Kyle gulped.
Naturally, the explosion had come from him.
He had used it to throw Lily away from the Metal Elemental.
'Fuck, I knew this would happen,' he thought. 'But I couldn't just let Lily die, right?'
'They also already invalidated my excuse before I even said it.'
'Oh well, whatcha gonna do? Guess people will find out that I have an Aristocrat's Body.'
Kyle sighed.
"I have an Aristocrat's Body."
Kyle's eyes widened as he turned to Selene, who had just spoken up.
"I was the one who created the explosions," she said.
Kyle looked at Selene with worry, but Selene just calmly looked at the three people in front of her.
"You have an Aristocrat's Body?" the leader of the three people asked.
"Yes," Selene said as her female voice returned.
The other members of team Sandstorm looked with shock at Selene.
Sven's voice was a bit more feminine than usual.
A lot more feminine, actually.
The next moment, Selene's body morphed.
Her brown hair turned red, and she showed her true self.
The other three members of team Sandstorm looked with shock at her as memories shot through their minds.
The most worried person was Falk.
He remembered how he had asked Selene to accompany him to a brothel.
"I recognize you," one of the three men said. "You're Miss Selene Forthing, right?"
Selene nodded.
At the same time, the other three members of team Sandstorm realized how Sven-Selene had been so much stronger than them.
Learning techniques as a Knight?
Bullshit!
She had an Aristocrat's Body!
Of course she was stronger!
The man who had asked the question nodded. "Then, that explains the situation. Excuse me for prying into your secrets."
"I understand," Selene said.
"Then, we will be going back to our post," the leading man said with respect. "We will keep your identity secret."
"Thank you," Selene answered.
A moment later, Selene turned into Sven again, and the three men left.
The remainder of team Sandstorm looked at Selene in shock.
Their reactions were varied.
Michael looked with worry at Selene.
Unveiling her identity would tell the Forthing's enemies where she was.
Plenty of assassins would most likely soon come after her.
Falk looked with betrayal at Selene.
He had looked up to her.
He had believed that Selene was this powerful because she was working harder than anyone else.
He had believed that, as long as he was working just as hard as she, he would be able to catch up or, at least, not fall behind.
Yet, all of that was fake!
Michael and Falk also looked at Kyle, and they noticed that he didn't seem surprised.
They realized that Kyle had already known.
However, they also knew that they couldn't fault him for keeping Selene's identity secret.
After all, she was the target of many powerful people.
For several seconds, everyone remained quiet.
"Thank you."
Falk and Michael looked with shock at Lily.
Lily, their Lily, the arrogant and angry girl…
Was actually bowing her head in guilt!
They had never seen anything like it!
"You saved my life," Lily said.
Selene closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"No problem," she answered, her male voice back. "We're comrades."
When Falk heard Lily's voice, he gritted his teeth.
He still felt betrayed, but he also realized that Selene had risked her life in more ways than one to save Lily.
How could he be angry at someone like that?
'I'm just angry at my own weakness,' Falk thought.
"They already knew, right?" Kyle asked.
"Yes," Selene answered. "They knew that we didn't have a Paladin. The only explanation was that someone had to have an Aristocrat's Body."
"Then, why did they ask?" Kyle asked. "Was it to sell your identity?"
"No," Selene said, making Kyle raise an eyebrow.
Selene noticed Kyle's skepticism. "It's the truth. They're not doing it to hurt me, and they also didn't think that I was some kind of spy or enemy."
"Then, why?" Kyle asked.
"Wait!" Kyle suddenly said before Selene could answer. "I think I got it."
"They want to force you to join the army, right?" he asked.
Selene took a deep breath and nodded. "Chances are, my identity will soon be revealed to my enemies. In some weeks, at most, powerful enemies will be searching for me."
"There are only two safe places in the world for me."
"My family's mansion, but I won't be able to grow much stronger while surrounded by guards."
"And the other is the army."
"If there is one place my enemies won't dare to strike, it's the frontlines in the war."
Selene looked towards the other end of the Ether Crater.
"That one person who was consumed by the World Wyrm most likely also had an Aristocrat's Body, and I assume they were in a similar situation to mine."
Kyle wanted to ask Selene why she had taken the fall for him, but he couldn't ask her openly.
Additionally, asking her for a private conversation might elicit suspicions.
His curiosity had to wait.
Nevertheless, one thing was clear.
Kyle felt immense gratitude…
But he also felt immense guilt.
Some seconds of silence passed.
"We should continue," Selene said. "We still have orders."
"Yeah, right," Falk answered, his tone uncertain.
"Lily, are you willing to get back to creating golems?" Kyle asked.
Lily nodded with arrogance. "I have to. You guys are useless without me."
Soon, their mining operations continued, and during the next day, Kyle finally managed to find some time to ask Selene about his doubts.
"My identity was already partially public," she said. "Everyone already knows I exist. They just didn't know where I was."
"But you are completely unknown."
"My freedom was only temporary to begin with."
"With luck, yours might last forever."
Kyle looked with a bit of guilt at Selene.
"But why are you doing this for me?" he asked.
"Why did you risk exposing your secrets for Lily?" Selene asked back.
"I couldn't just let her die," Kyle said.
"And I couldn't just let you die," Selene answered.
Kyle could only sigh.
"I will repay you, one day."
"Until then, don't die, okay?"
Selene smiled.
"I'll do my best."
tg://resolv?domain=StrongestHammerGod
The author's patreon. If he gets more than 1000€ per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!