Landlord World - Start with SSS talent

Chapter 239: Valen and Noan - Liar

"Ah! You didn't even know, yet you still chose to trust Valen—looks like you truly are a fool."

Hearing Noan's words, Zeka was infuriated to the extreme. Being repeatedly called a fool in front of his goddess made him feel both ashamed and enraged.

However, Zeka knew Noan was right.

In such harsh weather, a ten-mile journey might as well be a hundred.

There was a real chance that even within twenty-four hours, he and Violette wouldn't be able to make it across.

After listening, Violette also realised something was odd about Valen. Though he had seemed kind, bringing them here for shelter,

every time the mission was mentioned, Valen would find excuses to avoid or delay it.

The final straw was earlier, when Zeka asked Valen about the location of the 'Black Snow' fortress.

Not only did Valen refuse to answer, but he also delayed until tonight—yet, at the time, Zeka didn't know why he had trusted Valen so completely, without a shred of doubt.

"You see it clearly now, don't you?" Noan turned to Violette and smiled. "If you follow him, you're heading straight for a dead end. But if you follow me, we can support each other and complete the mission."

Violette now fully trusted Noan. She nodded and said, "You're right. I believe you."

"No, Violette, you…" Zeka clenched his teeth, wanting to stop Violette, but he lacked the courage to speak out.

He gritted his teeth, bowed his head and said, "Please… I… I want to join your group."

Noan glanced at Zeka, his eyes turning sharply focused. Though he couldn't determine Zeka's exact strength, he could see the spatial fluctuations around him and gauge his power.

This was a skill he had learned through the guidance of Vylyss and Malrik.

An ordinary person couldn't affect the space around them because they didn't possess energy.

But a powerful individual was different—space around them would ripple slightly.

The intensity of the ripple reflected the person's level of power.

No matter how well someone hid their strength, they could not conceal the spatial ripples caused by the energy within their body.

That's why Noan was certain that Zeka hadn't received many 'buffs', and was still quite weak.

In fact, Zeka's current strength was even inferior to Violette's.

Noan reached out his hand and said with a smile, "I'm not like you. Anyone who wants to join is welcome. I just hope you're sincere in your cooperation and not merely pretending."

Hearing that, Violette looked at Noan with a touch of admiration in her eyes.

A man this tolerant and intelligent was someone truly worth following.

Unlike Zeka, who had only a stroke of luck—beyond that, he had nothing.

No strength, no intelligence, and even his emotional intelligence was pathetically low, leaving her deeply disappointed.

Zeka could feel Violette's disappointed gaze, and it made his heart tremble. He clenched his teeth, trying to suppress his anger.

At that moment, Zeka reached out and grasped Noan's hand, cursing inwardly: 'Damn it! Noan… once I've gotten all my buffs, you'll be nothing more than a dog.'

As their hands met, Noan instantly placed an 'Anchor Point' on Zeka's hand.

Of course, he only held Zeka's hand for less than a second before pulling back. After all, Zeka was a man, and Noan didn't want to hold any other man's hand.

"Pleasure working with you." Noan extended his hand toward Violette with a smile.

Although Violette felt a little hesitant, she reminded herself that she still needed Noan's help, so she decided to show her sincerity.

Thus, Violette also reached out and took his hand, smiling as she said, "Pleasure working with you."

Noan held Violette's hand and noticed how soft it was—like a baby's skin.

His thumb gently stroked the back of her hand, making her feel a bit ticklish, and her face flushed red.

Naturally, he also placed an 'Anchor Point' on her hand.

Seeing this, Zeka became so angry it felt like his lungs were about to explode.

Noan had shaken his hand for less than a second, but with Violette, he was holding her hand tightly for quite a while.

"Oy! Are you two done shaking hands yet?" Zeka said angrily through clenched teeth.

"Ah!" Violette snapped back, quickly withdrawing her hand, her face carrying a hint of embarrassment as she looked at Noan.

'Strange…' Violette thought to herself. 'Why did I feel a little enchanted when holding this young man's hand?'

'No! Violette, get a grip. Men in this world are meant to be your dogs. You're the one who manipulates others, not the other way around.'

Gradually, Violette calmed her emotions. Then she looked at Noan and asked, "So… what do we need to do now?"

"First, we don't know what Valen's goal is, so we can't act rashly," Noan said.

"That's why I suggest we follow what he says for now, but after the banquet ends, we must find a reason to leave."

Hearing Noan's words, Zeka hurriedly interrupted, "Wait! What about that opportunity you mentioned that could help us complete the mission?"

Upon hearing Zeka, Noan immediately took out an ice orb with a strange magical sigil etched inside.

"This is an item I happened to pick up," Noan explained. "After examining it, I discovered that it's an object that can teleport me to another location."

"That's why I believe the place this orb will take us must be related to our mission."

"Ah!" Zeka and Violette both looked at the ice orb in Noan's hand with puzzled expressions.

Though it looked like a normal ice orb the size of a tennis ball, the magical sigil glowing mysteriously inside made it clearly appear to be a magical artifact.

Zeka and Violette exchanged glances, then looked back at Noan. At this point, Zeka asked, "Then why haven't you used it? Why are you telling us this?"

"Of course, because I'm afraid," Noan said, his expression showing that this was the obvious answer. "I don't know exactly where this orb will take us, or what dangers might be there."

"That's why I need allies. I need your help."

"Of course, there's another reason: this Challenge doesn't say that the first person to complete the mission gets the reward."

"That means anyone who completes the mission can receive the system's reward."

"So why would I act alone? If I find more allies, I'll have greater safety, and that way, our chances of completing the mission will be much higher."

Zeka and Violette listened and found no flaws in Noan's reasoning—it all sounded logical and convincing.

"To avoid raising Valen's suspicion, we'll attend the banquet as usual. After it ends, let's meet at the entrance of the cave to the north, understood?"

Hearing this, Zeka and Violette immediately nodded.

…

Two hours later, the banquet proceeded normally. Valen seemed even more enthusiastic than before as he made his way over to Zeka, Noan, and Violette, continuously asking questions.

He asked where they came from, when they arrived, and whether they had encountered anything strange.

If it had been earlier, none of them might have thought much of it. However, after hearing what Noan had said, Zeka and Violette had begun to grow suspicious of Valen's questions.

Of course, they didn't know what Valen was looking for, so they responded with vague and evasive answers.

Noan, however, was different. He suspected that Valen might be searching for that key, so when Valen asked if he had seen anything unusual, he suddenly frowned as if recalling something.

Valen saw his expression, and it was as if he had just caught a trace of the key's whereabouts. He immediately smiled and asked, "Noan, don't worry, I'm not the greedy type."

"I'm only asking to see whether you've found any clues that could help complete the mission."

"Ah! I don't care about completing the mission—I just want to get out of this place."

Valen's words sounded incredibly sincere, tinged with a hint of regret.

Had Noan not already known what kind of person Valen was, he might have truly believed him.

'Trying to deceive me? You'll need a few more years of practice,' Noan thought disdainfully.

Yet outwardly, he maintained an expression that made it look like he genuinely trusted Valen.

At that moment, he sighed and said, "I did witness something strange… I just don't know if it's related to the mission or not."

"You mean…" Valen's eyes suddenly lit up.

"I saw Zeka… and it seemed like he was hiding something."