Despite being so speechless, Rise adapted to the situation, and his patience scale when it came to Kamille was always limitless, so he laughed it off and agreed.
"Of course..." He chuckled halfheartedly and did not say anything anymore. Kamille counters him so much!
Kamille also did not pursue it any further; his attention was once again captured by the palace in front of him. Inside the gate, aside from Rise as the first distraction of his career, Kamille was always focused on his mission.
His expression grew somber after looking at the palace, his pupils becoming more prominent as information was relayed to him by his ability.
Rise also knew how to step back and calculate what was more important at the moment. And now, that was to help Kamille. His eyes gained a shade of blue, activating Detect.
While not high-level like Kamille's True Sight, Detect was still able to see a part of the original appearance of the Crystal Tower or Palace in front of him.
The tall tower, shimmering in the light, was indeed a sight to behold, but now, as he looked at it, the place exuded a kind of dangerous aura, as if ancient monsters were about to crawl on it.
Faint yet powerful mana surrounded the palace; it was far from the serene and pure it gave off on the surface. Rise felt a repulsive aura from it, similar to those higher-level beings he encountered in his past life.
Rise also gradually became serious. He then blinked, closing his eyes as the stinging sensation hurt his eyes—the side effect of this ability. Detect's duration was not always this short, so this only confirmed just how terrifying the being who resided in that crystal palace was.
Wait... Rise turned to Kamille and observed his face immediately. Given the True Sight's level, Kamille must have seen far more than he could.
Kamille's expression was indeed serious, but Rise could not detect any abnormal pain from him. Kamille was still looking at the palace, almost not blinking.
Rise did not know if Kamille only endured the pain or what, but... He knew this was how the Guild Leader was.
"Guild Leader... that crystal palace," Rise decided to start the conversation, "...I feel it's so dangerous to venture inside."
Rise only said that as a starter, though, giving his opinion. However, it was also a fact. That palace was so dangerous, something that even he somehow felt a kind of instinctive desire not to go in.
Out of all the beings beyond the gate, there was only one explanation for this feeling.
"Hmmm..." Kamille slowly spoke and revealed his mind, coinciding with Rise's guess. "A noble must be inside." His tone was deep, narrowing his eyes with a dark gaze.
A noble...
This term was not new to everyone. Since almost a hundred years ago, when the gates appeared on Earth and the monsters began invading the surface, everyone was already aware of the dangers of gates.
Aside from normal monsters in the zones and the gates, there were also the higher beings in their hierarchy. They called themselves nobles, and there was also a hierarchy within them similar to how it was in ancient times.
They only appeared twenty years ago, but their terror was almost synonymous with the end of humanity. With how powerful they were, it was only a matter of time before humans became extinct or slaves.
Yet, for some reason, they also could not leave the gate for the time being and descend to Earth. Something and the only thing giving relief to the federation and humanity.
"A Viscount..." Kamille slowly muttered that word as if saying so would be detected by the other party. Yet at the same time, it didn't have any fear as well, but a firm and determined voice.
A Viscount... Rise's heart skipped a beat. He was also not scared, but this was still shocking. A Viscount was much higher in the Noble's hierarchy, above the Baron.
"Why... A Viscount is here?"
This was even more surprising. This was a gate that was still technically an A-rank gate and not yet an S-rank gate; even for S-rank gates, there was only a small record of encountering a Viscount other than a Baron.
Still, this only answered the reason for the abnormality of this gate. Other than the wolves at the periphery of the dungeon, no monsters also dared to be in the vicinity of a noble.
"This has become more troublesome," Rise continued, even for him... He knew, he didn't have a chance against a Viscount, even to a Baron who was more equivalent to an S-rank esper.
Kamille did not say anything else; maybe he also did not know what to say. His eyes only lingered for a moment at a tower before slowly averting his eyes, disregarding the slight ache of strain from staring too long.
"Let's go back first." Lingering here for too long would increase the chance of the Viscount discovering them. Of course, Kamille knew that the Viscount might already be aware of their presence the moment they set foot inside the dungeon.
Rise also nodded and did not answer, letting Kamille lead him to the others.
His mind was actually at a loss, trying to recall the information from the past. He knew that this subjugation would be a success, yet he also did not know the information about it.
Perhaps aside from the members of the Guild, no one knew what transpired inside. Even when he entered the Guild, he did not bother to find out either, as it was not too important for him.
To think that... A Viscount was involved?
Suddenly, Rise wondered if a Viscount really was involved before or if it was because of his interference and appearance that a change in timeline happened.
The crease in his brows did not disappear until they returned to the camp. Kamille was also the same, so the flight back was different from the leisurely and relaxed atmosphere when they left.
Frankly speaking, Rise had already expected that a lot of things would be different, whether he orchestrated them or whether the events were influenced by his actions. That was inevitable.
However, to think he was only back for about a day and something like this happened? Rise did not want to ponder deeply, though, as he did not have evidence.
Being someone who did not participate in this subjugation, Rise had no idea what happened; similarly, he had no way of knowing if the Viscount had appeared before.