Why is Background Character the Strongest Now?-Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Ezra stood silently near the old inn, the same place where he had once taken on a vampire mission. But this time, he wasn’t alone. Five others were with him.

On the outside, he wore a polite mask. On the inside, irritation burned.

Why the hell are they here? he thought. I can handle this myself.

Earlier that day, just when he had received permission to leave the academy, he was preparing to head out alone. But at the academy gates, he was greeted by an unexpected sight—Marcus, flanked by his group.

Before he could ask, a notification buzzed on his phone.

[Mission Update]

Objective: Escort healer Elia safely to the academy.

Participants: Dalen, Marcus, Lyria, Evelyne, Dravis, Ezra.

Ezra had frowned at the screen but greeted them politely. He didn’t want to cause a scene.

They boarded the mana train together, heading to the outer district of Etherlight.

⸻

Back to the present...

Marcus stepped up beside him, placing a hand on Ezra’s shoulder. "Don’t worry," he said. "We’ll bring her back."

Ezra stiffened. He didn’t like people touching him—and he certainly didn’t like him.

"Let’s just go inside," Ezra said flatly, shrugging the hand off. "We’ll get information from here."

Marcus nodded, and the group followed him through the inn doors.

Unseen, above the inn’s rooftop, a figure cloaked in invisibility magic observed them. Kael Arkzen’s eyes narrowed in frustration.

Damn that old hag... sending me to babysit these kids.

Fucking hell.

⸻

The inside of the inn was lively—waiters weaved between tables, and guests queued at the reception. Ezra gestured toward the group.

"You all wait here. I’ll signal you if needed."

Marcus nodded.

"I’m a bit hungry," Lyria said.

"Good idea," Evelyne agreed.

Ezra didn’t know why, but something about that conversation gave him a bad feeling.

He shook it off and made his way to the reception. Sliding a black ID card across the counter—Ren Kurogane’s personal seal—the receptionist’s demeanor immediately shifted.

"Follow me, young master," the man said respectfully.

As Ren’s disciple, Ezra was used to this treatment, but it still felt strange.

They descended into the basement via a narrow stairwell. The atmosphere changed completely—silent, secure, with heavily armed guards stationed along the corridor. A far cry from the bustling inn above.

The guide stopped in front of a secure room.

"We’ve already informed the vice-head. You may enter, young master."

Ezra gave a curt nod and stepped inside.

⸻

Cassy Ironshade sat behind a large desk stacked with documents, her attention divided between papers and glowing monitors. Her outfit—a sheer, translucent shirt over a black bra—left little to the imagination.

Ezra blinked, quickly looking away. Why is she always like this?

"Hello, Miss Ironshade," he greeted.

Cassy looked up and smiled. "Good to see you again. You both may sit."

Both? Ezra frowned. He turned—and froze.

Kael Arkzen stood behind him.

"You... why are you here?" Ezra blurted.

Kael said nothing and casually took a seat beside him.

Ezra stared. He hadn’t sensed Kael at all—from the academy to this very room.

That was terrifying.

Kael finally spoke. "Don’t be so jumpy, kid. I was using Presence Erasure. That’s why you didn’t notice me."

Ezra let out a breath. "You really are something... Rank 7s are on another level."

He took a seat beside Kael and turned to Cassy.

"Miss Cassy, I submitted a request for information about a girl named Elia. Did you find anything?"

Cassy sighed. "You really do bring interesting requests. We tried... but—"

Ezra narrowed his eyes. "You mean you didn’t find her?"

"We did find something. But only what she wanted us to find."

Ezra frowned. "What do you mean?"

"As you know, the Demon Hunter Society can access nearly all civilian records in the Human Federation. We were created to maintain peace, so we have clearance to investigate almost anyone—except for certain classified individuals."

Ezra nodded.

"But this girl, Elia... we only got her full name and a past address she once visited. She has a high-level account at the National Bank, but strangely, there are only a few thousand gold in it."

Cassy leaned back in her chair.

"In recent years, she’s been spotted helping people infected with miasma... and then she vanished. No official sightings. No recent records."

Ezra’s voice was quiet. "Where was she last seen?"

Cassy looked at the monitor. "A remote town within the Human Federation—near a bordrr district called Blackridge."

Cassy folded her arms and leaned back slightly, the blue glow from her monitor casting soft shadows on her sharp features.

"She’s good at hiding," she said at last. "Extremely good. But with continuous effort over the last few days, we’ve managed to gather fragments of her past."

She tapped a few keys on her keyboard. A soft beep followed as a screen lit up behind her, displaying a digital document.

Ezra leaned in slightly as the image came into focus—a young woman with long silver-blonde hair and gentle violet eyes. The name below the photo read:

Elia Seraphine

Class: Healer

Recorded Rank: 5

Status: Officially Deceased

Ezra’s eyes narrowed. "Deceased?"

Cassy nodded grimly. "That’s what the old records say. She was officially declared dead years ago. But... she’s very much alive, isn’t she?"

Ezra didn’t respond.

