You are all my wings...

But Lyon knew these were all ticking time bombs that would explode sooner or later.

Let's resolve this as soon as possible!

"Elise, let's get back to the point. What are your thoughts?"

What do I think?

“Yes, a saint who can represent the Holy See to some extent is personally recruiting us, so we can’t just refuse, can we? For the sake of our future, it wouldn’t be bad for our faction to join her forces. What are your specific thoughts?”

For the sake of our future?

These words made Elizabeth's heart skip a beat.

Why am I so happy when he says that?

"Alright, since you asked such a question, I'll give you a detailed analysis."

She pretended to be nonchalant and patted her small chest.

Leon nodded secretly; her reaction was quite interesting.

All I heard was Elizabeth say:

"Undeniably, as the third saint of the Holy See, Britta has already achieved enough and enjoys great prestige among the people. Her future is very bright. Her words and deeds can also represent the will of the Holy See to a certain extent. As the only person in the Holy See with the profession of holy supplicant, it is not unreasonable to say that she is the direct representative of God Astalia."

Lyon frowned slightly. Why was it all praise?

Following the expected rhythm, the next step should be 'but', right?

"but!"

Elizabeth did indeed begin a change of heart:

“You are a member of the Royal Magicians’ Guild, and I am a diplomat sent here by the Holy Land of Elves. We both have our own publicly known affiliations. Even if we join the Saintess’s faction, we can’t be the prominent figures, can we?”

Lyon said, "As expected of the intelligent and perceptive Iris, please continue, I'm listening carefully."

Iris was analyzing the situation with great enthusiasm, feeling that she had never spoken so eloquently before. Was she trying to quickly shift her strange state of mind?

She became eloquent without even realizing it:

"The above are minor issues. The most crucial point is that Brierita is notoriously ruthless! Although she is a saint of the Holy See and has a good reputation, she is extremely resolute and merciless when carrying out various purges! Lyon, do you approve of this style of doing things? If one day she wants to purge us, what do you think we should do?"

This time, Lyon was genuinely surprised.

Is that Iris thinking that far ahead?

I don't usually see her so thoughtful and talkative.

“Elise, my opinion of you has changed again.”

"What's up?"

Elizabeth paused for a moment.

"No, I just think it's really beautiful to see you analyzing things so earnestly for our warband."

Lyon seized every opportunity to praise Elizabeth.

"What nonsense are you talking about! It's undeniable that I'm beautiful, but don't think I'll be happy just because you compliment me!"

Lyon laughed. Didn't Iris sound quite pleased?

The undisguised joy and pride on his face—just look in the mirror and you'll see how obvious it is.

However, Leon certainly wouldn't actually remind Iris to look in the mirror; if she were to explode with shame, the conversation would be ruined.

“I’m not just saying this to please you. Just like when someone sees a clear, clean sky after the rain, they will sincerely say that nature is so beautiful. In my heart, you are the same.”

Elizabeth's cheeks flushed bright red, and she longed to flee immediately, but she knew she couldn't do that, so she quickly changed the subject:

"Look, you've gone off-topic again! You haven't answered the question I just analyzed! Do you have anything to say about Britta's iron-fisted purge?"

The question was thrown back to Lyon, and it was indeed a question that could not be glossed over.

Chapter Forty-Eight reiterates that I never stay out overnight.

Lyon said slowly:

“Elise, have you ever thought about this: what if the people purged by Berelita were the same group that caused your father's death? Would you still think Berelita's purges were so terrible? After all, she is the agent of the goddess Astalia.”

This was a perspective that Iris had never considered.

"The key question is, will the situation be as you describe?"

“I haven’t looked into the details, but based on what I know, the people she’s purged are definitely not good people or people of high moral character.”

"Does that mean you trust her character?"

Elizabeth countered with a question.

This girl is really something; she's thrown the question back at us again.

Lyon knew that he couldn't give a precise answer at this point.

Iris had not yet fully expressed her thoughts, and her attitude was not yet clear.

So, after a moment of hesitation, Lyon tentatively said:

"After all, she is a saint of the Holy See. If her actions are easily exposed, then something is not right."

Elizabeth nodded immediately:

"Right, right, I think so too. This girl is definitely suspicious! When I first met her half a year ago when I came to the capital as a diplomat, I had a feeling that she might be my nemesis! We, the Holy Land of Elves, never believe in gods, but we are afraid of the malice of gods!"

Lyon knew that his premonition and worry were, to some extent, quite accurate.

One of the reasons why Iris was able to rise to the position of the third female lead in the second season was that the death of Burelita at the end of the first season left a vacancy for the female lead.

Although Berylita is only at level four now, she will soon enter a period of rapid improvement after the main storyline begins.

