"Don't you angels usually train your physical bodies? You're really too lazy! Over-relying on your wings like that is undesirable!"

Finally unable to hold back anymore, Cysper started to criticize. He completely forgot that Cyra was just a newbie angel without years of martial arts training like him.

"Look who's talking! Having wings but not using them, that's what's really brainless!"

I refuted defiantly. But even as I spoke, I couldn't help wondering - if angelic physical abilities could be enhanced through human training methods, would our combat power multiply when our wings were spread?

Unfortunately, no one could answer that question for me now. Seeing no ladder around to climb down, Cysper finally lost patience and was about to spread his wings to fly down. I hurriedly stopped him.

"Wait, there's a tree next to this eave. We can climb down from here."

The tree was planted in the courtyard, conveniently right next to the house below us. The trunk looked smooth enough that I thought we could try sliding down.

"Why bother with all that trouble? At most, the other party will just find out we're angels, I don't think there's any problem!"

Cysper seemed rather reluctant, probably because having the Pope climb a tree was a bit undignified. But I didn't see it that way.

"How could there be no problem? Don't forget there may be monsters in this city. Our angel wings spreading would easily give us away, let's avoid exposure if we can!"

I immediately denied it verbally. There was another reason I didn't voice - we four had defied Elara's orders by coming to Parristol! If we exposed ourselves to humans too early, who knew if it might attract other undercover angels here on Edenmere's intelligence gathering mission. If they tried to forcibly take us back, inadvertently causing a conflict would be bad.

Of course, if we had no choice but to fight, exposure might be unavoidable. I just wanted to conceal it as much as possible, plus it could have the effect of lulling the enemy too.

"You angels really overthink everything!"

Although reluctant, Cysper couldn't dwell on it further. After all, climbing a tree was very simple for him, no difficulty even using Cyra's body. So in the end, he could only queue behind me to slide down the branches.

"Why aren't you coming in yet, so slow?"

Unfortunately, just as I slid halfway down, the mysterious girl who had entered earlier suddenly came running back out, probably impatient from waiting too long. But upon seeing me clinging to the tree, she burst out laughing and gestured for someone inside.

"Quick, come see! Those two mages I told you about are climbing a tree outside, just like the sloths down south!"

Damn, we're being mocked!

Seeing this, I didn't feel like continuing down and quickly leapt horizontally straight to the ground, nearly spraining my foot. Cysper above me was unusually red-faced as he sped down the slide too.

"Why didn't you just say so earlier? I could've brought you both down together!"

"Valerie, don't make fun of them. It's normal for mages to have poor physiques. Or were you just looking to mock me too?"

Just as the mysterious girl said that to us, another girl came running out from the room. Upon seeing me, her gaze froze as she pointed and exclaimed.

"You...you're Feliciana, aren't you?"

"Oh? Eleanora!"

In that moment, I recognized her too, feeling utterly astounded. What a small world that we'd meet again so quickly, and in a place like this.

But thinking about it, it was understandable. Eleanora was originally a regular member of the Astralrealm Kingdom's military. Our previous encounter in the Norvale capital was just a routine audience with the king after her promotion to sixth rank. After that, she would naturally return to the military, so being dispatched here wasn't too surprising.

"Captain, guess who's here!"

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Delighted to meet an old acquaintance in a foreign land, Eleanora immediately shouted into the house. If it was the captain she mentioned, then could it be...

"How many times have I told you two not to make such a ruckus? Aren't they supposed to be from the Church?"

As expected, the voice came before the person! Alfreed's voice came from inside the house. But before he even emerged, I had already entered first.

"Feliciana! It really has been a while. How did you end up in this kind of place at such a critical time?"

The moment we met, I almost bumped right into Alfreed coming out carrying a portable light. Seeing me, he immediately asked inquisitively.

"Don't even ask, I want to know about you guys too!"

I couldn't help reminiscing wryly about the events that had previously occurred in Wal City on the Dark Continent.

Back then, Selene and I were also being chased by enemies when we found Alfreed and the others' temporary base through Adrian's guidance. Now in Parristol, the situation was quite similar, albeit with some minor differences, making me marvel at the parallels of fate once more.

"What do you mean 'you guys'?"

Alfreed was momentarily dazed upon hearing that, but quickly realized and helplessly gave a wry smile.

