It was clear which pair was more excited and who did not want to be there.

'If I did not need your help, I would not have asked you to come. But as it stands, I need your help, so I have no choice but to rely on you.'

Layla sighed internally but maintained a smile outside. She pointed toward the sword embedded in the rock beside her.

"I need you to pull that sword out for me. It is said that only a warrior field with divine power can pull it out."

Layla spoke, and Adam made a surprised noise before his eyes turned suspicious.

"Really? Is that the case? Then, why did you not tell your followers to pull out this sword instead of calling for us? I am sure Raziel would have been a better choice for this sword."

Adam did not seem to be buying into Layla's bullshit, and he asked his questions.

Despite how good and harmless Layla had been to him and Rosette, something about her struck him as suspicious. It was in his nature to doubt her and call her out.

Layla had forgotten all about Raziel when she had seen the sword, so she now needed to make another excuse.

"Raziel is busy, and it will take him too long to return. I will call for him if you cannot pull this sword out. I already know I was unable to."

As soon as Layla said that, Adam's eyes lit up like a kid and he immediately reached out to grab that sword handle.

"I see! So, it is something even *you* cannot do? Then, I shall prove here and now that I am the more superior one between us-"

Adam spoke as he tried to pull the sword out but could not.

It made Adam pause before his expression turned furious, and he quickly tried again. But again, it was useless, and Layla felt a little uncomfortable seeing this.

'Shit! Did I make a mistake? Was this not the sword the male lead was supposed to pull out? What a disaster!'

Layla sighed and was about to call this whole thing off when Rosette stepped forward and reached for Adam to grab the sword.

"Is it that difficult to pull this sword out? Let me see-"

As soon as Rosette pulled together with Adam, the sword became loose, and it broke out of the rock.

Adam could pull it out the rest of the way, but the silence was tense.

"What just happened? Did Rosette pull out the sword?"

Adam asked as he looked at this companion. But Rosette looked at her hands before she frowned in a way Layla had never seen her do before.

"I don't think I managed to pull that sword out. I can still feel a tingling sensation in my hands when I try to move them. This feels weird, and I don't like this sensation."

Rosette declared as she moved her hand open and closed. Her fingers looked stiff, and her frown did not look happy.

"Adam, are you having any problems holding the sword? Does it feel too heavy for you? Or any of that numbing feeling Rosette's describing to us?"

Layla asked, and the young kid looked surprised enough to answer without giving her any attitude.

"Huh? N-No! I don't feel any of it. Why? Am I supposed to feel it? Is it bad if I don't?"

Moments like these made Layla realize that Adam was still just a kid, and he felt the same way she did about these situations.

He tried to appear calm and wiser than usual, but it was all a facade he was putting up in front of people.

"No! It's a good thing if you are not feeling anything. This sword is magical, so it would be good if you practice with it and master it. I am sure it will aid you in the future."

'Especially when you need to prove yourself.'

Layla did not say the last words because she did not want Adam to know his origins.

Once they had been revealed in the original story, the truth about his identity haunted Adam until the end.

According to Adam in the book, he was unworthy of someone as 'pure and scared' as Rosette because he had tainted blood in his veins.

It would be a headache if Adam began to think about all of this too soon.

"We should head back now. We have a lot of things we need to get done. We also need to interrogate this man and see if we can get some information from him. I will see you both later."

Layla bid the pair farewell, and Rosette was the only one to greet her back.

Adam looked too engrossed in his sword to check out what he did to turn around and give Layla any words of his own.

Not that Layla minded that. She liked Adam when he was like this. It was much more peaceful when this happened.

"Lady Layla, are we going to head out as soon as we have a location for that place? Shall I ready myself for combat?"

Mary asked in a tense voice. She had realized that there would be much fighting, which interested her.

However, as much as Mary wanted to fight, that was not a feasible solution for them to deploy.

The reserve would require massive purification, and Layla felt thankful that she had Raziel.

His abundance of divine power would come in handy.

"Mary, I will leave the criminal's interrogation to you. I need to visit Cardinal Bishop and Raziel. I might have a favor or two to ask that old man."

Layla had a plan, and it seemed close to coming along. Now, all she needed to do was convince that cunning old man to do just as Layla wanted.

And that was the tough part here. That old man would likely try to get involved somehow to reap the benefit.