Before the finale of the first part, he quickly reached the legendary level based on his previous achievements.

It is a miracle that he has crossed three intermediate ranks in less than seven years.

If he hadn't used the forbidden holy incantation to perish together with the final boss of the first part, there would definitely have been room for him to shine later on.

Each film can have a maximum of three female leads.

Even if others have a lot of screen time, they are still just supporting characters.

This kind of thing may involve some mysterious force, which is not something that can be easily understood.

Lyon had a headache.

While he was pondering what to say.

"However, I just analyzed it carefully, Lyon."

Iris thought to herself that it would seem strange and illogical for her to refuse too much.

She then said:

“What you just said makes sense. If we can join Berylita’s forces, we can gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of the Astalia Cult, find clues related to my father’s death, and at the same time, figure out whether she is our enemy or our friend.”

Lyon: "So you mean?"

"In the region surrounding the Kingdom of Horsha, the most powerful force is the Astalia Cult. With such a powerful backer, everything they do is much easier. Although we are reluctant to admit it, it is indeed in our interest for the chapter to join her forces."

As Elizabeth spoke, a smile appeared on her face:

“I can see that, Lyon, your stance is to join, right? I agree. However, we must continue to scrutinize Britta to prevent her from becoming like the Bloodline faction.”

She thought to herself, "If I do this, I hope they won't have any wild thoughts."

Deep down, she felt a slight pang of regret, but the words were already out, and she didn't know how to take them back, so she could only force a smile.

Lyon also breathed a sigh of relief.

It's good that Iris can figure it out herself.

She must still harbor hostility towards Britta, and who knows what might happen after their meeting and how it might interfere with Leon's other missions, but in the end, they made a successful step forward.

Alternatively, try to max out Iris's favorability before next week's training session.

If the favorability rating is 100%, even if you encounter a chaotic situation, there's still room for maneuver, right?

"Let's go, we should optimize our equipment. We've made quite a bit of money, so we need to upgrade our gear."

"The Adventurers' Guild must be closed by now, right?"

"It's alright, I'll take you somewhere else, where there are even more good things."

……

Nighttime.

Colt Street, South District.

As the stars and moon appeared in the sky, more and more adventurers appeared.

In the capital of Horshah, early morning and evening are when first-class and novice adventurers are most active on the streets.

After a long day of work in the Alado dungeon, all they needed was to find a tavern, have a drink, and release their pent-up emotions.

The residents of the capital city would also set up various stalls at this time to earn a lot of money from adventurers.

These adventurers, who teeter on the brink of death, possess considerable spending power and an even higher willingness to consume, naturally making extraordinary contributions to the prosperity of the capital.

Leon and Iris, each dressed in a wizard's robe and wearing a hood to conceal their faces, walked side by side.

Next, we will be conducting procurement activities for equipment upgrades.

"It's really lively here. This place truly lives up to its reputation as the most prosperous adventurer's capital in the northeastern region of the continent."

Shopping with Lyon was a novel and unprecedented experience that made Iris instantly forget her earlier lingering regret.

Yes, I just admire Lyon as a teammate, I have absolutely no other intentions!

Now I should enjoy my first shopping trip with people other than my mother and cousin!

"Elise, haven't you been strolling around this area at night before?"

“To reiterate, I never stay out overnight,” Elizabeth said casually.

"That's true. If you were to go out on the street without any cover-up, you would definitely attract a lot of men's covetous eyes, after all, you are so cute and beautiful."

"..."

Iris was speechless.

Hearing such straightforward praise, she would have always been dismissive of any other man, but for some reason, her heart was pounding uncontrollably, and she couldn't contain her joy.

Why?

Why did I react so strongly?

I don't feel anything when others praise me.

Iris couldn't help but ask herself, did she really only see Leon as a teammate?

Leon noticed that Iris hadn't said anything. He glanced at her and saw that her cheeks were red again, making her even more adorable.

After walking for about ten minutes, Leon led Iris into a narrow alley.

Then, he pulled Iris directly towards the wall and passed through it.

What appeared before them next was a large mansion.

The two were standing in the grassy square at the front of the mansion.

Around the square, there were still quite a few adventurers who were clearly at least level two, waiting in place.

"Was that wall just now an illusion magic spell? Is this gathering of extraordinary individuals hosted by experts of level four or above?"

Elise's attention was diverted by something new, and she felt relieved that she no longer had to worry about it.

"That's right, the organizer is Marquis Sergei, a fifth-rank official. He is the only illusionist in the Kingdom of Horshah and is passionate about collecting all kinds of rare magical items. He holds such gatherings of extraordinary individuals every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the scale is quite good."

Lyon explained.

Illusion magic is a branch of light magic, a magic system that only humans can master.

Generally, you need to be at least at level four to create a decent illusion.