"This... should be the place, right?"
Shalin stood in front of a wooden door, her heart pounding nervously.
Then, she unconsciously swallowed her saliva, trying to relieve the dryness in her throat caused by nervousness.
Immediately after, she took a deep breath, raised her slightly trembling hand, and gently knocked on the door.
"E-excuse me... is anyone home?"
Almost the instant her voice fell—
Click.
The door lock clicked softly, and the door was opened from the inside. The speed caught Shalin somewhat off guard.
A young girl's figure appeared behind the door, the warm light outlining her silhouette.
She had rare pink curly hair, carefully combed into twin tails that draped over her shoulders.
The young girl's face was delicate and soft, exuding a natural, gentle aura. Her bright eyes held a hint of inquiry.
Looking at the young girl before her, who was completely different from the mysterious doctor or church member image she had imagined, Shalin could not help but freeze in a daze.
Right at this moment, the pink-haired girl spoke. Her voice was gentle and pleasant, instantly smoothing away some of the uneasiness in Shalin's heart.
"Hello, excuse me... do you need help with anything?"
...
Inside the door, a moment before the knocking sounded, Hyacine was sitting on a chair by the window, her fingertips unconsciously tapping the table.
'This presence is... Shalin? How did she find her way here?'
Relying on her sharp perception, she had sensed who was outside the door long before the knock came, but finding out it was Shalin greatly surprised her.
Ever since she posted the missing person commission at the Adventurers Association last time, the efficiency had been unexpectedly high. After all, enough gold coins could always leverage a higher priority.
In just one day, the association had given a reply:
After repeated confirmation through high-level tracking magic, the target, Lu Zhaoran, was currently located on another continent and could not return to Eresia for the time being.
The good news was that the association had dispatched nearby personnel to make contact and provide protection, so she did not have to worry too much.
After obtaining this result, which was not the best but still acceptable, Hyacine temporarily shelved the matter of searching for Lu Zhaoran and shifted her focus to another equally important matter: helping Hong Guoguo find news about her clansmen.
But unexpectedly, she had pulled a gold early, and coincidentally, the pulled Castorice was actually in the same Isekai and on the same continent as her.
Therefore, Hyacine took Hong Guoguo with her, continuing to inquire about clues regarding her clansmen while moving toward the direction where she sensed Castorice was located.
She had only arrived at this small town located on the edge of the Emerald Forest yesterday evening. This was the closest town to Castorice's location that she could find right now.
After routinely saving some people, Hyacine booked a hotel room here, planning to continue heading towards Castorice to regroup with her tomorrow.
It was just that she did not expect something to happen on Castorice's side tonight. An evil god had revived over there, and its vitality was extremely strong, causing Castorice to be unable to take down this evil god for a while.
Only she absolutely did not expect that before she could even set off, Shalin, an elf Castorice had previously met in the Moon-marked Clan, would actually come knocking on her door first.
'Could it be... my identity has been exposed? That shouldn't be...'
This thought flashed through her mind, but she immediately rejected it.
'The identity of Hyacine has never had any interaction with Shalin. How could she possibly recognize it?'
'Then, was she just passing by accidentally?'
However, right at this moment, the knock sounded clearly and unmistakably, with a clear target—the very guest room she was in.
"Alright..." Hyacine sighed softly in her heart and smiled somewhat helplessly. 'It seems it's not a coincidence. She came right for me.'
Seeing this, she gathered her thoughts, hung that gentle smile back on her face, reached out to open the door, and asked the obviously nervous and uneasy elf girl outside in the softest tone possible:
"Hello, do you need help with anything?"
Outside the door, Shalin, upon seeing Hyacine's gentle face and hearing her kind inquiry, seemed to have her nervous emotions alleviated a little bit. She mustered her courage and stated the purpose of her trip:
"E-excuse me... do you know the Church of the Radiant Sun?"
"Church of the Radiant Sun?" Hearing this, Hyacine appropriately showed a hint of thought on her face. She quickly searched through her memories, then firmly shook her head, her tone carrying a bit of apology. "I'm sorry, this name... I haven't heard of it."
"You... you don't know either?! You actually... don't know either?!"
This answer clearly far exceeded Shalin's expectations.
