I am the Enchantress!

Chapter 162 The True Purpose of the Delegation

Could it be that the mysterious employer's request was for a second purpose: to prevent the investigation team from going?

Wilder suddenly realized something he hadn't been able to process before.

That is the connection between the two objectives of the investigation team's trip.

The two events, "dragon's breath appearing in the border forest" and "high-level monsters frequently appearing on the outskirts of the border forest," happened almost simultaneously.

Even Wilder and his team, who provided these two pieces of information, received two separate rewards from the association, ten gold coins for each piece of information.

Therefore, they naturally assumed at the time that there was a causal relationship between the two pieces of information.

The appearance of dragon breath in the border forest means that a giant dragon dwells in the heart of the forest. It is this giant dragon that has driven some of the high-level monsters that originally lived in the heart of the forest to the outer perimeter, which is why high-level monsters frequently appear in the outer perimeter.

This seems to be an extremely smooth logical chain.

Even Martha revealed that the association made the same inference.

however.

Once Wilde discovered the secret that "the red dragon that repeatedly created dragon breath was Talia," the logical chain had already quietly broken.

Talia stayed at the Colt Inn next to Wilder's room every day, and did not reside in the heart of the forest.

She never drove any high-level monsters from the heartland to the outer perimeter.

In other words, the two objectives of the investigation team's trip were actually unrelated.

One is one.

Two is two.

The high-level monsters that possess the ability to cast spells in the heart of the forest have been frequently appearing on the outskirts of the forest recently.

There is actually another reason.

This reason is probably the real reason why the mysterious employer was so eager to expel the investigation team.

What exactly is the reason?

What exactly happened deep in the forest?

At that moment, Wilder suddenly recalled his mentor Hollen's warning: "Never set foot deep into the forest again!"

This is also why their team didn't accept the bounty mission located in the heart of the territory last time.

And the time when Hollen warned him—

Wilder suddenly remembered.

It was after he and Monk talked all night on the second floor of the association!

That morning, after Hollen saw Monk off, Wilder and Hollen sat in a room on the second floor for a while.

He vaguely remembered that Hollen looked extremely tired because he hadn't slept all night.

But before parting, he gave an unusually serious warning: "Absolutely do not set foot in the heart of the forest recently!"

He must have learned something from Monk, something about what might happen in the heart of the border forest, to say such harsh words to Wilder.

The stricter he was, the more curious Wilder became.

What exactly happened in the heart of the forest?

Who is the mysterious employer who made the appointment?

Being able to communicate with the Wanderers' Association, they must not be monsters, but rather humans or humanoids with consciousness.

It could also be an organization.

What did they do deep in the forest?

They both drove away the high-level monsters and, to cover their tracks, organized an investigation by the Adventurers' Guild.

A series of questions popped into Wilder's mind.

Perhaps due to the improvement in his intelligence, his logical thinking is much more meticulous than before, and his ability to analyze problems is also getting stronger.

That's why he was able to help Joffrey sort out his thoughts so quickly and see the true purpose of the Nomads' Guild.

That's why he can't put this problem out of his mind and pretend nothing happened.

Should I go to the association tomorrow and ask Professor Hollen?

Or perhaps you could go deep into the forest yourself and see for yourself?

These two thoughts had just surfaced in his mind when he immediately suppressed them.

No.

These two things are riskier than the other; the former could arouse suspicion from Hollen, or even Monk and the investigation team.

The latter could very well have caused him to die on the spot deep in the forest.

But----

The enhancement of intelligence will bring a curse to humanity.

That surging and leaping thought is not an angel guiding people up the ladder to heaven, but rather a demon dragging them into an endless hell.

Wilder had an uncontrollable desire—

I really want to know the truth.

I really want to.

"Little one! What are you thinking about? You've been drinking!"

Gru's deep, warm voice pulled him back from his thoughts, bringing him back to the bustling tavern.

"Ah—drinking."

Wilder snapped out of his daze and realized that the other people at the table had long since returned to their usual relaxed state.

-

They gathered their oak glasses together in the center of the long table, squeezing them together, the overflowing foam splashing onto their hands, creating a cool sensation.

This is neither heaven nor hell.

It is a world full of human warmth.

"For Joffrey—"

Cyrion, having delivered a grand and imposing speech, suddenly found himself unable to find the right words and could only casually add, "—The problem is solved!"

"For Joffrey!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Eight oak wine glasses clinked together, making a "bang" sound.

Then, everyone raised their glasses and took a big gulp of the chilled and mellow ale.

This gathering has finally returned to what a gathering should be like.

They ate grilled meat and drank ale in the noisy yet reassuring tavern hall, chatting loudly about the interesting things that had happened to them in the past two days.

Lyle and Gru bickered as usual:

Cyrion and Joffrey discussed various aspects of the Nomads' Guild;

Martha, Maeve, and Talia chatted about their own topics, occasionally covering their mouths and laughing.

Every now and then, Talia would glance at Wilder and wink quietly.

After the incident with Joffrey, Cyrion and Martha seemed to have forgotten to ask Wilder about the change in Talia's pupil color.

Wilder smiled and joined their conversation.

The party lasted until 1 a.m., when the store closed.

After enjoying the hangover drinks provided by Ella, the group finally came to an end to this eventful yet extremely enjoyable gathering.

At the entrance of the Colt Inn, Wilder and Talia, like hosts to their own home, saw their friends off as they departed.

Wilder and Maeve agreed that after attending her routine church activities the next morning, she would come directly to the Colt Inn to provide Talia with follow-up Word of Truth healing.

Cyrion, on the other hand, had arranged to meet the others at the Adventurers' Guild the following afternoon.

After their previous mission, they had a considerable amount of gold coins in their pockets, enough to sustain them for quite some time.

I'm going to the association tomorrow, not necessarily to take on a new task, but because I felt we didn't have enough fun chatting today, so I plan to continue the conversation at Masha's counter tomorrow.

After everyone else left, Wilder and Talia returned to the second floor of the hotel.

Wilder escorted her back to her room, closed the door, and didn't leave immediately.

Talia sat on the wooden bed, looking at him blankly, not knowing what was going on.

Wilder —

Are you sleeping here tonight too?

"Talia."

In the dimly lit room, Wilder's voice came: "Tell me about yourself."