Chapter 380: Farewell

After listening to the entire story about the past of Erhes Valley and the incident inside that sealed dungeon, Ryan remained silent, processing every detail.

’Knowing all this was useful. There is a possibility that Silva or some other god might directly interfere in the world, but if they haven’t done so in all this time... I can only think of a couple of reasons. Either we are just entertainment, or for some reason they can’t descend to the world so easily. That would explain why that god only showed himself inside a dungeon. After all, dungeons are like small worlds, or dimensions external to ours,’ Ryan thought, finding a logical explanation for the fact that those entities hadn’t acted on the surface of this world.

After analyzing the situation and ruling out the possibility of an immediate divine attack, Ryan brought the conversation to an end and stood up.

Having a clearer picture of how those beings operated lifted a doubt from his mind, but it also reinforced the need to get direct answers from someone close to the church.

’In any case, for one reason or another, I have no reason to change my plans. It’s just that now I’m more interested in capturing Udriela,’ Ryan thought, remembering the deity he had already met before and the valuable information he could extract once he had her in his grasp.

Seeing that he was already preparing to leave, Sophia watched him from her seat, curious to see how he would react to that revelation.

"What will you do with this information now, Ryan?" Sophia asked, trying to figure out what his next move would be after learning the secret Lunar Veil was hiding.

Ryan grabbed the back of the chair he had been using and pushed it under the table, leaving everything as it had been before he entered the abandoned house.

"What do you mean? Your truce with the demon king doesn’t interest me. Lunar Veil and Ignis, both nations can do whatever they want," Ryan replied with indifference, making it clear he had no intention of meddling in the agreements that maintained peace on that border.

Sophia listened to that answer calmly, figuring that her kingdom’s political affairs weren’t his priority at the moment.

"Yes, you are right. I figured you would say something like that. Then I will change my question. Do you plan to take action against that god? Against Silva, I mean," Sophia asked, getting straight to the topic that truly represented a threat to everyone.

Ryan raised his hands in a gesture of resignation at a question that seemed beyond anyone’s reach.

"Not at all. If not even Rohan could defeat one of them, even when the god wasn’t taking them seriously, what do you think I could do? A simple human. It isn’t necessary for me to do anything. Knowing this doesn’t interfere with my plans. In any case, I’ll just go back to Kowarre," Ryan answered, downplaying the matter so as not to reveal his true intentions to her.

Hearing how he continued to call himself a simple human after defeating Rigal, Sophia smiled and stood up from her chair. She took a couple of steps until she was standing right in front of him.

"What a liar. You look very calm. It seems this isn’t enough to rattle you. I wonder just how powerful you must be now," Sophia commented, not believing for a second that he was weak or incapable of facing that problem.

Ryan looked at Sophia in silence for two seconds, neither confirming nor denying the guild master’s assumptions. Then he closed his eyes in a gesture of disinterest, turned around, and headed for the exit.

"Whatever. I am leaving Erhes Valley right now. I don’t want my presence here to be taken as a declaration of war. I have no intention of making an enemy out of Lunar Veil," Ryan said, preferring to leave the property before his stay in the city attracted attention.

Those words piqued Sophia’s interest. She saw a good opportunity to ensure her territory’s peace of mind regarding the new demon king.

"So, you really don’t see us as potential enemies?" she asked, seeking to confirm Ryan’s stance toward her nation.

"Interpret it however you prefer. By the way." Ryan stopped and turned back to Sophia, remembering a detail that had caught his attention since he entered the house. "How were you able to hide your presence from me? When I got here, I didn’t notice you until you spoke."

Sophia noticed the genuine doubt in his voice when he mentioned the moment they both crossed paths in the room.

"Oh, does that intrigue you?" she asked with a hint of amusement, seeing she had managed to surprise him with something.

"Naturally. How does your skill actually work?" Ryan asked, wanting to understand how she had bypassed his perception before she lost consciousness.

