A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Of course, Bray didn't know him.

"How old are you this year?" Bray asked casually, like an old man, because he found waiting for orders a bit boring.

"..." The young man looked at Bray strangely; the question was somewhat unexpected.

"Eighteen..." After hesitating for a moment, the young man finally told himself his age.

There's no point in hiding your age.

"So young," Bray remarked with the air of an older man.

What's going on? Are there so many geniuses in this world? There are even adventurers who are S-rank right after they come of age.

"Um..." The young man didn't know how to reply to Bray, so he could only stammer in response.

"Let's keep our voices down; they're probably still on the move inside."

"Ah, okay," Bray replied, seemingly finding the other person rather shy.

Shyness is good; a shy boy is quite nice.

Compared to some hot-blooded young man, shyness made Bray feel closer to him.

"Shh." Hearing the young man's conversation with Bray, a girl squatting on the ground put her finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture.

“…” Bray obediently shut up.

It seems there's another companion who's the aloof type of woman; Bray isn't used to dealing with that kind of person.

It seems that idiots are easier to deal with after all.

"Stop these people!" Just as Brehus was lost in thought, a shout came from inside the house.

Then they saw many members of the Mathematical Society, their robes destroyed, rushing out of the house.

"Whoosh—" As soon as he finished speaking, the young man next to Bray disappeared from the spot.

The woman also stood up, her lips moving slightly.

"Kala—" Without even a complete incantation, a massive wall of mud and stone surrounded the people who knew the magic.

Then a group of clay figures created by magic emerged from the mud and stone wall.

"..." Bray hadn't even touched the scabbard before his teammate had already used his skills, and he felt a little embarrassed.

At the same time, the young man who had disappeared reappeared inside the wall.

A flurry of flashes appeared, and a short sword, like a falcon, hunted its enemies in mid-air.

The flashes of light formed a line, giving the illusion that the short sword was even faster than the person wielding it.

"It's done." The woman clenched her fist and pulled back.

Then the mud and stone wall collapsed with a crash, and the clay figurine disappeared.

The young man stood calmly among the group of fallen lawyers.

Although what just happened was exaggerated, the people from the Mathematical Society were not actually killed.

The young man was quite careful in his actions.

"Are there any survivors?" A composed-looking woman, carrying a large sword on her back, walked out of the house and asked in a deep voice.

Behind her were many ordinary adventurers who came to help.

“They’re all alive,” the shy boy in Bray’s eyes said to the older woman.

"That's great." The older woman breathed a sigh of relief. She was really worried that her companions had been too violent and had killed all the people who had been driven out.

"There are still unconscious ones inside, pull them all out," the eldest sister ordered the weaker adventurers behind her.

Essentially, these mathematical and mathematical society members are just ordinary people, or at least a few with real ability.

Among them are people of all ages; to say that they should be killed would be too bloody.

As the employer, Yunji certainly wouldn't want to see such bloodshed.

"It seems... this has nothing to do with me," Bray muttered, putting his hand back down after he had been about to draw his sword.

"Clap clap clap clap." A round of applause rang out, and Yun Ji, protected by a group of people, walked into the alley.

"Thank you all for your hard work. Now we can try to extract clues from these people." Yun Ji looked at the fallen people.

With so many people captured this time, Yunji couldn't believe that not a single person was willing to reveal any information.

The Mathematical Society's base is so well hidden that it might be impossible to find it on your own without intelligence.

"Then let's call it a day for today," Yun Ji said to everyone.

As for how to extract intelligence from these people, that's another matter entirely.

Bray, you've successfully paddled again today.

---

While Yun Ji was quite satisfied with this operation, she was unaware that someone far away was watching everything unfold.

Marek stood on the top of a tall building.

His face still held the same smile as always, and he was still wearing that military uniform without any badges.

Whether it's his smile or his military uniform, it all reflects Marek's almost obsessive dedication.

“That’s really well done,” Marek said with a smile, as there was no one around.

"However, the preparations are almost complete."

He did not stop Yun Ji from searching for the base of the Mathematical Society; he simply watched silently from the sidelines.

Everything is proceeding according to the script; the actors and props are all in place.

No, not entirely.

“Bessie?” Marek looked up at Bessie, who was also standing on the roof of a tall building.

Bessie has been missing for a long time, and Marek hasn't been able to find her.

“I bet you’ve been looking for me for a long time.” Bessie smoothed her long, seaweed-like hair.

"Yes, I've been looking for you for a very long time."