Cassy continued, pulling up more details. "Her past is... unusual. Elia was once a priestess at a Holy Church in the northern sector of the Human Federation. By all accounts, she lived a quiet, pure life—devoted to healing and divine studies."

Kael tilted his head. "So what happened?"

"She disappeared," Cassy said. "About sixty years ago, her church was attacked. The perpetrators were dark order. When our forces arrived, the entire area had been desecrated—blood everywhere, signs of a massacre. But Elia’s body... was never found."

Ezra’s gaze darkened.

"For years, she was presumed dead. The investigation was closed. But after cross-referencing movement records and witness statements, we discovered that someone using an alias—with matching mana signature—has been seen in various outer districts... helping people infected with miasma. Quietly. Discreetly. Always vanishing before anyone could get close."

"So she changed her name?" Ezra asked.

Cassy nodded. "We believe so. Her current identity is false, but our recent probe confirmed her real name—Elia Seraphine. Beyond that, everything else is unclear. We don’t know what happened to her during or after the attack. We don’t know who was behind it. And we certainly don’t know how she survived."

Ezra clenched his fists slightly.

Kael, arms crossed, muttered under his breath, "That kind of disappearance... sounds like a cover-up. Or something darker."

Cassy’s expression turned serious. "One more thing. We found traces of abnormal mana fluctuations near the site where she was last spotted—strong interference that didn’t belong to any normal awakener. Someone was helping her... or watching her."

Ezra didn’t reply for a moment, his thoughts swirling.

From a holy priestess to a dead woman... to a rogue healer hiding in the slums.

"Where is she now?" he asked at last.

Cassy looked at the screen again. "We tracked her last signal to an abandoned building near the Blackridge sector . That was two nights ago. She hasn’t surfaced since."

Ezra stood. "Then that’s where I’m going."

Kael let out a sigh. "Tch. Babysitting duty just got complicated."

As Ezra was about to step out, Cassy’s voice halted him.

"Mr. Ezra... be careful. The mana signature we detected near her—it wasn’t just abnormal. It’s above Rank 5. At least."

Ezra paused mid-step. His eyes narrowed, calculating.

But then he smirked. "Don’t worry. We have our bodyguard."

Kael, leaning against the wall with arms folded, clicked his tongue.

"Tch. Babysitting again."

——————-

The ground floor of the inn was buzzing with laughter, clinking mugs, and the smell of roasted meat and cheap ale.

Marcus sat uncomfortably at one of the corner tables, nervously nursing a glass of water. His face flushed the moment a sultry voice rang near his ear.

"Hey, handsome. Wanna have a drink with me?"

The woman was draped in a revealing crimson dress, her face caked with layers of makeup, and a mischievous smile on her lips.

"N—No! I-I’m fine," Marcus stammered, pulling at the collar of his shirt.

Just then, a calm, chilly voice cut through the tension.

"Hello, miss. Just so you know... Marcus is my fiancé."

It was Evlyne. She stood behind him, arms folded, wearing an elegant smile—but her eyes were anything but amused.

The flirtatious woman blinked, surprised for a second. Then she giggled.

"Oh! I didn’t know. But we can always share him, if you’re open-minded~."

Marcus nearly choked on air.

He was about to protest when he noticed Dravis in the corner, who seemed to be going through the exact same ordeal.

A trio of women had surrounded him, giggling as they whispered outrageous offers.

"One night. Just one night, and I’ll pay you ten gold pieces."

"I’ll double it!"

"What’s your price, pretty boy?"

Dravis sat frozen, his plate of food untouched, eyes wide with sheer confusion.

Dalene wasn’t doing much better. He looked like a tomato dipped in embarrassment as two women tried to feed him grapes.

The party had officially turned into a nightmare.

And that’s when Ezra walked in.

His eyes scanned the chaotic scene—the flushed faces, awkward stammering, and giggling women—and he let out a sigh loud enough to silence a few tables.

He rubbed his temples.

"...What a headache."

He walked over, hands in his coat pockets, stopping just behind Marcus and the others.

"You all done making fools of yourselves?" he said dryly.

"W-We didn’t do anything!" Marcus protested.

Ezra didn’t reply. He simply tilted his head toward the door.

"We’re moving. We’ve got a destination—Blackridge."

Dalene immediately stood up like a schoolboy being called by the principal.

"Yes. Of course."

Ezra looked at the rest with a raised brow.

"Well? Let’s go, kids." freёnovelkiss.com

The group quickly scrambled to their feet, leaving the stunned women behind.

As they stepped out into the night, Cassy joined them, tablet still glitching in her hands.

Ezra looked ahead at the dark road stretching into the unknown.

—————-

Author’s Note

Warning: This author runs on coffee, chaos, and your Power Stones.

If you laughed, gasped, or even said "tch" like Kael at any point... then do your good deed of the day—vote with a Power Stone or toss in a Coin (or three)!

Your support keeps me from turning into a background NPC with no dialogue.

Also, comments = serotonin.

So go ahead, yell at Marcus, simp for Ezra, or just scream "WHAT A HEADACHE" in the chat. I’ll love it.

Thanks for reading, you absolute legends!

This content is taken from fr𝒆ewebnove(l).com