Euphemia was on the Scholar Pathway and knew a great deal about Beyonder matters.
But precisely because she knew so much, she was all the more shocked at this moment.
Ascending four ranks in a row meant drinking four potions consecutively.
A normal person would have long since been overwhelmed by the uncontrollable power and turned into a monster, right?
Euphemia gazed at the white-haired girl before her, whose beauty seemed almost otherworldly, and at Freya’s green eyes reflecting cute cat paw patterns.
She murmured, “So, how did you manage it?
This…
is utterly unbelievable.”
Seeing Euphemia’s extreme curiosity, Freya thought for a moment and said, “It’s probably what you’d call ‘pre-digestion.’ Before drinking the potions, I did many things that helped with digestion, so they were absorbed instantly upon consumption.”
Euphemia froze.
“Huh?
You can do that?!”
At that moment, if Freya had still been in her Heart Sense state, she would have seen the ‘impurities’ in Euphemia’s body suddenly decrease.
Even this simple conversation counted as ‘uncovering the truth’ and helped Euphemia digest her own potion.
After a pause, Euphemia said, “Um, so…
do you still need my help with the case?”
Freya replied, “Why not?
You’ve waited for me for so long, and since you’re already here, we definitely have to eat this meal.
And after we eat, since I’ve already paid your fee, we must continue the investigation.”
As she spoke, Freya walked over to the table, found a random chair, and sat down.
Euphemia finally snapped out of her daze.
She caught the faint, lingering fragrance in the air, and her gaze quickly locked onto Freya.
Originally, there was some distance between them, but Euphemia stood up, picked up her chair, and moved right next to Freya.
Then, she leaned in slightly and sniffed near Freya.
“Mmm, you smell so good~”
Freya’s eyelid twitched at the comment.
“Huh?”
Euphemia then added, “Is this also a change from advancing to Rank 4?”
Freya said, “Uh…
I suppose so?”
A waiter quickly came over with a menu.
While the two were ordering, his gaze couldn’t help but drift to Freya.
Only after they finished ordering did he reluctantly tear his eyes away, leaving with an expression of both awe and regret.
The dishes were soon brought out one by one.
Since they were two women, their appetites naturally weren’t huge, so Freya hadn’t ordered much.
Even so, they couldn’t finish the three dishes.
But as expected of a high-end restaurant, even this small meal cost Freya several hundred Ducats.
After paying the bill, she said, “So, should we start investigating now?
Though I heard that warehouse only operates at night.”
Euphemia said directly, “Let’s go, let’s go!
No matter what, let’s head over and take a look first.”
Freya nodded.
She was thinking that while they might not find any clues during the day, they could pretend to be ordinary passersby.
Besides, it was safer in the daytime.
Just as they left the restaurant and Freya was about to lead the way, Euphemia waved down a passing carriage and said directly, “Driver, to Dreigasse Street in the south.”
Freya was stunned.
“Huh?
Are we taking a carriage?”
Hearing this, Euphemia instead looked confused.
“What else?
Are we supposed to walk there?”
Freya was speechless.
In all her simulations, she had always traveled on foot, running the entire way.
At first, it was because carriages were too expensive and she had no money.
Later, after getting money from Brother Scar, it wasn’t long before Freya gained her War Freya avatar.
She could run faster than a carriage, so she no longer needed to ride in one.
But Euphemia was different.
The Scholar Pathway offered no physical enhancements. Get faster updates on g.com.
If she had to walk to their destination, she’d be half-dead from exhaustion before the investigation even began.
Although…
the current Freya could probably buff Euphemia.
But seeing that Euphemia was already inside the carriage, she swallowed her words and followed her in.
Sitting across from Euphemia, Freya rested her chin on her hand and watched the scenery recede outside the window.
It was a novel experience, she had to admit, but that was all.
After the initial novelty wore off, the carriage ride became nothing more than a bumpy ordeal for Freya.
Maybe the carriage’s wheels were poor quality, or perhaps the road was terrible.
Combined with Freya’s light weight, whenever they passed over particularly uneven spots, the violent jolting would briefly lift her entire body into the air before she slammed back down onto the hard, stiff seat.
Although Freya was now a Beyonder with far greater physical resilience than an ordinary person, her sense of touch was also heightened.
The constant bumping made her feel like her clothes were constantly chafing her skin, and her bottom felt like it was being beaten into eight pieces.
She was utterly miserable.
Across from her, Euphemia could clearly see Freya fidgeting like a hyperactive child, constantly shifting her body and tugging at her clothes.
A few times, her movements were so large that Euphemia caught glimpses of Freya’s delicate collarbones and the expanse of fair skin beneath her neckline.
Seeing this, Euphemia couldn’t help but turn her head slightly, as if to look out the window, though her gaze still flickered back to Freya from time to time.
Freya, however, didn’t notice these details at all.
She just muttered silently to herself, “I can’t take this anymore.
I have to change into better-quality clothes later; this is absolute torture.”
Finally, as the carriage slowly came to a stop, Freya shot up from her seat as if escaping, pushed open the door, and leaped out.
As her small, fair feet landed on the gray cobblestones, she felt the reassuring solidity of the ground and couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
“Finally…
we’re here.”
It’s worth mentioning that due to her Trace Origin ability, while an ordinary person might feel the ground as cold and damp, Freya felt a warmth spreading from her soles, as if standing on underfloor heating.
It wasn’t uncomfortable at all.
After paying the fare, Euphemia followed her out.
She scanned the bustling street, filled with people coming and going.
The southern district of Auxerre City was the industrial zone, home to numerous factories, so the streets were always crowded during the day.
Even so, the sudden appearance of two exceptionally beautiful young women caused not the slightest ripple.
