If Leon had offered to help with divination yesterday, Iris definitely would have refused.
But after fighting Leon, she now knew at least one thing for sure: he really was dual-classed. Otherwise, his mana couldn't possibly exceed a normal first-tier's.
Sure, she herself still had plenty of mana left at the time, and part of her loss came from being in the air and getting careless.
But there was no doubt—Leon, who could use rapid casting to create pseudo-intermediate spell effects, had combat strength that could briefly match a third-tier (setting aside overall endurance). He did have the qualifications to get involved in her mother's matter…
Fine. She would watch what "tricks" he could divine first!
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Leon. I'm deeply grateful."
Iris knew the "performance" had reached this point—she had to keep acting—so she put on a shy, slightly awkward look.
Beside her, Grani's eyes flashed with something complicated: one part surprise, one part teasing amusement.
She thought: Oh no… Iris has run into someone who can actually suppress her head-on.
Until now, the only one who could "beat" Iris's cold attitude was Grani herself—through pranks.
Grani's gaze toward Leon grew more subtle.
There was curiosity about Leon himself, interest in divination, and even a faint trace of jealousy toward the two of them—her feelings were a tangled mess.
"No need to be so polite. You're my teammate now," Leon said with a smile, not calling out Iris's acting. "Later I'll be relying on your help when we enter dungeons to explore. Consider this an advance return."
He took out a few small items from his pocket:
a fist-sized piece of parchment, a steel pen, and a semi-transparent mana crystal.
"As you can see, my divination requires these mediums to work. Now, I need you to hold this pen, close your eyes, and tap this parchment while thinking of the question you want answered. Understand?"
This too was Leon's lie.
All of those props were for show.
Astrologers were extremely rare and came in many styles, so different tools and mediums wouldn't seem strange.
In truth, his so-called divination was nothing more than informed guesses based on his knowledge of the game's plot.
So if he ran into something he wasn't confident about, he simply wouldn't "divine" it for someone.
And as a side note: consistently divining accurately could, in theory, trigger an astrologer-class enlightenment as well—which was another reason Leon kept pretending to be one.
As for Iris's question, it was obviously her mother Hamla's whereabouts—and Leon already had a plan for that.
Hamla was a pitiable, admirable person.
In Sword, Magic, and the Holy Land, Hamla was a background figure.
She was mainly active more than fifty years before the main plot officially began—a famous elven hero.
Anyone honored with the title "hero" was at least sixth-tier, and had definitely accomplished enough to be sung of in a bard's epic.
While pregnant with Iris, Hamla lost her beloved.
Driven by revenge, she traveled across the continent searching for clues.
For the first ten-plus years after Iris was born, Iris wandered with Hamla.
Only when Iris turned sixteen—when she had to return to the Elven Holy Land to awaken an extraordinary class—did Hamla bring her back.
Iris's current class, Light Elementalist, was one of the Elven Holy Land's highest-tier classes.
It had tremendous growth potential—an archetypal late-game class.
Once it reached sixth tier, it could rival the power of a quasi-legendary archmage.
And it was extremely rare.
Even in the Elven Holy Land, only one or two pure-blood elves might succeed every decade or two.
So the awakening process was exceptionally demanding.
You had to undergo an elemental rite at the holy site of Ohatra, prove you had the aptitude to control light, defeat every peer of your age group, enter the deeper layers of the sanctuary, and receive a baptism—only then would you obtain the enlightenment to awaken the class.
The entire process took over half a year.
And it was during Iris's baptism that Hamla suddenly vanished—until Iris spotted her again last night.
That was information Leon had learned in his previous life from an Iris-perspective expansion.
On the other hand, what exactly happened to cause Hamla to fall into darkness and become a Dark Elf was never clearly explained in the main story—only hinted at in a very subtle way.
When Iris appeared in the main plot, she was already hardened and emotionally sealed shut from experiencing Hamla's fall.
Fortunately, forum veterans had pieced together the likely truth through scattered clues. Leon had skimmed those theories back then—and now he would benefit from them.
With three months remaining before the opening event Paladin Selection, and with the "fall" incident occurring one week before the start of Part One's main plot, there was still a decent buffer window to complete this side quest.
While Leon was recalling past-life information, Iris reached out with slender fingers and grasped the steel pen. Her fingertips brushed Leon's by accident, and she immediately looked away and withdrew her hand slightly.
Then she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tapped the parchment with the pen tip.
Sss.
The spot where the pen touched spread into an irregular ink blot.
The mana crystal in Leon's hand gave off a faint glow.
"That's enough."
Leon spoke seriously.
"Miss Iris, I have a few questions you must answer. You only need to say yes or no—and you must not hesitate. Otherwise, the divination will be distorted. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
Iris released the pen and met Leon's serious gaze, her own face turning solemn as well.
"First: the question you held in mind while gripping the pen—does it involve a close relative?"
"Yes."
"Is this person your mother?"
"Yes."
"You saw her yesterday, and you felt her personality was completely different from before?"
"…Yes."
"The place you saw your mother was near the Prince's estate in the royal capital's northern district?"
"Yes."
"You lost her trail in the northern outskirts of the capital?"
"Yes."
"Good. That's all my questions. Wait while I arrange—organize—the divination result."
"Alright."
Leon's questions were so precise that Iris stopped doubting whether he really could divine.
After all, these details were far too private.
Even if someone had investigated her background, they couldn't possibly be this exact, this detailed.
Even if Leon's motives were still suspicious, if he truly produced a useful result… should she believe him or not?
At that moment, Grani grabbed Iris's arm, unable to hold it in, and whispered in her ear:
"You saw Aunt Hamla yesterday? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Because the moment you saw me, you started pranking me," Iris whispered back irritably.
"No, no—when you woke up, you were worried about who changed your pajamas. That's so love—"
"Enough. Arguing about this won't help," Iris cut her off quickly.
"Oh? Now you don't want to argue?"
"Grani, stop being annoying!" Iris was getting tense. This cousin of hers was way too romance-brained—how did she connect everything to Iris falling in love? Iris was absolutely not going to think about that!
"Nervous? Fine, back to the point—Aunt Hamla seemed like a completely different person. What happened?"
"I don't know. I just saw darkness and coldness in her eyes—nothing like her old warmth and sense of justice."
"Did you get to speak to her?"
"No. I blocked her path, but she suppressed me with a single move. I could only watch her leave, and then she vanished. Sigh… why won't she tell me what happened? Is it because I'm too weak?"
Iris showed a sorrowful expression.
Grani hugged her.
"You did well, Iris. You're one of the fastest-advancing elves of our generation. Don't lose heart so easily."
Iris didn't answer. She looked toward Leon instead.
What kind of "divination result" was this man going to give?