"Because of your absence, two people have already sacrificed their lives," Marek said with a regretful tone.

“Sacrifice? That’s not the right word,” Bessie said quietly.

"Really? Then what word would be better?"

“The word ‘sacrifice’ would be better.” “Sacrifice? Bessie Bessie Bessie, it seems you know a lot.” Marek was still smiling, but his eyes turned a little cold.

"It's alright," Bessie said, spreading her hands in a nonchalant tone.

"So now, why are you contacting me?" Marek asked.

“Just for fun, Jonathan,” Bessie suddenly grinned maliciously.

Upon seeing that sneer and hearing the word "Jonathan," Marek stopped laughing; in an instant, he understood everything.

"So that's how it is? So that's how it is." He asked himself and answered his own question.

“However, let me correct you, I’m not Jonathan, I’m Marek.” Marek bowed to Bessie.

The fact that the other person calls him Jonathan tells me that this person is definitely not the Bessie I found.

Or rather, it wasn't supposed to be Bessie from the very beginning.

"However, it's truly remarkable that I didn't detect your disguise at all."

“That’s well hidden,” Marek said, clapping his hands.

"How should I address you? Mr. Monk Number Two, or Mr. Beatrix?" Marek asked casually.

"Just call me Betty. I hate the first name." From that moment on, Betty's appearance changed, and he became a silver-haired man wearing a dark blue coat.

He is the Betley that Marek was talking about.

Betley has mastered countless divine spells, including those that can change his appearance, aura, and so on.

The combined use of divine magic from different sects resulted in Betley's disguise being so convincing that even Marek couldn't see through it.

If Betley hadn't revealed so much, Marek probably would never have guessed his true identity.

It's likely that Marek didn't discover Betley's identity through perception alone.

Instead, it was a conclusion drawn from fragmented information.

In other words, it was a guess.

Of course, Marek guessed correctly, and Betley no longer intended to continue pretending.

Betley pulled a comb from his pocket and combed his hair into a slicked-back style.

"This hairstyle is still more comfortable," Beatrix said to himself contentedly, shaking his head.

Compared to that slicked-back hairstyle, the slicked-back hairstyle is much more pleasing.

"So that's how it is. In that case, everything that happened before makes sense."

In the tower, Bray is led back to the original stone tower, which was probably Betley's doing.

The abrupt provocation within the stone tower is understandable.

That seemingly idiotic behavior indirectly lured Bray into getting involved in these matters.

“Originally, I was just following the Mathematical Society, but then I found out that you were the one behind it all, so I decided to play you a trick on you.” Betley grinned menacingly.

As a demon seeking revenge against all cults, Betley's initial goal was, of course, quite simple.

However, during the process of ripping people off, some unexpected surprises were discovered.

“You’ve tricked Mr. Bray.” Marek looked at Betley with a grin.

Bray himself would never have willingly gotten involved in this matter; in fact, Bray wasn't even in Marek's original script.

It was Beatley who forced Bray to join the cast as an "actor".

"However, you've also ruined my script."

"Isn't this great? Using other people as actors in a script is a perverse pleasure."

"This isn't about having a bad taste; it's just about wanting to recreate various inspiring stories."

"I see absolutely nothing inspiring about these things."

"It's just that the show hasn't reached a certain point yet."

“I don’t care about your script at all, but I do appreciate the ring.” Beatrix showed his hands.

On his left hand was an old silver ring, and on his right hand was a dull gray-black ring.

The real ring, as well as the black ring created by Marek, appeared on Beatrix at the same time.

Seeing this, Marek's smile faded once again.

“Your trial is not difficult,” Beatrix said.

Indeed, at that moment, all the holders of the black rings faced their trial.

Betley, who possessed the black ring personally given to him by Marek, was no exception.

"Really? It's not difficult at all." Marek regained his confident smile.

Indeed, he was momentarily surprised when he saw that Beatrix had two rings.

However, he quickly calmed down.

“Mr. Betley, you know, it’s not a good thing that both rings are finished,” Marek said.

"Because the 'fate' belonging to the person who upholds the precepts will be divided equally between the two, which is equivalent to their disappearance."

After the black ring is completed, the ring of the true "rebel" retains half of its "fate," and the corresponding black ring retains half of its "fate."

However, obtaining two rings at the same time does not mean that the two "destinies" will come together.

A break with fate is tantamount to invalidation.

In other words, from this moment on, the "rebel" no longer has the blessing of the world's will.

Well, this is the state that a certain thief most desires, but unfortunately, the "Outlaw" ring could not be completed.