“To verify all this, I brought two letters. As a dwarf, I know nothing about magic, but I used specialized tools to detect powerful magical traces. No one among my people can decipher the spells woven into them, but someone under your command—the ‘Master of Water’—might be able to.”

Nameita turned toward Ian.

Ian was fairly certain Sema lacked the magical expertise to uncover anything meaningful, but he kept that thought to himself. This story needed to be heard through to the end—not just for his own sake, but for everyone else present.

“The letter Rick received, and the letter Gorea received... the magical traces on both are identical. I’m convinced these letters are the source of every tragedy that followed. Rick was wise. I will prove he was right—that he was innocent. Restoring the honor of the wandering clan, the race most hated by the continent, will become the first step toward harmony between all races.”

Silence lingered after Nameita finished speaking.

Louise looked deathly pale, as though he might collapse at any moment.

“He isn’t lying. At the very least, he genuinely believes everything he’s saying.”

Keith spoke after quietly observing the dwarf the entire time. Perhaps he was reading subtle physical reactions to determine sincerity.

Ian already knew the story was true before Keith even heard it.

What fascinated him wasn’t simply the information itself, but the fact that Nameita possessed it at all.

This secret was supposed to be revealed during Louise’s route.

So why were these routes overlapping?

The ‘scholar’ Nameita was originally a character whose entire purpose revolved around unifying the races. Like Ian, who lacked a designated character role, Nameita naturally accepted companions from any race without prejudice.

In Nameita’s route, he was meant to defeat the Gorea gang and spearhead the liberation of slaves. The people rescued by him weren’t limited to dwarves—members of other races flocked to his dungeon seeking protection, gradually building up his forces.

That was how Nameita’s route normally progressed.

And as far as Ian knew, there had never been a quest called ‘Unveiling the Secret Behind the Opening of the Demon Realm.’

Which meant this was a hidden quest exclusive to the integrated route.

Louise and Nameita’s pasts were connected like this?

Ian felt his pulse quicken.

Then Louise spoke, his expression rigid.

“...The chief found me when I was a newborn. I suddenly started crying in the forest, and that’s how he discovered the ritual site. My mother... she was there...”

His chest rose sharply, as though breathing itself had become difficult. His shoulders trembled as he forced out the rest.

“They said people heard a baby crying from inside her womb and cut her open to pull me out. It’s strange, isn’t it? Hearing a baby cry before it’s even born... It must have been magic.”

“It was a miracle. A blessing from the gods. Ah... how much agony she must have endured. The clever child cried out to be found, waiting until the demons had passed...”

The dwarf stroked Louise’s cheek with heartfelt admiration, but Louise turned away from the touch.

“That man—my father—led people to their deaths. That’s why our clan will remain cursed forever.”

“No!”

“My mother was a witch.”

Nameita blinked, unable to follow the abrupt turn in conversation.

“Yes... yes, that’s right. She must have been a remarkable woman to raise such a fine son...”

“She was an outsider. Not one of our clan. She joined us anyway, became one of the people everyone despised, and gave birth to me. That’s all I know about her. Everyone called her insane. To do something like that... she had to be.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that about yourself...”

Louise continued as though he hadn’t heard him.

“I always wondered about it. If my father was truly as terrible as everyone claimed, then how did he become chief? Why did people follow him? And my mother—the so-called mad witch—why would she marry him and stay by his side?”

“......”

“How did I survive?”

“......”

“My mother used her magic not to save herself... but to save me.”

“......”

“And all this time... I cursed them. I hated them.”

Louise bit down hard on his trembling lip.

Ding!

[Louise has fallen under the status ailment ‘Self-Blame’.]

Ding!

[Louise has fallen under the status ailment ‘Despair’.]

Ding!

[Louise has fallen under the status ailment ‘Severe Anxiety!’]

[Status Ailment: Severe Anxiety]

All skill levels reduced by -4.

Skills unlocked through lower-level thresholds are now unavailable.

‘What kind of insane debuff is this?’

