A short while later, at Trattoria Margherita.
"Ohhh~"
"So, in other words, you now need to know my identity information and report back to that Alessio to give him an explanation."
"Otherwise, you might be deemed an accomplice of a heretic by the Order and sent onto the pilgrimage ship."
Listening to Noah's recap, Phoebe nodded repeatedly, her face full of pleading:
"Yes, please, I beg you — tell me your information. This is really important to me."
"What's the rush?"
As the "heretic" himself, Noah simply smiled faintly and pushed a plate of Laurel Branch Salad toward Phoebe:
"Come on, eat breakfast first. Then we'll head out of the city for a stroll, do some good deeds. When we get back to Ragunna, I'll slowly tell you everything."
Gulp.
Looking at the plate of Laurel Branch Salad pushed in front of her, Phoebe swallowed hard.
"So much… I can't finish it…"
"Miss Phoebe, you wouldn't want to lose your job as an Acolyte, would you?"
An evil smile slowly spread across the man's face opposite her:
"If you don't want that to happen, you should know what to do, right?"
"Ah… this…" Phoebe's eyes widened.
She realized she had accidentally handed her weakness straight to this man. Now she had no choice but to obey him.
"I… I understand."
Phoebe gritted her teeth and nodded:
"I'll eat!"
She picked up the spoon, scooped up a single laurel fruit, and placed it into her small, rosy lips. The overwhelming sourness instantly made her delicate features scrunch tightly together. She couldn't help but tremble all over.
Click.
Phoebe opened her eyes. At some point, the man across from her had pulled out a camera. He handed her a printed photo.
Seeing the uncontrollable, sour-faced expression on the picture, Phoebe's eyes widened again:
"Ah?!"
Why would anyone deliberately take an ugly photo of a girl! So mean!
"This photo… doesn't look good. Can you delete it?" Phoebe asked cautiously.
"Sure. But you'll have to trade it for another good-looking one."
"I don't have any other photos."
"Then we'll just take one now. Come on, smile."
Noah raised the camera again. Terrified of being caught in another ugly shot, the Sister (Acolyte) hurriedly forced a smile.
"Nice. This one looks great."
Phoebe took the new photo. Seeing the image on it, she instinctively replied:
"Thank you."
The moment the words left her mouth, she realized something was wrong!
This person had clearly been teasing her the whole time — what on earth was she thanking him for?!
Phoebe lowered her head and scooped another spoonful of Laurel Branch Salad into her mouth. Her features scrunched up tightly again.
Still so sour.
"Hey, friend."
A calm greeting came from the side. Before Phoebe could open her eyes to see who it was, she heard Noah respond:
"No problem. Sit down."
A light breeze brushed past. Phoebe felt the sensation of a suit jacket against her right side. Turning her head, she saw a white-collar woman with sheep horns and an expressionless face.
"Boss Margherita, one espresso and one braised noodles, please."
"Got it, coming right up~"
[Limited Banner "Whispers in Silence" and "Echoes in Harmony" have been activated.]
[Limited Banner "Walking Between Light and Shadow" and "Judgment of Flames" have been activated.]
The two characters perfectly suited for the team had appeared at the same time right in front of him. Noah's heart suddenly burned with excitement.
He opened his inventory.
[Current: Radiant Tide *100, Astrite *12040.]
Yeah… with this amount of resources, that's only 175 pulls. Not even enough to guarantee a zero-plus-one.
He closed the inventory. The fire in his heart was doused with cold water, instantly turning ice-cold.
"Hey, friend."
As if suddenly remembering something, Noah raised an eyebrow and looked at Zani:
"It's already this late — aren't you going to be late for work?"
"No. I don't have work today."
Zani seemed to have been waiting for exactly this question. A rare smile bloomed on her face:
"Not just today — tomorrow too, and the day after. I don't have to work at all!"
"Wow!" Noah enthusiastically clapped:
"That's really something to celebrate!"
