Stopping directly before their table, she offered a warm, gentle smile, her voice carrying a naturally soothing, divine melody.
“I apologize for the intrusion, gentlemen. May I have a moment of your time?”
It was the Radiant Saint herself.
Internally, Rael completely panicked, his mind screaming in sheer shock. Why the hell is a high-ranking Saint approaching a dim corner table like ours?! Did we already blow our cover?!
Beside him, Vhal'Zar, completely lacking any concept of mortal manners, let out a deeply irritated, rumbling sigh. He looked up at her with a thoroughly rude, defensive tone. “Can you please go away? I absolutely despise that suffocating aura of yours. Ugh...”
Rael snapped his head toward his servant, glaring at him with an absolute devilish, terrifying look. This guy seriously never learns! Did he completely forget what I literally just told him at the table?!
Without a second thought, Rael delivered a swift, hard smack right to the back of Vhal'Zar’s head.
Smack!
“Ouch! Master!” Vhal'Zar gasped, his majestic baritone voice cracking as his previous cold pride instantly plummeted to zero.
Rael narrowed his eyes threateningly, gesturing with a sharp nod toward the Saint. Catching the hint, Vhal'Zar immediately slumped his shoulders. Like a little child who had just been severely scolded by a parent, he lowered his head nervously and muttered, “Umm... I am incredibly sorry, miss.”
Earlier...
Up in the second-floor office, Baron Vistor Ashford had carefully handed the newly printed identification plates over to the Saint. “Here you go, My Lady.”
Solenne smiled kindly, accepting the copper and gold identification tags. “Thank you, Baron.”
Vistor chuckled, trying to lighten the atmosphere. “Haha! I’m sure those two travelers will be completely ecstatic and profoundly grateful that the Radiant Saint herself is personally delivering their guild IDs! It's an unprecedented honor.”
“Haha, I certainly hope so,” Solenne replied calmly.
Turning her head toward her personal Royal Guard, she covertly channeled her mana to send a private telepathic message.
[Sound Transmission]
’Follow closely behind me and ensure you stand by for immediate action.’
The Royal Guard gave a firm, silent nod.
Together, they walked down the grand wooden staircase and entered the main hall of the guild. Solenne discreetly approached a staff member, asking them to quietly point out exactly who Rael Voss and Vhal'Zar were. Once the assistant pointed toward the dim, isolated corner table, Solenne hid herself slightly against a stone column, ensuring she didn't get caught watching them.
Blinking her eyes softly, she activated her rare innate ability to observe them from a distance.
[Divine Eyes]
However, the moment the status readouts materialized, Solenne froze in pure confusion and utter shock.
In her vision, both of the individuals sitting at the table emitted a very, very faint, almost invisible soul color. Especially the youth sitting next to the knight his life signature was so incredibly thin that it looked as if he practically didn't even exist in this world.
What Solenne didn't realize was that after Rael’s massive mana leak in the testing chamber earlier, he had steeled his resolve to suppress his energy even tighter than Vhal'Zar. He had clamped down on his soul space so intensely that to her [Divine Eyes], Rael's physical existence appeared as insignificant as a harmless speck of dust.
Seeing such a pathetic, low-tier readout, Solenne completely let her guard down. Ah... they seem entirely harmless. The perfect knight must simply be a naturally gifted physical brute, and the boy is a complete nobody.
Turning to her Royal Guard, she whispered softly, “It's alright. Just stand by right beside me.”
Adjusting her expression, she put on her most innocent, harmless, and gentle Saint persona. I will approach them with as little hostility as possible to avoid spooking them, she thought, gracefully stepping toward the corner table.
Now...
Maintaining her radiant, warm smile despite Vhal'Zar's initial rudeness, Solenne chuckled softly. “Ah, it is quite alright. It is only natural that your friend here feels a bit uncomfortable around my presence. However, I simply wished to personally congratulate the rising star of our guild our newest A-rank powerhouse.”
The moment her melodic voice carried across the guild, the surrounding adventurers gasped. Hundreds of sharp, curious, and envious eyes instantly locked onto their isolated table.
Rael’s internal panic reached an all-time high. Damn it! I thought we chose the quietest, most low-profile corner to stay hidden, but this Saint... did she broadcast his rank out loud on purpose?!
