Altina found it difficult to believe as Ansu spoke of thoroughly uprooting the Squirrel Party and the demon members backing them with such casual indifference.
In other words...
The demon conspiracy had been snuffed out in its infancy by this man before it could even truly begin?
Yet the evidence was right before her eyes.
As the night deepened, the manor grew uncharacteristically lively.
Cult elders and executors returned one after another, delivering lists filled with names—each one systematically crossed out—into Ansu's hands.
Ansu made no effort to hide them from Altina, sitting in the warm, bright reception hall as he flipped through the thick stack of the death list.
Altina leaned in quietly, her emerald eyes scanning the crossed-out names.
As she saw the targets from various social classes and different disguises, the shock and suspicion in her heart intensified.
Who exactly was this man?
How could he command such a precise and lethal intelligence network? And why were so many extraordinary experts willing to serve him?
It was then that she finally realized something in hindsight...
During their first meeting, this man had boasted to the mages in the tavern, claiming he could solve the problem of magic pollution.
He had mentioned a mysterious benefactor funding the project and gathering top scholars and magic masters... looking back now, wasn't that "mysterious benefactor" just himself?
Furthermore, she recalled the people who had just returned vaguely mentioning the cult...
The name of a rumored evil organization, known for its ruthless methods and equal in infamy to the remnants of the demon army, surfaced in her mind.
The Echoes of Truth.
It made sense now...
No wonder he could gather so many powerful mages to work for him and possess such lightning-fast execution.
Altina took a deep breath; she never expected she had been dealing with a cult leader all along.
But what made her feel even more conflicted was...
His speech and behavior carried a strange sense of friendliness and reliability, making it impossible to see him as an evil person.
With her thoughts in disarray, she tried to compose herself and suddenly asked, "So, how is your major research progressing? Can you really... solve the problem of magic pollution?"
Ansu stuck to the same rhetoric he had used with Valger. "It is not convenient to disclose specific progress, but everything is moving in a positive direction."
"Oh..."
Altina's reaction was the exact opposite of Valger's; she only gave a soft response, a faint trace of disappointment flickering in her eyes.
Along with a sense of pessimism, as if she had already foreseen the outcome.
"I told you..." She lowered her gaze and sighed. "The essence of magic is an attempt to glimpse the truth of a clamorous and frenzied world. The problem of magic pollution is fundamentally unsolvable."
Through years of investigation and countless days and nights traveling between Elune and this chaotic continent, she had visited too many magic masters who once held hope, and she had witnessed one 'great attempt' after another collapse into madness and despair.
The elves could not do it even with the strength of their entire race, nor could the dwarves or humans. As for the demons... they never even thought of solving it, instead choosing to embrace madness and destruction entirely.
So, what could this human in front of her possibly do differently?
"Never mind..." She ultimately swallowed her more pessimistic words, just as she had outside the tavern last time, showing a degree of recognition toward Ansu. "No matter how difficult it is, someone must do it. I admire you all..."
Freya blinked; the scenes of everyone cheering in the lab were still fresh in her mind, so she knew Lord Ansu's claim of 'moving in a positive direction' was no lie.
Seeing that Ansu did not elaborate, she held back from sharing more and simply followed up softly, "Altina... you are so pessimistic. Do you really not believe that magic pollution can be solved?"
She felt that this elf lady was a bit different from the elves she had imagined.
"How could it be solved?" A bitter curve formed at the corners of Altina's mouth. "You do not know what happened to my homeland, nor do you know what I have seen and discovered during these years in the human world... So many brilliant sages ultimately met the same end—madness!"
Her voice dropped lower, sounding more like a mutter to herself.
"This is a flawed world, a world destined for destruction..."
"It is beyond saving. It is already beyond saving..."
The three of them looked at each other as they watched Altina in this state.
Freya grew even more confused. Why did she suddenly feel like this elf lady was... a bit unhinged?
Vera rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at Altina again, wondering if this strange elf was being a bit too 'depressing'.