At most, a few nearby people glanced at them for an extra moment before turning back to their own business.
Here, everyone was incredibly busy.
So what if Freya and Euphemia were beautiful?
They weren’t offering free meals or paying wages, so what was there to look at?
Euphemia then asked, “Where exactly is that dilapidated warehouse?”
Freya closed her eyes and entered her Heart Sense state.
Instantly, a “map” of the entire Dreigasse Street, along with countless tiny “figures,” appeared in her mind.
Freya briefly “scanned” the scene, noting that the vast majority of people were in a state of extreme exhaustion, with minor ailments plaguing their bodies.
This was normal; what worker was ever perfectly healthy?
Besides these ordinary people, Freya also “saw” some very strange individuals.
In her vision, these people appeared as empty shells, with nothing inside their bodies.
She immediately realized these must be the “soldiers” summoned by that Rank 5 General.
Freya said, “Follow me.
The warehouse is this way.”
As she led the way, she occasionally pointed out to Euphemia, “The guy on the third bench to the left, reading the newspaper, isn’t real.
He’s a soldier summoned by the General.”
“Sixty meters straight ahead, the person in brown clothes carrying a briefcase.”
“And in the restaurant on the right, the three people eating at the table closest to the door are all soldiers too.”
Euphemia exclaimed in amazement, “Incredible…
By the way, I still don’t know what Pathway you follow.”
Since Euphemia had previously revealed her own Pathway, Freya didn’t hide hers this time.
She said, “The Earth Pathway.”
Euphemia’s face lit up with understanding.
“Oh, so that’s why you run around barefoot!
It’s the Earth Pathway, huh?
That explains everything.”
Freya’s cheeks flushed slightly.
Although the blame was automatically shifted to the Earth Pathway, she still felt a bit embarrassed when someone pointed out her barefoot habit so directly.
As they talked, Euphemia didn’t look at the people Freya pointed out.
She walked and chatted like a normal pedestrian, knowing that overly deliberate observation might attract unwanted attention.
She whispered, “What’s the situation around us?”
Freya said, “There are too many.
You can just assume everyone moving around here is one of the General’s [Soldiers].”
Euphemia nodded, took Freya’s small hand, and walked past the warehouse without lingering, just like a casual passerby.
After walking several hundred meters, Euphemia pulled Freya around a corner into a nearby alley.
However, just as she was about to head deeper into the alley, Freya showed clear resistance.
Euphemia asked, “What’s wrong?”
Freya pursed her lips, then said after a moment of silence, “It’s too dirty here…”
Even in her previous life in modern society, people littered and relieved themselves in public.
In this more backward world, people naturally paid even less attention to hygiene.
Secluded alleys like this had practically become public dumps, littered with all sorts of filth.
Even if Freya’s body now seemed to be [Dust-Repellent], she still didn’t want to step on such things barefoot.
It was too disgusting.
Euphemia heard this, glanced down at Freya’s little feet, and said, “I’d forgotten about that.”
As she spoke, she peeked out of the alley to both sides.
Seeing no one nearby, she said, “Whatever, this spot will do.”
She unzipped her crossbody bag, looked down, and rummaged inside, quickly pulling out a thin, plastic wrap-like object.
Euphemia gave it a gentle shake.
Once it fully unfolded, she moved closer to Freya.
After they were pressed tightly together, she draped the item over both of them.
Freya had been keeping her eyes closed, maintaining her Heart Sense state.
In her ‘God’s-eye view,’ she and Euphemia simply vanished into thin air!
Euphemia explained, “An Invisibility Cloak.
Just the right size.
Let’s go!
We’ll go check out that warehouse now.”
Freya’s mouth fell slightly open, and she said blankly, “Huh?
Such a thing actually exists?”
Euphemia said, “Beyonder items, you know.
I’m on the Scholar Pathway.
Isn’t it perfectly normal to have some nifty little gadgets?”
Beyonder items.
During her second simulation, in the month she worked at the Special Operations Division, Freya had heard of these things but had never seen one, because the Special Operations Division didn’t have a single Beyonder item.
These items were undoubtedly precious; after all, the entire Special Operations Division couldn’t muster even one.
Yet, from Euphemia’s tone, it seemed she had many Beyonder items.
Freya asked, “So, where do Beyonder items actually come from?”
A beautiful curve formed on Euphemia’s lips.
“You don’t know?”
After all, Freya had delivered so many shocks in just half a day.
Seeing her look so ignorant now allowed Euphemia to reclaim a bit of her ‘Beyonder world senior’ feeling.
Gazing at Freya’s adorable little face, so close to her own, Euphemia said, “Let me pinch your cheeks, and I’ll tell you.
How about it?”
“Mmm…” Freya pondered for a moment, tilted her head slightly, and said, “Okay?”
Hearing this, Euphemia didn’t hesitate, directly reaching out to pinch both of Freya’s cheeks.
She kneaded and squeezed them, just like petting a cat, and the texture felt amazing.
“Mmm~” Freya mumbled indistinctly, “It feels so good…”
After petting her for a while longer, Euphemia finally withdrew her hands, satisfied, and began to explain:
“Through continuous research into the Pathways, people summarized and invented potions.
By simply drinking one, you can gain Beyonder abilities.
So, if you use the same materials but a different medium, creating an item instead of a potion, that item should theoretically possess Beyonder abilities as well.”
“But that’s just the theory.
In practice, creating Beyonder items is far more difficult than making potions.
Most people who try this are more likely to create ‘Sealed Artifacts’ full of side effects.
The Scholar Pathway, however, is different.
With their superhuman intelligence, crafting Beyonder items is not a difficult task for them.”
“Not to mention, one of the three Rank 4 advancements for Scholars is called ‘Artisan,’ which specializes in creating Beyonder items.”