"It's nothing more than a bit of curiosity."
Seele clarified her intentions, her gaze resting on Evan.
"I saw your fight today."
"It shocked me."
"Twelve massive cannons appeared around you, and you casually wiped out the Fragmentum monsters."
"You've been in Boulder Town for half a year, right?"
"And today was the first time you ever made a move."
"If you were really just a drifter…"
"There's no way you'd possess that kind of power."
Evan chuckled, waving his hand dismissively.
"What's there to be curious about? Everyone walks a different path."
"Take you, for example. You grew up in Belobog, under the protection of the Amber Lord."
"But is your power really just Preservation?"
"Besides, I only used that power because Hook was in danger."
"Paths, power—"
"They exist only to help someone achieve a certain purpose."
"Still, since you're curious, I don't mind sharing a bit about myself with you, Seele."
Seele froze.
Casually asking about someone else's Path or intentions was actually quite rude.
That was why she hadn't pressed further.
But as a member of Wildfire, the sudden appearance of someone with Path power—
and armed with so much firepower—
was impossible to ignore.
She didn't move from the wall, but her eyes stayed fixed on Evan.
The Path energy faintly radiating from him…
It was something she had never seen before.
"The Path of Erudition."
"But I'm not like those scholars who just bury themselves in research."
"My Path wasn't something I walked into naturally."
"…Huh?"
Seele was stunned again.
Those blue eyes beneath her long hair were filled with surprise.
Even Natasha, standing nearby, looked at Evan with clear confusion.
Evan spread his hands.
"Nous gave it to me."
As for the Herrscher of Reason authority and the Treasure Hunter System—
Those were classified.
As for the Path?
That wasn't exactly a secret.
In this universe, Pathstriders were actually quite common.
Every Aeon had countless followers.
Even the Destruction faction—always waging war—had fanatics like Duke Inferno.
Even if the Aeon itself never spared him a glance.
He still walked the Path of Destruction to the end—
until he was cut down by Acheron.
"An Aeon's blessing… Does that mean you're an Emanator?"
Though Seele was only an ordinary Pathstrider,
everyone in this world knew—
Those directly blessed by an Aeon were Emanators at minimum.
"Emanator? No, no. I'm definitely not an Emanator."
"If I were, why would I need you to help overthrow Cocolia?"
"I'd just walk up and punch her—once, twice—turn her straight into an ice-field bear."
Evan joked lightly.
Seele stared at him, speechless.
She fell silent.
On the other side, Natasha stepped forward.
During that brief moment, she had already learned quite a lot through Seele—
about Evan's identity.
And about his abilities.
Especially those abilities—
which was exactly the kind of help Natasha needed most.
"So… when you talked about overthrowing the Supreme Guardian earlier, you meant…"
"Going to the Overworld."
"Finding Cocolia—and whatever's behind her—"
"And destroying it."
Evan didn't even wait for Natasha to finish her question.
He stated his goal plainly.
Of course, there were things he didn't say.
Like finding the Stellaron, destroying it—
and claiming the gold-tier treasure chest in the Overworld.
That was, after all, what a treasure hunter was truly meant to do.
"This is my objective."
"…Huh? Why are you both looking at me like that?"
"Seele, why aren't you saying anything?"
Evan looked at them—
only to find both faces deadly serious.
Especially Natasha's.
"…Sounds like a real headache."
Seele clenched her fist, rolling her shoulders as she loosened up.
Her gaze sharpened as it landed on Evan.
"But if you don't mind…"
"For this whole 'overthrowing the Supreme Guardian' thing—"
"How about you let me join you?"
Evan lowered his head, looking at her.
Seele—
another child of the orphanage.
Bronya's childhood friend.
A member of the Underworld's core forces.
One of the key figures who would eventually push the entire story forward.
Evan raised an eyebrow.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm just worried you'll get beaten to death by Svarog before you even make it up."
"Tch—!"
Evan clicked his tongue, eyeing her strangely.
"Hmph! I'm done talking about this."
"If you want to reach the Overworld, there's only one way—"
"Through the Robot Settlement."
"But Svarog's strength isn't something just anyone can handle."
"Can you do it?"
"..."
"Miss Seele," Evan said calmly,
"You should know—"
"telling a man he can't do something…"
"is a very dangerous thing."
"Robot Settlement, huh?"
"Do you dare come with me?"
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