple. Please don"t be surprised by what I"m about to tell you. Currently, the temple is conspiring with the Demon King"s army.”
“What!? Oohp oohp.”
She unconsciously spoke very loudly. Her voice rang out within the room. He desperately covered her mouth with his hand. At the touch of this strange man, her face became beet red. It was as if her face was about to explode.
“Are you going to be quiet and listen to me?”
“Ooooooh-bbbbbp.”
“Good.”
Silpennon let her go, and he quickly gave her an explanation. He bulldozed over her confused mind!
“That is why the heroes didn"t come here until they made all their preparations. Only after acquiring me as a comrade, they narrowly decided to come here. This was all possible, because of my presence.”
“How can that be······ You are a thief!?”
“The hero"s party directly entered into the Zero Cla.s.s to draw the attention of the priests. While they are doing so, I have to search for evidence that would expose the corruption within the temple. I have to expose their "righteousness" to be false. I am cooperating with the heroes to purify the temple. That is our final goal.”
“My G.o.d······.”
It was truly funny. Silpennon was spouting words that was coming to his mind, but most of his words were true! Moreover, Aria was a naive maiden. At his dramatic words, she accepted his words at a logical and emotional level.
"This truly sounds like something that occurs within the hero"s tale!"
This was the thought going through her head! It was expected. Paladia were filled with women that like to have their heads in the clouds!
“I"m sure you"ve observed select high rank priests or the pope show strange behaviors. They probably tried to hide something within the Zero Cla.s.s. I"m sure of it.”
“However, these are holy relics important to the rituals of our religions. Of course, they would try to hide such holy relics…..”
“Yes, that is a good cover for their actions, but the evidence of their wrongdoing will come out soon. I"ll find it.”
“B...but…...”
“Just think about it, Aria. This is the duty of the heroes. The temple always stays rooted to this place, but the two heroes travel around the continent defeating evil. They carry out good in this world. Who"s more trustworthy between the two? Do you even have to think about it?”
“T...that is…..”
She had believed and followed the temple for her entire life. However, she also had absolute worship towards the heroes. As a naive girl, it seemed believing in the heroes had a little bit more appeal. The girl was taken aback as she stammered. In the end, she shook her head.
“It is plausible that you came here on the behest of the hero-nim. I can believe it. There is no need for you to give such a lie. However, my life and body was entrusted towards serving the temple. I cannot easily change my heart in this matter.”
“Tsk.”
The girl"s golden eyes twinkled. Silpennon wondered why things weren"t working out so easily for him as he clicked his tongue. However, the words that came out her mouth next were sensational.
“······not yet. That is why I want you to show me proof. I want you to show me proof that the temple has become corrupted!”
“Huh?”
“I was cleaning the hallway not too long ago. I saw the pope quickly rush past me, and I saw him enter into a secret tunnel. In truth, I thought his actions were a bit suspicious…. If it is you, you can show me what is in that tunnel. I"m sure we can get a definite answer to all of this!”
She was already determined to join forces with Silpennon!