The current situation was still unclear, with too little information to draw any firm conclusions. They would need to continue observing.
Finally, Feidric spoke up. "We have a Catfolk companion named Cipher who has gone missing. We don't need your help searching for her, but if she finds this place, please tell her our location."
After all, asking these civilians to help search for a Demigod Catfolk renowned for her speed would be far too much to ask. Though it was somewhat embarrassing to admit, they were utterly helpless in the battle between Cipher and the Child of Flesh, and could only pray for Cipher's safe return.
After meeting Jay, Olivia led Aria and her companions to the residential district, pointing to three empty houses. "These houses are only shells for now, lacking any furniture or furnishings. You'll have to make do for the time being."
"I still have matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. If you need anything, you can find Lady Tribios at the city center."
Aria's eyes widened in surprise. "Eh? Lady Tribios is here too?"
Olivia tilted her head slightly, her expression puzzled. "Of course she's here. Where else would she be?"
Feidric waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind, never mind. This child often spouts strange nonsense. Don't pay any attention to it."
After dismissing Olivia, Feidric said, "Didn't I mention earlier that this place is Okhema's predecessor? Lady Tribios appearing here isn't unusual at all."
Feidric paused to gather his thoughts before sharing his deductions with his two teammates. "It's likely that due to some unknown Authority of the Outer God, we've been transported to a unique spacetime. The current time is five hundred years ago, before Okhema was founded. Strangely, the Child of Flesh, who shouldn't exist in this era, has also appeared."
Aria quickly seized on a less critical point, exclaiming in surprise, "Eh? So that means Lady Tribios in the proper timeline must be at least five hundred years old?!"
Feidric paused, taken aback. "Uh, I guess so..."
Aria continued, "Eh? But she looks so young!"
"After all, she's a god," Feidric said. "Isn't that normal? Besides, that's not the point!"
Douglas frowned. "The point is, how do we get out of here and back to the real Okhema? Do we have to kill the Child of Flesh?"
Blaming all the absurdities on a single, powerful enemy was a natural line of reasoning. Kill the instigator, and everything would surely return to normal.
But the problem was that the Child of Flesh was an Outer God of Greater Divine Power, an immensely powerful being. Even Cipher had vanished without a trace. How could three Gold-rank adventurers hope to stand against such a formidable foe?
Aria immediately suggested, "Why don't we just ask Lady Tribios for help?"
Feidric and Douglas exchanged a silent glance before nodding in agreement. Seeking powerful external assistance was indeed their best option now, especially since they were already familiar with this potential ally.
"Then let's go," Feidric said. "We'll set out immediately."
However, as they made their way toward the city center, Feidric suddenly turned to Aria and asked, "Aria, what do you think of Princess Olivia? What kind of person is she?"
Aria blinked in surprise. "Huh? She's a princess?"
Feidric sighed in exasperation. "Can you stop getting hung up on such trivial details?"
"Well, what's she like as a person?" Aria asked. "For some reason, I felt a really warm connection with her right away. She must be a good person!"
"What if I told you her full name is actually Olivia Benitez?" Feidric said.
Aria didn't react at first, but after a few seconds of stunned silence, she blurted out, "Wait... isn't Benitez the Demon Lord's name?"
"Exactly," Feidric replied. "That white-haired princess is the Demon Lord from history."
Aria was completely dumbfounded. "Ha!?"
Aria had embarked on her current path as an adventurer, dedicated to helping others, after reading Hero novels. Under normal circumstances, even someone as gullible as Aria would likely struggle to believe that the Demon Lord was a good person.
But when the Demon Lord truly appeared before Aria and they had some interaction, telling her this truth immediately plunged her into utter bewilderment.
Aria stammered, "But... how is that possible? Did something happen to her later, causing her to become corrupted and transform into the Demon Lord? If we're here now, can we prevent that corruption from happening?"
It had to be said, Aria's imagination was quite impressive. But Feidric shook his head and said, "There was no 'corruption event' at all. If Okhema's records are accurate, the so-called Demon Lord War in history was nothing but a massive deception."
"The seven 'Heroes' were essentially just seven slightly more skilled adventurers. Commissioned by other nations, they launched an attack on the increasingly powerful Grand Duchy of Augustus, intending to destroy the country and seize everything it possessed. The clueless Demon Lord fought valiantly to defend her people, ultimately dying in battle."
Aria's jaw dropped, her entire body seemed to drain of color as she stood frozen in place. "A-ah... A-ah?!"
Seeing Aria's distress, Feidric continued, "But this true history doesn't contradict your admiration for the Hero. You idolize the Hero from the novels, who are fictional characters at best, loosely based on historical figures. While there's a connection to real historical figures, it's not significant. Novels are novels, and history is history—don't confuse the two."
Despite Feidric's explanation, Aria still wore a deeply troubled expression. "How could this be? The Demon Lord... was actually a good person?"
Feidric continued to reason with her, "No, to be precise, Olivia was a good person, but the Demon Lord in the books is still evil."
Douglas, though shocked by the revelation himself, chimed in to reassure Aria, "Feidric's right. Olivia and the Demon Lord in the novels are entirely separate entities."
After much persuasion, Aria finally began to calm down. As the trio's conversation led them to the city center, they were about to ask a passerby for directions to Tribios's location when a striking beauty with long crimson hair emerged from a nearby building. Who else could it be but Tribios herself?