"Hehehe, do you think I’d reveal that to a demon king?" Sophia replied mockingly, trying to play with his curiosity a bit.

"I don’t care if you don’t tell me," Ryan answered, not falling for her game and showing he had no problem leaving without knowing.

Seeing that he wasn’t going to press for an answer, Sophia dropped her playful attitude.

"Don’t worry, I’ll tell you because I highly doubt it will ever work on you again," she said, knowing that the immunity Ryan had just awakened made it useless to keep the details of her power hidden.

She crossed her arms in a gesture of annoyance, perhaps recalling the highly embarrassing moment she had just experienced on the table and how she had failed to subdue Ryan with her skill.

"You could say my Twin Resonance skill has two stages. It doesn’t just force you to feel what I feel—physical pain, pleasure, sadness. When you entered here, I already had my skill active, only in its second stage. Stealth skills erase your scent, your presence, and make you invisible unless you have very good instincts or use Detect. But in my case, the reason I was able to stay hidden from you is because you were suppressing your power the entire time. I couldn’t sense you, and you could only sense your own presence. Do you understand?" Sophia explained, detailing how the concealment Ryan had active through his relic had actually played in her favor.

Ryan frowned as he realized that his own precaution for infiltrating Erhes Valley had been the reason he hadn’t detected her in time.

"How complicated. But it is an interesting skill," Ryan admitted, recognizing the usefulness of such a technique when properly employed.

"To be flattered by you is quite an honor," Sophia replied with a certain satisfaction at receiving that comment from someone like him.

With all his doubts resolved, Ryan now had several important objectives to fulfill in his territory, and he didn’t want to delay them any further by staying to chat.

His priority was to create the grimoires that would indirectly strengthen him and also increase his nation’s military power for what was to come. Along with that, distributing weapons forged in his kingdom would help strengthen ties with the nations that agreed to form alliances with him.

Without Sophia knowing it at that moment, Ryan had already added her to that list of potential alliances he planned to secure later on.

After getting everything ready in Kowarre, Ryan’s next step would be to attend and make it out of the Walpurgis alive to establish his position as a strong ruler in front of the other demon kings, and subsequently kidnap Priscilla from the church’s clutches and capture Udriela alive.

With all that in mind, Ryan said goodbye to her to finally take his leave.

"Anyway, take care, Guild Master," Ryan said, walking toward the room’s exit.

"One more thing," the guild master said, stopping him right before Ryan crossed the threshold.

Ryan stopped at the entrance and turned his head slightly, looking at her out of the corner of his eye to hear what else she had to say.

"If you brought Helen with you, please, take her away without causing any destruction. The last time you were here, she destroyed two towers. And Helen is definitely not the type of person who pays her debts. She never, absolutely never, pays her debts," the guild master complained, pointing her fingers as if counting the countless things Helen had destroyed in the past without taking responsibility for the costs.

Hearing such a heartfelt complaint about the property damage in the city, Ryan found the reputation his companion had left behind quite amusing.

’She doesn’t pay her debts, huh. Naturally, she isn’t a Lannister,’ Ryan thought, remembering that phrase from his old world.

"Don’t worry, she isn’t here," Ryan replied, assuring her that he had come alone on this occasion.

Sophia looked relieved to know she wouldn’t have to deal with any more reconstruction costs in the city.

"I am glad to hear that. Maybe she has finally matured," she commented, hoping the swordswoman had mellowed out over time.

"Not at all. The only thing that has changed about her is that she is very strong now," Ryan clarified, knowing full well that if Helen caused trouble now, the disaster would be much greater than before.

Sophia sighed in resignation, imagining the headache it must be to control someone like that with so much power.

"You must have it rough. Believe me, I understand you better than anyone," she said, sympathizing with him for having to handle such a problematic subordinate.

After that little joke, they said their goodbyes. Ryan left the city undetected and returned to Ignis, heading straight for the territory where his workers and his group were harvesting materials from the mana trees.