Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

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495. Is he your friend?

Adventurers always like to try their luck, and Nord is no exception.

Every day he waited for bad customers to come to this lousy shop on this lousy street, and had to endure those ignorant and vulgar adventurers and their laughable boasting from time to time. Occasionally, Nord would wait for a customer who was easy to cheat and make a small profit, but most of the time, those customers were quite shrewd, poor and cunning, just like those adventurers.

They always seem to be happy to bring worthless junk and want Nord to pay a high price for it. Damn, does he look like such an idiot?

The so-called adventurers are all more foolish than the other.

But perhaps they didn't always do it on purpose—using worthless trash to pass off as treasure. After all, human vision was limited. Not to mention those crude and vulgar adventurers, even Nord himself would sometimes make mistakes, like this time, when the gray-haired woman came to his shop with a few ordinary-looking books, just for twenty silver coins.

Yes, only twenty silver coins. The knowledgeable Nord thought that this was the highest price possible.

Until this afternoon, an innocent girl came - she was definitely an innocent young lady, Nold thought, because she was really like an idiot, but it was precisely because of this young lady that Nold knew the true value of those books.

"The owner of the books has not breached their contract, so the books are not merchandise - at least not yet."

This is what Nold said at the time. He didn't take those books seriously at all, but the young lady's next words easily made his eyes widen.

"It's okay, I can talk to her," the young lady said, looking determined to win. "I'm willing to pay three gold coins - no, four."

How much? Four gold coins?

Damn, how tempting!

But are those crappy books really worth such a high price?

Nord was very skeptical at first, so he did not agree immediately, even though he wanted to do so - he knew better than anyone how cunning the people on this street were. They would use all kinds of unexpected ways to deceive those poor outsiders or inexperienced novices, treating low-quality iron swords with oil and paraffin and selling them as high-quality products. Their sweet words always made some stupid guys believe them, and the consequences of using such low-quality things as amulets to fight monsters can be imagined.

The lucky ones would show up one day in a rage, but of course, they wouldn't be able to get any money from a drunk who was heavily in debt.

Those who were unlucky would have died in the forest long ago.

Nord felt that the idiot young lady and the gray-haired woman were in cahoots. They were putting on a show just to make him willingly pay money to buy those old books from the gray-haired woman. He studied those books with a skeptical attitude and found nothing special about them.

But when the gray-haired woman redeemed the book and the eldest lady came to the door with gold coins, Nord had to admit that he had made a mistake this time.

——Those are real gold coins.

She really wanted to buy them, those books were really worth so much money.

As soon as Nord closed his eyes, he seemed to see the bag of gold coins. There should be at least seven or eight in there, right? Damn it, Nord swore that even he couldn't take out that many!

When those tempting little things glittered before his eyes, it no longer mattered whether those two people were liars or not.

Unfortunately, the book has been redeemed.

But for Nolde, there was no reason to let go of something he had obtained - he was determined to get those books and that bag of gold coins.

So he left the shop in a hurry before it got dark. Of course, he would not be so foolish as to go looking for the gray-haired woman to do business. He wanted the book and the money, so there was only one simple way: to kill and rob - so he needed to make a careful plan. He could not do it in the city, as that would be too conspicuous, so he had to take some effort to get the "prey" to run out of the city before he could do it.

And he needs some helpers.

There are so many people in this city who do things for money, but to be honest, it is a bit troublesome to find a few who keep their promises. But it doesn’t matter, Nord has his own way.

Putting aside those dishonest desperadoes, Nord knew that there were still some smart people on this street who were willing to do long-term business. They had minds as commendable as businessmen and would not easily betray their promises. Nord had cooperated with them more than once - if a customer accidentally died in an accident, then the things they pledged or consigned would naturally be handled by Nord, and Nord only needed to set aside a part of the dividends to reap the benefits. This was a simple and feasible business, wasn't it?

"Vance, keep an eye on this guy for me," Nord found his old acquaintance in a tavern deep in the alley, a man with hideous scars on his hands. "As usual, we'll split whatever we get in half."

He said.

……

Night was approaching the horizon.

