Chapter 141: Cover One’s Track

POV Eliza

I looked down at Jared's dead body, my mind racing. Some of the events that had transpired were troubling me. For the first time, I had fought someone I knew. What's more, I had to kill him because he posed a threat to the community. I wished there had been another option.

What also deeply troubled me was the fact that he had been a mole. I was shocked because he had lived with the others for at least 10 years. But the opportunity to return to his family was probably too tempting for him. I could understand him to a certain extent. I used Appraisal on him to investigate a suspicion I had about his status. Something was wrong with his HP, and I hoped to find a clue. In fact, I found Concealment at expert level in his skills. This allowed him to deceive my Appraisal skill, which was only at advanced level. In addition, his class was not just Soldier, but Informant. So he had made a class upgrade. His level was 46, which was as high as mine. That explained why he was able to put me in such a tight spot, especially after he used the artifact. The artifact turned out to be a ring, but I couldn't identify it. My skill level in Identify Item was too low. However, I pocketed it in case it could be used again.

He didn't know any magic, otherwise he would have been a Spy, as I knew from Master Freyna. That also explained the large discrepancy in his HP that I had sensed. His true HP was more than twice as high as I had originally thought. He also had Sword at expert level, while my dagger was not yet at expert level. In a direct duel, I would have been clearly inferior to him, and without my shadow magic and poison spell, I would most likely have lost. I had only survived thanks to my regeneration anyway. This encounter was very dangerous and fortunately ended in my favor.

But I didn't want to leave Jared here, because even though he had betrayed us, he had been part of the community for a long time and his last words had made me think. I didn't want to leave him to be eaten by animals, but how could I bury him? Right there or somewhere else? I briefly considered bringing him back to the community. Then the others would worry less, but I would have to carry him through the forest for several days. As sorry as I am, that option was just too difficult to fulfill. So I took him into the forest and buried him in an easily accessible spot. Then the others could visit him and pay their respects.

Afterwards, I gathered all my things and remembered something Jared had said. He mentioned that someone was coming by. I was curious to know who it was, if only so that I could be careful around him in my Stevt form. I erased all traces of the fight as best I could. Then I needed some rest, so I lay down and waited. I was hungry, but with the fight fresh in my mind, I couldn't eat a bite and settled for water.

A few hours later, I heard the sound of horses' hooves and saw a cloud of dust approaching from the direction of the city. The riders approached the battlefield and rode slowly past me. I heard snippets of their conversation.

“It must be somewhere around here. Do you see him?” <Man 1>

“No sign of him.” <Man 2>

“Nothing to be seen on this side either.” <Man 3>

“I wonder if he ran away? Well, what can you expect from a double traitor. Keep searching. If we don't find anything in the next two hours, we'll ride back.” <Man 1>

The first man seemed to be the leader. Unlike the other two, he was not a soldier, even though he wore similar clothing. Instead, he appeared to be a member of the church, as he wore several clerical symbols. He was probably the one who had been responsible for summoning the messenger bird. I had to remember his appearance. A quick appraisal as he rode past me gave me further certainty. He was a priest of Lumos, even though his clothing seemed profane. I had to be careful not to make a mistake in front of a priest in disguise.

When they had ridden on, I turned away from the road and went back to the old camp. I had to warn the others to be careful. Not that they would accidentally encounter the riders. I hurried and warned the others.

That evening, I sat with the three adventurers in the old camp by a small fire. The three were shocked by the news that Jared was dead. I told them that I had found him dead when I was investigating the area. They had known him even longer than I had and wanted to be alone. I couldn't blame them.

As I sat alone by the fire, I went over my status again. There had to be something I could do to further improve my senses. With a better Sense Life skill, I could have figured out the inconsistencies in Jared's status more accurately and would have known sooner. My gaze fell on my Unique Abilities, especially Master Senses. What exactly did that do again? Hadn't Luna told me ages ago that I could also apply Appraisal to skills? If I had done that before, I had at least forgotten what I had found out. I used Appraisal and was amazed at the information I got. I could improve my senses at any time, even without an instructor? Why hadn't I realized that before? It was a huge advantage that I could level up all my senses without an instructor. Unfortunately, there was no skill that was already at tier 10. So I had to wait and hope that I would still remember.

Only now did I notice that I was being watched. Yuna was sitting across from me by the fire, looking at me. The other two were nowhere to be seen. I had been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed her. Yuna realized that I had noticed her and came closer. I pointed to a free seat next to me and she sat down. It was extremely rare for her to speak up on her own initiative.

“How can I help you, Yuna?” <Eliza>

“You know I'm not one to talk much. So I'll get straight to the point. Something about your story about Jared bothers me. Did you leave out something important?” <Yuna>

I fell silent. I didn't know how to answer her. I was surprised that Yuna, of all people, had noticed that I hadn't told the whole truth. I had expected Aslan to be the one to notice the gap and address it. It seemed I was wrong in my assumption.

“I wasn't sure if I should tell you all the whole truth. I don't know how you would react. What do you think, Aslan?” <Eliza>

I raised my voice as I said my last words. I had sensed his presence ever since Yuna had spoken to me. He then appeared from behind one of the houses and sat down next to Yuna.

“Is the whole truth so bad that you want to keep it secret?” <Aslan>

“In a way, yes, but it's nothing that would directly threaten the community. At least, that's my assessment.” <Eliza>

"It has to do with Jared, doesn't it? Tell us, you don't have to carry the burden alone. I know you well enough to realize that you don't want to burden us with it. But Jared was an integral part of our community and a good friend. We deserve to know." <Aslan>

I sighed and prepared myself mentally.

“Did you notice how easy it was to find you, even though the old camp was two days away from any road in the forest? There was a mole among you who betrayed your location.” <Eliza>

“A mole? Do you mean Jared? How awful.” <Yuna>

“I can't imagine it either. He was such a decent guy who even deserted because he couldn't stand the discrimination against Beastkin anymore.” <Aslan>

"But it's the truth. He confessed it to me himself. I'm sorry. It sounds so unbelievable, and ultimately you have to decide whether to believe me or not." <Eliza>

“Tell us the whole story, then we can decide for ourselves who and what to believe.” <Aslan>

I told them what had happened. About the message I had intercepted, about the confrontation that had led to Jared's death, and about the search party with the priest that I had seen afterwards.

“I can take you to his grave. I didn't want to just leave him lying on the street, so I buried him. It's a day's journey from here. If you trust me enough.” <Eliza>

The two nodded, and together we set off. They briefly informed Kron, who was to continue keeping watch here. They seemed to trust me, which I was very glad about. I couldn't bear it if they mistrusted me. When we arrived at the grave, I left the two alone. I waited at a distance until they were finished. Then we made our way back to Kron in silence and then to the community.