"Those with ulterior motives never easily admit their intentions."

Aline outright rejected Ronald’s explanation.

Even though his attitude was sincere, the girl held firm to an unbreakable boundary, apparently unwilling to cooperate.

Ronald sighed.

Normally, he didn’t want to use word spirit magic to forcibly control others into speaking, so he subtly activated [Wrath’s Original Sin], subconsciously encouraging the other party to be willing to speak.

"Miss, this information is really important. What do I need to do to..."

"Mr. Ronald, please wait a moment!" Before Ronald could finish his sentence, the explorer suddenly interjected, "I’ll have a good talk with Aline; I’m sure she will understand your meaning."

While saying this, the explorer pulled the girl to the back of the camp, and the two began whispering.

The explorer lowered his voice as much as possible.

But Ronald’s excellent hearing caught the conversation clearly.

"Aline, if this gentleman wants, he has all sorts of ways to make us speak!"

"Then he can try his methods!"

"I don’t mean that—I’m saying this gentleman is showing kindness to us, and you haven’t realized it at all. Think carefully, how would you feel if your kindness was misunderstood by others?"

"I..." Aline’s tone began to waver.

She was about to refute, as her internal persistence couldn’t be broken so easily.

But coincidentally Ronald’s psychological suggestion took effect.

After a few seconds of silence, Aline finally nodded to the explorer.

"Alright, I will tell him some things, but that doesn’t mean I will help him find that city."

The exchange ended, and the explorer and the girl returned to the campfire.

Aline, straightforward by nature, quickly reestablished dialogue with Ronald:

"Sir, I can tell you something."

"It’s an ancient ballad widely sung around here, warning people not to touch dangerous things."

Having stated her attitude, Aline didn’t wait for Ronald to speak before she started singing clearly:

"In the night when the sun goes down,

Ancient wisdom elders imprisoned the dark city to the earth.

Cold mist, devours life,

The long river flows, eroding wisdom,

If it asks for your name, remember not to answer."

This ballad wasn’t long, easy to learn and remember.

Aline finished singing this cautionary song in just over a minute and then concluded:

"In short, the place mentioned in the song is near the plains."

"Aren’t you a wizard too? You should understand how dangerous things left from ancient times are. I advise you not to take risks. As for those people you mentioned, they are definitely beyond saving!"

After speaking, Aline was unwilling to continue talking.

She turned back to the tent without making a sound, leaving the explorer to smile at Ronald.

"Mr. Ronald, Aline comes from a traditional forest guardian family. She even keeps a distance from the local people of the southern continent. She holds no malice toward you; she’s just always lived this way."

Throughout the process, Ronald observed the psychological changes in these people.

He naturally understood the explorer and Aline’s attitudes, so he quickly returned a smile:

"I’m already grateful to receive such information."

"But honestly, I recommend you best hurry to leave here."

"Though I won’t do anything to you, if I happen to fight the enemy later, someone might escape under pressure and run into your team."

With that, Ronald’s expression became serious:

"Since you’re prepared for an adventure, you should be aware of the situation in the south. The Nine Commandments Secret Society’s attitude towards ordinary people... you should know."

"..."

Ronald’s reminder made the explorer immediately fall into contemplation.

Daring to form a team to delve into the wilderness, he had certainly done detailed preparations beforehand. With information from the explorer circle, he roughly knew that Ronald wasn’t someone with malicious intentions.

Comparing experiences before entering the wilderness, seeing the state of the city under the control of the Nine Commandments Secret Society, the bold and smart explorer quickly made a decision.

"Sir, thank you for your warning."

"Given the situation, I will certainly be responsible for the safety of my team members."

The explorer decisively bid farewell to Ronald and then returned to the camp to issue orders.

Ronald initially thought the other party would retreat from the wilderness.

But upon closer listening, he found that the explorer instructed his companions to pack up the camp, not to head back, but to set out overnight and continue as far upstream as possible.

For those venturing into the wilderness.

Returning and continuing forward are both equally challenging.

Compared to the safe decision to stop here, the choice to keep pushing forward was indeed typical of such people.

"An explorer indeed..."

Ronald recalled his former friends, involuntarily smiling slightly.

If possible, he’d like to talk a few more sentences with them.

However, both sides had reasons to act, so after a simple farewell, Ronald recited a spell again, flying into the air with Costate.

The interaction with the explorers only took a short time.

So, when Ronald and his companion returned to the sky, nearly nothing had changed around them; everything below looked the same as when they arrived.

Under the moonlight, the maid noticed Ronald’s composed expression and felt something in her heart:

"Sir, you seem to have an idea?"

Ronald straightforwardly said:

"The song Aline sang just now gave me a clue."

Costate recalled the lyrics but didn’t notice any clues indicating the location of the holy city:

"It should just be a song to warn future generations, without explicitly pointing out the location of the holy city?"

Ronald directly revealed his perspective:

"Costate, the lyrics mention ’Ancient wisdom elders imprisoned the dark city to the earth.’ What in the scene before us do you think matches this description?"

"Are you suggesting..." Costate’s gaze lingered below.

The plains and mountains stood separately on each side, the quiet night wind blowing gently through the sky, stirring the tall trees and making a rustling sound. On the dark earth, only the flowing river reflected the brilliant stars, looking like a luminous ribbon winding across the land.

Costate’s breathing gradually lowered; at this moment, everything seemed to quietly watch the two people in the sky during the nighttime. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

In this tranquil contemplation, her gaze gradually settled upon the towering hundred-meter-high giant trees below:

"Are you suggesting those trees!"

"Exactly." Ronald nodded to agree with the maid’s idea and manipulated a spell to let them descend, approaching the forested area at the junction of the plains and mountains, "These giant trees, having grown for ages, are definitely considered ancient elders, and as grounded plants, they fit the description in the latter part of the lyric."

Ronald decisively judged:

"With the geographical environment matching, there’s almost no other possibility!"