Nightfall quietly descended.
At the foot of the Mangal Mountain Range, Vivian's Team had already set up their tents and lit a campfire to illuminate the surroundings.
At this moment, led by Vivian, the girls of the team gathered around the campfire, their gazes cast to the side.
There, Shane, with his back to them, was walking away into the distance.
Watching Shane like this, Vivian's expression was filled with concern.
Meanwhile, Tielle, Lu Muya, and Merica exchanged glances.
"Um, Sister Vivian," Lu Muya shyly asked, "what's wrong with him?"
Lu Muya voiced the question everyone was thinking.
It was clear that everyone had noticed something amiss between Shane and Vivian.
"You were just having a good conversation earlier, so why suddenly...?"
Merica spoke up too, though she didn't quite know how to describe it.
In such circumstances, even Tielle cast an inquiring look at Vivian.
To this, Vivian sighed.
"I really don't know what's wrong," Vivian replied helplessly. "For some reason, Shane suddenly became like that."
Recalling the conversation from earlier, Vivian realized that after she mentioned "The Hero must never appear again," Shane fell completely silent and didn't say another word.
No, Shane did say one more thing to Vivian afterward.
"I'll take a short walk nearby."
Leaving those words, Shane left just like that.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Vivian began to reflect.
"I don't think it's your problem." Tielle spoke up in a calm manner, saying, "It should be that man's own issue, right?"
Tielle's words were quite piercing.
But that was Tielle, just as Shane had always felt, decisive, calm, and a bit taciturn. Even in Lamijion, many male adventurers found her intimidating.
On the other hand, with Shane not present, Lu Muya and Merica seemed more cheerful than before.
Lu Muya still exhibited a shy demeanor, yet at least her speech no longer faltered and became more fluent.
As for Merica, there was no need to say; without the constraints, even her expression grew much lighter.
This was the true nature of Vivian's Team.
Vivian was gentle and caring.
Tielle was indifferent and taciturn.
Lu Muya was timid and shy.
Merica was quite lively, in contrast to her previously tense demeanor, though she had restrained this part of her personality upon Shane's arrival.
Now that Shane was absent, Merica became less restrained.
"Sister Vivian, are you worried about that man?" Merica asked Vivian enthusiastically. "Though you've always been so gentle, this time seems a bit different, doesn't it?"
"Is that so?" Vivian appeared taken aback by this statement.
"I feel the same way," Lu Muya said hesitantly, sneaking a glance at Vivian. "It seems like Sister Vivian's attention toward Mr. Shane is even more than toward newcomers before."
With Lu Muya pointing this out, Vivian couldn't deny the awareness.
Though towards everyone, Vivian was generally gentle and caring, especially attentive to newcomers, this time, her attention toward Shane really seemed more than with other newbies before.
It couldn't be helped.
"Ever since Shane defeated the Golem, I felt there must be some secret we don't know about him," Vivian admitted candidly, saying, "While I don't know what secret that might be, I must say he indeed piqued my attention."
Otherwise, Vivian would not have confided in Shane so quickly about the team's situation nor protected Shane in front of the team.
Even though she would have done the same for others, Vivian would definitely be more cautious in choosing the right moment to disclose the team members' conditions and the extent of protection would not be as great as for Shane.
After all, having only spent one day together, Vivian, no matter how gentle, would not normally give such consideration to a male she couldn't yet trust.
Ultimately, she did so with Shane because she'd noticed something unusual about him.
Moreover...
"You know, I'm not quite like the usual humans, or Human Race, right?"
Vivian's words quieted the girls.
Vivian smiled slightly and continued, "Due to my unique traits, I tend to develop special feelings toward some unusual individuals."
The underlying meaning of Vivian's words was understood by Tielle and the others.
"So, that person gave you such a special feeling?"
Tielle looked at Vivian.
"That's right," Vivian nodded, saying, "That's why I couldn't help but pay more attention to him, as he not only carries a secret but a significant one."
Vivian had some suspicions.
"Perhaps, Shane is blessed by a very high-ranking God." Vivian asserted with certainty, "That blessing feels even more advanced than Her Highness the Princess's, which compels me to pay extra attention."
This statement stunned everyone.
