Copy Skills with Affinity!

Chapter 195

Enhancement (2)

Within the Tribal Alliance, the reputation of ‘Lionhearted’ Noel Astrea Simus was, in truth, somewhat different from what was known publicly.

Outwardly, Noel had always been polite, followed rules, and in any case maintained a demeanor that could have every expression fitting the word “model student” attached to her.

However, the impression shared unanimously by those who had actually faced her within the Tribal Alliance was—

How should I put it.

It would be best described in one phrase: ‘always on edge.’

It was hard to find her acting violently or recklessly, but at the same time, it would be equally hard to say she had any sense of ease, no matter how much one stretched their mouth to say it.

Her expression was always stiff, she seemed somewhat anxious, and it felt like she constantly carried an atmosphere as if she might explode the moment she was provoked.

In that sense—

“Good morning!”

“…….”

The moment their eyes met, the cheerful greeting that came through made it only natural that all the humans assigned to attend to her stood there, utterly dumbfounded.

No, somehow.

Wasn’t this bright greeting something like the greeting of a sun that had received infinite positive energy toward life?

It was to the extent that one could believe she was an entirely different person compared to her usual self, who always looked as if she were being chased by something.

“…….”

“…….”

The attendants hurriedly exchanged glances with one another.

If anyone knew what on earth had happened for a person to change this much in just a few days, they were signaling to confess it quickly—but before that, Noel, who had walked up to them with steady steps, tilted her head and spoke.

“Your complexion doesn’t look good. Did you get proper rest last night?”

Even though she herself was the one who had committed the shocking act that would make their complexion turn pale, judging by the way she spoke, it was clear she had no awareness of it whatsoever.

With a worried expression, Noel leaned her head forward, and before they could even respond, she smiled brightly and gave a thumbs-up.

“Make sure to rest, take care of your health, and work hard at what you do.”

“…….”

“Life is worth living.”

“…….”

“If you live devoutly, someday you’ll be rewarded!”

Seeing her place a hand firmly on their shoulder and raise her thumb right in front of their faces as she spoke, it was now beyond the point of not understanding—this was reaching the level where Noel herself became worrying…

“…They’re all scared of you. At this rate, if you ever get married later, you’ll probably make everyone around you faint.”

Fortunately, before the attendants facing supernatural terror could fall into even greater confusion, a voice descended to save them.

As Katya let out a sigh and walked over from the far end of the corridor, Noel maintained the same positively charged smile on her face and turned toward her.

“Ah, Katya. My dearest—”

“-We were never friends, so don’t spout nonsense. I let you go first once, and now you’re really….”

Why was it that this woman could maintain such a sharp and composed attitude in everything, yet the moment that man was involved, her intelligence seemed to completely shatter? It was truly a mystery…

But regardless of that. Katya clearly had a reason for coming to find her.

“Let’s go. They said they want to spar.”

▣

“…Hmm.”

“…………Hmmm.”

Noel and Katya simultaneously let out such nasal breaths.

Though Aiden didn’t know it, sparring among the people around him actually happened quite frequently.

Well, they often fought together, and each of them was fairly confident in their combat abilities, so there was nothing to lose from sparring—that was probably why it happened.

That was, as long as it didn’t escalate into an emotional brawl where they seriously beat each other.

That had mainly been the pattern Noel and Katya showed before, but recently, thanks to their relationship softening, such cases had decreased significantly.

In that sense.

The scene currently spread out before them could be called bizarrely unusual.

“…….”

“…Since when did you become that strong?”

When Milene spoke like that, Elena, who was lying beside her in silence with her breath reaching her throat, nodded in agreement.

No, even so, she was someone strong enough to bear the title of Tribal Leader in the Great Plains.

Noel had originally been much stronger, but the gap between them had never widened to this extent.

‘…Not even once.’

She hadn’t landed a single hit.

No, could this even be called sparring?

Rather than a proper fight, it felt more like Noel and Katya were constantly holding back their strength out of fear that they might accidentally beat the surrounding people to death if they lost control…

Because such results kept happening over and over, she had made it her routine these days to charge at them every day out of disbelief, but the outcome had never changed even once.

No, rather, the more exhausted she became, the harder it seemed to get.

“…This is ridiculous.”

And the Mountain God, who had been sprawled on the ground in the same posture, let out a scoff and said.

“For a human to increase their growth to that extent. Just what did you suck out of that man?” fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Hearing those words, Noel and Katya simultaneously let out scoffs as they looked down at her.