Forcing a wide, thoroughly awkward smile onto his face, Rael laughed nervously. “Hahaha! That's right, Your Highness! My... 'friend' here just happened to get an A-rank. He is very, very strong... right, Vhal?”
Still nursing the sore spot on the back of his head, Vhal'Zar gritted his teeth, trying his best to restore his composure as he looked at the Saint. “Grrgh... that is correct. You fragile mortals couldn't even compare your collective power to my strength, even if all of you combined-”
Realizing his idiot servant was about to trigger the entire room, Rael loudly raised his voice to cut him off, laughing hysterically. “HA HA HA HA! See?! He gets incredibly arrogant the moment he receives an A-rank license! Please ignore his nonsense, sirs!”
Hearing Vhal'Zar's blatant disrespect, the Royal Guard standing behind Solenne narrowed his eyes, his hand tightening around his sword hilt, thoroughly pissed off. However, Solenne raised a gentle hand, signaling her protector to stand down.
“Ah, is that so?” Solenne smiled serenely.
Intending to keep them in conversation for as long as possible to uncover any hidden secrets, Solenne steeled her resolve. She decided to reactivate her perception skill up close, pouring more holy mana into her pupils to force a deeper scan.
[Divine Eyes]
The exact millisecond the invisible, divine magical probe expanded from her retinas...
Flinch.
Both Rael and Vhal'Zar simultaneously paused, a sharp internal instinct triggering in their minds. Hmm?
Suddenly, Rael’s casual demeanor vanished. His sharp, horizontal draconic pupils violently flashed beneath his human illusion as his gaze snapped straight ahead, locking directly onto Solenne’s eyes with a terrifyingly piercing intensity. Beside him, Vhal'Zar’s sharp, blue-ringed eyes similarly locked onto hers, burning with instant hostility.
Realizing he had reacted too aggressively, Rael immediately relaxed his eyes, restoring his golden human form. He offered a remarkably calm, slow, and polite smile.
“Ah... Your Highness,” Rael murmured smoothly, his voice laced with an unnerving calmness. “You certainly possess a very... unique skill.”
Vhal'Zar merely barked with a low, dangerous rumble. “So, we are granted absolutely no privacy at this table, huh?”
A drop of cold sweat suddenly broke out on Solenne's temple, rolling slowly down her pale cheek. Her entire body froze in absolute, unadulterated horror.
They... they had detected it? Instantly?!
Solenne’s mind reeled in sheer panic. [Divine Eyes] was a supreme, innate cosmic blessing from her goddess, passed down from generation to generation. It operated on a completely imperceptible spiritual wavelength that was entirely impossible for mortals to sense. While the royal family and high nobles knew she possessed the trait because she had legally disclosed it, detecting the live activation of the skill was an absolute impossibility.
For centuries, across the entire history of the Sanctuarium, not a single living being had ever been able to look back at a Saint and realize they were being scanned.
Yet, these two men had caught her red-handed without a single second of hesitation.
For the first time in her entire life, the flawless, impenetrable mask of the Radiant Saint cracked completely right in front of ordinary commoners.
“How...?” Solenne whispered, her breath completely catching in her throat. Her voice was trembling, dropping into a low, raw rasp that was entirely devoid of her usual divine melody. “How... how did you know?”
A few nearby adventurers blinked, tilting their heads as they noticed the sudden, tense shift in the Saint's posture. Sensing the danger in the room, the Royal Guard behind her subtly shifted his weight, his eyes widening as he realized his lady was genuinely shaken.
But before her sudden lapse in composure could cause a scene in the public hall, Solenne's high-level discipline forcefully kicked in. She drew a sharp, silent breath, forcing the panic down into the depths of her mind and smoothing her pale features back into a serene, albeit slightly strained smile.
“Ah... please, forgive my sudden lapse, gentlemen,” she cleared her throat gracefully, her tone instantly returning to its pleasant, noble pitch as she looked at them. “I simply meant to ask... may I have the honor of meeting you two gentlemen again at a more convenient time?”
Rael’s eyebrows lifted slightly, deeply amused by how remarkably fast she managed to put her holy mask back on. He shrugged casually, sliding his newly issued copper E-rank ID plate into his pocket before looking back up at her.
“Well, suit yourself, Your Highness,” Rael replied with a relaxed, entirely indifferent smile. “My friend and I will be staying in the guild's library for a while. If you wish to look for us later, you already know exactly where to find us.”