The next morning, it was the time for Noel to leave. Roel had promised him that the armor would be ready in three months, so there was no need for him to remain in this place. He also got some tricks in his control over Spiritual Energy, making the trip bountiful.
After packing his luggage, he walked out through the back door with Roel and his two children waiting for him.
“You’ve been waiting for me?” Noel was surprised that they were waiting for him, considering those three didn’t sleep for the whole night to discuss their family matters.
“The discussion we had lasted long enough that we didn’t need to sleep to see you off.” Roel laughed and patted Noel’s shoulder. “Still, thank you. I’m glad that you’re here.”
“No need to thank me, I don’t help you that much.” Noel shook his head, humbly replying to his thanks.
“Facilitating the discussion between us is already a huge help. Thank you.” Rick also stepped forward, thanking him.
Before Noel could reply, Rica approached him and bowed. “What you did was bigger than you thought, so please accept our thanks.”
“Alright, I understand.” Noel smiled. Little did Noel know, the small help he extended created a great bond between him and the Master Blacksmith.
“Also from me…” Rica smiled and approached Noel to give a small kiss on his cheek. It would be a surprising ‘thanks’ even for Rick and Roel, albeit it turned comedic when she realized she kissed his palm instead of cheek.
“Huh?” Rica widened her eyes and stepped back, looking at Noel with a dumbfounded expression.
“Ah!” Noel just realized what he had done. “Sorry, it was my reflex.”
Noel actually blocked that kiss with his hand as if he was sensing danger. He subconsciously thought that Anna would use this kind of move to bewitch him, so he was already put on his guard in that area, not noticing that this reflex actually blocked all advances from other women as well.
Roel and Rick were stunned as well. Either it was Rica’s attempt in thanking Noel with a kiss or Noel’s block, they truly never expected this kind of development.
“Uh…” Rica looked down as her face flushed red. She was ready to cry out of her embarrassment.
To avoid making her cry, Noel immediately raised his hand and dashed off. “Thank you for taking care of me. Goodbye!”
He looked like he was embarrassed as well so that people didn’t think much about the previous incident. This way, Rica could also keep some dignity in front of her brother and father.
Rick couldn’t help but shake his head helplessly. “Well, Rica… you got a good taste. Father approves.”
“Father!” Rica shouted in embarrassment as she just wanted to escape from the teasing.
But she stopped for a while, looking at Noel’s back. She bowed to him once more to show her thanks.
…
After leaving the village, Noel returned on the road that led back to the fort. On the way, he was thinking about their next schedule, considering they still had three Individual and Group Missions.
“We are only two months in and have made this kind of progress. And in three months, I need to return to this place… but then again, they also want to send it to my place personally… I guess I’ll be waiting for them during that time since Rick and Rica will most likely come to visit to give me the armor.
“Then, in six months, I need to go on a trip to the sword saint’s tomb with Anna. Well, I think I can finish all the missions within that time if I truly want, but I need some time to get stronger as well.
“That’s right. Should I use this time to go to Aclain Kingdom as well to visit the temple.” Noel kept thinking about his schedules since he wanted to make it as smooth as possible.
But on the third day, he had an unexpected encounter. With the size of the kingdom, the timing, and even the road they took, it was impossible to meet unless it was fated.
“Oh! Hello!” A woman greeted him while running. There was only one insane person that would be running in this situation. She was none other than Anna Stargaze.
After getting influenced by Noel’s insanity, Anna continued running to increase her own stamina during the whole trip. But still, they were going in a different mission, and a different route, and they somehow met each other on the way, it was beyond his understanding.
“Hello.” Noel purposely made his voice a bit deeper than his usual voice. The mask could hide his identity, but not his voice, so he needed to be careful, especially around her.
“So, you’ve finished your mission, Noel?” Anna asked with a smile.
Noel’s heart skipped a beat because she saw him through that easily. Still, there was no way he was going to admit it . 𝗼𝐯𝐞𝐥．𝐜𝐨𝗺
“Noel? Who’s that? By the way, who are you?” Noel asked, playing dumb.
“Right? I know that you’re in disguise but who’s in their right mind to run across this plain? Normally people will go with their group even if they want to run or just use a carriage. Only Noel who will do something like this. If you don’t want to reveal your identity, how about you take that glove off? There should be a Spirit Seal.” Anna smirked.
She added inwardly, ‘Don’t think you can fool me. Even in this life, you haven’t changed. A masquerade, blond hair, blue eyes, and white sword… It seems that you still chose the same disguise. Do you think I don’t know you? The Noel I knew could use two different elements, Fire and Ice, so don’t think you can fool me.’
“I don’t understand what you’re saying Miss? You are mistaking me with someone else. I was separated with my group because I was too slow, so I’m planning to catch up to them.” Noel continued to play dumb since he couldn’t afford to have his own disguise to be known to Anna. He even screamed inwardly, complaining, ‘Of all people, why do I need to meet this witch? Of all time, why does it need to be now? Of all places, why did we need to meet in this kind of place?’