The large ship that Sofia was on cut through the shimmering sea surface, leaving a long wake of white foam.

The outline of Silver Sand Bay gradually faded from the stern, finally merging into the blue line where the sea met the sky.

Inside Sofia's private cabin on the second floor of the ship, Bella was stripped of all her weapons and armor, wearing only a single garment, and was made to sit on a hardwood stool in the center of the room.

On the other side, Sofia looked curious, the elderly man in a priest's robe had a deep gaze, and the Captain of the Guard stood like an iron tower, arms crossed, muscles tense, and his sharp gaze never left Bella.

Even without weapons, a Gold Level still had the ability to harm the current Hero.

"No wonder you could recognize us as members of the Church, having the Realm of Truth." Priest Samuel said knowingly, looking at Bella's silvery eyes, "However, it seems you haven't fully mastered this ability yet."

"Fully mastered?" Bella was puzzled.

"Realm of Truth? What's that?" Sofia checked Bella's panel and also asked.

Samuel explained to Sofia:

"A very convenient yet rare reconnaissance skill, not only can it distinguish the traces left by others, but it can also roughly identify the opponent's strength and capabilities. Some within the Church have also acquired this talent skill.

Moreover, as far as I know, the person possessing this skill can selectively deactivate it, unlike her, whose silver eyes shine incessantly."

Sofia nodded and immediately saw Bella across from her also with a look of sudden realization, making her feel a bit amused—her skills were not even as well understood by herself as by others.

What she hadn't expected was that without a master, most ordinary people with no panel had to spend a lot of time exploring the talents and skills they acquired.

"Are you the person that Silver Sand Bay is trying to capture?" Sofia asked.

"Yes!" Bella admitted cleanly.

"Aren't you afraid we'll send you back?"

"I've dealt with the priests of the Church before and received their help; they are all good people. I don't think the Church would be in cahoots with slave traders... right?"

After a pause, Bella's gaze shifted to Samuel in priest robes: "Or am I wrong?"

Sofia remained noncommittal to this, then asked, "So why did you go to kill that... something..."

Although she had heard the shout of that fat guard before in the ship's building, Sofia hadn't remembered the name.

"Horn," when she uttered the name, Bella unconsciously clenched her hands, "The reason is simple; he killed my friend, a very important friend, who died as a slave under his torture."

Then Bella recounted to Sofia how she tracked her friend's whereabouts to Silver Sand Bay and uncovered that her friend had met a tragic end at Horn's hands.

After confirming the culprit, she used the talent [Realm of Truth], acquired at level 40, to track Horn's whereabouts, following him for half a month before figuring out his routine and finding the opportunity to take him down.

However, while the Realm of Truth helped her, it also betrayed her; her ever-shining silver eyes ultimately exposed her, forcing her to hide under the Church's ship.

"Just to avenge your friend?"

"A life-and-death friend." Bella shrugged, as if stating an obvious fact.

"What do you plan to do next?"

"If you don't turn me back to Silver Sand Bay, I hope to return to the Kingdom and search for my father's whereabouts."

Sofia looked at Samuel, but the priest shook his head.

"I'm afraid not; we can't afford to take any risks."

The Captain of the Guard, who had remained silent behind her, already had his hand on his sword.

He understood the innocence of the girl in front of him, but compared to humanity's future, any sacrifice was acceptable, whether it was his life or his honor...

Feeling the sudden increase in pressure from the other side, Bella closed her eyes.

Under the Realm of Truth, she was very aware of the power gap between the two sides, and there was no hope of resisting or escaping.

"No need to be this tense," Sofia suddenly said, "Bella, I can't just let you go, but would you be willing to stay by my side? For a few years, like a long-term hire."

"Willing."

Without hesitation, Bella agreed, knowing she had obviously been drawn into some secret Church mission, and this invitation might be the most goodwill she could expect.

"My lady..."

The Captain of the Guard frowned, and Samuel even directly tried to dissuade her, but Sofia raised her hand to stop them.

"She didn't lie, did she?"

Samuel paused for two seconds and nodded—before this conversation, Bella had already drunk the Truth Potion; without special means, lying was naturally impossible.

"Then that's settled." Sofia decided.

Seeing this, Samuel could only comply.

Though he could disregard the Hero's opinion and erase this potential accident, it would be counterproductive if it caused a rift between the Hero and them.

But he couldn't go without any precautions, leaving a bit of a safeguard on this girl named Bella...

Suddenly, Samuel's eyes widened as he quickly walked out of the cabin.

"What happened?" Sofia sat where she was, not moving.

She was still weak in terms of strength, and in any emergency, staying still was the biggest help she could offer others.

Samuel narrowed his eyes and looked at the edge of the sea line, where there was a small black dot, which seemed to be a ship.

But… how could it be a ship?

In his perception, something big was approaching; at first, he had thought it was some kind of sea monster.

It's just that they were still far away, making it hard to see their true form.

The other side also seemed to have noticed them; under Samuel's gaze, the "ship" quickly changed direction, evidently intending to avoid them.

Seeing this, Samuel slowly retreated back into the cabin, though somewhat curious, fewer unexpected events on their journey were always a good thing.

-----------------

In fact, if he got closer, Samuel would find it even stranger, and might exclaim at how nothing in this world is impossible.

Because it was indeed a ship, a vessel cobbled together with wildly arranged planks bound by mycelium, towed by two mermaids, a demon ship.

The crew consisted of one Puki, and one Mushroom Person...

"Boss, should we go up and ask for directions?"

On the Mushroom Ship, Dylan looked at the large ship drifting away with curiosity.

They had been sailing chaotically for three days now; wasn't it necessary to find out the direction?

"Ask? Ask for what! A ship full of Gold Level folks, going over will surely get Puki chopped and you thrown over to feed the fish! We'll avoid it and advance in the direction it came from, no need to ask!"

Dylan, after listening, was a bit surprised at what kind of ship that was, while also nodding to show his agreement with the boss's choice.

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