Grace had just returned to her room when someone knocked on the door - it was someone from the hotel, bringing some food and a message.

"Someone is looking for me?"

"Yes, she's waiting for you downstairs."

The first person that came to Grace's mind was Elsa, but then she remembered that Elsa didn't seem to drink.

"I don't remember ever having an invitation."

"She just asked me to tell you..." It sounds like the hotel servant must have received a tip and was quite "dutiful". "She was wearing a cloak and sounded like a young girl."

Young girl?

Grace looked puzzled. Honestly, aside from Lacey and Vivian, she didn't know any other young women. After all, she wasn't used to making friends, and since arriving in this city, she hadn't made any strangers. The only possibility... was the guild.

Although Grace has withdrawn the commission, maybe someone has got some clues and wants to try their luck - sometimes such clues that have passed the expiration date are still worth a small reward.

"Let her wait a moment."

Grace put down her luggage, went downstairs, and saw the "young girl" at a glance - among the group of diners and drinkers, she was the only one wearing an ink-black cloak and a hood, sitting alone at a table, with all the seats around her empty, which was really eye-catching.

What was even more striking was that Grace vaguely sensed an extremely disgusting aura from her.

--abyss.

Even if it was only a tiny, extremely faint trace, Grace would never make a mistake.

How could this girl have the aura of the abyss?

Could it be... a witch? But she had no impression of her.

Or is it someone like me... sent by Hercules Butana?

"Is that your friend?"

Just as all sorts of speculations were running through Grace's mind, Elsa suddenly appeared beside her, interrupting her thoughts - and scaring her.

"Why are you like a ghost?"

Grace wanted to ask, but she held back.

……

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496, Novi

The girl was wearing a black cloak, and a glass of expensive white beer was placed on the table - but it looked completely untouched.

She seemed to have been waiting here for a long time, with her head slightly lowered so that people could not see her face. She just sat there alone, upright, quiet and elegant, as if what was in front of her was not a wooden table covered with black oil stains in a tavern, but a luxurious and beautiful dinner party of an aristocratic family.

To be honest, even though she was wrapped tightly in a pitch-black cloak, anyone could tell at a glance that she was definitely not a farmer's daughter. Words like decency and etiquette seemed to be what she deserved.

Grace couldn't remember where she had seen such a person before, but the only thing she was certain of was that the girl was most likely related to the witch - otherwise it would be difficult to explain the source of the aura of the abyss on her.

"No, I don't know her, but she has the aura of the abyss..."

Seeing Elsa coming over, Grace didn't hide anything and directly expressed her feelings, with a rare solemnity in her eyes.

Before she figured out the other party's purpose, Grace felt that the girl in front of her was eye-catching no matter how she looked at her, but at the same time she absolutely could not leave her alone - any witch deserved to be redeemed, and the same went for those who were affected and eroded by the abyss. At least this was one of the necessary means to prevent the erosion of the abyss from continuing to spread.

This was the long-cherished wish of the Witch Society that was never fulfilled.

"Oh? She's a witch?"

"I'm not sure..."

It's not only witches who are infected with the breath of the abyss. In fact, the reason why the power of the abyss is feared by people is largely due to its "contagiousness". People with weak mental strength can easily be controlled by the abyss without knowing it.

Even a strong person with a strong spirit will become mentally disturbed if he is under the influence of the abyss for a long time. The typical example is the witch.

"Could it be someone sent by Herancy Butana?"

Aisha asked, Grace pursed her lips, was silent for a moment, and shook her head.

"I don't think they'll enter the empire's territory with such fanfare. Even if there's something crucial going on, a secret letter would be a more appropriate option."

"Anyway, now that she's here, we'll have a meeting and everything will be clear—you don't mind having me join you, do you?"

Elsa smiled, but had already walked downstairs first. Grace couldn't help but roll her eyes - Elsa clearly didn't intend to give her the choice of refusal.

"Don't scare her."

Grace followed Aisha's footsteps and walked quickly ahead of Aisha, not wanting to be outdone.

"Speaking of which, there's something I've always wanted to ask you."

"what?"

