Chapter 163 Awakening: Saintess End
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"... My hair came from My Great Grandmother who married into our family a hundred years ago."
"She came from a small Noble Family in the Center portion of the Continent."
"Though… That's as much as I know from her and how she came to marry Great Grandfather who was a Soldier at the wall." She said with an awkward smile
"..."
Dale nodded silently, seemingly satisfied with her answer.
But internally, he shook his head, confirming his suspicions while also being slightly disappointed.
'She's terrible at lying, yet, I can't blame her.'
'If one did not know previously about the letters exchanged between the Commander and his Wife or the ones he exchanged with the King, together with the information from David indicating the woman was Royalty, it would indeed be rather hard to connect all of the dots she left in her conversation.'
'But now I'm sure.'
'She is the Great Granddaughter of the Commander, Granddaughter of the Little girl that appeared in that old photo by his desk.'
'Though some things still stand, such as how did a Noble Lady from the Center portion of the Continent meet with a man from the South?'
'They likely met before he assumed the post, David told me that one of the reasons the Southern Wall might've fallen was due to the transference of authority between the previous Commander to the new one.'
'Not that there was a need to convince the Soldiers he would be a good Commander or anything, but there was still the need to learn how to manage the megastructure and the wall properly.'
'The Commander was chosen through a very strict process… Was so I was told.'
'He had to be pretty good considering he was chosen amidst all of the Division Commanders.'
'This moment of change might've made the soldiers more disorganized than normal, leading to a single problem that casket into the fragile balance the Wall had maintained falling like dominos.'
'Also, what happened to the young boy in the photo? Normally, the man continues the line, but from her words, her father is the Lord of the Family.'
'Did the son pass his position to his sister? Did he have no descendants? Erile never even mentioned him... Something is missing here.'
'Regardless, I now know why she's keeping quiet.'
'She must think the subject of the Crown or even the Southern Corps would be sensitive to the people of Resko, and she herself mustn't feel very comfortable with sharing this information with others yet.'
'One does not just goes around flaunting about their bloodline…
'With this… I only have one thing left to address.' He thought silently as he opened his inventory
But as he did so…
[DING]
[Your Quest has been updated]
[Moonlit Promise
A meeting orchestrated by fate itself! A duty left behind from one generation to the other.
>Requirements:
Meet with the Saintess and find out what she wishes to discuss with you at Midnight 1/1
Listen to the Saintess' problems and worries 1/1
Give the Sound Box to the Saintess 0/1
]
'... The Sound Box?' Dale thought as he read the notification quickly
'Well… It was my plan to eventually give it to her, but not so soon…'
'I just barely found out what she was supposed to be, how am I supposed to bring forth this subject without being overly obvious?'
Dale made a slight frown as Erile looked at the moon through the window.
'Sigh… I hope this works…'
"Say… Is something wrong with my hair color?" Erile asked when she noticed Dale was silent
"Hm? Not at all, on the contrary, I find it quite pretty." He replied with a slight smile
'Looks like I thought too much.'
"I asked because I had a slight suspicion, that's all…" Dale added as he took a few items from his inventory, placing them on a small old desk table next to them
"These items were found when I and another one of the Elders went on a… Small venture to the ruins… Underneath the Church…"
'I'm trying to lie here but the moment she asks some of the Elders directly I'm completely screwed…'
'Wait, no… The moment she asks anyone… So I need to keep this ambiguous.'
"Ruins?" Erile asked out loud, multiple emotions being brought from within her
The excitement to see old relics, how could she not feel anything?
"Here, this was the reason why I asked." Dale said as he gave her the picture of the Commander's Family
"I don't know who this man and woman are, but since their hair color is so distinct I thought you might know something about it."
'Technically I'm not lying here, the only one that can confirm the appearance of the Commander is Testros, and since I didn't share these texts with him due to how sensitive their contents were, even if she were to ask someone about it, no one will know what to say.'
'This way, I can deliver the Soundbox and the other items to its rightful owner… Albeit I don't know if I should.'
