The scene shifts to the scallion pancake stall, where the customer named 【Jerome】 was waiting for the owner to make his food. He couldn't help but turn his head to look in the direction Freya and Euphemia had just departed.
Euphemia's quick-witted performance had been flawless, perfectly mimicking someone who had suddenly realized they forgot their money—complete with freezing, embarrassment, and panic.
But the problem was that Euphemia's attire didn't look like that of a commoner at all. Both her monocle and her cane clearly indicated her noble status, and the probability of a noble leaving the house without money was definitely lower than that of a commoner.
After all, while a commoner might head out to work, what would a noble go out for? It was certainly to spend money and seek amusement; they couldn't possibly be heading out to do manual labor.
Of course, one couldn't rule out the possibility that Euphemia had “actually forgotten” her money. However, even if there was only a ten percent chance that the girl was acting, what was that performance trying to hide?
Her “shock” upon seeing him? But what was she shocked about? Did she recognize him?
Jerome paid and took the scallion pancakes handed to him by the owner, his mind still working. The other girl beside Euphemia—with her white hair, closed eyes, and bare feet—was clearly an extraordinary of the Earth Pathway. This meant that these two girls he had run into by chance were anything but ordinary.
Jerome mentally reviewed everything he had done up to this point. His entire plan was still in the preparation stage, and he hadn't left any traces behind. The likelihood of exposure was extremely low. So, had that noble girl really just forgotten her money?
But... even if there was the slightest chance that they had noticed something and truly recognized him, Jerome was not willing to take any risks in an affair of this magnitude.
Euphemia had bought too many clothes for Freya to carry easily, so she had tipped a shop assistant to deliver them back to their rented room, meaning they weren't carrying them around.
...
Shifting back to Freya's side, fortunately, the process of making minced meat scallion pancakes was rather tedious, and since Jerome had ordered three, the owner took quite some time to prepare them. By the time Euphemia finished sending the letter and the two returned under the Invisibility Cloak, Jerome was still there.
Euphemia said, “As far as I know, the War Pathway doesn't have any sensory abilities. So as long as we wear the Invisibility Cloak and don't get too close to him, we should theoretically be safe. However, Fufu, don't use your perception abilities to observe him, and don't harbor any hostility toward him.”
It was now known that Jerome carried an extraordinary item that could block the Earth Pathway's Heart Perception. The two didn't know what kind of item it was; what if it was a consumable?
For instance, if it automatically consumed spirituality to block observation whenever it was detected, Freya would expose them if she kept staring at him.
As for “not harboring hostility,” Euphemia explained, “A Rank Two of the War Pathway has an extraordinary ability called 【Intuition】. It allows them to sense an impending attack beforehand, whether in or out of combat. This is a passive ability, which means sneaking up on someone from the War Pathway is useless. The moment you prepare to strike, you'll be discovered.”
“And this guy is already Rank Five. This ability has surely been enhanced several times over. It's highly possible he'll sense us if we harbor any hostility toward him now.”
Freya asked in confusion, “So, what counts as 【hostility】?”
Euphemia pondered for a moment. “I don't really know... but I definitely don't have the slightest bit of hostility toward him, that's for sure. He's a Rank Five! A Rank Two of the Scholar Pathway like me going near him would just be committing suicide. I can't even dream of provoking him; I'd be too busy running away. How could I possibly harbor hostility?”
Freya opened her eyes and stopped using her Heart Perception. Her lovely green eyes looked at the man ahead, while she cleared her mind as much as possible, thinking of other things to distract herself.
The two of them followed him openly like this. Along the way, Euphemia even remarked, “See, I told you something good would happen if we went out shopping today! My divination was pretty accurate, wasn't it?”
Freya nodded. “Indeed.”
Who could have guessed that after a week of high-intensity patrols with no results, she would run right into her target when she finally went out to relax?
Time passed slowly. Throughout the afternoon, Jerome wandered around like a loafer, stopping and starting without any clear purpose. It wasn't until dusk began to fall that he actually went into a roadside inn and checked in for a temporary stay.
Following behind, Euphemia couldn't help but feel a massive wave of confusion. “Wait, what on earth is this guy doing!?”
Freya blinked and pondered, “Could we... have been discovered?”
Euphemia said, “That shouldn't be the case. If he had discovered us, why didn't he just make a move to eliminate us? So... is he on guard against something?”
Euphemia quickly recalled her performance at the scallion pancake stall. It was highly likely she had shown some flaw back then. She couldn't help but exclaim, “No way, is this guy really that cautious?”
Letting out a helpless sigh, Euphemia said huffily, “Well, we have no choice then. Now we can only play a game of patience with this old geezer and see who cracks first!”
As she spoke, she pulled Freya into the inn and looked around. Fortunately, there was a sofa in the lobby, so they quickly walked over and sat down.
Freya seemed to guess what Euphemia was planning and asked in disbelief, “You don't intend to just camp out here until tomorrow, and then keep tracking him, do you?”
Euphemia replied, “What else can we do? I refuse to believe it. If he stays in the inn tomorrow too, I'll keep camping out until the third day, the fourth day, until he returns to his stronghold!”
Pausing, she continued, “If you don't want to wait, Fufu, I can send you home first and keep watch by myself. Once I get any information, I'll let you know immediately.”
But Freya shook her head. “No, I'll stay and keep you company. This way, you'll have someone to talk to and pass the time.”
Otherwise, stakeout missions like this would be far too boring with only one person.
Hearing this, Euphemia couldn't resist hugging Freya. “Mmh~ Fufu, you really are too sweet!”
But... despite that, as the night grew deeper during their wait, Freya gradually grew drowsy even though they kept talking. Before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep against Euphemia's shoulder.
