"Congrats, Leon. Judging by you, you successfully advanced, right?"
Iris stepped inside.
She was wearing a white mage robe. Under it was a dark, neutral-toned double-breasted outfit that fit close to the body.
Her hair accessories had changed too: her pale-blue hair was tied into a neat bun at the back, exposing a smooth, glowing-white forehead. With her hair pulled back, her gemstone-yellow eyes looked slightly more upturned, giving her a sharper, more aggressive edge.
It looked like she'd found a more combat-suitable style—and avoided having bangs obstruct her vision.
"Nice new hairstyle," Leon said. "Pretty, and also good for fighting. Did Miss Grani help you with it?"
"Yes. After these fights, I kept feeling my old look was a little… cumbersome. Not ideal for long-term activity in a dangerous dungeon." Iris paused, then asked, "But how did you know Grani helped me?"
Leon noticing the change right away made Iris happy.
But the moment she heard Grani's name, she felt strangely displeased.
Still, her face stayed calm as if nothing was wrong as she asked the question.
"Her living room has several portraits of herself," Leon said. "One of them is a knight outfit portrait. It's the same hairstyle."
"Oh? You looked that closely?"
Iris quietly closed the door.
Leon glanced at her—just one sentence and her whole vibe shifted.
Looks like her affection could keep climbing.
That emotion… she couldn't hide it at all.
"Of course," Leon said. "She's your good friend. If I don't observe properly and embarrass you later, what then?"
"I see…"
For some reason, Iris's mood brightened instantly.
Then she caught herself—was she getting a little possessed? Caring about this kind of thing?
Leon is just a teammate! Just a teammate!
She repeated it to herself like hypnosis.
"I already had someone help open the sealed archive case," Leon said, steering the topic back. "This is the confidential research file inside. Do you want to read it?"
"What's in it?"
Iris exhaled, relieved the earlier topic didn't continue.
"It's research from a Church of Astalia branch that was destroyed over forty years ago," Leon summarized. "They were called the Holy Blood School. They specialized in life alchemy and flesh-and-blood magic, trying to find a way—other than godhood—to break the human lifespan limit."
He continued:
"This file records part of their research results: detailed experimental logs for three types of synthetic monsters, and records on breeding artificial demonkin."
"Artificial demonkin?"
Hearing the phrase gave Iris a bad feeling.
It was as if some sealed memory deep inside her had once heard something similar.
"Right. Artificial demonkin are hybrids of monsters and humans—combining monsters' massive mana and vitality with humans' high growth and learning ability."
Demonkin were a special monster race recorded in mythic history, extinct for many years.
It was said demonkin had once been the enemies of the gods and had nearly driven the world to collapse.
In the end, the ancient-era Elf King, Teggsius, found a counter-magic unique to demonkin and eradicated the race.
Because of that achievement, the elves gained stewardship of the Sacred Tree and gradually developed into the continent's second-longest-lived race.
This history had been briefly shown as background lore across the four-part saga.
"Leon," Iris said, "are you saying… people within the Church of Astalia once tried to recreate the race that nearly destroyed the world?"
"More or less," Leon said. "They were close to success, but ultimately failed. Astalia's divine punishment descended—every mastermind died. But the research materials were split into many copies and leaked out."
"So my father… may have been caught up in something this big—something involving a god—and was killed because of it?"
"There's no additional evidence in the file," Leon said. "But for now, it's the best inference we have."
Iris steadied herself, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Just hearing "artificial demonkin" made her feel restless—as if some long-sealed memory in her subconscious had begun to loosen.
But before she could recover it, she felt like she'd forgotten something.
"Iris, you don't look well," Leon said. "Are you feeling sick?"
"I'm fine, Leon. It's just… thinking this might be the file that led to my father's death—I can't quite control myself."
Iris took the document from Leon, inhaled deeply, and began to read.
After a long while, she set it down.
She focused mostly on the artificial demonkin section.
The synthetic monster section was more detailed, but she couldn't understand many principles, so she skimmed it.
"Leon, keep this file," Iris said. "I feel like we might need it someday."
Leon was surprised. "I thought you'd want to destroy a document soaked in blood and sin."
"Knowledge isn't guilty," Iris said softly. "The guilty are the masterminds."
Leon naturally reached out and patted Iris's head, praising her.
"Looks like you've grown. Compared to when I first met you—so childish and arrogant—you're much cuter now."
"Nonsense—I'm not arrogant at all!"
Even in her low mood, Iris still blushed and quickly dodged his head-pat. Damn it—he definitely noticed I like being patted!
No… it's not that I like being patted. It just feels… familiar!
Yes. Familiar.
Because I saw my father's relics and got sad, so I like this familiar comfort!
She explained it to herself. Even if it sounded a bit like self-deception, it still managed to push down her scattered thoughts.
"Oh? You don't deny childish, but you deny arrogant?" Leon teased.
"Shut up!"
Iris swung her small fist and punched Leon lightly.
As a third-tier pure-blood elf, even though she didn't focus on physical training, she still had 39 strength—four points higher than Leon.
But this punch used no force at all—just a shy little "pink fist."
Leon let her punch him.
This kind of playful teasing was perfect for easing a low mood.
"Feel better?" Leon asked.
"I'm fine. It's nothing. That was all in the past…" Iris said, then remembered. "Right—you said we still have something to do next?"
"Yeah. We need to shop and upgrade gear," Leon said. "Especially your staff. You used it heavily. It's best to swap in a higher-quality magic core stone—it can increase your spell power. Also, you should collect your advancement item as soon as possible."
Leon planned to bring up Hamla after they upgraded gear.
If Iris heard about Hamla and rushed out immediately, their current equipment wouldn't be enough.
"But isn't it late now?"
"I know a gathering that only opens at night for extraordinary people," Leon said. "We'll go there. Also, I want a better weapon—preferably a staff-sword, or a magic sword. Something I can use with Phantom Walker skills and that also boosts my magic."
"True. Your magic weapon is too ordinary. You really should replace it."
"No help for it," Leon shrugged. "We country folk can't afford the good stuff."
"No—Leon, you misunderstood," Iris said quickly. "I didn't mean to look down on you. I mean… you became this strong under such difficult conditions. I… I really respect you."
She looked up as she explained, and accidentally met Leon's eyes.
In the dim candlelight of the not-so-bright room, his gaze was deep like a sky full of stars. Iris found herself staring, mesmerized.
A moment later, the tips of her ears turned red.
"Just respect?" Leon asked.
"…Yes."
"That's wonderful," Leon said lightly. "To earn the respect of someone who used to be so arrogant."
Iris turned her face away. His snide tone was irritating.
But thinking about it, she had been a bit proud before.
Thankfully, Leon seemed not to notice that she'd gotten lost staring at him. Ugh—why am I so weird now? Blushing and heart racing over nothing?
Calm down, Iris!
She forced herself to settle.
…Huh?
Her small nose twitched.
Earlier, she'd been absorbed in the document and hadn't paid attention to anything else.
But now… why did Leon's house carry a scent that was both unfamiliar and strangely familiar?
As a pure-blood elf with 43 agility, her senses were extremely sharp.
"Leon," she asked in a deliberately casual tone, "why does your house smell like Brellita—the Holy Maiden?"
Off to the side, invisible and watching, Bisce couldn't help laughing.
Leon, Leon… didn't see that coming, did you?
You can't hide it. Not at all.
~~~
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