"A blessing more advanced than Her Highness the Princess's?" Lu Muya expressed her surprise, "How is that possible?"
"...Indeed it's not possible," Tielle remained silent for a moment, and then said quietly, "Her Highness received the blessing of one of the Three Great Goddesses. Such a higher blessing exists with only one entity in the entire Divine Race."
"Right, just one," Vivian said in a low voice, "But since the war a thousand years ago ended, that one has stayed secluded in the Holy Sanctuary at the world's edge, never appearing again. How could anyone possess their blessing?"
In fact, even in the distant past, no one had supposedly possessed that one's blessing.
At least, Vivian had never heard of that supreme being bestowing their blessing upon anyone.
"But if not, then what is going on?"
It was precisely because of this question that Vivian couldn't help but pay more attention to Shane.
Tielle and the others just began to understand what was happening.
"So, Mr. Shane isn't an ordinary person?" Lu Muya asked in puzzlement, "But didn't he fail to master any skill, and only reached Level 10 at age twenty—a low-potential adventurer rookie?"
Precisely because of this, there was more possibility of secrets hidden within this person.
At this moment...
"I might understand Sister Vivian's feeling," Merica suddenly spoke, hesitated a bit, and said, "Actually, I also felt something unusual about that person."
"You?" Vivian, Tielle, and Lu Muya looked at Merica in surprise.
"Yeah," Merica said a bit bashfully, with hesitation in her words, "For some reason, ever since we met, I felt from him a sort of... how should I say, a sense of closeness unusual for strangers?"
This was quite astonishing.
After all, elves were known as a pure and sacred race, generally unlikely to feel such closeness toward unfamiliar males.
Adding to that, having almost been offended by a male adventurer in the past, how could Merica possibly feel close to a stranger male adventurer?
Yet, Shane evoked such a feeling in Merica.
This sensation, if placed in one of the novels from Shane's previous life, might have become a signal of a romantic offer.
But in truth, rather than feeling happy about such spontaneous emotions, Merica felt somewhat afraid.
Because of this, Merica was overly tense in front of Shane.
Perhaps this was the most genuine reaction of a truly pure woman.
Vivian and others were all quite surprised.
"Even Merica feels that way?"
Lu Muya expressed her astonishment.
"..."
Tielle seemed to frown slightly.
"Elves are beings born from Nature, closest to Nature and the world, even revered as the race nearest to the Divine Race," Vivian remarked with some astonishment, mumbling, "To make an elf feel close from the start, logically, only the Divine Race could do it."
Could Shane be of the Divine Race?
Impossible.
"Isn't the Divine Race all female?"
Tielle straightforwardly pointed out.
"That's right," Vivian nodded in affirmation, "Since the first god born, the Supreme God Ominis, is a Goddess, and all other gods split their power from that Goddess, acquiring respective jurisdictions and authorities, becoming life forms modeled after the Supreme God Ominis, hence all Divines are Goddesses, only Goddesses."
Thus, Shane was certainly not of the Divine Race.
Then, who exactly was Shane?
Recalling his earlier behavior and excessive reaction to "Demon King" and "Hero," Vivian's eyes flickered.
(Could it be...)
Before Vivian could finish her thought, Tielle raised her head.
"Since that man is so special, what do you plan to do?"
Tielle asked anyway.
"What to do?" Vivian came back to her senses, pondered for a moment, and said, "We don't need to do anything special, just treat him as an ordinary newcomer and train him."
Regardless of the secrets he bore, unless they could confirm it as something bad, Vivian didn't plan on delving too deeply.
After all, doesn't everyone have a little secret of their own?
Not to mention, Vivian herself had secrets unbeknownst to others.
Not just Vivian, but even Tielle...
Vivian glanced at Tielle, thought for a bit, and said, "Now that Shane's emotions seem a bit unstable, letting him act alone might be too dangerous. Could I trouble you to follow him secretly and protect him for now?"
In response, Tielle didn't give a reply, but after a moment stood up and walked in the direction Shane had departed.
Lu Muya and Merica watched Tielle and continued their conversation.
As for Vivian, she couldn't help but think inwardly.
(I hope it's not what I think.)
Otherwise, this world might find itself in turmoil once again.