Naturally, hearing the name that came out of the man’s mouth, Valyr could not help but blink a couple of times, wondering if he had heard correctly that the man’s surname was Anadhar. Asking the man before him to repeat what he had just said, he could not help but scratch his head when the man mentioned the surname once more.
‘Aren’t those with the surname Anadhar part of the Anadhar noble family? If that’s the case, what’s a nobleman like him doing out here in a remote village?’ Recalling his experiences with noble families in his past life, Valyr could not help but frown lightly as he gazed at Wells in front of him.
Although Astarto Village and many other settlements were under the rule of one kingdom, the Algerie Kingdom, the kingdom’s control over this power could only extend so far. Wanting to obtain a greater level of control over the far-away settlements without the kingdom having to make a move, the kingdom appointed certain clans and families to lord over these far-flung portions of the kingdom’s territory, giving them the same level of power and authority the kingdom had in their portion of the territory. Because of this, these lucky clans and families had been bestowed the title of noble clans and families.
Although these noble clans and families had followed what the kingdom tasked them word for word at the beginning, with the passage of time, a great portion of them eventually forgot their original tasks. Instead, they flaunted around the power and authority their statuses gave them and made sure everyone else remembered it.𝒐𝓋𝑳xt.𝗇𝓔t
Unfortunately, the Anadhar noble family was one such noble family who had forgotten the original purpose. On top of that, it was a noble family Valyr had personally met in the past, quickly earning his ire due to their behavior towards him.
However, that was then and this was now. Realizing this, Valyr took in a deep breath and faced the current situation without his previous prejudice. Nevertheless, a bit of anger still seeped into the question that came out of his mouth. “If I remember correctly, only those with the surname Anadhar are part of the Anadhar noble family, right? What’s someone so esteemed like you doing in such a place like this?”
Hearing Valyr’s words, Wells could not help but bitterly smile, feeling the faintly palpable anger laced in his question. Though, rather than retaliate anger with anger, he took in a deep breath and decided to reintroduce himself to the man in front of him. After all, with how knowledgeable he seemed, he was Wells’ only ticket in this village to get back to Anadhar City.
“Before I answer your question, let me reintroduce myself.” He opened his mouth before giving Valyr another polite half bow. “My name is Wells Anadhar. I am the oldest son of the Anadhar noble family, as well as the eventual heir of the position as Anadhar City’s mayor.”
Seeing as Valyr was intently listening to his words, he continued. “The reason why I’m here in Astarto Village is because my parents have sent me here to make sure I did not grow up spoiled and conceited, thinking of myself as someone above the masses.”
Hearing the words that came out of his mouth, Wells could not help but lightly scoff. “Then again, when my parents sent me out to this village, disgust and contempt were greatly apparent in their expressions, which meant that even though they had gone through the same thing as me, they ended up thinking highly of themselves once more.”
Once Wells was finished talking, Valyr’s eyes were slightly widened in surprise, not expecting the man before him to berate his parents without hesitation. Because of this, Valyr’s impression of Wells had improved, prompting him to wonder where he had been in his past life. However, even though he had rummaged through all of his memories, he could not find any mention or sighting of Wells in any of it.
Although curious as to what would happen to Wells in the future because of this, he placed this thought at the back of his head for now, deciding to go ahead and ask Wells the reason why he wanted to join him on his journey to Anadhar City. In response, a slight grimace appeared on Wells’ face for a brief instant before turning into a bitter smile, the former of which was out of Valyr’s range of perception. “I was signaled by the family during the monster tide to head back to the city. From the looks of it, the monster tide had given them a reason to call me back to the city, even though returning to the city would just mean me engaging in things I don’t even really like.”
“And what’s stopping you from heading back to Anadhar City on your own? Since you’ve come from there, you know your way back, no?” Valyr raised his eyebrow, considering the fact that Wells asked him if he could join him out of nowhere as something quite suspicious. Though, once Wells responded to the question, Valyr’s suspicions were quickly thrown out of the window as he scratched his head with a slightly concerned frown on his face.
“Well… the thing is…” Wells awkwardly chuckled as he twiddled his thumbs. “I don’t really know my way back. I know I could ask the people in the village how to get back to Anadhar City and they’d tell me… but I think I can’t handle the pressure of doing that.”
“And I’m guessing you decided to ask me if you could join since you know me better?” Letting out a light sigh, Valyr finally connected everything together, with Wells nodding in agreement to his question.
“Well, since that’s the case, then fine. You can tag along when I head to Anadhar City.” Saying those words, Valyr looked at Wells, who looked back at him as if he was his savior. “Are you not in a rush to head back to the city as soon as possible?”
Though it seemed that the question was directed towards Wells regarding the signal he had received from his family to come back, it was also a roundabout way for Valyr to tell Wells that it would be fine for him to head to Anadhar City today or tomorrow. After all, the quicker he got to Anadhar City, the quicker he would obtain [Astute Mind] and [Astute Eyes]. And the quicker he obtained those two skills, the quicker he could ascend to his Rank 1 class.
Fortunately for him, Wells was of the same mind to head to Anadhar as soon as possible. “Is it a problem for you if we head out later today? Though, I would also understand if we decide to depart the following day.”
“It’s not a problem at all.” In response, Valyr shook his head, inwardly excited. “However, before we leave, we should at least inform Damian of our whereabouts during this.”
“I see.” Nodding at Valyr’s words, the two then left the training field, making their way to Damian’s office as the two bantered for a bit, wanting to know each other a bit more.
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