At first, Ian watched Louise’s awakening event with interest.

Then his expression froze.

What the hell was happening?

In Louise’s original route, learning the truth about his parents was supposed to trigger an awakening event. Depending on the choices made beforehand, Louise would gain a clear purpose—revenge—and awaken the passive skill ‘Focus.’

Passive Skill Effect: Permanently active.

‘Focus’ synergized exceptionally well with nearly every skill in Louise’s arsenal, especially {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} his signature abilities: ‘Deadly Poison’ and ‘Archery.’

Ian had expected Louise to overcome his emotional turmoil, burn with vengeance, and awaken ‘Focus.’

But instead—

‘He’s crying?’

A cold sweat broke out across Ian’s back.

Tears streamed down Louise’s face.

He couldn’t even raise his head properly. His shoulders shook violently before he suddenly lifted his gaze in panic, searching desperately for someone.

Then his eyes locked onto Ian.

‘Me?’

Louise’s face crumpled completely, like a child who had fallen down and finally found someone to cry to.

“L-Lord Ian...”

“It’s okay.”

The words left Ian’s mouth instinctively.

A child who falls doesn’t cry immediately.

They hold it in until they see someone they trust.

The moment Ian answered him, Louise completely broke down.

Tears poured endlessly down his cheeks as he sobbed through ragged, hiccuping breaths.

“I-I... I blamed them for things they never did... I cursed them, hated them... Ahh... I-I...”

“It’s okay. Louise, come here.”

‘Damn it...’

Only then did Ian realize his mistake.

This awakening event had been written for an adult Louise—not for a child.

He had completely overlooked the emotional resilience that should have come with age. If he had realized this would happen, he would have shut down Nameita’s entire wandering clan story from the very beginning.

Louise cried like his entire world had collapsed.

Ian was practically panicking.

‘You idiot. Absolute idiot.’

What the hell had he done?

Without thinking any further, Ian pulled Louise into his arms.

His shoulder was soaked almost immediately.

The boy who had rejected Nameita’s touch now clung desperately to Ian’s jacket, leaning his full weight against him.

But Louise was no longer small.

Though still technically a child, he had grown taller than Ian. The last time Ian remembered looking at him, their eye level had been completely different. Now Louise’s head rested higher than his own.

And he was heavy.

Heavy enough that Ian might have lost his footing entirely if Keith hadn’t quietly steadied him from behind.

Ian felt exhausted just processing the situation.

A thousand ridiculous thoughts crossed his mind.

Was there some kind of physical favoritism among base characters? Had the developers completely lost their minds? Who cared about preserving the height difference between a premium character and a standard one?

Then another sound of crying echoed nearby.

The old dwarf was sniffling too.

Tears—or maybe snot—ran from his shining eyes, dripped past his nose, and vanished into his thick white beard.

Ian suddenly felt dizzy.

“How difficult it must have been for the poor child. Rick... your son found a good lord. Good comrades too. You can rest easy now. Ah... what a miracle. Truly a blessing...”

The dwarf spoke through tears, overwhelmed with emotion.

“Hero, I’m sincerely grateful. For saving my friend’s child. For raising him well.”

“Uh... yeah. That was me.”

Ian answered vaguely.

Not that he had personally contributed much to Louise’s growth, but there was no reason to reject the gratitude.

‘A four-star hero...’

Meanwhile, Keith quietly tugged at Ian’s shoulder, smoothly helping him shift his stance so Louise no longer leaned entirely against him. Ian had already been looking for an opportunity to escape the painfully awkward position.

At the same time, another concern surfaced in his mind.

Keith’s future development path.

Ian had abandoned the original build meant to balance Keith’s final evolution, which meant he now needed alternative skills or equipment to compensate for tanking.

The problem was that agility-based characters fundamentally lacked stability.

‘...But do I even need to build an attack squad myself?’

A thought suddenly struck him.

‘Why not just recruit a tank instead?’

Nameita’s default role was tank.

Ian slowly turned toward the dwarf.

His eyes gleamed.