Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Meeting with The Crow [2]

Chapter 96: Meeting with The Crow [2]

Noah stood silently, the atmosphere thick with tension. Behind him, Leona trembled subtly, unable to maintain her usual composure under the pressure of the mysterious woman before them.

Yet Noah remained unfazed.

In fact, he found it amusing.

Tilting his head slightly, he spoke with a playful lilt, "What do you take me for? A child?"

He chuckled softly. "Well, to be fair, I am one. Still just fifteen."

The Crow stared at him, unimpressed.

But Noah didn’t care.

"You said it yourself," he continued, "I came here fully aware that you wanted to meet me. You, someone rumored to be dangerous. Yet here I am."

He smirked lightly.

"And you must know at least a little about me to understand that I wouldn’t risk my life without taking precautions."

The Crow sneered. "And you think the precautions of an A-rank being are enough against me?"

Noah smiled lazily. "Would you like to test that theory?"

There was an arrogance to his voice, one he wore as naturally as breathing.

He pressed on without giving her a chance to answer.

"You’re the one who asked for this meeting. You’re the one who needs me. And didn’t you just mention something about meeting your master?"

His grin widened.

"Which means... your goddess ordered you to bring me. Right?"

He tilted his head, his silver eyes gleaming.

"So tell me—what happens if you fail? If you let a mere A-rank slip through your fingers, right here, in your own territory?"

Silence.

The Crow said nothing, but Noah could see the flicker of thought in her eyes.

Got you, he thought.

She hadn’t expected this. Usually, her overwhelming aura clouded weaker minds in fear, just like it was doing to Leona. Doubt, terror, confusion—her specialty.

But Noah stood firm. Unbothered.

It’s like my aura doesn’t even touch him, she thought silently, a sliver of admiration creeping into her otherwise cold heart.

It made sense. If her goddess herself had shown interest in Noah, he couldn’t be ordinary. After all, even the most talented demons like Dominique meant little to her goddess. But Noah... Noah was different.

She spoke at last, her voice measured. "That’s true. My goddess wishes to meet you. For that, you must come to the Shattered Temple."

She paused.

"We won’t harm you. You are only to speak with her. Nothing more."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "And if the discussion goes poorly?"

His tone was light, almost playful, but the question was anything but.

"Will you let me leave peacefully? No fights, no tricks?"

The Crow hesitated, if only for a moment.

"There will be no reason for that to happen," she said finally.

Noah tilted his head again. "And why is that? I’m a firm believer that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong."

She shook her head. "We’ve observed you, Noah Weaverheart. We know how fiercely you oppose the Chosen One. We know how desperately you want to defeat him."

Her voice lowered, serious.

"But let me tell you something. You can win small battles here and there. But a true victory? That will never be possible."

"Not when he has a goddess backing him... and you have no one."

Noah listened quietly. None of this was new. Elira had warned him. Laeh too.

Still, he asked, "Why do you assume I can’t win without divine backing?"

The Crow looked at him as if he were naive.

"Because," she said bluntly, "a goddess grants blessings. Skills. Artifacts. Sometimes even talents. How can you hope to match that, alone?"

"You can’t."

Noah nodded thoughtfully. Logical.

But they were all making one mistake:

He wasn’t alone.

He had never been alone, not since he reincarnated into this world.

’Right, dear system?’ he asked inwardly.

[Indeed, Host.]

[I was there. I am here. I will always be here.]

[You are not alone.]

Noah smiled faintly.

’If you keep talking like that, I might actually cry,’ he teased, though half-serious.

A warmth filled him. A small, steady comfort.

Because beneath all his bravado—beneath the ambitions, the ruthless drive, the clever schemes—he was still human.

freewebnøvel.com Still just a boy shouldering the weight of impossible dreams.

The burden would have been easier if he’d accepted Elira’s offer to become the Dragon’s Champion. It would have been easier.

But easier wasn’t what he wanted.

’I don’t want the easy road.’

’Laugh if you want. Call me arrogant, foolish. I don’t care.’

’Because I believe in myself.’

Because who would? No one is gonna believe in you first.

You will have to make them believe in you. And for that the first step is to believe in yourself.

So, I won’t cower.

’And I will walk this path, no matter how heavy it gets.’

All of this flashed through his mind in the space of a few heartbeats.

He looked at the Crow, smiling coolly.

"True, I’m alone," he said. "And I can’t win alone."

"But tell me—what would you gain by helping me?"

He already had a good idea, but it was better to keep playing dumb for now.

"I’m afraid I’m not authorized to tell you," she replied. "But our goddess will explain everything."

Noah nodded. "Fair enough. So how do you guarantee my safety?"

He smiled crookedly. "Words are nice, but actions are better."

The Crow nodded in agreement. "We have no reason to harm you. We need you. We can even seal it with a soul contract if that’s what you want."

Without hesitation, Noah pulled out a soul contract scroll—crafted personally by his Soul Dragon, an almost unbreakable bond.

"Here," he said, handing it over casually. "You can read it. It’s straightforward. No tricks. I’m actually a pretty honest guy."

He smiled innocently.

Behind him, Leona twitched. Honest? The man who had blackmailed, schemed, and manipulated so many... was calling himself honest?

The Crow examined the contract carefully.

Her voice was neutral as she read aloud, "We will not attack you even if the meeting goes wrong?"

"Yup," Noah nodded. "Basic courtesy, right? You don’t invite someone over just to kill them. Besides, it’s not forever. There’s a three-minute buffer after the meeting ends."

He smirked. "Plenty of time to run away if I piss you off."

"Or if you are capable enough, three minutes will be nothing to you. Catching me will be easy."

The Crow stared at him, then without a word, signed the contract.

Noah clapped his hands together. "Perfect!"

He turned, his silver eyes gleaming.

"Now then..."

"Let’s go meet that infamous sneaky demoness."

—End of Chapter 96—

A/N:

Ladies and gentlemen...

The update rate will be fixed at two Chapters a day from now on.

You want additional Chapters? Easy—!

Harem Stealer: Reborn with the God-Tier Sharing System Chapter 95: Meeting with The Crow [1]

Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 126: New Project [2]

Superpower Mechanic: I Have Unlimited Ammo!

Chapter 218: Dual Volley, Suppressing Orochi!

500 golden tickets -> 1 additional Chapter.

1000 golden tickets (Let me dream right?)-> 2 additional Chapters.

2000 power stones -> 2 additional Chapters.

1 magic castle -> 3 additional Chapters.

1 spacecraft -> 5 additional Chapters.

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