The commander was hesitant for a while before finally giving him the information.
"The third matter might be the most important one." The commander took a deep breath and continued, "I am afraid that you are going to be ambushed sooner or later. The one who will ambush you is none other than your uncle."
"My uncle?" Noel acted surprised as if he didn't know anything about this.
"Yeah. It seems your father hasn't told you anything. Your uncle was a Devil Bishop back when he was a double agent in the Demon Banner Army. But I'm afraid that your uncle has reached a whole new level…"
"What? My uncle is a Devil Saint?" Noel gasped and took a step back.
"Yeah, I don't know about his current strength, but I don't think it's less than mine. I have been wondering whether I have to inform you or not…
"At first, I wanted to tell you after you became a Spirit Master, but…"
Noel was the one continuing that sentence as a sign of protest. "I'm thankful for your consideration, but I believe knowing this situation sooner is better. Although I don't know if I have the power to resist or not, it's clear that I will be able to make some preparation.
"I believe you are afraid that after knowing I am in danger, I'll be rushing to increase my strength, making my foundation unstable, right?"
The commander nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes, it's better to be ignorant, but I have deemed that your character and temperament is enough to handle this information.
"As you can see, there are two reasons why I have decided to take you in. As long as you are in the Demon Banner Army, I can observe you to see whether you have a connection with the Supreme Devil Organization or not.
"I have been supporting you so that I can see you slip up, but I guess my worry is unnecessary. So, I'd like to apologize for investigating you."
Noel shook his head. "I can understand why you did that. You don't have to apologize. And what is important here is that you have deemed me to be trustworthy, right?"
"Yes." Oscar acknowledged it. "As for the second reason, I think you are already aware of it. It's related to your father's connection. Since there is an outsider here, I won't disclose too much."
Noel paused for a moment. "Now that we have confirmed the reasons, could you continue, Commander?"
"Yeah. There are two things your uncle has before he reveals his true identity. The first one is something related to your father. Even I don't know about it. Though, it's said to be an important secret to increasing one's strength.
"I'm afraid it's related to your ancestry since it is considered an ancient item. As for the second one, it's a map."
"A map?" Noel frowned. He didn't know what kind of map to be this important.
"The map is about the layout of the Demon Banner Army. In other words, that map is enough for him to strike us with full force, taking us down one by one."
"What?!" Noel gasped. It turned out the map was the most important secret of the Demon Banner Army.
If Anna had been here, she would have realized the reason why the Supreme Devil Organization could deliver a huge blow to the Demon Banner Army.
Noel also knew the importance of that map and asked, "So, you…"
"No, it's impossible to retrieve the map. Even if we get it back, they might have copied it. So, the secret should be known by many people, and it will be easy to attack us.
"That's why I have been asking Septa to go around to find their trace. We have to find their trace and try to protect them."
Noel could understand how the enemies managed to attack a few vital areas related or not related to the Demon Banner Army.
They knew their locations and simply picked a spot that could be taken over.
"The Demon Relief Squad has been in their way ever since you join us, so I couldn't help but suspect you at first. Though, I have confirmed that everything is just a coincidence. If it's just a coincidence, then I hope it can stay that way, so I can rely on you a lot. But for now, I'll just give you a task and wait for the situation unfolds."
"I see…" Noel closed his eyes for a moment. He finally understood the bigger picture a little bit better. With this information, he might have to adjust some of his future plans.
"Aside from it being a coincidence, I don't mind helping you, Commander Oscar."
"What do you want?"
"Contribution Points. I only need that. Though, if you don't mind, I'd like to exchange some with Demon Crystals."
"I see…" The commander contemplated. "I can agree to that. In fact, all the attacks might be related to you because of your uncle. Since you want to be a problem magnet for us, it's convenient for me. I can station people around you to ambush them. But as I said earlier, I'm going to wait and see first. As soon as I confirm that you are around them, I'm going to invest a lot in you."
"We have a deal." Noel nodded.
"Alright then. I have told you everything. If I want to give you a message, there will be someone from the Demon Banner Army that will approach you."
"Understood."
The commander seemed to have no hesitation to leave after getting what he wanted.
There was one more reason why Noel dared to accept this deal. It was because he had visited the Silica Valley before this.
And in that valley, he had helped the Water Lord, which gave him a new medal.
Affection Medal.
This was what he currently needed. He couldn't help but open the window as if seeing the commander off from his room.
At the same time, he changed his medal to see whether the commander was on his side or not.
And the result surprised him.
"This is…"