"Well, it's almost the same, except this time we infiltrated here intentionally. But you two, did you also end up in Parristol unintentionally?"

He shifted his gaze towards Cysper, who had just climbed in after me from the tree, his mouth nearly gaping open.

"Michelle?! What are you doing here?"

"That's not Michelle! She's Feliciana's friend, I remember her name is Cyra, right? A rather strange name, exactly the same as that Saint angel from the True Church."

Eleanora had met Cyra back in the capital and had a similar reaction then, but this time she was already used to it and promptly clarified the misunderstanding for us.

"Alright then! The True Church again..."

Alfreed had really seen it all. After Eleanora's explanation, he stared at Cysper for a long while before finally giving up with a dejected remark,

"Don't tell me she's also some priest from the Church?"

How ironic that he inadvertently guessed half right! This guy isn't a priest though, but the Pope disguised as an angel!

"Who told you I'm a priest? Listen up, I'm actually..."

Seeing the situation, Cysper clearly understood what had happened and was about to reveal his Papal identity as he brushed off the dust. Fortunately, he caught himself in time. However, after a pause, unable to think of any other excuse, he could only dejectedly admit:

"Okay, I'm a priest!"

"Angels? You're actually angels? But then why did you have to climb the tree..."

At this moment, that Valerie suddenly clasped her hands over her mouth in surprise, as Eleanora had whispered my true identity to her from behind. Cysper immediately shot me an extremely displeased glare, conveying his great grievance at climbing the tree unnecessarily.

"She's not really a priest either. She's actually a friend I brought from Edenmere. We came to Parristol together to investigate the situation here!"

Quite embarrassed, I quickly introduced everyone. As for the Pope's identity, I decided to conceal it for now. After all, the relationships were already complex enough without being able to fully explain it easily.

"Is it about Adrian?"

Upon hearing our purpose, Alfreed sighed and went straight to the core reason for my journey, the previously joyful atmosphere in the room instantly dimming.

He and Eleanora had served in the same squad as Adrian before, living and working together, so their bond was hardly ordinary. Naturally, everyone felt uneasy about their former comrade suddenly becoming the top enemy.

"...So you snuck in here to actually capture...or perhaps even eliminate him?"

I fell silent for a while, finally mustering the courage to ask, feeling it difficult to voice outright. If they directly admitted it, I wouldn't find it too surprising either. After all, they were still the kingdom's soldiers who had to obey orders, setting aside personal friendships for now. Moreover, Adrian could hardly avoid being labeled a traitor.

"It hasn't reached that stage yet. The truth is, we're also not very clear on Adrian's exact situation!"

Eleanora shook her head, temporarily dispelling my doubts.

"Our main purpose this time is to investigate the enemy. After all, we previously suffered a major defeat, so we can't act rashly again. And the capital is unable to send reinforcements, so we have to be extremely cautious. The captain and I are quite experienced in this area, so we were dispatched here..."

"So have you uncovered any useful information?"

Cysper immediately followed up after hearing that, but then quickly recalled another more important question.

"Oh right, do you know what happened to the local Parristol residents? Why haven't we seen a single local in this city?"

"They were just dispersed by the rebel forces, don't worry! But let's go inside and discuss the details. You know we can't keep the lights on for too long here without rousing suspicion..."

After pondering briefly, Alfreed immediately ushered us all inside to sit down, then activated a light element isolation device before we exchanged intelligence. This time, our base had few people - apart from Cysper and myself, there were only the three of them, the elite among the kingdom's military.

Through a short discussion, we finally understood what had happened in Parristol over the past two days. In order to resist the kingdom's suppression after the recent successful uprising, the Loren royal family had issued a notice to disperse non-local residents from the city a few days ago, ostensibly to prevent enemy spies from infiltrating.

Although Parristol's population was not large, with most being migrant workers, there were still a certain number of locals. Especially since these locals were very willing to support the uprising, the Loren royals could hardly abandon them. So yesterday, they moved and sheltered the remaining locals to buildings near the city center's Chromos Tower.

"That building is an ancient temple, supposedly dedicated to a ancient deity. Based on previous investigations, there was nothing particularly special about it..." Alfreed finished explaining before the girl called Valerie added.

"But strangely enough, over a thousand people were moved inside, yet it managed to accommodate all of them with not a single sound! There's no sign of anyone eating, drinking, or relieving themselves - only a few soldiers guarding the entrance."