Anyone could see that it was an openly dismissive attitude, so it was only natural that thick veins bulged up on the Mountain God’s forehead…

“…What is that supposed to mean?”

“I was just impressed that you’re still trying to act dignified in that state.”

“…….”

“You lost without even being able to lift a hand.”

“…….”

Instead of rebutting, the Mountain God simply ground her teeth.

In truth, there wasn’t anything to refute. The overwhelming gap in power between them right now was a fact.

‘…These brats.’

The Mountain God narrowed her eyes and looked back and forth between Noel and Katya.

Because she herself was a Divine Beast, she was naturally more sensitive than anyone else to the presence of gods.

In that sense—

The Divine Authority emanating from Noel and Katya right now was clearly abnormal.

Of course, she had already known that they were acting as ‘avatars’ of other gods, but even so—

‘…At this point, they might as well be the gods themselves.’

No matter how one looked at it, their growth curve was anything but ordinary.

An avatar was supposed to be nothing more than a body chosen by a god to spread its influence in the world, but now, didn’t it feel as if they could directly wield that ‘Divine Authority’ themselves?

While Milene and Elena, who were sprawled nearby, seemed to be focusing on something slightly different—

“…What do you mean, ‘suck out’?”

“…Huh?”

“Mountain God, do you know something?”

At the sharp questions flying in from the side, the Mountain God blinked blankly as she looked at them.

It didn’t seem like there had been anything particularly strange about what she had just said, so she couldn’t understand why they were reacting so intensely…

‘…Ah.’

…But seeing Noel and Katya puff out their chests proudly and straighten their backs the moment they heard that word, she felt like she understood where the conversation was heading.

“…In other words, it’s not like you got stronger like that without any reason.”

As the Mountain God awkwardly trailed off her sentence with a cough, Milene and Elena’s gazes turned suspiciously toward Noel and Katya, who were standing there with shining, triumphant expressions.

“Noel, what did you do with Mr. Aiden?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“…What about you, Katya?”

“Hehe.”

“………….”

Even if Noel was one thing, just looking at Katya smiling like that was enough to send a chill down one’s spine…

▣

The dictionary definition of an uninvited guest refers to someone who comes without being asked.

The word itself probably carries a stronger negative nuance. In any case, it more strongly implies someone whose face you don’t want to see in any way.

In that sense—

The person who suddenly came to Aiden fully satisfied that definition.

“…What is it?”

Aiden spoke bluntly as he glared at Morrigan.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around lately.”

Indeed, recently it had gone beyond being infrequent contact—there had been none at all.

He knew that she was connected in some way with Elisha, who had put him through hell alongside Bailey, a high-ranking demon of the Holy Crown Kingdom, so he had guessed that something must have happened on that side.

But the first thing this uninvited guest said upon seeing Aiden was—

“…At this rate, you might die, you know?”

“…….”

Absurdly enough, it was a statement of concern for him.

Though it sounded like the most unfamiliar thing for someone who had crossed countless life-and-death situations, Aiden simply nodded quietly this time without resistance.

“I almost died a few times.”

“…….”

With his skin dried out and dark circles under his eyes, as he ground his teeth and said that, the sincerity of his words doubled.

Well, I mean—

At the very least, over the past few days, he had come to understand very well just how dangerous the people surrounding him were.

For now, it had only been Noel and Katya, but if others had joined in, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had truly died from exhaustion.

“…….”

“…….”

Realizing anew that they were exchanging somewhat embarrassing remarks, Morrigan and Aiden both turned their heads and cleared their throats.

As an awkward silence flowed between them, Morrigan, whose ears had turned completely red, scratched her cheek.

“…The people around you should learn a bit of moderation, shouldn’t they?”

Morrigan spoke hesitantly, as if she herself hadn’t expected to say such words.

“I can’t help but agree with that from the bottom of my heart.”

“…….”

“So if you’re planning to add something on top of that too, let me know in advance. I need to prepare myself mentally.”

“…I didn’t come here for that.”

Clearing her throat, Morrigan stepped closer to Aiden.

…Of course, even as she approached saying she had no such intention, seeing Aiden flinch as if some trauma had been triggered honestly made one feel a bit sorry for him.

Anyway.

“Aiden Kellermain.”

The reason she had come here now was to urge him to make a choice that might bring a conclusion to the journey he had continued until now.

The fact that Morrigan’s voice had sunk so heavily proved that clearly.

“It’s time to settle things. You have to make an important choice.”

Aiden’s eyebrows twisted.