In response to Noel mentioning his true name, Valyr remained silent for a while as a solemn expression on his face. Then, after staring at the old man for a bit, he went ahead and posed a question to the man, a question that lingered in his mind after hearing Noel's words. "Did the head of the Blacksmith Guild inform you?"
"Oh, none of the sort." Hearing Valyr's question, Noel let out a chuckle, which the former found somewhat odd. "The leader of the Blacksmith Guild only sent me a heads-up regarding your whereabouts, which I should tell you once more that I appreciate you doing that."
"In any case, finding out your identity was just a matter of reading between the lines, some cross-referencing, a few educated guesses…"
"And from what I realized after what I just did, a little bit of luck." Whilst Noel let out yet another chuckle, Valyr inwardly admonished himself as it did not take long for him to realize what Noel meant by his words. Nevertheless, his expression more or less remained the same, with the only hint Noel could see on the young man's face that the latter was thinking about it was the faint traces of a frown on the corners of Valyr's face.
'In other words, Noel would've still thought of me as a different person if I did not ask him outright as to whether or not Julian mentioned my true identity to him.' As this thought lingered in his mind, Valyr inwardly let out a long sigh. 'Then again, with how the question I asked him was the final push he needed to confirm my identity, even if I didn't tell him anything of the sort, he still would've doubted my identity as Ylvar.'
"With how you're still silent after my statements, I can safely assume that I'm indeed talking to Valyr, right?" As Noel asked this question, hoping that the young man before him would give him the answer he wanted, Valyr looked at the old man as he continued to remain silent, pondering whether or not he should respond truthfully to the matter.
'Haah…' Eventually, since he still felt a hint of guilt at how he had made the old man wait for him for a time far longer than three days, Valyr decided to acquiesce to the man's wishes, disabling a portion of his disguise to allow Noel to get a look at his true face.
"Now that's quite surprising." Slightly taken aback by how Valyr disguised himself, Noel let out a faint chuckle before nodding, telling the former that he could fully activate his disguise again. "If I weren't focusing all of my attention on you, I wouldn't have even noticed the disguise and thought you were another person altogether."
"In any case, before I continue with my questioning, does anyone else aside from Julian know that you are currently within this kingdom?" Hearing this question escape Noel's mouth, Valyr flashed a bitter smile at the man before nodding.
"Well, there's you." In response, Valyr decided to take a jab at how Noel had figured out his identity through luck, causing the latter to let out a bit of laughter whilst the former had a bitter smile on his face. "Aside from that, there's the elders from the Imperial Production Guild's Ancestral Hall, a few people from the Imperial Production Guild's reconnaissance team, and a friend that I had brought along with me when I came here."
"Could I ask if your friend is affiliated with any organization or noble clan?" Nodding after Valyr was finished enumerating the people within the kingdom that knew of his true identity, Noel posed yet another question to the young man.
"We used to be part of the same guard regiment in a faraway village," said Valyr in response. "But other than that, he's the son of Anadhar City's mayor if I remember correctly."
"A fledgling noble family, then." In response to Valyr's words, Noel nodded, letting out a sigh of relief soon after. "Fortunately, all of those who know of your identity at the moment have connections to the Zeihardt clan's supportive faction, may they be distant or close."
"If even one of those who know of your identity is connected to the rebel faction, I'm certain that you wouldn't even be able to stand here before me at this moment."
"Of course, I'm also affiliated with the supportive faction. In fact, the Spearman Guild is one of the combat class guilds that's affiliated with your clan's supportive faction." Realizing that he had insinuated to Valyr with his words that there was a chance that he was affiliated with the rebel faction, Noel quickly clarified to the young man that he was not, having to prove himself for quite some time before the young man's doubts gradually disappeared.
"So, is there any significant reason as to why you wanted to ascertain my true identity, Elder Noel?" Letting out a faint sigh, Valyr looked at Noel as he asked the man a question, only for a blank expression to appear on his face as the latter swiftly shook his head with a slight grin.
"Purely to satiate my curiosity," said Noel in response. Though, after pondering over the question for a bit more, he gave the young man a genuine smile as he told him, "And I guess to take delight in the fact that I'm teaching a Herald of the Zeihardt clan the subclass I've put most, if not all of my efforts into."
"Your identity and my reasons for asking aside, you came to meet me to tell me your answer to my question some time ago, right?"
"That would be correct." Seeing as Noel pushed the matter aside for the meantime, Valyr went ahead and did so as well, nodding in response.
"Alright." Nodding back at Valyr, Noel took in a deep breath before deciding to repeat the question he had asked the young man almost a week earlier. "Among the three options you have to improve your Shadow Energy, are you still adamant on killing a Shadow Serpent to improve it?"
"Remember that you still have a long life ahead of you, even if we take in your identity and your preparation for the inheritance in consideration."
For a while, the gears in Valyr's mind turned as he thought about the question once more. Eventually, a thought surfaced in his mind, prompting the doubts in his mind to disappear as a confident smile soon appeared on his face.
"You mentioned back then that a Rank 3 class holder would have no difficulty slaying a Shadow Serpent, right?" As Valyr asked Noel this question, the latter raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he nodded in response.
"Yes? What about it?"
Whoosh!
"Since that's the case…"
"Would this level of strength suffice?"