"Why does the Queen of Hellensis Butana want Sophia and Vivian?"

In fact, Elsa had wanted to ask this question for a long time, but there was no suitable opportunity when she was in Dammas - even Sophia herself seemed to have no intention of pursuing the matter, and as an outsider, Elsa was naturally not suitable to play the role of interrogator.

Now, taking advantage of this topic, Aisha thought of this matter again.

Grace didn't answer immediately, but walked silently.

"Although you were deeply influenced by the Abyss back then, it was still your own will that led you to accept the mission and come to the Empire, right?" Aisha smiled. "Of course, you can choose not to tell me, or come to me when you want to."

"No, that's not the case. I just..." Grace paused, her voice lowered. "I don't know where to begin... The Queen... has been kind and benevolent to me. Not only me, but many others like me who have nowhere to go have been taken in by her. We are loyal to her, using our strength for her benefit, and we receive rewards. But she rarely explains anything to us. You know, she has no obligation to do so. If I don't do it, others will."

"Well, I see, that's why Sofia never mentioned this to you."

"No, it's still not quite the same..."

Grace sighed and fell silent again.

Until she stepped down the last step, she suddenly turned around, grabbed Elsa's arm, and leaned towards Elsa - she leaned over to Elsa's ear and lowered her voice.

"There is a secret in the palace of Hercules Butana, whether true or not."

Grace's warm breath gently brushed against Elsa's cheek, and the two of them got very close.

"Rumor has it that the Queen possesses a magical scroll. Originally blank, it suddenly began to reveal words. Those words are obscure and difficult to understand, yet they accurately record the world's deepest secrets, no matter where those secrets lie... And the Queen's ability to always make the right decisions amidst turbulent times is largely due to the guidance of that scroll."

Grace let go of Aisha's hand and took a step back, putting some distance between them.

"Unfortunately, the scroll appears to be only a fragment. The Queen has been searching for the rest, but to no avail."

After saying that, Grace turned around, leaving only a faint fragrance to Elsa.

Elsa didn't say anything. She was a little puzzled. She didn't know why Grace specifically told her this "secret" that sounded completely irrelevant - usually speaking, at this time, the so-called "rumors" were mostly true.

She looked at Grace's back and didn't ask any further questions. It seemed that Grace had no intention of continuing to speak, because the girl in the black cloak seemed to have noticed their arrival.

"Are you looking for me?"

Grace had already come and sat down opposite the girl. Elsa followed and sat next to Grace. When she looked up, she saw the girl's scrutinizing gaze.

Only when she came face to face with the girl could she clearly see her delicate, pale face beneath her hood, and her eyes, as clear as amethyst. When the girl looked up, a strand of light hair slid down her cheek. It was an impressive color, just like her eyes, like a bunch of falling lavender.

No wonder the girl is wearing a hood, this hair color is really eye-catching - just like Shirley's silver hair.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Aisha said, like a diner sharing a table.

"Of course, please feel free to do so."

The girl's voice was soft but clear. She certainly wouldn't refuse because she knew that Aisha and Grace should be acquaintances.

"Before I explain my purpose, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Novi, and I am..."

Before the girl finished her words, Grace interrupted her:

"Okay, Miss Novi, forget about the rest. As you can see, we are all very busy. If you didn't suddenly want to get to know us, I think you could be more straightforward."

Grace's personality has always been like this. The girl named "Novi" was obviously stunned for a moment, as if the lines she had memorized were of no use.

"In that case... then I'll just say it straight out," Novi lowered her voice so that only Elsa and Grace could hear, "I want to buy the magic book in your hand."

As she spoke, her eyes fixed on Grace, her lips moving.

This time she used a little trick and used magic to transmit her voice to Grace.

"Those in your hands are the witch's books, right?"

Grace stared calmly at the girl in front of her and shook her head.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Novi. Those books are keepsakes from my friends. They're my treasures and mean a lot to me. I have no intention of selling them. If that's what you're here for, please go back."

"I don't mean to offend you, but I sincerely want to buy..."

Novi suddenly became anxious.

"Or, your friend..."