Observing the shift in Altina's mood, Ansu sighed inwardly; she truly was the 'melancholy' elf from the original plot.
Indeed, Altina's inadvertent behavior always carried a lingering sense of gloom.
Or rather, a despondent listlessness. With her around, everything seemed to lose its passion...
To use a metaphor—Altina the investigator was documenting the slow death of a world.
This temperament might seem strange on another young girl, but it was understandable for an elf, given their famously long lifespans.
Though Altina looked to be around eighteen or nineteen, her actual age was likely several times that. Of course, Ansu didn't know her exact age either...
With the long lifespan of the elven race, she had witnessed too many cycles of hope rising and shattering; she had likely grown numb long ago...
Perhaps feeling that she had revealed too much emotion, Altina took a deep breath and suddenly stood up.
"It is getting late... I shall take my leave."
She looked out the window at the bright moon, her expression returning to its previous coldness and aloofness. "Once you have the information, please be sure to notify me immediately."
"Rest assured," Ansu nodded and gave a solemn promise.
"The manor is quite large, let me walk you out!" Freya also stood up, her tone gentle and natural.
Altina glanced at her and did not refuse.
"Mhm."
The two walked toward the door one after the other. As they neared the exit, Freya suddenly remembered something and gave Altina a friendly smile. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself properly yet. I am Freya."
She paused and added with a soft smile, "Actually... I am also a demihuman! You do not have to worry about your identity being exposed here. No one will discriminate against you... and I'll tell you a secret: Lord Ansu has a very favorable opinion of demihumans..."
"I told you..." Altina sighed weakly, correcting her once more. "I am not a demihuman. I am an elf!"
"Ah! I am so sorry!" Freya realized in hindsight that the term 'demihuman' was an insult to the other party and quickly apologized.
"It is fine..." Altina shook her head. She could tell the other party spoke out of pure kindness, so she wasn't angry.
As the sound of their conversation faded into the distance, Ansu withdrew his gaze.
Vera was slumped in the soft sofa, her eyelids already starting to droop.
"Finally, she's gone... Brother, is today's mission over?"
Ansu walked over and gently rubbed his sister's soft hair.
"Yes, the mission is over! Vera, you have worked hard during this time."
Since they first moved to Norvigel, Vera had been doing her best to help with the investigation.
During the day, she acted like a little detective keeping an eye on the school, and after classes, she had to accompany him to the Mutual Aid Tavern to build relationships with the low-tier mages. Today, she had even followed him through a pursuit and stayed up until now...
Fortunately, everyone's efforts had paid off. Ansu thought to himself: with the demon forces in Norvigel uprooted, this matter could finally come to an end once the scattered crimson marrowstone was recovered.
"It wasn't hard." Vera smiled happily, her eyes curving into beautiful crescents. "Because Brother needs me~"
"But I've helped Brother investigate for so long and achieved so much..." She tilted her head, smiling like a clever little fox. "How does Brother plan to reward me?"
Ansu blinked. "What reward do you want? Anything I can do, I will."
"Let me think..." Vera couldn't help but let out a big yawn as sleepiness surged like a tide. "Forget it... I can't think of anything for now. I'll ask you when I remember later..."
"Alright."
Vera squinted her eyes dizzily and, like she did when she was little, opened her arms toward Ansu in a spoiled manner.
"Brother, hold me!"
Ansu smiled softly and pulled her into his arms. Vera immediately snuggled in as if she had found the most comfortable bed, rubbing against him affectionately to find the most stable sleeping position before completely relaxing.
"So sleepy... mm..."
After only a few moments of mumbling, her steady, rhythmic breathing began; she had fallen fast asleep.
The bright moonlight streamed through the window, quietly bathing the embracing siblings in a soft, hazy silver glow as time seemed to slow down.
When Freya quietly pushed the door open and returned, this was the heartwarming scene she saw.
She couldn't help but stop in her tracks, leaning against the doorframe as she watched their figures leaning on each other in the moonlight, a gentle curve involuntarily rising at the corners of her mouth.
Rate on N.U.
