The girl who peeked out from behind William’s back moved very slowly.

At Ryan’s statement, she simply uncovered her face completely, letting the dark fabric fall backward.

She removed her hood with a look of profound curiosity, blinking beneath the dim light of the plaza’s lanterns.

William’s face looked visibly confused at the sudden mention of that name. He quickly directed his gaze around, turning his neck to search for someone else hiding in the shadows of the alleys.

But Ryan was not paying any attention to his surroundings or the hero’s reactions; he was looking directly at the girl.

Then the girl spoke, breaking the tense silence that had formed in the cold night.

"I believe you are confusing me with someone else, my name is Priscilla." She said with some unease, nervously rubbing her hands together in front of her chest.

Her voice was soft and entirely devoid of any kind of hostility, demonstrating a clear discomfort in the face of the hooded boy’s intense gaze.

"What are you saying?" Ryan murmured in a very low voice, barely moving his lips beneath his scarf.

He immediately inspected her once again, invoking his reading skill directly upon the red-haired girl’s body. A translucent blue screen unfolded in the air right before his eyes, projecting bright letters that only he could see.

Her attributes, her class title. Everything was recorded there with absolute exactness. It was exactly the same as what he had seen in the nation of Kallistia a while ago.

The exact same place where his spies, Beatrice and Karol, were currently gathering information in secret regarding the kingdom’s movements. Ryan analyzed the situation with extreme coldness. There were far too many coincidences grouped into a single person standing right in front of him.

"It is not surprising that you know about the saint, but calling her by that name, I have never heard of it."

William intervened, taking a small step forward to cover the girl with his shoulder.

"Who exactly is this Udriela?" William asked with a furrowed brow, looking genuinely intrigued by the boy’s confusion.

Back when Ryan had the meeting with Udriela inside the immense white room, he came to suspect a couple of things.

He thought that that probably wouldn’t be the true appearance of a being who was one of those responsible for bringing him into this world. An entity of that level could easily manifest with whatever form it desired within its own space.

But when he saw her again calmly walking through the city of Kallistia, his theories changed their course completely. He thought she was simply posing as an ordinary human being to keep a close watch on the nations.

A perfect disguise to move among mortals without raising any suspicions on the streets. But then, why exactly is there a girl with that exact same appearance standing right in front of him now in this coastal town.

It made absolutely no sense for a deity to be traveling around as the simple companion of a conceited hero. Who isn’t even a holy knight.

Although for Ryan, the most probable explanation was that they were simply trying to confuse him.

There was also the distinct possibility that Udriela was actually a very different person entirely.

Someone who only adopted that red-haired form to speak with him the first time around, stealing the face of this girl from the church.

’But of course, if that were the case, it is not an appearance she adopted at random.’

The boy reasoned, knowing perfectly well that superior beings left absolutely nothing to luck or simple coincidence.

’Even so, if it turns out that this woman in front of me is actually that deity... I will have to leave here immediately.’ Ryan evaluated, preparing his legs to retreat with a single backward leap.

"I have already told you not to call me by that title, I do not like being called the saint." The girl said in a low voice.

Priscilla tugged lightly on the sleeve of William’s clothing, displaying an expression of annoyance and displeasure toward him.

She seemed to genuinely hate the way the hero had presented her to the stranger.

"I am sorry, I simply wanted to clarify." He apologized rapidly with an embarrassed and conciliatory smile.

Then William turned his head and looked at Ryan once again, recovering his relaxed posture. And just when he opened his mouth to continue speaking, Ryan interrupted him abruptly.

"What relationship do you have with this woman?" He asked sharply, demanding a clear response.

His tone of voice was harsh, entirely devoid of any friendliness or courtesy toward the blonde hero. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

William looked at him with seriousness, losing his smile immediately in the face of the hooded boy’s hostility.

"You have no reason to know that." He responded firmly, planting both feet firmly on the stone.

"And stop being on the defensive, I am not here to fight against you." He said calmly to nullify any intention of hostility.

The hero raised both hands with open palms, demonstrating that he had no intentions of channeling any magic.

"And you actually expect me to believe that?" Ryan responded, taking a cautious step backward to maintain their physical distance.

"Even when you are with this woman who serves the church?" He questioned, pointing right at the redhead.

"I am not going to deny that; Priscilla is an important part of the church." William accepted honestly.

"But she does not agree with how they do things. Just like me." William said, revealing something unexpected regarding the internal loyalty of the church.

"William... but I do not understand who this man is. Is he a friend of yours?" She asked, looking at him with curiosity.

Priscilla attempted to detail Ryan’s face, since he was still completely hooded beneath the dark fabric.

Only his green eyes were visible, scrutinizing them from the shadows of the scarf.

"We are not friends." William affirmed with total certainty, crossing his arms once again.

"I would simply say that we have a bit of history."

The blonde hero let out a long sigh, remembering the impact of the gravity magic within the castle corridors.

"Although this person is the exact same one they accuse of freeing a demon." William pointed out directly, without any beating around the bush.

"And killing the S-rank holy knights."

’How extremely annoying this is, they could simply be buying time to plan an ambush...’ Ryan thought, observing them.

His eyes did not stop moving, closely watching both of their hands, the rooftops of the nearby houses, and the exits of the plaza.

Maintaining a quiet chat right in the middle of the street was the perfect excuse for the church’s reinforcements to close the net around him.

"I understand." Priscilla said, opening her eyes a little wider as she processed the boy’s highly dangerous identity.

But despite hearing the crimes he was accused of, she did not retreat in fear nor did she attempt to flee the area.

"Could you please listen to what William is saying?"

The girl took a short step forward, ending up almost completely by the blonde hero’s side.

"While it is completely true that I am with the church, it is also true that I am trying to change their policies and their ways of doing things."

Her voice sounded highly sincere, reflecting a genuine conviction beneath the light of the moon.

"A moment ago you called me, acting very convinced, by the name of Udriela."

She brought her hands together in front of her chest once again, tilting her head a little with a clear expression of doubt on her face.

"May I ask why?"