“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”

Following the man's lead, I sat at the table he had been seated at. He must have been deep in research, as the table was covered in books stacked like towers. From the books whose covers were still intact, I could tell that most of them were related to foreign entities.

The man, who had gathered the scattered books from the table in front of me, cleared his throat and clasped his hands together on the table.

“I apologize for greeting you in such a messy state. I am known by the alias 'The Saint,' and I study the occult.”

The Saint, huh.

It didn’t seem like the name had anything to do with sainthood, but rather the character for 'achievement' (成) might be involved. Though I guessed that this name had been translated in a way that made it easier for me to understand.

“I’ve wanted to meet you for some time, ever since I started hearing of Sir Tanton’s accomplishments.”

“I haven’t done much of note.”

“How humble of you. But there is no need to hide it. We already know that Sir Tanton is the epitome of a benevolent sage, someone capable of even tending to foreign entities.”

As I listened, I found myself frowning at the strange statement that pricked at me.

Tending to foreign entities?

“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh dear, I apologize. I should have been more considerate and eased into the conversation. It’s just that you’ve achieved such great things, and I got carried away. I meant no offense.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

Was speaking in circles a common trait of these occultists?

I tried to feign ignorance, but the Saint, with an awkward smile, only continued with more shocking words.

“Haha, there’s no need to hide it from us. We already know that you’re looking for information on the Torturer, and that you’ve been searching for the 'children' related to that Torturer. We even know that you’re personally taking care of one of them.”

At the mention of the Torturer, I couldn’t help but be stunned.

How in the world did these people know about that?

The Saint smiled at me as I stared at him in shock.

“I’ve heard you’re acquainted with Lady Agartha. Since we are closely connected with her, there’s no way we wouldn’t know about you.”

“Agartha?”

“Did she not tell you? She has several occultists under her command.”

Ah.

Suddenly, Agartha’s words flashed through my mind.

'Sometimes there are occultists who don’t care much for their own lives.'

Agartha...!

Why didn’t she mention something so important?

It was no wonder she knew so much about the Dragonslayer—her underlings were these occultists!

Regardless of how it happened, she shouldn’t have been so casual about revealing such sensitive information to her subordinates!

Agartha truly had an unparalleled talent for driving people crazy, even in Rondon.

I could easily picture her winking and flashing a cheeky 'V' sign with her fingers.

Next time I take Asti to the market, I’m going to make sure Agartha gets a good lump on her head.

“Anyway, she’s told us quite a bit about you. There was even a time when she jokingly said she wanted to investigate the color of your underwear, which left me quite flustered.”

That crazy thief!

So she really did want to find out!

Why does this world only have kind people who are also missing a few screws in their heads?

“She did manage to figure it out at one point.”

“You already knew?! That’s a crime, you lunatics!”

“What does it matter? It’s not like anyone is harmed by it.”

I wanted to say, 'Rondon won’t collapse just because you die, how about we throw you to the foreign entities for fun?' But I held back.

As I glared at the Saint, feeling increasingly uncomfortable, he let out a weak laugh, as if something was amusing.

“I’m just joking. Lady Agartha mentioned that you were quite an entertaining person, and I couldn’t help but tease you a little.”

“...Honestly, this is the first time I’ve been treated like this by a stranger.”

“My apologies. I’ll try to restrain myself from now on.”

Even as he said this, his face still bore a broad smile, and I thought to myself that this man was quite the eccentric.

“Let’s put aside the small talk.”

With that, the Saint adopted a more serious expression, preparing to dive into what seemed like a long explanation.

After saying all that nonsense, now he calls it small talk.

“There’s something I’d like to ask of you, Sir Tanton.”

“A request?”

An occultist making a request of a knight. What could this be about? I focused on his words.

“We are currently investigating a foreign entity known as 'The Recorder.'”

The topic piqued my interest more than I had expected, and I found myself eager to hear more.

“You’re already aware that foreign entities are categorized into different ranks, correct?”

“Yes, like Lesser Entities, Common Entities…”

“And Greater Entities.”

The Saint put extra emphasis on the word, as if it was the most important part.

“Most of Rondon’s population knows about the existence of Greater Entities in a vague sense, but they don’t think about it seriously.”

