While Ventair was heading to the village's adventurer guild headquarters, we'll turn our attention to the two angels.
Seraphiel POV
After separating from her Master, she followed her senses to where the strongest energy flows were located.
She could absorb and convert all types of positive emotions, but the converted energy wouldn't be substantial, so she would only focus on the purest and most powerful emotional sources.
She approached the edge of the village. In this particular village, there were no surrounding walls or fences; the outer village was merely encircled by a golden field.
However, in her perception, the surroundings were enveloped by a magical barrier strong enough to withstand attacks from Evolved beings.
There were a few houses on this outskirts, and she then headed towards an ordinary house on the left.
The house looked simple, like any other, with a golden rice field shimmering behind it under the brilliant sun.
Seraphiel approached the house; in her perception, this house contained the most intense and strongest source of positive emotions in the village.
As she reached the door, she was about to knock when a clear, childish voice came from inside:
"Mommy, I'm going out to play."
"Be careful, and remember to come back for lunch."
"Okay~"
The little girl was answered by a gentle and caring female voice.
Then the door opened, revealing a girl of about seven years old with porcelain-white skin, large round black eyes, and long golden hair reaching her back.
Her face held the innocence and cuteness of a child.
As the girl opened the door, standing before her was a person shrouded in a black cloak, wearing a very elaborate mask.
She was slightly surprised, then turned and spoke loudly into the house.
"Mommy, we have a visitor!!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than an adult woman, perhaps between 28 and 30 years old, appeared behind the girl.
She had golden hair like the child's, shimmering and cascading down her back, and a face that bore the refined features of a mature woman, both gentle and beautiful.
Seraphiel looked at this woman; in her perception, this person was the source of the enormous positive energy she had sensed.
The mother, looking at the strangely dressed person in front of her, asked cautiously:
"Excuse me, who are you and why have you come to my house?"
Seraphiel spoke in reply:
"Hello, my name is Sera. I'm a new adventurer here, and I'm gathering information for our quest. May I ask you a few questions?"
Seraphiel had discussed with Ventair beforehand that she should use a false identity and a reasonable excuse to approach these targets.
The woman, hearing that the person in front of her was female and understanding her reason for being there, relaxed her guard.
She smiled gently and said:
"I see. Hello, my name is Amara, and this is my daughter, Yuna."
The little girl also bowed in greeting; seeing this, it was clear she was very well-mannered.
"Please, come inside and have a seat." Invited inside, Seraphiel entered immediately.
Then Amara looked at her daughter.
"You go ahead and play; Mommy will entertain our guest."
The little girl nodded, said goodbye to her mother, and went outside. Amara closed the door and led Seraphiel inside.
Once inside, although the house appeared small and ordinary from the outside, it was surprisingly well-equipped within.
The wooden house in the village had a cozy and rustic feel; the space wasn't overly large but was neatly and tidily arranged.
The ceiling and floor were made of rough wooden planks, revealing sturdy beams.
Morning light filtered through small, frosted glass windows, casting a soft glow on the wooden floor.
In the center of the room was a low, square wooden table with four chairs made from rough wooden slats.
On the table sat a ceramic vase with a few dried flowers or herbs.
The walls were adorned with a few wooden picture frames of Amara with little Yuna, but there was also a picture of a rather handsome man, likely Amara's husband.
Seraphiel was led to sit on a wooden chair, while Amara said she would go prepare some water.
Seraphiel did not refuse this kindness and simply sat there, waiting.
Perhaps one might wonder why she didn't immediately absorb the positive energy but had to sit and wait.
She merely wanted to understand Amara's past to ascertain how she could possess such a strong flow of positive emotions.
And with this enormous emotional source, she also needed time and close proximity to the target, so this was the best approach.
After a moment of waiting, Amara returned with two cups of water.
"This is tea from our own garden. Please, enjoy it, Miss Sera."
As she spoke, Amara sat down on the chair opposite Seraphiel, placing the two cups of tea on the wooden table.
Seraphiel said nothing but merely nodded. She didn't pick up the teacup to drink but first looked at the family photo hanging on the wall and asked:
"Excuse me, Miss Amara, but may I ask who the man in that picture is?"
Amara looked in the direction Seraphiel was pointing and saw her family photo.
"Oh, the man in that picture is my husband, his name is Lucien."
As she spoke, a gentle smile blossomed on her face, showing love and tenderness.
Seeing this, Seraphiel continued to ask:
"So, where is he now? And I'm just asking out of curiosity."
But Amara didn't seem to mind much and replied:
"Oh, if you're asking where he is, then–"
Before she could finish, a loud sound came from outside the door.
Thump!
And then, a young man appeared, probably around Amara's age.
Based on his appearance, he had a face similar to the man in the picture, so it was immediately clear he was Amara's husband, Lucien.
He was breathing heavily, exhausted. Standing outside the door and looking into the room, he saw his wife sitting opposite someone dressed like an assassin.
Looking around, he saw no changes in the house, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Just now, he was working in the field when he saw his daughter run up and heard that a strangely dressed woman claiming to be an adventurer had suddenly appeared at their house to ask about a quest.
Hearing this, he felt anxious and immediately ran home, feeling uneasy about his wife letting a stranger into their home, especially since there were many houses around, yet why did she choose theirs?
When he got home and opened the door to find everything normal, he felt completely relieved.
Amara, seeing her husband return, introduced him to Seraphiel.
"Miss Sera, this is the husband I just mentioned. He went out to the fields early this morning to farm. Normally, he doesn't come back until noon."
After speaking, she turned to look at her husband and asked with a questioning tone:
"Why are you back so early?"
"Oh… oh… I forgot some tools at home, so I came back to get them."
