'Something is missing …'
Noah couldn't help but feel that Bale was not telling him the truth. Either that or Bale actually didn't know the truth at all.
"Come on, a kind man helping a young girl without any hidden agenda? That's a bit much, don't you think?" Bale claimed dramatically.
Iriel replied furiously, "You are the one to blame for that. Kind man, my ass. You reeked of alcohol from head to toe."
Bale protested. "What can I do when everyone I know is already drunk by afternoon?"
Aren sneered. "Who told you to spend the entire day in the bar? There are many other ways to gather intel."
After briefly explaining how Iriel got involved with them, the three started talking seamlessly. Unfortunately, Noah couldn't pay any attention to the conversation at all.
'It doesn't make any sense.'
According to Bale, a mysterious explosion shook up the residents around the hospital. The mystery being that no one knew where the explosion had even happened. The only proof of the explosion was the people inside the hospital and a few other people near the premises who claimed they had heard a thundering explosion inside the hospital.
Knowing about the underground expansion project of the hospital, people soon forgot about it. After all, a tunnel collapsing suddenly or the usage of explosives in construction was no new thing.
The Front knew that the geography of Venis wasn't kind enough that if something below the hospital collapsed, it wouldn't take the hospital with it. That was also why the usage of any sort of such explosive in construction was completely banned in Venis.
With the hospital being a tether that held together the entire lower district, the Front had to figure out the source of this mystery.
Bale was snooping around the hospital one night. In a demolished building near the hospital, he ended up accidentally finding Iriel's unconscious body.
Her body was covered in wounds all over, her clothes reeking of dried blood.
Without thinking much, he took her back to their base. Thankfully, they had a healer skilled enough to tend to her wounds.
Waking up after being asleep for a long time, it took her some time to adjust. She soon came back to her senses, as Bale put it.
Iriel was unsure about where she wanted to go, and Bale was short on manpower. Having a novice adept indebted to you was a valuable asset.
That is how they had come to work with each other for the past few days. Or rather, how Iriel had found herself working for Bale.
It was an understandable story that any other person would believe without thinking much of it. As a matter of fact, if Noah hadn't known the entire story, he would have believed it as well.
For the Front, she was just another young mind who could be used for their cause.
What Bale failed to understand was Iriel wasn't the damsel in distress he made her out to be. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say Bale was housing his archenemy. One of the many factions House Valcrest openly rejected and opposed was the Front. Taking in one of the heirs of that exact house was not something that could be pushed aside as a coincidence.
That was what the nobles were waiting for, a coincidence that would result in Valcrest leading a campaign to vanquish the revolutionaries.
After all, this entire situation looked as if the Front was behind Iriel's kidnapping.
In this entire map of politics and plotting, something was missing.
'How did Iriel escape from the mage that had kidnapped her? It doesn't make any sense.'
The mage that had kidnapped Iriel was supposed to be one of Artemis Alliance's strongest warriors. He was an insidious person who had managed to steal a princess under the nose of an estate filled with warlocks.
Noah had already faced an Ascendant so many times that he had forgotten how many times he was defeated before he could even do something. He knew that Iriel couldn't sneak under the nose of someone so out of her league.
That one missing link was eating away at him, making him almost lose his mind.
'Even if we consider that she somehow managed to escape, where is the mage now? Is he dead, or is he searching for her? Or has he already escaped?'
In Noah's mind, he couldn't think of a way Iriel could accomplish a task this great.
He went over their story numerous times, trying to find something that could tell him about the mage. There was nothing.
The story itself was so vague that it only functioned if the other person didn't know about Iriel's actual identity.
And Noah was sent here exactly to make sure Iriel is found before anything grave happens.
But the more he thought, the more confused he became.
'Why was I even sent here in the first place? No… what even is the intention behind saving Iriel in such a roundabout way? It would all be over if the capital mobilized its forces. Hell, if Valcrest hadn't been stopped from pursuing her, it would all have been over days ago. Then why?'
Noah was surprised at why it had taken him so long to ask something so basic. He couldn't understand how he had come so far, gotten arrested, and almost joined the Revolutionary Front, just to somehow find Iriel before anyone else did.
He could put the blame on Leon since he barely gave Noah a chance to breathe, let alone think. His presence alone was enough to erase any thoughts from Noah's mind.
But that alone couldn't explain the situation he was in.
'I know that all of this is a ruse to improve Leon's image. Still… it is too illogical for it to simply be that.'
There was also the question of why Noah had been the first to find her. It had been an entire week, yet no one in their entire cohort was able to find her.
Where was the support the Investigation Bureau had promised them? Where were Elira and Alice? Where was Leon?
The entire situation was almost too convenient, as if someone wanted Noah to find her before anyone else.
'Ugh…'
He ceased the endlessly spiraling thoughts as a throbbing pain enveloped his head.
'This is pointless. I won't find anything until I get the entire image. So, how am I supposed to gather information now…'
Noah's initial plan had been to spend a few days in the Front. In that time, he was planning to somehow lead Iriel to the safe house or lead Elira to her. Once they met, he wouldn't have to worry about anything else.
The plan became completely useless the moment he came to realize why Iriel was involved with the Front.
He couldn't waste any more time on made-up stories and half-truths. He needed complete facts right now. That was the only way to ensure his success.
Taking a deep breath, Noah spoke, "Screw this."
Everyone turned to him.
Bale asked in his usual careless tone, "What happened? Was the bread not to your liking?"
Despite Bale's friendliness, Noah ignored him and looked straight at Iriel.
"Let's cut to the chase, Iriel. Instead of a made-up story, tell me the truth this time."
Iriel frowned deeply.
Noah clicked his tongue and bobbed his head toward Bale.
"Or do you need me to say your last name too?"