Her face was instantly filled with astonishment and disbelief, and her voice carried unconcealable disappointment and a trace of panic.
Looking at the heavy look of disappointment on her face, Hyacine, although somewhat puzzled, still asked gently:
"Why... would you think that I should know about this Church of the Radiant Sun?"
Hearing Hyacine's question, Shalin's head drooped, her hands unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.
She repeated the words of the guard at the town entrance in a low voice.
About how he was saved by a doctor with superb medical skills, accompanied by a Feline Demi-human follower, and whose style of doing things was similar to the description of the Church of the Radiant Sun, and how he deduced from this that this doctor was very likely connected to the Church of the Radiant Sun, or at least knew of its whereabouts.
After listening to Shalin's narration, Hyacine finally understood.
'So that's how it is... It's a misunderstanding by the guard I saved this morning. Based on my healing abilities and behavior, he associated me with someone from that Church of the Radiant Sun...'
"Then... what about the Radiant Church?" Shalin seemed unwilling to give up. Holding onto the last faint glimmer of hope, she asked again with a trembling voice, "Have you... heard of the Radiant Church?"
Looking into those eyes full of expectation, Hyacine sighed softly, then shook her head and answered honestly, "I'm sorry, this name... I have absolutely no impression of it either."
She genuinely did not know about these so-called churches. After all, she had only been in this Isekai for less than a week.
"Is that so... O-okay..."
Receiving negative answers in succession, the last bit of light in Shalin's eyes completely dimmed.
"Sister Hyacine! I'm back! Look at what delicious food I found!"
Right at this moment, an energetic voice came from the staircase, breaking the slightly stagnant atmosphere.
Hyacine turned her head at the sound and saw Hong Guoguo, sporting a pair of cat ears and happily swaying the tail behind her back, hugging several golden yellow fruits as she bounded up the stairs, taking two steps at a time.
However, Hong Guoguo's cheerful footsteps paused when she saw a stranger elf standing at the door of Hyacine's room.
She blinked, sizing up Shalin with some curiosity, and then tilted her head, asking with some confusion:
"Sister Hyacine, who is she? Is she your friend?"
Shalin was brought back to her senses by this sudden voice. She raised her somewhat bewildered eyes and looked at Hong Guoguo.
When she saw those iconic cat ears and the gently swaying tail behind her back, she immediately realized.
This must be the powerful Feline Demi-human follower that the soldier had mentioned, the one accompanying the doctor.
"H-hello..." Shalin forced herself to cheer up and explained to Hong Guoguo, "I'm... I'm here to ask this doctor some questions about the churches... It's just that the doctor seems... not to know..."
"Eh? Inquiring about church matters? Then it's no wonder!" Hearing this, Hong Guoguo revealed an expression of sudden realization.
She was well aware that Sister Hyacine came from another world and was already unfamiliar with the humanities, geography, and power distributions here. It could not be more normal for her not to understand these churches.
Of course, although she herself was considered a local, she had basically stayed within her clan for most of her time before, so she was equally clueless in this regard.
Therefore, she walked over to Shalin's side and, with a slightly apologetic tone, helped explain:
"Miss Elf, you might have misunderstood! Neither Sister Hyacine nor I are people of the church! Moreover, we used to live in a very remote place with little contact with the outside world, so we really know absolutely nothing about these churches and such."
"S-so it's like that..." Seeing this, Shalin's hopes were shattered once again. She felt like a traveler lost in the desert who had finally found a bit of direction, only to realize it was just a mirage.
Seeing this, she lowered her head dejectedly and whispered to the two of them:
"I... I'm sorry to have bothered you... T-then I'll leave first and go ask others."
After saying that, she turned around, looking somewhat despondent, and began walking toward the stairs, planning to go down and ask others for clues.
However, just as Shalin was about to step onto the stairs, Hyacine, who had been quietly observing her, finally spoke again.
"You're looking for these churches so anxiously... is it related to that evil god currently attacking the Shadow-fold Valley?"
The moment these words came out, Shalin's figure, originally preparing to leave, instantly stiffened in place.
The next second, she whirled around, her face full of shock.
