The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving

Aisha heard Zeke’s voice from behind her, and her gaze inevitably fell on him. However, he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at the dress she wore with a deep frown as he repeated the same question, more to himself than to her.

She turned to the herald and gave him a signal that they could leave now. The herald appeared hesitant, but the dark spike had already melted into dust, and Nykos didn’t look his way anymore.

The two took their first step away from there. But Aisha could still hear them speaking behind her.

"You actually gave her a gift?"

"And what’s wrong with that?"

"You... don’t tell me you plan to—"

Aisha couldn’t hear them any longer as they turned in a corner and went further into the palace.

The walk to the emperor’s residence was longer than she thought. They passed several doors that led to who knows whose room or what room they were for, imperial guards that were on their way to check on the commotion that Nykos made earlier, and some servants who had their heads lowered as they did about their chores.

It was the same as Aisha had imagined what a palace would look like if she ever visited one. The only difference was the touch of the elements that are unique to this world and an impossibility to her own old world. Just like those light stones on the walls and the starry ceiling that resembled the Milky Way.

Curious as to what they were made of, Aisha reached her hand out to take hold of the light stone near her.

The herald had been cautious around Aisha after seeing how she acted toward the two high-ranked Sentinels when he saw her move.

Thinking that she was curious about the light stone, he explained, "We procured these stones from an abandoned star called Lumina. They are very strange and can light up a whole room with just one stone. Unfortunately, getting one is a tough task because even most advanced imperial soldiers couldn’t pry it off from Lumina. We had to break off a section of a huge rock and turn it into this wall—"

"Hang on!"

But before the herald could warn her not to foolishly pry it off and injure herself in the process, her hand was already on the light stone. Aisha gripped the stone with her bare hand, then plucked it like it was a pebble found anywhere.

"..."

Aisha also didn’t expect the stone to come off the wall so easily. She merely twisted it slightly to see if she could hold it, feeling that it had the same aura that came off of the husk of the pure energy stone she saw at the black market.

But rather than the miasma that had taken root inside the husk, this one felt purer. Yet Aisha didn’t think it was pure energy stones. The purification energy coming from it wasn’t strong, just mild enough that it gave her the slight warmth of a small heated stone. That was it.

"This stone must have come loose after being brought here."

Aisha’s expression offered no hint that she had just lied. The herald frowned as he looked at her.

"You..."

But he stopped himself. Because there was no other logical reason behind the bizarre sight of her effortlessly taking out a light stone that several advanced imperial guards couldn’t.

Aisha placed the light stone back into its original place, but it didn’t stick.

Having no choice, she thought about offering it to the herald. But the latter was too afraid to accept it. Thus, she could only hold it in her palms and continue on their path.

After walking for a few minutes in total silence, they both stopped before a huge door.

The herald bowed his head and told her to enter by herself. He swiftly turned on his heel and was about to run away from there as fast as he could when he heard her behind him.

"Wait... I still have something to tell you."

Her voice sounded sweet to his ear. Feeling a strange sensation resurging within him.

Click, clack.

Oddly enough, Aisha proceeded to walk toward him rather than enter the emperor’s residence. To his shock, she suddenly whispered in his ear from up close.

"You didn’t see or hear anything from the moment you called out to me when I left the imperial hall."

Before he could form a response, she concluded with a sweet, "Understood?"

A soft, cold hand brushed against his shoulder, so featherily light that he barely felt it. His final memory was of her walking past him at the entrance of the grand imperial hall.

"Well, then, I thank you for helping me get here, herald."

The herald blinked his eyes, snapping awake and staring at her with a frown. What just happened? When did he arrive before the emperor’s residence?

But he had no one to ask these questions as the only person who could provide it finally entered the door, shutting it behind her without even giving him a glance.

Scratching his head, he felt that something was missing inside him. But upon carefully thinking what it was, he had come up with nothing. Treating it as him growing older and senile, he decided to return to the imperial hall and wait for further orders from his masters.

But what he didn’t know was that not only had a chunk of his memory been wiped away, but the light stone that Aisha had plucked off the wall appeared in his pocket. He would only learn about it when he checked on it later, but he would never find out how and when it ended up in his hands.

Aisha arrived inside the emperor’s residence. A rare surprise flashed across her face as she was astounded by the scenery before her.

Pillars stood with white fabrics tied around each one of them as they circled around a large pond with milky water softly swishing in it. And above the pond was a huge stone suspended in the air without anything supporting it.

It was a huge pure energy stone.