[Silver Ash] - Become The Strongest In Another World
CHAPTER 142: Premonitions and Suspicions

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The conversation with the group of princes represented by Rico lasted for approximately three hours. During that time, they made a deal.

Everyone in Rico's group has agreed to give Noelle support for her plan in saving Cryll.

However, there are some conditions that Rico gives.

The first, and the most important thing was, the group of princes would move on their own without getting any orders from Noelle. Although they would still receive instructions from Noelle, they would only obey her to a certain extent.

And the second requirement is to let everyone act on their own when an emergency situation suddenly occurs.

The intention of the requirement was, they were free to cease cooperation with Noelle when the situation was extremely unfavorable.

Which meant, they could freely choose to escape when a precarious situation occurred.

Those two requirements are the most important as they may be able to affect the plans that Noelle has. But, Noelle had no other choice but to accept it.

Noelle was a little conflicted when she saw how Rico decided on all the terms himself, while the leader of his group was Norman.

Is it okay for Rico to make an agreement on those terms just like that without Norman's permission or word? After all, it was none of Noelle's business.

In addition, Noelle had to revise some parts of her plan when accepting that requirement.

Although she had already gotten a rough idea of what terms Rico would provide, Noelle still did not expect that Rico would definitely choose the terms that Noelle had predicted.

Thanks to that, Noelle still had to come up with some backup plans so that she could turn the tables if the situation suddenly became very unfavorable.

Making one or several backup plans was no big deal for Noelle. Moreover, he already had several pawns ready to move with just a single command from him.

However, that is not enough to cover some percentage of failures.

Therefore, for several hours until now, Noelle was still preoccupied with various thoughts and had to rack her brain to find a way to save Cryll.

And here it is now, in an underground bar crowded with visitors.

The figure of Noelle who looked calm and in silence sipped her drink in the corner of the room was not so striking. Maybe because of the crowd around him.

Although his appearance was arguably attractive, there was absolutely no one who tried to approach him. It was because of the strange atmosphere that had enveloped him since a moment ago.

However, that was no longer the case when a man approached him.

He wore a brown robe that covered almost his entire body. Even so, it was undeniable that his figure looked very firm even when the robe covered him.

His face is arguably handsome. With sharp eyes, and a tapered chin, and a pointed nose. However, the most striking of all was her long hair that was as deep red as blood.

That man was Harold. He came to this place to fulfill Noelle's call.

He walked very lightly, ignoring all the commotion around him. As soon as he reached Noelle's place, he without saying anything else immediately sat on the chair right next to her.

The chair that Noelle and Harold were sitting on was currently in the corner of the room. However, the position of their seats faces right into a very long table, where the bartender works.

"Repots are calling and waiting for me here, shouldn't you be able to forcibly kidnap me into that place called《Reign》, Boss? "

There was no awkwardness from his words. All was spoken very naturally, as if he had erased all the hostility he had with Noelle.

Despite that, Noelle still felt a little objection when someone like Harold called her such a 'boss.

"Be quiet. I can't take you inside《Reign》now. Olivia and Chloe were there to gather some information from the book you brought yesterday. It'll be troublesome if they hear our conversation."

Harold nodded, agreeing to what Noelle had said.

"Talking about that girl named Chloe, how's it going? "

"He's fine."

"Once, yes … "

Harold doesn't quite understand, but strangely he feels a relief in his chest when Noelle says Chloe is doing well.

Harold is still unaware of the bond he has with Chloe. It was probably because his memory had been so distorted, that he could not even remember what should have been something very important to him.

Noelle was also still quite curious about what relationship Harold and Chloe had. Neither Harold, nor Chloe had any memory of their past at all. Just based on that alone was enough for Noelle to make a conclusion that they knew each other in the past.

However, even though Noelle was very curious about the two of them, she had to ignore him for now.

It was because he still had something to prioritize.

"Alright, back to the main conversation. I want to discuss something with you" Noelle said as she wiped her lips moistened by the drink.

"And? Whatisit? "

Harold still looked relaxed. He pointed to one of the menus, and asked the bartender to present what he wanted.

"It's about the information you gave me earlier. Is that really accurate? "

The information Noelle was talking about was information about Cryll being detained right now.

Actually he got that information from Harold. Noelle didn't want to trust her too much, but right now she wasn't in a situation where she could decide anything at will.

"Do you doubt my information? "

Instead, Harold looked very confident with it.

"What if I say yes? What are you gonna do? "

"Well, in the end it's up to you to believe it yourself or not. But, I'm very confident in my ability to gather information, you know? I lived by selling information before I joined Red Eagle."

(Red Eagle, yes ... On second thought, I haven't heard that name in a long time.)

Noelle first heard of the Red Eagle during the attack by the Crimson on the daughter of Margrave Suiren.

At that time he did not care much about the foreign group, but now all roads have been opened. He was a little curious about her.

"Well, if you're really sure of this information you're giving me, then I have no choice but to believe it. And by the way, how did you get all this information? "

Noelle asked that while biting the fries that were in front of her. He decides to put aside everything about Red Eagle, and prioritizes Cryll's rescue first.