Subsequently, she asked with a somewhat unbelievable voice:
"H-how do you know?!"
"Just as I thought..."
Looking at Shalin's appearance, Hyacine instantly understood that her guess was indeed correct.
After all, with the Shadow-fold Valley currently under attack by an evil god, it was impossible for Shalin not to know. Since searching for the church was an extremely urgent matter, then it could only be related to the evil god.
"Because I am very good friends with Little Castorice." Hyacine smiled and said, "The things Little Castorice encountered in the Shadow-fold Valley, including the appearance of that evil god, have all been told to me through a special method. Therefore, I am actually preparing to set off and rush over to your side to see if I can be of any help."
"Little Castorice... who is that?" Shalin was somewhat bewildered by this affectionate term of address. For a moment, she completely failed to react, her face written full of confusion.
She quickly searched her mind for an elf or an expert who fit this title, but found nothing.
Looking at Shalin's confused appearance, Hyacine patiently described further, "As for Little Castorice... she has beautiful long purple hair, and her appearance and temperament also look like a noble elf. Her strength is extremely powerful, and her weapon is a giant scythe flowing with dark purple light. I wonder... have you met such an existence in the valley?"
"Purple hair... appearance like an elf... purple... giant scythe..."
The characteristics Hyacine described one by one quickly linked together in Shalin's mind.
Subsequently, a purple figure she had just met not long ago instantly appeared in Shalin's mind.
"Could it be... you are Castorice's friend?"
"That's right, it's her." The smile on Hyacine's face deepened as she nodded affirmatively. "I've been rushing in the direction where Little Castorice is recently, and only just arrived at this small town to settle down this morning. I originally planned to rest for the night and continue my journey tomorrow. But unexpectedly, not long ago, Castorice told me that an evil god had revived on her side, so I was just planning to make some preparations and immediately go assist her."
As she spoke, her gentle gaze re-evaluated the elf girl in front of her, who seemed somewhat ignorant due to the massive amount of information.
"It's just that what I expected even less was that before I even set off, I ended up meeting you, who came from the Shadow-fold Valley, right here. Perhaps this is also a type of fate."
Seeing that Hyacine had already revealed so much information, Shalin took a deep breath and ultimately believed what Hyacine said.
But then, a more realistic problem surfaced in her mind, causing her to frown slightly and look at Hyacine's somewhat slender figure with a bit of uncertainty:
"But... that's an evil god after all! Even our clan leader and elders are helpless against it... As a doctor, exactly how are you going to help her..."
In her cognition, a doctor leaned more towards a rear-line rescuer, rather than a combatant capable of confronting an evil god head-on.
"How about..." Shalin tried to propose a plan. "How about we look for intel regarding the Church of the Radiant Sun and the Radiant Church together? The efficiency of three people will be a little faster..."
However, Hyacine just gently shook her head.
Her face still carried that reassuring smile, but her tone held an unquestionable confidence. "There's no need to go to so much trouble. Searching for church clues is certainly a path, but distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. Believe me, I am also very strong. Even if it's just me alone, it will be enough to give Little Castorice the support she needs."
"Yeah, yeah!" Hong Guoguo, who was beside them, immediately nodded vigorously in agreement upon hearing this. "Don't look down on Sister Hyacine! She is really super amazing."
After all, she was a personal experiencer of that display of strength.
"This..."
Faced with the two's so consistently confident declarations, Shalin fell into deep hesitation.
Take them back? But the mission Clan Leader Thorne had entrusted to her was to seek a foreign aid church. If she just went back with a doctor and her follower like this, would it be considered violating the clan leader's orders? Moreover, although they were full of confidence, relying on three people (or rather, one person, one elf, and one cat?) to face that terrifying evil god shrouding the valley... Shalin really had no bottom in her heart.
But what if she didn't take them back? Relying on herself, a single elf, to aimlessly search for those two highly secretive-sounding churches in this vast and unfamiliar human world, how much time would it consume? How long could the clan members and the clan leader hold on?
Furthermore, the path into the Shadow-fold Valley was hidden by illusions and nature magic. Without a clan member familiar with the path to guide them, it was almost impossible for outsiders to find and enter. She was not sure whether this doctor could really find the entrance on her own.