“Well, I did have something of a plan.”
Kael spoke up, bringing Lavinia out of her reverie.
“What is it?”
She questioned.
“I was hoping to gather more allies.
Allies I can trust.”
“Allies you can trust?”
Lavinia raised her eyebrow, her disdain for the word trust couldn’t be clearer. Soon, however, she realized something and,
“Is it related to your Vision again?”
“Mhm.”
Kael nodded.
“His name’s Kayden. He has white hair and has an Epic Rank Beast, Frostfang Wolf. The second is a black-haired girl. The two of them seemed like they were in a relationship, but by the time we meet them, I am not sure it would have happened or not.”
“So…
The only thing you know is that the man’s name is Kayden, he has white hair and has an Epic Ranked Beast, and for the girl, you only know she has black hair…”
Lavinia listed it out, she then stared at Kael and,
“Let’s not even talk about whether we trust your Visions or not,
how are you even planning on finding these two with the information you have?”
“Well…
His first Beast was an Epic Ranked Beast.”
Kael spoke up, a little uncertain, but he knew where he was going,
“Only the nobles have Epic Ranked Beasts as their First Bonds, we can still somewhat narrow it down, can’t we? I was also hoping that you would have some sort of clue.”
“Don’t be foolish. Just because I am a Princess, it does not mean I know every noble and their children. There are thousands of noble families capable of giving Epic Ranked Beasts to their children as their first Bond.”
Lavinia quickly turned him down.
Kael lowered his head. With this, his hopes were crushed. Not that he had much of it in the first place, but he was still somewhat disappointed.
Soon, however, he shook his head and focused on what was in front of them.
“Well then, you were lying and I have no idea what we are supposed to do,
so if you have any ideas, this is the high time you say it.”
He spoke up.
“You are asking me…?”
Lavinia raised her eyebrow.
“Is there anyone else I can talk to right now?”
“You talk with your Bonds.”
“…I am asking you.”
Kael gave in.
Lavinia stayed silent for a moment.
She couldn’t help but feel confused, Kael’s trust in her was… too strange. It was almost suspicious. Yes, he did say he trusted her because of the vision, but it just felt… too out of place.
It was as if it was all a well-calculated plan to make her lower her guard around him and once she starts trusting him, he betrays and hurts her.
“You want me to come up with something?”
Lavinia questioned again, a little uncertain.
“As I said, I am open to suggestions.”
Kael repeated himself.
“You are the Princess of the strongest Kingdom, I also know you were quite interested in history and other subjects, I am sure you know more than me.
Come up with something, if not, we can stay in hiding inside a forest and wait till I am strong enough to go against the strongest beings in Nerathis and show myself.”
Kael still remembered Veylara and her Bonds’ strength. He knew he was far from that level. He knew the last thing he wanted right now was attention, so hiding wasn’t a bad plan, at least from his perspective.
However…
“No.”
Lavinia shook her head.
“Hmm?”
“You cannot stay in hiding, not right now.”
The Princess spoke with a solemn look on her face.
“Why is that?”
Kael frowned.
Honestly, the only reason he was even having this conversation was because he wanted Lavinia’s opinion, which, somewhere in his heart, he felt like she wouldn’t give.
Yes, he was only doing a simple formality. In his mind, he had already come up with a plan to stay in hiding inside a forest.
It was a perfect plan for someone like him.
He could hunt beasts, gain CE and level up. With Imperia’s help, he would also have real-time information regarding everything happening inside the forest.
He would know about the possible invaders, he would know if a dangerous beast was walking towards him, he would also know where he could find the resources he would need, and the best part, the forest would also be a place where he could find Magic Beast eggs without much trouble.
It would become a domain in which he would be untouchable.
A domain in which he could train and grow stronger without having to worry about anything.
And just as he said before, once he was strong enough, he would leave the place and go save this darn world from whatever threats there were.
It was a perfect plan.
He was even wondering why the protagonists of the novels he read never used such a method.
But then,
“Hiding is foolish.”
Lavinia spoke up.
Kael frowned and the Princess continued,
“While hiding and growing stronger in secret is often believed to be a good plan, in truth, it has too many flaws and can only be used in extremely specific scenarios.”
“Flaws?”
“Yes.”
Lavinia nodded.
“When you go into hiding, it is not just you who hides from the world.”
The Princess stared into Kael’s eyes and,
“The rest of the world hides from you as well.
To hide, one must cut off their connection with the world. For as long as you hide, you will know nothing about the world.
The longer you hide, the more ignorant you will grow.
And if you extend this for a long time, the world as you know it will be turned upside down, so much that no matter how strong you have become in your closed-door training, it would not matter.”
She explained.
“So you are saying I won’t have enough information regarding the world if I went into hiding, which would later pose problems for me?”
Kael questioned.
“That is one way to put it, yes.”
Lavinia nodded.
“What if I have a way to know what is going on in the world without having to be a part of it?”
He asked.
He could see the problem Lavinia posed and understand how significant it was. He, however, had a way out.
The plan was simple: he could use Imperia’s Ants to learn more about the world. Sure, the number of ants he had was limited, but if he only needed them for a general idea of the events happening in the world, that was more than enough.
This way, he would never be in the position Lavinia warned him about.
“So you’ll know where the fire is… and still choose to stay in the cold?
Information means nothing if you’re not there to act on it.”
The Princess then looked into Kael’s eyes and,
“Observing a game doesn’t change its results. The only way to make a difference is to play it.”
She spoke in a lower voice, her words, however, couldn’t be more impactful.
“What’s the point of hiding anyway? So you can get stronger? What after that? What if the entire world thinks of you as an enemy and comes after you? Can you alone face the entire world?
It doesn’t matter how strong you get, Kael Carter. This game was never about individual strength.
Do not forget, even the strongest beings die if their heart is pierced. You can get however strong you want, but if you are surrounded, it is over. Even the Demi-Gods are not an exception to this.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Kael questioned with a frown on his face.
“I am saying that if you go into hiding, then your reputation as the Hero will be damaged. So much so that once you return, the enemies can easily pin you as the bad guy and pile up the people’s opinion on you, giving them the reason to raise an army against you.
And whether you are a Hero, or Lord Feraos himself, against an entire army, you will fall.”
Kael’s face turned grim.
“This is also the reason that during wars, fortification is only chosen as the final desperate measure.
No matter how good you are at defending your fort, if you are trapped inside, the enemy can cut you off from the rest of the world, essentially putting you out of the game while he gets to make as many moves as he wants.
It is never an advantageous position.”
“Then…
What do you think I should do?”
Kael questioned, somewhat overwhelmed.
“Attract attention.”
“Huh…?”
Kael frowned.
This…
This was exactly the opposite of what he wanted.
As if she sensed his confusion, Lavinia started explaining.
“Why do you think the King did not kill me?”
“I have been wondering that for a long time. I wanted to ask but you seemed like you did not wish to talk about it, so I held back since I did not wish to make you uncomfortable.”
Kael answered honestly.
Lavinia stared at him.
For a moment, she couldn’t make sense out of this ridiculousness.
What did he mean that he held back? His very life was at stake here.
Was he… really thinking about her right now…?
Lavinia, however, quickly shook her head, stopping her heart from taking over. She couldn’t trust anyone.
This man cannot be trusted.
As for the question she just raised…
“I am uncomfortable talking about it, but think of it as me repaying the favor for rescuing me. Do not make a habit of this.”
She clarified and then,
“That man did not kill me because of his reputation.”
“Huh…?”