He stammered slightly, hiding his anxiety about rushing back so as not to cause discomfort to their guest.
Amara nodded, understanding. Seraphiel, however, immediately knew the reason for his return was likely his worry about her presence.
This showed he was a man who deeply loved his wife and was quite cautious.
She also discovered that this man had a flow of emotions no less significant than Amara's, so perhaps the two of them combined had created the enormous emotional flow she sensed.
Then Lucien walked over and sat next to Amara, looked at Seraphiel, and asked:
"So, may I ask who you are and why you've come here?"
Hearing this familiar question, Seraphiel was about to answer when Amara next to her spoke up, answering for her.
"This is Miss Sera. She's new to the village and just accepted a quest, so she's going around to gather more information."
Hearing this, Lucien felt somewhat less anxious, but he still maintained his guard.
"So, what would you like to ask us?"
Hearing Lucien's question, Seraphiel began to absorb their emotions. Invisibly, only to Seraphiel, the streams of light representing the couple's positive energy began to flow into Seraphiel.
Outwardly, Seraphiel answered Lucien's question:
"I'd like to ask if there have been any suspicious individuals around this area recently?"
"No, there's no one suspicious around here."
"Next, have either of you lost any belongings or anything else?"
"No, our household hasn't lost anything."
…
After about 10 minutes, Seraphiel asked the questions Ventair had prepared beforehand.
Outwardly, she was asking serious investigative questions, but it was just to buy time.
"That concludes my questions. Thank you both for answering them."
"Oh, it's nothing at all. We're glad we could help you."
And Seraphiel had finished absorbing the positive emotions of this couple.
When she absorbed all this energy, she only took the energy component, so there would be no issues with the targets' emotions.
Afterward, Seraphiel was seen off by the couple, but then Amara said:
"Miss Sera, please wait a moment."
Then she rushed back into the house.
After a while, she came out with a carefully wrapped bag that couldn't be seen inside. Amara smiled gently and handed the bag to Seraphiel, saying:
"This is a gift from our home. Please consider it a first meeting gift. Inside are the tea leaves we just drank. Please accept it."
"Thank you, I'll take it."
Seraphiel didn't refuse the gift. She accepted it and put it into a pocket within her black cloak.
Then she bid them farewell and departed.
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On her way, she recalled the memories she gained after absorbing their emotions, and then she understood what their immense emotion was:
LOVE
According to the memories she received, both of them were adopted children in an orphanage when they were young.
They played together and soon developed feelings for each other.
When they were both eight years old, one day, while they were playing outside not far from the orphanage, Amara was suddenly captured by slave traders.
Lucien, even as a child, discovered it, but he could do nothing but stare blankly as the person he loved was taken away.
From then on, he began to learn how to fight, how to wield a sword, a shield, a bow, a spear, hoping that one day he could meet her again and save her.
And after turning twelve, Lucien began to join the adventurer's guild and traveled throughout the empire to find Amara.
It wasn't until seven years later, when Lucien was nineteen and had reached silver rank, level 8, that he and his comrades were invited to a brothel in a certain city.
He reluctantly went with his comrades, but who would have thought that the person serving him and his comrades was none other than Amara, who had been captured years ago?
Although she had grown up and changed a lot, based on the intuition of a love that hadn't faded in eleven years, he immediately recognized her.
At that moment, Amara also recognized him; like Lucien, she could not forget him.
Lucien asked what had happened to her during those eleven years and why she was there.
At that moment, Amara could only offer a sad smile and look at Lucien with guilt in her eyes. She held back her tears and said that after she was captured, the slave traders brutally trained her to be sold.
The pain at that time was ingrained in her very flesh; it still haunted her to this day and sometimes caused nightmares.
But she had a strong and unwavering will, and thanks to it, she continuously resisted and refused to obey.
After many training sessions, they couldn't break her and were forced to sell her, regardless of the price.
And during a slave trade, she was sold for 10 gold coins to a viscount in the kingdom.
When she fell into his hands, her life became a living hell.
Every day, she was tormented like a toy; sometimes she was even given to the viscount's male servants or soldiers to play with.
She was only fifteen years old then and had to endure such humiliation, but she never forgot Lucien.
Two years later, when she was seventeen, the viscount grew tired of her and sold her to this brothel.
And here, she continued to be forced to serve clients for the next two years; in other words, she was a prostitute.
Fortunately for her, they all didn't want children, so Amara never became pregnant.
She endured such treatment but remained loyal in her love for Lucien.
She was certain that one day she would meet him again.
And that day was today.
When Lucien heard her story, he was furious and wanted to find and kill all those who had tormented Amara over the years, but his comrades managed to stop him in time.
After calming down a little, he could only kneel before Amara and cry profusely, feeling both sorrow for Amara and weeping for his current helplessness because he could do nothing.
Afterward, his comrades also felt sorry for him, so they pooled money with Lucien and bought Amara out.
Not long after, the two got married, inviting only Lucien's friends. One year after their wedding, Amara became pregnant, so Lucien gave up being an adventurer and, with his wife, moved away from the empire's center to find a suburban village to live out the rest of their lives.
At that time, Lucien was a gold rank, level 10, so the money he earned was enough to live comfortably for several years.
Afterward, they found this village of Rion and decided to live here.
Yuna was also born here, with Lucien becoming a farmer and Amara a homemaker, managing the household.
Having seen Amara's difficult life, Seraphiel felt nothing because for her, Ventair was everything, and she had just been watching a film.
But she had to admit the love between the two; few could maintain their feelings after so many hardships.
Although there was darkness in this world, at least it also had something called pure love.
She thought so and then went to find her next targets.