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nA day had passed...

nThe Tenth Grain separated from the main force. The other Grains too turned in the other direction.

nThe Mirror Lake was surrounded by two kingdoms and three dukedoms. The other Grains were tasked to enter these kingdoms and dukedoms while the main force will head towards the Mirror Lake.

nTime had passed quickly...

nThe Tenth Grain arrived in front of the gate of Fone Kingdom.

n'It's pretty huge...' Souta said inwardly as he entered the gate with others.

nThe kingdom was huge but its military might was lacking. It couldn't even be compared to some small countries on Giza Continent.

nThe classification of powers in the Giza Continent was only divided into three ranks. The small country, large country, and great country.

nSmall countries didn't have any gods. They weren't included in the map as they could always fall at any time.

nThe large country was different. Each one of them was housing two to three gods and sometimes they even had six to nine gods. Usually, the public only knew one god as the other gods were hiding as tactical weapons.

nAs for a great country. They had more than twenty gods and some of them were hiding. Even without gods, the military might of a great country couldn't be compared to a large country.

nFor a country like Fone Kingdom, it should be as strong as a top faction in Eilish's world. Probably had a few Shackled Realm experts.

n'Well, let's be careful.' Souta said to himself. He wouldn't let down his guard just because of the outward appearance of this kingdom.

n

"Oho~ so this is where you came from, Sakme!

" Drami surveyed the surrounding with a bright smile on her face.

n

"It's nothing great.

" Sakme shook her head.

n

"The guards couldn't even recognize you.

" Leilus smiled wryly.

n

"Hehe, it's because Sakme has been away for many years,

" Drami said as she raised her hand to Sakme's height level.

nWhile the Blue Cross was talking to each other, Souta approached Carmel.

n

"Gra- Carmel, when will the other come here?

"

nSouta wanted to say Grain Leader but he immediately stopped himself. He recalled that once they've entered this kingdom, they will call him by his name.

n

"At night, let's not talk here. We'll continue this after we find the place.

"

nCarmel said.

n

"I understand.

"

nSouta nodded. He understood Carmel's worry. Right now, he haven't even seen a person at S-rank in the street so it's probably safe.

nThere's nothing these people could hide against his Galaxy Eyes. He could even see through Alice's disguise artifact which could hide her identity from anyone below gods. It's a different question if they were holding a universal grade weapon but he thought that's almost impossible.

nWell, almost impossible means there's still a chance so he better not risk it.

n

"How about you, Souta?

" Paolo asked.

nSouta turned his head and looked at him with a confused expression. His mind was wandering so he didn't hear what they were saying.

n

"We're asking if you want to tour with us,

" Drami said.

n

"Okay, I have no problem with that.

" Souta nodded.

n

"We could also use this chance to familiarize ourselves in this place. We have Sakme here, our guide.

" Leilus said.

n

"You're right.

" Souta couldn't help but nod at Leilus' words. He had a point. They didn't know this place so it's better to understand this place a little bit.

n

"You guys can do that. I'm going to find a pub here to gather information. Since that girl there is a noble, I can just ask around.

" Carmel said as he waved his hand before he walk away.

n

"Germana Household, sir,

" Sakme said.

n

"Noted,

" Carmel said.

nThe rest just stared at Carmel's back until he disappeared.

n

"Aw, our leader disappeared like that,

" Drami said.

n

"Don't mind our leader. I'm sure he had a plan in his mind.

" Leilus said to Drami.

n

"Okay, let's go, Marcus!

" Drami hopped and she hook her arm around Marcus' arm.

n

"You're too lively, Drami,

" Marcus said with a sigh.

n

"Ehe~

" Drami laughed.

n

"You didn't even know the way here. Where are we going without Sakme?

" Marcus flicked Drami's forehead.

n

"Aw! You're so mean, Marcus.

" Drami looked at him with teary eyes while covering her forehead with her hands.

n

"Don't mind those two, they are always like this,

" Paolo said to Souta.

n

"Okay,

" Souta glanced at him before he nodded.

nLeilus walked beside them and asked,

"Can you drink, Souta?

