"Come on, show it to us already. I heard you're really good at it," said the tall, rough-looking guy, cornering the person he was talking to between his muscular body and the carriage he was straddling on.

"I only watched before, but I could tell how amazing you are," added another guy, a bit shorter than the first yet with a very attractive, handsome face.

"Won't you let this weak old man experience it again?" Although he called himself old, his age could barely be recognized from his confident expression. His large, muscular body—the biggest among the three—didn't show any sign of weakness either.

"Heh—If you just strip and show it to them, they won't keep bothering you," said the beautiful, elegant, worship-worthy young lady standing behind the three men, watching what could easily be misunderstood as harassment with a smug grin on her lips.

"At least be mindful of your words, Lynn!"

As to what exactly was happening, Rust, Ellric, and Brandon were bothering—or rather, requesting—Arezu for a demonstration, after getting permission from Lynn.

Strip and show it to them.

Lynn wasn't exactly telling Arezu to strip off his clothes and show his body to the three men.

But I guess it would be really funny to see that, Lynn thought.

"Pfft—!"

"I heard that, Lynn!"

What Lynn was telling Arezu was to strip away the lies and show them his real strength and fighting capability.

Although Brandon and Ellric had kept their promise to Lynn not to mention Arezu's mysterious ability to absorb monster cores and mana, or about the Visage of his Envy—now the new Dungeon Master of Crystal Mirror Dungeon—the details of their fight against the Dungeon Master, along with the fact that Arezu fought the Visage of the Crystal Blade adventurer, had still been reported by Brandon and Ellric to the other leaders of the caravan.

Lynn didn't have any problem with that. In fact, she was the one who asked for it to be told. She wanted everyone to know how strong Arezu truly was and to give both him and her the respect and admiration they deserved.

However, it was Arezu who was troubled, as other adventurers—and even some knights, valkyries, and soldiers from the cavalry—had been asking him to show the skills they'd heard about from rumors, just like what Rust, Ellric, and Brandon were asking him again while the rest of the caravan dismantled the flock of wyverns they had just defeated.

"They said you could catch a spear imbued with Ballista barehanded," Rust said, cornering Arezu with both hands leaning on the carriage.

"And you wield your weapon so skillfully it looks like you're using multiple halberd-axes at once," followed Ellric, leaning his face close to Arezu's.

"I'd be willing to assist you, of course, Arezu," added Brandon, already holding a longsword in his right hand and a spear in his left.

"Isn't he the one usually on top..."

"Even though he acts laid-back and wasn't assertive at first..."

"What do you expect with that kind of number..."

The concerning chatter that Arezu could hear from the crowd watching from afar wasn't exactly his main worry. What he needed to figure out was how to stop Rust, Ellric, Brandon, and everyone else from asking him again and again to show his skill.

Arezu glanced at Lynn, silently pleading for help to handle the situation, not knowing she was the one who caused it. Regardless of his ignorance—or even if he knew—Lynn would still give him the same response.

"Hmph!" She pouted, looking away to avoid his gaze and ignore his request for help.

With that, Arezu was left with no choice.

"Fine..." He sighed, deciding to do the bare minimum to comply with everyone's request. "If it's just catching a spear, I'll give it a try."

---

—Swish!—

—Clang!—

—"Yeah!"—

The sound of a bat hitting a ball, followed by cheers, came from those playing baseball while the caravan rested after dismantling the wyverns—those who weren't interested in the demonstration about to unfold.

Those who were interested had formed a crowd on the open meadow plains, leaving the carriages parked by the roadside but still within sight.

In front of the crowd, Arezu stood 50 meters away from Brandon and Lynn.

What is she scheming now? Arezu thought, watching Lynn whisper something to Brandon.

At Lynn's cue:

"Ready or not, Mr. Stripper!"

"Oi—That was uncalled for!"

Despite his annoyance, Arezu readied himself—his stance and mind set.

"Burnout"

Brandon activated his divine gift, pushing the enchantment of his spear to its maximum capacity and the weapon itself to its breaking point to boost the strength and power of his attack.

'Ballista'

Then he imbued his mana into the weapon to activate his combat skill. But before he could throw the spear—aiming directly at Arezu, as Lynn had instructed—

"Wait! Wait! Wait!—Stop!" Arezu shouted in panic, breaking his usual laid-back composure and calm demeanor while fighting, surprising everyone who knew him.

"What the heck was that?!" he exclaimed, protesting to Lynn rather than Brandon.

"What do you mean, Mr. Stripper?!" Lynn shouted back, continuing to tease him.

Arezu had indeed agreed to reenact catching the spear thrown by the Visage of the Crystal Blade adventurer—an attack imbued with the combat skill Ballista. But what Brandon had in mind was reenacting when the Visage of the unknown girl—Arezu's Envy—caught his spear imbued with both his divine gift and combat skill.

"There's no way I could do that," Arezu replied after hearing Brandon explain his actions upon approaching him and Lynn.

"Why not? It would be more entertaining, Mr. Stripper."

"Stop being unreasonable, Lynn."

"You're the one who's unreasonable!"

Their back-and-forth continued, with no one daring to interrupt—not even Brandon.

After a while, Arezu returned to his spot after Brandon agreed to only use his combat skill on the spear.

Brandon once again imbued his mana into the weapon to activate his skill the moment he threw it, still aiming at Arezu as Lynn reminded him.

Arezu gauged the direction and timing of the incoming projectile, leapt backward to position himself, and lessened the impact as he caught the destructive spear mid-air.

The overwhelming force pushed him back, yet he landed firmly on both feet and steadied himself while restraining all the power contained within the spear, which vibrated and screeched as if trying to break free from his grip.

The instant Arezu gained control of the weapon, he spun it in his hand—and, as Brandon had specifically asked, threw it back at him.

Brandon intended to challenge himself and try to catch the spear, but upon looking at Arezu, a flash of his defeat against the Visage of the unknown girl crossed his mind, causing him to instinctively dodge the spear.

"I guess I really am getting old," he murmured, disappointed at himself for the fear he instinctively felt.

"Do it again."

—"HUH?!"—

Lynn's sudden remark stopped whatever cheer the crowd was about to give—and at the same time, scared both Brandon and Arezu.

"I said do it again!" she shouted in annoyance.

After repeating the same demonstration a dozen times, Arezu finally snapped. He grabbed Lynn by the back of her robe and carried her away from the crowd toward their carriage like an annoyed mother cat carrying a spoiled kitten.

"Let's go, Liz."

"I don't want to."

Meanwhile, Liz was doing her best to resist Hannah's dragging, intent on following and observing Lynn and Arezu.

Away from everyone's eyes—or so they thought—Arezu began scolding Lynn.

"What exactly do you want, Lynn?" he asked, realizing that Lynn wasn't just bullying him using Brandon without a reason.

"You didn't say it..." she grumbled, looking away from Arezu while pouting.

"Say what?"

"Those incomprehensible words I didn't understand!"

So that's what she was trying to figure out, Arezu thought.

Authorization Code: 0201

The meaning of those words held Arezu's origin—and everything else about him.

He wouldn't have minded telling Lynn who he was. In fact, among the people he knew, only Lynn would understand.

However, that didn't mean Arezu had the right to say it. Or rather, he was afraid to. And even if he wanted to tell her, it would be better for Lynn not to know.

Regardless—

"Didn't you promise that you wouldn't ask—that you'd be there to listen to my story when I'm ready to tell you everything?" he said, patting Lynn's head.

"I know... But when are you going to tell me everything?"

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