“Yes, that seems to be the case.”

Greater Entities were usually dealt with by the Knights, and it wasn’t common for them to infiltrate Rondon. Ordinary citizens rarely had reason to visit places like the Gardener’s Garden or the underground prison.

The first encounter most had with a Greater Entity was likely when I accidentally summoned Bell into the heart of Rondon.

“Our order is investigating exactly that. The most dangerous and terrifying foreign entities are the Greater Entities. But people are ignorant of the greatest threat, which means they will be unprepared when the day comes that they attack.”

The Saint spoke with an intensity that made me question whether his emotions stemmed from excitement or something more unnerving.

“And why are you investigating the Recorder?”

“It’s understandable that Sir Tanton doesn’t know, as this information isn’t covered in standard Knight training.”

The Saint nodded, fixing me with a sharp gaze before speaking slowly.

“The Recorder is the highest-ranking foreign entity among the Greater Entities.”

I couldn’t help but be shocked at this revelation.

That green blogger?!

The Saint noticed my expression and raised one side of his lips into a subtle smirk.

“When you see the writings left by the Recorder, it may seem strange and confusing, but this is indeed the truth.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a pen from his pocket and placed an old sheet of paper on the table, starting to write something.

“Look. In general, these overwhelmingly powerful foreign entities are grouped under the category of Greater Entities. However, even within the Greater Entities, there are different tiers. Our order divides them into three: Local Tier, Planetary Tier, and Conceptual Tier.”

He began writing the words "Conceptual Tier," "Planetary Tier," and "Local Tier" on the paper, from top to bottom.

“Let me give you some well-known examples of Greater Entities.”

With that, the Saint started scribbling strange, foreign words next to the term “Local Tier.” I stared blankly at his hand, wondering what he was writing, but as soon as the writing was completed...

I could read the words.

“Fiore Afsiti?”

“Ah… As expected, Sir Tanton, you’re able to read this text. Don’t worry if some of the letters seemed strange at first. The process of reading foreign texts can be chaotic until you reach the final result.”

He must have noticed the confused expression I’d had earlier.

Hearing his explanation, I started to understand how the Chef’s food worked. If the dish deviated even slightly from its intended outcome, it would revert to chaos, making it impossible for a human to eat without severe consequences.

The Saint, seeing me deep in thought, smiled and pointed at the writing with his pen.

“That’s right, Fiore Afsiti. It means 'withered flower.' Now, do you have any guesses as to which foreign entity it refers to?”

Withered flower, huh.

There were only two foreign entities I knew of that had any association with flowers, and only one of them was a Greater Entity.

“So her name was Fiore.”

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt like one of the foreign entities I knew flinched, but oh well.

Bell didn’t really have a proper name since she was just a mutt, but it made sense that the Gardener, a humanoid foreign entity, would have one. I hadn’t asked because, just as it’s dangerous for a human’s true name to be known, I assumed it wouldn’t be beneficial for a foreign entity to reveal their name either.

Well, since we’re already so familiar with each other, sharing names is no big deal.

“The Greater Entity who has been known as the Gardener while acting as a Common Entity would be classified as a Local Tier. She doesn’t exert much influence outside of her own territory. Of course, her personal combat power is close to the Planetary Tier, but… well, that’s not what’s important here.”

The Saint continued to write down a list of names, including the Chef’s true name, “Paura Fame,” beside the Gardener’s. Paura meant "fear," and Fame meant "hunger."

I couldn’t help but think the Gardener really lived up to her name.

Then, something caught my attention.

From the Planetary Tier onward, the names were all written as titles, like “The Watcher” or “The Dragonslayer.”

“Hmm, why are these names written as titles?”

“I’ll explain once I’ve finished writing. This is another trait of foreign entities.”

The Saint quietly continued writing down the names of foreign entities, finally reaching the Conceptual Tier, where he listed “The Recorder,” along with two unfamiliar names, “The Creator” and “The Life Overseer.”

Only after completing the list did he stop writing and clear his throat.

“Now, here’s where things get interesting.”

The Saint prepared to speak once more.

“This ties directly into why we are pursuing the Recorder.”