"

n

"With our power level, I don't think that will happen,

" Souta replied.

n

"We can simply adjust our body. Don't tell me you don't know how to adjust your resistance...?

" Leilus put an arm around his neck.

n

"I know that but we're on a mission here,

" Souta said.

n

"You're right but this will make us less suspicious, right? Also, we can simply adjust our bodies once again.

" Leilus explained to him.

n

"Fine...

" Souta sighed.

n

"We're going to drink tonight!

" Leilus said in a loud voice as he raised his other hand above his head.

n

"Yeah!!

"

n

"Too bad, Kayle, Bruts, and Merci aren't here!

"

n'These guys...' Souta smiled as he followed them.

nThe group toured around the Fone Kingdom. They did a lot of things and visited various tourist spots.

nSouta gained a little bit of understanding about the Blue Cross Circle.

nThey were not bad.

nIt was already night when the group arrived at Germana Household. A count household that holds a certain authority in this kingdom.

nSakme was still young when she left years ago and she didn't even contact her family so she had no idea if there were changes in her family.

nShe thought that her family wouldn't care about her but the moment they arrived here they welcomed her.

nIt seems that people from Germana Household heard her return from the guards. A count family had ears and eyes around the kingdom so it was natural that they'd heard Sakme's return since she didn't even try to hide it.

n

"Welcome home, young miss!!

"

nThe subordinates of the family said in a loud voice.

nWith Sakme at the front, the group walked forward with rows of people on both sides.

n

"Huhu~ young miss? How old are you, Sakme?

" Drami teased while looking at the people around them.

nSakme ignored her as she kept walking forward.

n'Hmm...'

nSouta scanned the mansion with his eyes. All the people that he detected using Crimson Perception were scanned by Galaxy Eyes. No one was left behind.

n'The power of Germana Family isn't bad. They have thirty-one S-ranks and eight of them reached the peak stage. Unfortunately, they didn't have Shackled Realm expert.'

nThe group entered the house. The maids arranged a room for Souta and the rest while Sakme went to greet her parents.

n

"Ahh~ Sakme is taking too long...

" Drami said as she slumped down on the sofa.

n

"What can we do? Sakme is away for several years. Also, she ran away so she wanted to settle things here.

" Leilus said.

n

"We only have today. Tomorrow, we'll start investigating this kingdom if they had people from Red Matter.

" Marcus said as he glanced at Leilus.

n

"Yep, that's why we should enjoy ourselves tonight!

" Drami raised both of her hands.

n

"Before we do that we have to make sure that this family had nothing to do with Red Matter,

" Leilus said in a low voice.

nEveryone narrowed their eyes at his words. This was true. If there were enemies in this place then they wouldn't be able to sleep.

n

"W-What should we do if we find that Germana Family is cooperating with Red Matter?

" Drami asked even if she knew the answer. She glanced at the expression of her comrades.

n

"Extermination,

" Paolo said in a grave tone.

n

"B-But they are...

" Drami wanted to say something but Marcus held her hand.

n

"It's fine. It's just a guess.

" Marcus said to her in a light tone.

n

"If they are really cooperating with Red Matter, then we would have no choice but to kill them. Our Grain Leader is here and he wouldn't hesitate to do it. Don't forget how many cities, towns, and villages were burned down in the past few weeks.

" Souta said to them.

nLeilus looked at them and said,

"Grain Leader is still out there so we should finish this as soon as possible. Who wants to go out there and investigate the family?

"

n

"I'll do it. I'm suitable for this job.

" Marcus stood up.

n

"I'll stay here. I won't bother you guys.

" Souta said before he stood up. He went to the other room and set up a barrier.

nHe scanned all the people here and there's no Shackled Realm expert. No one could threaten him and Marcus would be fine since he himself was a One Shackle Realm.

n

"This should be enough.

"

nSouta muttered as he looked at the barrier around the room. Then, he took out the monster orb from the small bag hanging on his waist.

nHe sat down and held the monster orb tightly. He closed his eyes and focus his attention on the energy inside the monster orb.

nArchetype: Vajra Extremity!

nThird Form: Serenity of the Vajra!

nHe used the third form and the speed of his training had increased. Best feram gushed out of the monster orb and entered his body.

n

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