Chapter 142: Lunatic

No matter how much Aurelius tried to get an answer, Edward wouldn’t budge.

He seemed very willing to state his own identity, perhaps wanting to use it to make Aurelius let him go.

His purpose, however, seemed like a top-tier secret.

Edward shut his mouth tightly, refusing to say anything more no matter how much he was pressed.

This made Aurelius let out a sigh.

Unfortunately, he had yet to obtain any memory-searching skills or Talents. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed to go through all this trouble and would be able to find the answer immediately.

’How good are cultivators? If they were in my shoes, they would just knock this man unconscious and search his soul...’

Aurelius shook his head.

Then...

He raised the dagger and brought it toward the Thief, aiming at his heart without the slightest hesitation.

He wasn’t planning to go through the trouble of interrogating him and seeking an answer.

Selene’s case was an accident, succeeding only because he had discovered her secrets.

In the face of a Thief trained by an extraordinary organization, Aurelius’ interrogation methods stood no chance. He hadn’t received any training, after all, and it wasn’t like watching movies could possibly teach him anything.

Since that was the case, it would be best to kill this man without wasting any more of his precious time.

Staring at Aurelius’ indifferent eyes, calm without the slightest ripple in them, Edward couldn’t help but curse.

Damn it! He had met a lunatic again!

Shouldn’t he at least pretend to want to learn some information from him?

In the end, the two would reach an agreement after a lot of back and forth, perhaps even including an oath to the Gods to let him go.

Why did he suddenly attack without any further communication?

Every mental preparation Edward had made beforehand shattered. All his plans were ruined.

As he watched the blade’s edge grow closer, he shuddered.

"Wai—wait! Wait!"

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"

In the end, Edward could no longer hold back. Just as the dagger was mere inches away from his heart, he shouted loudly.

Aurelius did not stop immediately.

It was only half a heartbeat later, when the dagger’s tip was dangerously close to Edward’s heart and looked ready to penetrate it, that he seemed to have reacted.

He slowly took back the weapon as a gentle smile appeared on his face.

With his other hand, he reached out and patted Edward’s shoulder.

"Alright. There’s no reason to yell so loudly. Stop making a scene."

"It’s not like I would kill you, right?"

Faced with his "gentle" smile, Edward wanted to yell that this was exactly what he had just wanted to do. However, the moment those words came to his mouth, his intuition screamed of danger.

He wisely chose to keep these thoughts to himself, repeatedly nodding his head in agreement.

"Yes! Yes! You’re right!" he said in a hurry, afraid that any hesitation would make Aurelius kill him.

Aurelius seemed satisfied with his attitude.

After taking a seat beside him, he patted his shoulder once more and motioned for him to speak.

Although he didn’t explicitly state it, Edward understood his meaning.

"Actually, even I don’t know why I came to the Dryad Forest," he said with a wry smile.

Afraid that Aurelius would misunderstand, he followed up on this only a moment later.

"I’m telling the truth! I didn’t come here of my own accord! I was sent by my Teacher!"

"You must have an understanding of the Thieves’ Order’s structure..."

Just as Edward was about to continue, Aurelius raised his hand, interrupting him.

"No, I don’t. Explain it to me."

These words, combined with the expression that practically screamed, "I don’t know anything about your little organization," made Edward choke.

Yet upon seeing that his momentary silence had caused Aurelius’ hand to reach for his dagger, he hurriedly spoke again.

"You..." He took a deep breath.

"The Thieves’ Order is an organization like the Adventurer’s Guild. It’s just that, unlike them, who accept any adventurer, the Thieves’ Order only recruits thieves."

As he spoke, a trace of pride flashed across Edward’s face. He subconsciously puffed out his chest.

"The Thieves’ Order has existed for far longer than most extraordinary organizations. Its roots stem from before the era of the Lost Empire."

"It’s rumored that in the ancient past, it was a righteous organization on the same level as the Seven Churches. Only later..."

Edward continued boasting for quite some time.

What about how terrifying the Thieves’ Order was, with countless high-Ranked Awakeners and even a deity protecting them.

What about their ancient past, with Thieves having decided the fate of entire Kingdoms.

What about powerful Relics capable of peering into the past and the future, giving the Order insight into the Divine.

By the end, Aurelius could no longer suppress his eye from twitching.

This guy... was too boastful!

Had he not known any better, he would have almost believed that Edward and his organization would collectively ascend to the Throne of God the very next moment.

"...the current Royal Family has also received our favor in the past. If I went there, I would be treated like a guest—"

"Alright. Shut up!"

"I understand." No longer able to listen to his boasts, Aurelius suddenly interrupted him.

"Let’s go back to the subject. What’s your purpose for visiting this forest?"

Edward appeared annoyed to have been cut off mid-boast.

However, seeing the handsome face before him, which to him seemed terrifying, he didn’t try to argue back. He continued from where he had previously left off.

"Just like I said, my Teacher ordered me to visit this place. When I asked, he claimed that there was something that could help me here..."

"As for what that ’something’ is, I don’t know yet. I only entered the forest a few hours ago."

"I didn’t expect to witness the birth of the Silverheart Lotus and the subsequent chase by monsters. More importantly..."

’I didn’t expect to be caught by you!’ Edward cursed inwardly, greeting the past generations of Aurelius’ family.

On the surface, however, he maintained a servile expression.