After two days of quiet digging, Filvis finally managed to uncover Cid's concrete information.
She didn't know any well-connected information brokers—honestly, outside of her own familia, she rarely spoke to anyone at all. You could call it elven pride. You could also call it a young girl's shyness.
And besides, in the eyes of low-level adventurers and ordinary citizens, Cid genuinely wasn't famous.
Which was exactly why, even now, Cid still hadn't given up on his "background character" performance.
Even if all three inhibitor towers were down and both nexus turrets had fallen—so long as the nexus didn't explode, a comeback was still possible.
Filvis politely thanked the person who provided the intel, but inside she was simmering.
"Lord Shadow is not some unknown extra… He's the most tolerant, most righteous, most powerful existence there is!"
Filvis didn't understand why Lord Shadow refused to reveal his true abilities—but she believed there had to be a profound reason.
She was still too young. She didn't know anything. So of course she couldn't understand it yet.
But if she could stay by Lord Shadow's side—day and night—listening to his guidance, she would gradually come to understand.
At the same time, she also felt a guilty little thrill she couldn't say out loud.
Whether adventurers or gods, they might grasp Lord Shadow's greatness… but they didn't know who he truly was.
Only she did.
So to everyone else, "Lord Shadow" was merely a phantom—while she alone could truly understand him.
As that private delight swelled, Filvis made a decision.
There were very few shadows in this world worthy of Lord Shadow acting personally.
So she should help him build a force—something that could handle the small annoyances for him.
And as she did, she would have to spread the truth of Lord Shadow's greatness to future companions.
Did that sound like the Dark Faction's brainwashing tactics?
Don't be ridiculous.
The Dark Faction worshipped an evil god.
She worshipped Lord Shadow.
How could those be the same?
And after learning more about how Lord Shadow operated, Filvis found some of her own thoughts shifting.
There were questions she had to ask him directly.
She waited the entire afternoon.
Finally, she saw Cid and the others returning.
From a distance, they looked like a family of three.
"Cid. If it's your achievement, then it's your achievement. Stop being so modest all the time."
After leaving that line behind, Riveria departed with Ais.
She was a noble, immaculate elf—no matter what she'd figured out, she wasn't about to steal credit that wasn't hers.
"…Understood."
Cid had nothing to say.
On the way back, he'd tried to explain that he didn't have "those kinds of intentions," only for Riveria to shut him down hard—and then spend the rest of the walk lecturing him.
The worst part?
After all that talking, she still never clarified what she'd misunderstood in the first place!
Cid didn't even know what he was supposed to be correcting.
Again. Again!
Thinking about his reputation among high-level adventurers, Cid gave up and mentally flopped over.
After incident upon incident, he'd somehow become publicly recognized as a rising prodigy.
From Riveria's tone, Finn apparently intended to guide him—mold him into Orario's next overall commander—and wanted him to come attend lessons when Finn had time.
"Why did it end up like this…?"
Acting was hard. Cid sighed.
Beside him, Filvis stared dreamily at Riveria's departing back.
"As expected of royalty. As expected of the most noble elf."
Even without realizing Lord Shadow's true identity, Riveria had still seen through Lord Shadow's outstanding talent.
Before meeting Lord Shadow, the person Filvis respected most was Riveria.
Now, her respect had climbed another tier—second only to Lord Shadow himself.
If she had Riveria's level of strength and competence, Filvis felt she wouldn't even need to pursue the power of the curse.
She didn't expect to defeat darkness with her own power.
If she could reach Riveria's level, then in decisive battles she could help Lord Shadow eliminate lesser trash—and that would already be enough.
The only flaw was that Riveria and "Cid-sama" looked oddly like they belonged together.
Other than that, Filvis didn't dare feel even the smallest dissatisfaction toward Riveria.
"Lo—Cid-sama… are you doing okay right now?"
Summoning her courage, Filvis approached and glanced at the wound on his chest.
It seemed to have healed.
Seeing how serious and focused Cid looked, Filvis's admiration only deepened.
When Lord Shadow wore that expression, he was surely contemplating some world-shaking matter of great importance.
Filvis couldn't wait to share his burdens!
"It's Filvis. When I'm not wearing the mask, don't call me 'sama.'"
Cid put away his seriousness and pulled the little elf to a secluded spot where no one could see them.
She was far too earnest—she didn't understand the essence of acting at all.
"I understand! That was my mistake!"
Filvis looked stricken with remorse.
She truly hadn't expected that simply greeting Lord Shadow would result in her committing an error.
So disguise work wasn't easy either…
Cid wanted to say, It's just playing an extra, you don't have to take it this seriously.
As if he'd ever "break down" over failing to act like a background character.
…Okay, fine. He absolutely would.
So the words at the tip of his tongue changed shape.
"I'll allow that mistake—just this once. You came all this way. What is it?"
"Ci—Lord Shadow… about what I said before, about joining your familia… I thought it through carefully, and I think I shouldn't."
Filvis glanced around. No one was nearby. She immediately returned to the honorific.
Calling him by name felt like sacrilege.
"I see. Fine, then."
Cid felt a bit disappointed. He thought she was refusing to cooperate with his roleplay.
For a kid her age, was being a subordinate of the Eminence in Shadow just too childish?
She'd understand once she grew up a little.
This level was exactly right.
At least, Cid liked it.
"So you really can update my Falna, Lord Shadow? Lord Shadow is just too incredible!"
Filvis stared at him with worship.
So it was exactly as she'd expected—Lord Shadow could do anything.
"…?"
Cid's mind filled with question marks.
Wasn't she saying she wanted to quit?
And how did she know he could update Falna?
Had she guessed it?
Was this little elf… that smart?
"I want to act in the shadows just like you, Lord Shadow. If I appear in a familia, I won't be able to hide my identity and abilities."
Filvis didn't know what Dionysus had given her.
But she knew one thing: it wouldn't be anything good.
A benevolent god likely wouldn't allow her to touch something like that.
A famous forum veteran once said:
If I don't have a sword in my hand, I can't protect you.If I keep holding a sword, I can't hold you tight.
Filvis was stuck in exactly that kind of deadlock.
Join a familia, and she'd be exposed.
Don't join a familia, and she couldn't update her Falna.
But she wasn't worried.
Lord Shadow would definitely have a way.
And reality proved her right.
Lord Shadow could update Falna.
He was truly omnipotent.
Watching Filvis's sparkling, adoring eyes, Cid finally pieced together the whole story.
Then he put on a profound, unfathomable smile.
"Yes. That's exactly how it is."
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it