Sophia's great ship cleaved through the sparkling sea surface, plowing out a long wake of churning white foam. The outline of Silver Sand Bay gradually faded behind the stern, eventually merging into the blue line where sea met sky.
In Sophia's private cabin on the second floor of the ship's superstructure, Bella had been stripped of all weapons and armor, wearing only a single garment as she sat on the hardwood stool placed in the center of the room.
On the other side, Sophia looked on with curiosity, while the robed elder priest gazed with deep eyes, and the guard captain stood like an iron tower, arms crossed, muscles taut, his sharp gaze never leaving Bella for a moment.
Even without weapons, a Gold-rank could still pose a threat to the current Hero.
"Possessing Truth Vision—no wonder you could identify us as Church personnel," Priest Samuel observed, looking at Bella's silver-glowing pupils with understanding. "However, it seems you haven't fully mastered this ability yet."
"Fully mastered?" Bella asked in confusion.
"Truth Vision? What's that?" Sophia inquired while examining Bella's status panel.
Samuel explained to Sophia:
"A very convenient but rare reconnaissance skill that can not only discern traces left by others, but also roughly assess their strength and abilities. The Church has had people who obtained this talent skill before.
Moreover, from what I know, those who possess this skill can selectively turn off this ability, rather than having those silver eyes constantly glowing like hers."
Sophia nodded, then noticed Bella across from her also wore an expression of sudden understanding, finding it somewhat amusing—she knew less about her own skill than others did.
What she didn't realize was that without a master teacher or status panel, most ordinary people could only spend vast amounts of time fumbling to understand the talent skills they acquired.
"You're the person Silver Sand Bay is trying to capture, aren't you?" Sophia asked.
"Yes!" Bella admitted straightforwardly.
"Aren't you afraid we'll send you back?"
"I've had contact with Church priests before and received their help. They were all good people. I believe the Church wouldn't collude with slave traders... right?"
After a pause, Bella's gaze shifted to the robed Samuel: "Or did I guess wrong?"
Sophia remained noncommittal and continued asking, "Then why did you go kill that... what's-his-name..."
Although she had heard the fat garrison commander's shouting earlier in the ship's cabin, Sophia hadn't bothered to remember the name.
"Horn," Bella unconsciously clenched her hands when speaking the name. "The reason is simple—he killed my friend, a very important friend, who died as a slave under his torture."
Bella then recounted to Sophia how she had traced her friend's trail to Silver Sand Bay, and how she discovered her friend had died miserably at Horn's hands.
After confirming the killer, she had used the talent [Truth Vision] acquired at level 40 to lock onto Horn's whereabouts, tracking him for half a month, studying his behavioral patterns until she found an opportunity to eliminate him.
However, what made her successful also led to her downfall—her constantly glowing silver eyes exposed her at the end, forcing her to hide beneath the Church's ship.
"Just to avenge your friend?"
"A friend who saved my life." Bella shrugged as if stating something perfectly natural.
"What are your plans afterward?"
"If you don't hand me back to Silver Sand Bay, I hope to return to the kingdom afterward to search for traces of my father."
Sophia looked toward Samuel, but the priest shook his head.
"I'm afraid that's not possible. We cannot bear even the slightest risk."
The guard captain behind them, who had remained silent, now placed his hand on his sword.
He understood the innocence of the young woman before them, but compared to humanity's future, any sacrifice was acceptable—whether his life or his honor...
Sensing the suddenly intensified oppressive force from across the room, Bella closed her eyes.
Under Truth Vision, she clearly understood the vast difference in strength between the two sides. Even resistance or escape held no hope.
"There's no need to be so tense," Sophia suddenly said. "Bella, I can't just let you go, but would you be willing to stay by my side? For a few years, like a long-term employment."
"I'm willing."
Without hesitation, Bella agreed. She clearly understood she had become entangled in some secret Church operation, and this invitation might represent their greatest show of goodwill.
"My lady..."
The guard captain frowned, and Samuel directly voiced his intention to dissuade her, but Sophia raised her hand to stop them.
"She's not lying, is she?"
Samuel paused for two seconds, then nodded—before this conversation began, Bella had already drunk truth serum, making lies impossible without special methods.
"Then it's decided," Sophia declared.
Seeing this, Samuel could only acquiesce.
Although he could disregard the Hero's opinion and forcibly eliminate this potential variable, if it resulted in the Hero becoming alienated from them, the loss would outweigh the gain.
However, they couldn't be completely unprepared. He would need to leave some contingency measures on this young woman named Bella...
Suddenly, Samuel's eyes widened as he quickly strode out of the cabin.
"What's happening?" Sophia remained seated without moving.
With her current weak strength, not acting rashly during any emergency was her greatest help to others.
Samuel squinted toward the edge of the sea horizon, where a small black dot appeared—seemingly a ship.
But... how could it be a ship?
His perception detected something large approaching, which he had initially mistaken for some sea monster.
The distance was still too great to make out its true nature.
The other party also seemed to notice them. Under Samuel's observation, that "ship" quickly changed direction, clearly intending to avoid them.
Seeing this, Samuel slowly retreated back into the cabin. Though somewhat curious, fewer unexpected incidents on their journey would always be better.
---
In reality, if he had gotten closer, Samuel would have felt even more bewildered, perhaps marveling at how truly wondrous this world was.
Because it indeed was a ship—a demonic vessel made of irregular wooden planks bonded together with fungal threads, pulled by two mermaids.
The crew consisted of one puffshroom and one mushroom person...
"Boss, shouldn't we go ask for directions?"
On the Mushroom, Dylan looked at the distant large ship with puzzlement.
They had been sailing aimlessly for three days—didn't they need to know the direction?
"Ask? Ask what! A ship full of Gold-ranks—if we approached them, they'd definitely chop up puffshrooms and throw you to feed the fish! We'll avoid them and then follow the direction they came from. No need to ask!"
Dylan was somewhat surprised by that ship's background, but nodded in agreement with his boss's choice.
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