'Like Testros, whatever truth is contained within them might be more harmful than helpful.'
'David shared with me most of its contents over time, but not everything, so I understand the picture but not the details.'
'I've also been trying to learn how to read and speak the language, but in truth, what's written on the letters and what we currently speak are two different languages.'
'Even if I had spent the past 3 entire weeks studying the language, I would still be unable to read it even with my enhanced Stats.'
'So there's no point in trying to hold onto it to read it on my own, this truth will come to me over time.'
"How interesting… !"
The moment Erile's eyes fell onto the photo, the first thing she thought was how unusual it looked, after all, it was a mirror into the past…
But that was until she recognized something… And then another… Finally, all pieces fell in place.
"... grandmother?…" She whispered to herself as she held the picture
"Then these?..."
"They were together with the photo, and deeming your reaction, you may indeed know who it is, you can keep it, I can't read it anyway." Dale joked as he shook his head
"Just promise to tell me what its contents were, I'm as curious as you are after all." He said with a smile as he looked at Erile
"I… Alright." She replied with a smile
"I don't know if this is tied to anything, but there was one more thing with the letters and the photo…"
Dale finally took out the Sound Box giving it to her.
"This old ball was amidst the items, perhaps you might know what it is."
"!... A… A Sound Box…"
"A what?" Dale said as he fainted ignorance
"It's a unique mechanical tool, sometimes magical, with the capacity to record sounds within it for long periods of time." Erile replied as she carefully held onto it
"I'll… Thank you, this is very precious to me."
She looked at the wooden ball momentarily before replying:
"Once I finish with everything… I promise to tell you what I find."
"Then it's a deal." Dale said with a wide smile
"..."
Erile smiled, embarrassed.
[Ding]
[Your Quest has been updated]
[Moonlit Promise
A meeting orchestrated by fate itself! A duty left behind from one generation to the other.
>Requirements:
Meet with the Saintess and find out what she wishes to discuss with you at Midnight 1/1
Listen to the Saintess' problems and worries 1/1
Give the Sound Box to the Saintess 1/1
Wait for the Saintess to go through the contents of the Sound Box 0/1
*Hidden requirement, give the Saintess the exchange letters between her Great Grandmother and the Commander*
]
'Hm? Hidden requirement?'
'I didn't know those existed… I know Quests can be completed in multiple ways, changing their contents to fit what you do, but now that they have optional hidden goals…'
'Interesting.'
Smiling, Dale was about to say Erile Goodbye when…
[Ding]
[Your Quest has been updated]
[Moonlit Promise
…
>Requirements:
…
*Hidden requirement* Give the Saintess the exchange letters between her Great Grandmother and the Commander 1/1
*Optional* Give the Saintess one of the Halves of the Jian Ring! 0/1
]
"??"
Dale was stunned.
For a good few seconds, he was completely unsure of what to do, so much so even Erile had to call him out, making him embarrassed.
"Cough… Haha… I was… Distracted by the moon…" Dale said as he looked at the window on the side
"It sure is beautiful tonight…"
"..."
Erile also looked outside, smiling.
"It sure is."
[Ding]
[Your Quest has been updated]
[Moonlit Promise
…
>Requirements:
…
*Hidden requirement* Give the Saintess the exchange letters between her Great Grandmother and the Commander 1/1
*Disclaimer* There is no Optional requirement
]
"???"
Dale ended up looking at the moon for a few good seconds before he and Erile parted ways.
And although he left in a bit of a hurry, he still left quite an impression on Erile.
Though that was a matter for another day because as Dale descended, her guard made her way up.
/Fwoosh…/
"... It's suddenly so cold…" She said as she grabbed the blanket around her body
'Oh… I forgot to give this back to him…'
"..."
'Perhaps I'll keep it… For just a bit a longer…'
"Erile? Are you there?"
"... Fey, I'm here." She replied as she got up from her seat
With a smile, she went to meet her concerned guard.
And like that, the moon rose to the top of the skies… And it eventually started to fall…
A group of people gathered at the walls of Resko in the dead of the night.
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Notes