Chapter 423: Truth

Ariel gazed up at the sky hidden behind the thick canopy of branches, unable to see even a patch of it. The night breeze tossed her hair, and her heart was full of melancholy.

A month ago, she had followed Liya’s trail into that unknown ruin.

She had thought to become the hero who would save the girl—but instead, the hero had failed to emerge, and she herself had fallen into countless dangers and shackles.

That ruin had been even more perilous than she’d imagined. For an ordinary Third Rank, entering alone was practically suicide.

Fortunately, she was not an ordinary Third Rank. She hadn’t died outright—but she had walked on the knife’s edge, facing trial after trial, countless hardships, several times hovering between life and death.

It had taken a full month, but she finally cleared that ruin.

However—the ruin was cleared, yet from beginning to end, she never found a trace of Liya.

“Liya, you weren’t in the ruin at all... where are you?”

Ariel once again called out sincerely to the night sky, even though she knew such a call was meaningless.

“Sigh... look on the bright side, Ariel.”

Her teacher’s sigh echoed in her mind:

“Even though you didn’t find that little girl Liya, your strength has certainly made tremendous progress.”

“But Liya...”

“That little girl isn’t so easy to get rid of.”

Ariel pressed her lips together, and the grief in her eyes faded slightly.

Indeed—the ruin had been terrifying, but the gains that danger brought were equally great.

In just a month, her realm had advanced by a huge leap. As her teacher said, this speed could be called unprecedented.

After all, only a month ago, she had just advanced to Third Rank not long before.

And compared to the powerful thing she had obtained at the ruin’s end, even that rapid progress seemed insignificant.

Now, if she were to face that dazzling-rank mage from a month ago again, the outcome might not be the same—even without her teacher’s help.

The journey through the ruin had transformed her completely—her strength had skyrocketed.

“But still...”

Ariel couldn’t help recalling that gentle face of the girl. The thought that Liya might be somewhere in this terrifying world suffering alone made her restless and uneasy.

“Even if I’ve gained this much power, what use is it if I can’t save Liya? No... I have to keep looking for her!”

Resolve flashed in Ariel’s eyes. She prepared to venture deeper into the dangerous forest again.

Liya might still be somewhere within. She couldn’t give up.

Even if they had missed each other in the ruin, she still believed that between her and Liya existed a bond of fate.

Liya, I’ll find you. I swear I will.

“M-My Lady?”

Just as she was about to act, a voice called from nearby.

Hm?

Hearing the call, Ariel lowered her head—and only then noticed the two figures before her: the soldier and his captain.

Both were kneeling on the ground, still trembling, thinking they had encountered the legendary “terrifying presence.”

Fortunately, the captain was the braver one. When nothing happened for a long time, he dared to lift his head and sneak a glance. Seeing that this “terrifying presence” didn’t seem interested in eating them, he cautiously called out.

Ordinary people?

Her eyes swept over them in suspicion. Ariel’s brows knitted slightly, confusion flickering across her face.

Strange. This was the Forest of Dead Blight—an Imperial forbidden zone. Other than bugs and crows, there were hardly any living things here. How could there be people—ordinary people, with no battle aura or magic at all?

“Who are you?” Ariel asked.

“We...”

Seeing that this “terrifying presence” had actually spoken to them and wasn’t about to eat them, the captain was overjoyed. He kicked the still-shaking soldier beside him and quickly replied:

“We’re soldiers of the Empire!”

“Soldiers?”

Ariel glanced over their leather armor.

“Yes, ma’am! We’re border guards under Count Eller, unit codename Iron Hammer, and we—”

“Wait, wait, I’m not interested in the details of your army.”

Ariel stopped his eager speech and asked, “What I want to know is—why are you here? This isn’t exactly where border guards are supposed to be.”

“Th-That’s true.”

The captain and soldier exchanged a look, then confessed honestly:

“We entered this forest to find someone.”

“Find who?”

“To find a young lady named Ariel.”

The captain gestured with his hands:

“About a meter-fifty to a meter-sixty tall, eighteen years old, slender build, distinguishing feature—flat chest.”

Then he added with a surprised sound:

“Come to think of it, she looks a lot like you, My Lady.”

Ariel: “......”

What do you mean looks like her—you’re talking about her, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ obviously!

And what’s with “flat chest” being a feature? Since when is that a defining characteristic? Apologize to every under-ten girl in the world, will you!

And she wasn’t flat-chested—just not that pronounced, that’s all!

“Wait.”

Ariel suddenly realized something.

The key point wasn’t that ridiculous “flat chest” remark—but that someone was looking for her!

Who?

The academy?

Yes—that made sense. She had “gone missing” on the journey with the academy to the Holy City. The academy sending people to search was only natural.

Her eyes lit up.

If they were looking for her, then they’d surely be looking for Liya too—which meant...

“Then have you found a girl named Liya? You should have been ordered to find her too!”

Ariel asked anxiously.

She didn’t fully expect these men to have found Liya, but even if they hadn’t, at least they might help narrow down the search area within this vast forest...

But to her surprise, the two men just looked completely blank.

“Liya?”

The captain frowned. “Forgive me, My Lady... that name, we’ve never heard of it.”

“Eh?”

Ariel froze.

“Wh-What do you mean you’ve never heard of her? Liya—Liya Angel! About my age, a beautiful girl, her chest a little bigger than mine, she got lost in this forest too!”

Even if Liya had been found or had left earlier, the searchers should at least know her name—how could they not have heard of her?

“I’m sorry, My Lady.”

The captain shook his head, speaking solemnly:

“The Liya Angel you speak of—we never received any such order. From start to finish, we were sent to find only one person—Lady Ariel.”

“......”

Staring at the completely sincere captain and soldier, Ariel’s mouth fell open.

She didn’t think the academy would just forget to look for Liya, so...

A sudden, heartbreaking realization struck her, bringing tears to her eyes.

...

...

“Yes. Young Master Muen and Miss Liya left the forest safely a month ago.”

Following the captain, Ariel soon met Count Eller, who was stationed outside the forest.

From the armor-clad Count Eller’s own mouth, she received—without surprise yet with total shock—the message that turned her to stone in an instant:

“For this entire month, the one we have waited for... or searched for... was you alone, Lady Ariel.”

“Eh? The one you’ve been looking for... only me?”

Ariel staggered back a few steps. In that moment, countless images flashed through her mind.

Herself, stepping without hesitation into the unknown ruin to find Liya.

Herself, fighting amid terrifying mechanical dolls, blood spraying, not an ounce of fear.

Herself, on the brink of death, drawing infinite strength at the thought of lonely Liya.

But now—

Those images shattered.

Because the girl she had sought to save... had never needed saving at all.

Liya had escaped that perilous forest a month ago—safe and sound—and had gone to the warm, secure Holy City.

And supposedly... with that infuriating Muen Campbell!

“Then... what about me...”

Ariel shook her head hard, pushing away the image of Liya walking away from her, murmuring blankly:

“Then what... was this entire month of effort for?”