In response, Harold shrugged his shoulders and smiled wildly. Not to forget he took one piece of fries, then devoured it in one bite.

"Well, that's pretty easy. You've made me a vampire, and made me absolutely obedient to me, haven't you? I did the same thing with some people I thought were suspicious."

That information was a very surprising thing for Noelle.

Noelle widened her eyes and immediately looked at Harold with a look of disbelief.

"What's? " Harold tried to ask, but did not get a response from Noelle at all.

Shortly thereafter, Noelle finally regained consciousness.

"Did you just say that you turned some people into vampires? "

"Eh? Yeah, of course you are. It was needed to speed up the information gathering process."

" … Stupid … "

Noelle desperately held her own head, while her forehead wrinkled in an ominous manner.

"Why indeed? You did the same thing, right? "

Noelle hit the table with both hands. However, he still tried to restrain his strength so as not to cause much commotion.

"It's true I've turned people into vampires. But those are just two people, you and Chloe. You two are all the people I've made my familiars."

"Eh? Seriously? Just the two of us? "

Harold looked surprised. Even so, he looked completely unaffected and continued to chew a few fries at once.

" … How many people have you turned into vampires? "

"That's about .. Eight people. Almost all of those people were spies of other countries who happened to meet me on a mission. At that time I should have killed them immediately, but I think they would have been perfect for being slaves. It's a pity that I just had to let them go."

If you think logically, that's a reasonable reason.

Having the subordinates of a professional scout was a very good thing for Noelle. Still, he was worried about a few things.

Noelle let out a sigh of resignation, and her clenched hand started to loosen itself.

"Don't do that again without my permission. It would be dangerous if you suddenly increased the number of vampires living in this country. Neither the Kingdom nor the church will remain silent."

Although Noelle was not very familiar with the church, she vaguely knew what tasks the people had.

Most of them will be in charge of spreading their religion and worshiping the God they believe in. And the rest will go to dangerous places to exterminate monsters, as well as collect treasures that will later become the contribution material for the small people.

In the eyes of the public, their work did seem noble. But that doesn't apply to Noelle.

For Noelle, people like them are a real nightmare.

The soldiers who worked for the church had a distinctly different level of strength from all the other knight units. The church also had high authority among the royal nobility so that they could move freely without being hindered by trivial matters.

If the existence of vampires until known to all of them, then noelle.

"Whatever happens, never turn people into vampires. Call me if you want to do that. I'll do a live test so that it can minimize the risk."

" … As your orders."

Harold didn't say anything more. He just silently sipped his drink that had been brought by a woman in a ravishing bunny costume.

"Then, do I have to kill them? "

"No, not for now. It would be better if you let them live for now. I will intervene directly to kill them if the situation does get worse. For now, let them be dolls."

"All right."

Harold nodded, then again called the waiter to order another meal.

"And also .. Can I ask you one thing that is a little personal? "

" … What is it? "

For a moment, Harold's alertness seemed to increase. However, he immediately realized that maintaining his vigilance was a futile thing now.

She was in front of Noelle, someone who had turned her into a vampire.

Noelle has complete control of Harold. He could have forced Harold to answer everything he asked, but Noelle actually bothered to ask permission to do so.

"Do you remember that girl named Charlotte? "

"Charlotte .. Isn't she the daughter of the Zernroden family? "

Harold already had suspicions about what Noelle was going to ask. Even so, he was ready to answer all his questions.

Noelle's gaze sharpened even more as she realized the changing atmosphere around Harold. However, he ignored her and continued what he wanted to ask earlier.

"From what I've heard, you took out all the members of the Zernroden family, right? By whose order did you do that? And why did you let Charlotte survive? "

It was a question that always popped into Noelle's head when she saw Harold. If he was in Harold's position, he wouldn't have wasted the situation, and instantly killed Charlotte right then and there.

However, Harold did not do so and instead deliberately let Charlotte survive. The only conclusion Noelle could think of was the link between her mission and the command given to her.

If that wasn't the answer, then Harold might just be a crazy psychopath who deliberately let a little girl survive the massacre, to create someone full of grudges.

If so, then Harold had succeeded. Charlotte has a very deep grudge against Harold. His evolution into a fallen angel was enough to be proof of that.

Harold was silent for a moment, looking puzzled by what Noelle was asking.

"It's not hard to answer that one. Because ... I myself don't want to do all those actions either."

"Whatchu mean? "

Noelle narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"As I said. I don't want all that myself either. From the beginning, I intended to refuse the job. But, the one who gave me the job, the woman did something and controlled me to make me move as she commanded."

"Do you want to say that you were just a puppet? "

"I doubt I could call it that. All my thoughts and consciousness were still intact, and I was able to move my body normally. But, I was only able to make a move when I had the intention to obey that woman."

"Once, yes … "

Noelle didn't quite understand it, but it was clear enough that she could make some suitable conclusions.

"Then? Who's the lady? Do you know his identity? "

Harold shook his head.