Listening to the steady breathing next to her ear, Euphemia turned her head to look at Freya's adorable sleeping face. A smile curled on her lips as she reached out to gently poke Freya's cheek, whispering, “Goodnight~”
Then, she pulled a book from her satchel and began to read.
The next morning, Freya was gently nudged awake by Euphemia. She opened her eyes blearily, only to find the other girl pinching and kneading her cheeks with both hands.
Euphemia said softly, “Stop sleeping, stop sleeping! Wake up~!”
Freya quickly shook off her drowsiness and looked around. “What is it? Did he start moving?”
Euphemia replied, “Not yet, but my grandfather sent a reply. Let's leave this place first and find somewhere to read the letter.”
Under the Invisibility Cloak, the two quickly left the inn and found a quiet corner. Euphemia raised her right hand and extended her index finger. Normally, the little dove should have appeared and landed directly on her finger.
Instead, Euphemia saw her messenger indeed appear, but after flapping its wings a couple of times, it landed right on top of Freya's head.
Euphemia: “?”
Her lips twitched slightly, but she still reached out to take the folded letter from the little dove's beak and quickly tore it open. Freya also leaned over to peek, their heads pressed gently together.
The very first line of the letter read:
【This is not someone you can afford to provoke. Stop investigating and run as far away as you can!】
Seeing this, Euphemia frowned slightly, looking quite displeased. However, she patiently continued reading:
【But then again, I know I cannot change your mind. Ever since you were a child, once you make up your mind, you won't turn back even if you end up battered and bruised. Sigh.】
【According to your description, that person is highly likely General Jerome of the Kingdom of Tarapaca's Third Vanguard Legion. It is said that he had some sort of dispute with His Majesty recently, and was temporarily suspended and sent back home to rest.】
The letter then went on to detail various pieces of information about this general. For instance, about seven or eight years ago, the Kingdom of Tarapaca did not possess the War Pathway. It was the mainstream official pathway of their neighbor, the Pentagram Alliance.
Because the two nations shared a border, friction frequently arose, and they had fought several battles of varying scales. In order to better understand this powerful neighbor, spies had infiltrated and stolen a portion of the War Pathway's potion formulas.
Subsequently, a group led by General Jerome was the first to consume them, figuring out how to digest the potions and uncovering their abilities. Only by understanding your enemy could you better deal with them.
Of course, seven or eight years ago, Jerome was not yet a general. He was just an ordinary foot soldier, a self-proclaimed guinea pig, and a volunteer.
In the letter, Euphemia's grandfather went as far as to describe him: 【This man is an unquestionable patriot. For the sake of the Kingdom of Tarapaca, he once abandoned his family, his wife, and his children, throwing himself onto the front lines without regard for his own safety to fight bravely. The Third Vanguard Legion under his command is also famous among all legions for its fierceness.】
【According to your description, although I do not know why he wants to cause a disaster in Auxerre, there must be a reason behind it. You can hand this letter over to the Special Service and have them try to communicate with Jerome.】
【If the worst comes to pass and you truly have to fight him, you must never engage him when he is prepared. Instead, you must reduce the number of soldiers around him as much as possible. He has an extraordinary ability called Battle Array, which can proportionally bolster everyone with the strength of all surrounding soldiers—including himself and all of his troops.】
Aside from this “Battle Array,” Euphemia's grandfather also introduced the other abilities of the War Pathway in the letter.
At Rank One of the War Pathway, physical fitness is comprehensively enhanced. At Rank Two, one obtains the extraordinary abilities of “Intuition” and “Stance Recovery.” Euphemia had already explained the former, while the latter allowed a War Pathway extraordinary to instantly restore their combat stance to its peak state during battle.
For example, when clashing with an enemy, if a member of the War Pathway unleashed a massive, heavy blow with all or even more of their strength, an ordinary person would definitely be drained of energy for a brief period afterward. There would inevitably be a vulnerable gap where their old force had spent itself but new force had yet to rise.
But by using “Stance Recovery,” they could immediately unleash another heavy blow of equal strength. Even if they were sent flying by an enemy, they could use “Stance Recovery” to instantly regain their balance, and could even perform a double jump in mid-air.
This was actually an incredibly powerful ability that could work wonders during intense clashes.
Following that, at Rank Three of the War Pathway, one would obtain “Battle Continuation” and “Blood Rage.” The former allowed a War Pathway extraordinary to survive for a period even after sustaining a fatal blow, effectively locking their health.
If their heart was pierced, they could probably survive for over a minute. Even if their head was completely blown off, leaving only their body, they could still function for another ten seconds.
As for Blood Rage, the worse their condition and the more severe their injuries, the more their physical attributes would proportionally increase. This was especially true when triggering the health-locking “Battle Continuation,” which could instantly double their entire physical output.
Seeing this, Freya couldn't help but open her mouth slightly, saying, “Wait... this...?”
She compared the Rank Two and Rank Three abilities of her own Earth Pathway to those of the War Pathway before her. Wasn't the difference a bit too vast?
This combat prowess was simply too absurdly strong.
She felt that if a Rank Three of the War Pathway and a Rank Three of the Earth Pathway were to clash, the Earth Pathway user would probably be torn into several pieces directly.
As for what abilities a General of Rank Four and Rank Five possessed after advancing further along the War Pathway, Euphemia's grandfather did not have such detailed knowledge.
A Rank Four General would obtain abilities named “Adjutant” and “One-Man Army,” though the specific effects were unknown. At Rank Five, they would possess “Battle Array” and another unknown ability.
After reading the letter, Euphemia fell silent for a moment, clearly taken aback by these somewhat absurd abilities as well. After a while, she said, “I only knew that people of the War Pathway were all muscle, but I didn't expect the muscle to be this ridiculous.”
Right at that moment, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, Jerome walked out of the inn.
Rate on N.U.