Seeing this, Phoebe curiously asked:
"Mr. Noah, aren't you here as a tourist? You don't have a job — why would you be so happy about someone getting three days off?"
As soon as her words fell, the smile on Zani's face instantly darkened. Resentment filled her voice:
"Friend, your Acolyte friend here is even more savage with words than you are. Is this what they call birds of a feather?"
"Ah, thank you for the compliment." Phoebe replied energetically: "Actually, the seniors in the Order have always said I'm bad with words."
One sentence. Zani was silenced for half a minute before finally speaking again:
"Lady Acolyte … you really know how to joke."
"No, no!" Phoebe hurriedly waved her hands to clarify: "You misunderstood. I was telling the truth."
"Pfft!" Noah almost burst out laughing on the spot.
In the story, Zani and Phoebe were a perfect contrast: one sharp-tongued, one naturally dense; one a demonic wage slave, one a devout Acolyte.
Even in reality, it was still the same.
"Alright, let me introduce you two properly."
Breaking the awkwardness at the table, Noah pointed at each person in turn:
"My name is Noah. This is Phoebe. And this is…"
"Zani." Zani took the initiative to introduce herself.
Noah nodded in satisfaction and glanced at his main quest Veils Off in Sun or Shadow.
Perfect. The two main story characters from the first half of this quest were now gathered. He could skip the dialogue and go straight to fighting.
"Miss Zani, since you're on holiday today, what do you have planned?"
"I wanted to sleep in, but my biological clock woke me up anyway." Zani shook her head and continued:
"Yesterday, two Echoes went out of control at Montelli. I stopped them. Now I'm planning to head out of the city to investigate who's behind it."
Hearing this, Phoebe turned her head in surprise:
"Miss Zani, aren't you on holiday? Why are you still thinking about work?"
As if suddenly realizing something, Phoebe's eyes lit up. She clapped her hands together:
"I get it! This must be what they call unpaid overtime!"
Zani: "…" Are you polite?
Zani: "Thanks for the reminder. I think I'll go back to sleep."
"Hey, hey, come back."
Noah quickly called Zani back just as she was about to leave and lightly tapped the table:
"I have a plan."
"Today all three of us are free. Here's the arrangement: first, we head out of the city for a round or two and casually take care of some Common-class and Elite-class Tacet Discords."
"Then we go to Nimbus Sanctum and casually take care of some Overlord-class Tacet Discords."
"Finally, we head to Penitent's End and casually take care of some Calamity-class Tacet Discords… uh, that dragon is probably only Overlord-class. Whatever, Overlord-class it is."
Looking at the two completely stunned women across from him, Noah placed both hands on the table:
"I've said my piece. Who agrees? Who objects?"
Phoebe timidly raised her hand, then shrank back under Noah's glare and lowered it again.
Zani immediately raised her hand and shook her head:
"Let's just stick to Elite-class. We can't handle Overlord-class."
"What if I pay you fifty thousand Shell Credits as today's wage?"
"Deal!" Zani instantly switched into work mode: "Overlord-class it is!"
"Perfect. Come on, add my terminal. I'll transfer the payment now."
[Noah has transferred 50,000 Shell Credits to you.]
"You really are the most generous boss I've ever seen."
Noah turned his head toward Phoebe. She immediately shook her head vigorously:
"As an Acolyte, I cannot accept bribes."
"What bribe? This is your wage for today."
"No, no, no."
Phoebe shook her head even faster.
"As an Acolyte, I cannot take on any job outside of being an Acolyte."
"…"
Noah and Zani exchanged a glance. Both could see the exasperation in each other's eyes.
Zani spoke first:
"This is an offering from the boss to the Order. You're just holding it on behalf of the Order for now. You can decide what to do with it later."
"Is that so?"
Phoebe added Noah's terminal contact. A pure, innocent smile appeared on her face:
"Mr. Noah, you really are a good person. May the glory of the Sentinel protect you."
Noah muttered silently in his heart:
Your Sentinel is already dead. If there really is any glory left, it should protect itself first.