"I originally thought that he was an enemy of the Zernroden family, but the Zernroden family was a family with a very good reputation among the people and nobles. I doubt he would have an enemy who would kill all his family like that. Moreover, there was absolutely no profit to be gained by destroying Zernroden."

What Harold said was indeed true, but it would only be a completely valid conclusion if he were to conduct a massive selection against everyone in the Kingdom.

"Then, do you have an estimate of who that woman really is? "

Harold again shook his head, clearly not knowing the information Noelle wanted.

"Ah, but .. I can describe his appearance to you."

"Do it" Noelle said as she pulled out a piece of paper with a ballpoint.

Harold without saying anything else immediately started drawing while explaining the details he remembered.

"I couldn't know her because she was wearing a long robe. But, I can vaguely recognize body shapes and other traits."

Her fingers agilely controlled the ballpoint and scratched the paper in thin ink, creating an illustration of an adult woman with various supplies stuck to her body.

"Hair is blond and so long that it can touch the floor. I don't know what her face is because she wears a mask, but I can guess that she's pretty. If it's not wrong, the mask is like this."

Harold went back to drawing the perfect detail on that paper. He unexpectedly had an incredible talent in drawing.

What he drew was a mask similar to a party mask. However, the mask had absolutely no holes for the eyes, and appeared to protrude and form a taper angle pointing upward. For more details, Harold added a description of the color and what was on the mask.

It was black, and it had several small dark red gems on its edges.

For a moment, Noelle felt very familiar with the mask, before finally realizing something.

He immediately activated his spatial element-based storage magic, then took out an object from there.

As soon as Harold saw the thing Noelle had taken out, he immediately stood up in surprise, making the glass he had on his desk fall down from the sudden shock.

The sound of shards from the glass made people look at them for a moment, until finally Noelle flicked her finger, and made everyone return to their respective affairs.

"Take it easy" Noelle said with her eyes staring intently at the object in her hand.

"There's no way I can calm down! That thing! Why can you have it?! "

What was in Noelle's hands now was a mask. The mask that he always wears when doing his action sneaks at night.

It was only natural that Harold was shocked. After all, the mask that Noelle was in now had features that were almost identical to the mask he had described.

Only, the mask that Noelle had did not have a red jewel on the edge, but rather several small holes of the same size as the jewel.

"Not wrong anymore. The mask … "

Noelle nodded.

(What is this .. )

Now, Noelle began to doubt what lay before her.

He got the mask from a guy named Jasper. The man said that the mask had been passed down by his family from generation to generation, left behind by someone who was very meritorious to them.

Based on that confession alone is enough to make the conclusion that it is a very valuable mask.

The design was quite unique, and the magic and aura contained within it should be impossible to replicate.

If viewed based on time, still Noelle could only think of the same conclusion as before.

There is only one mask.

Noelle got the mask from Jasper exactly three months before stampede in Suiren began. At that time, Charlotte was already with him.

And based on Harold's confession, the woman with the same mask appears and gives the order to 'exterminate the Zernroden family' to him.

It would be reasonable to say that the same mask had been used by the woman, before it was finally returned to Jasper who was supposed to have it.

The time is right, but not at the same time.

Noelle kambali noticed the illustration. However, no matter how many times he saw her, he could only come to the conclusion that the mask he currently had on him, and the mask the woman used, were the same mask.

Noelle wanted to ignore the strange thing she was thinking about, and come back to a logical conclusion. But, some things kept bothering him all this time.

"Harold, what order did that woman give you? "

"That's .. I'm sure that at that time he ordered me to destroy the Zernroden family, and let the girl Charlotte live. He also gave me a side order to mentally destroy the girl in various ways."

The way that Harold chose to destroy Charlotte's mentality and common sense was to harass her mother, and kill her dearly beloved sister in a horrible way, right before her eyes.

It was truly a savage way, but it proved to be effective given how great of a grudge Charlotte had against her.

"The woman told you to let Charl live, yes … "

Noelle closed her lips with her own hands, seeming to be trying to hold back that wide, almost formed smile.

In his current mind, he had connected all the events, and formed a crazy conclusion that he never even thought of.

There were many strange occurrences involving the mask. One is about how Charlotte and Chloe lost their memories of the 3 months they passed after touching the mask.

After Noelle thought about it, she managed to discover the fact that they had not lost any memory at all.

From the beginning, they did not have any memory of all the things that happened within 3 months of touching the mask.

In short, their consciousness had jumped over time the moment they touched that mask.

The contact with the mask might be some kind of trigger for them. It was evident by how their memories could leap through time, and possess themselves within 3 months of the incident.

Noelle tried to hold back her laughter with all her might. However, that terrible laughter still leaked out a little.

(Ohh, shit ... This is really crazy .. )

"AHAHA .. AHAHAHA!!!! Goddamn bum! So it looks like! No wonder I've always felt so much weirdness! So that's it, yeah! "

The conclusion that Noelle got after relating all the events she had experienced to date, was …

"Playing around with time, it's really crazy! "

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