You are all my wings!

But Lyon knew these were all ticking time bombs, and they would all explode sooner or later.

Let's resolve this as soon as possible!

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

What do I think?

"Yes, we can't just refuse a saint who represents the Holy See to some extent in personally recruiting us, can we? For the sake of our future, it wouldn't be bad for our group to join her forces. What do you think?"

For our future?

These words made Iris's heart flutter and her mind wander.

Why am I so happy when he says that?

"Alright, since you've asked so sincerely, I'll give you a detailed analysis."

She pretended to be nonchalant and patted her small chest.

Leon nodded to himself; her reaction was interesting.

Iris said:

"Undeniably, as the third saint of the Holy See, Britta has already achieved enough and enjoys great popularity 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 holy prayer profession of the Holy See, it is not unreasonable to say that she is the direct representative of the God Astalia."

Lyon frowned slightly. Why were they all praising him?

Following the rhythm, the next step is probably the 'but', right?

"but!"

As expected, Iris began to take a turn for the better:

“You are a member of the Royal Mage Corps, and I am a diplomat sent here by the Holy Land of the Elves. We both have publicly acknowledged affiliations. So even if we join the Holy Maiden's faction, we can't be considered prominent figures, can we?”

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

Iris was analyzing with great enthusiasm, feeling that she had never been so eloquent 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 problem is that Britta 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 Iris thinking that deeply?

I've never seen her so thoughtful and talkative before.

"Iris, my opinion of you has changed again."

"what happened?"

Iris paused for a moment.

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

Lyon seized the opportunity to praise Iris.

"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 a few times!"

Lyon laughed. Did Iris sound quite pleased?

The undisguised joy and pride on his face are so obvious; 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 someone who sees a clear, clean sky after the rain and sincerely says that nature is so beautiful, that's how I feel about you."

Iris'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 even 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 one that could not be easily dismissed.

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

Lyon said slowly:

“Iris, have you ever thought about this: if the people Britta purged were the same people who caused your father's death, would you still think Britta's purges were terrible? After all, she is the agent of the goddess Astalia.”

This was an angle that Iris had never considered.

"The key question is, will things really turn out as you say?"

"I haven't checked the details, but based on what I know, the people she purged were definitely not good people or people of high moral character."

"So, you mean you trust her character?"

Iris 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 has not yet fully expressed her thoughts, and her attitude is not yet clear.

So, after a moment's thought, Lyon tentatively said:

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

Iris nodded immediately:

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

Lyon knew that his premonition and fear were, in some ways, quite accurate.

One reason why Iris was able to rise to the position of the third female lead in the second part was that Britta's death at the end of the first part left an empty female lead position.

Although Britta is only at Tier 4 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 rank based on his previous achievements.

It is nothing short of a miracle that he has progressed through 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, he would definitely have had room to make a difference 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 a struggle for destiny in the dark, and its influence is significant; it's not something that can be easily understood.

Lyon had a headache.

While he was pondering his words.

"However, I've 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 Britta’s forces, we can gain a deeper understanding of the internal workings of the Astalia Cult, find clues related to my father’s death, and also figure out whether she is our enemy or our friend.”

Lyon: "So that means?"

"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 it's hard to admit, it's certainly in the interests of the warband to join her cult."

Iris said, a smile appearing on her face:

“I can see that you, Lyon, advocate joining, right? I agree. However, we must continue to monitor Britta to prevent her from being like the Blood Brothers in essence.”

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

Deep down, she felt a 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 breathed a sigh of relief.

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

She still harbored hostility towards Britta, and it was unknown what would happen after their meeting and how it might interfere with Leon's other missions, but ultimately, they successfully made progress.

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 upgrade 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."

……

at night.

Colt Street, South District.

As the stars and moon appeared in the sky, the number of adventurers increased.

In the capital city of Horsha, early morning and evening are when first-tier and unranked 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 to have a drink and release their pent-up emotions.

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

Adventurers who teeter on the brink of life and death have considerable spending power and a high willingness to spend, 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 came the procurement activities for equipment upgrades.

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

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

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

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

"Iris, haven't you ever strolled around this area at night before?"

“Let me reiterate, I never stay out overnight,” Iris said casually.

"That's true. If you go out on the street without any cover, you'll definitely attract a lot of men's covetous eyes, after all, you're 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 suppress 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 didn't speak, glanced at her, and saw that Iris's 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 spacious mansion.

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

Around the plaza, there were quite a few adventurers whose auras clearly indicated they were at least Tier 2, waiting in place.

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

Iris had something new that distracted her, and she felt relieved, no longer having to worry about it.

"That's right. The organizer is Marquis Serge, a fifth-rank official. He is the only illusion mage in the Kingdom of Horsha 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.