"Thank you? Thank you for what?" Unsurprisingly, a hint of confusion appeared on Valyr's face after hearing the words that came out of Wells' mouth. After all, he did not know what the latter was thanking him for.
Fortunately, Wells already knew Valyr wouldn't know the reason behind his words of gratitude, a light chuckle escaping his mouth soon after before saying a few words that gave more clarification to the matter. "Thank you for helping me leave my family's manor and giving me the opportunity to continue pursuing the pinnacle of the spear."
"But I didn't even do anything?" Nevertheless, even though Wells had given Valyr the reason behind his gratitude, the latter still had confusion written all over his face, oblivious to what he had done.
Though Wells was just about to explain to him how he was grateful to Valyr, the latter had to stop him in his tracks for a while, apologizing to the former before helping out a few customers that seemed to be looking for aid. Once he had helped them out thoroughly and made sure that none of the other customers had any queries for him in the meantime, he went back to where Wells was, giving the man a look that told him he was ready to listen some more.
"To answer the question you asked me earlier, it was all thanks to the prestige of your clan that I was able to leave the family manor." At the very moment those words came out of Wells' mouth, a look of understanding finally flash on Valyr's face as he nodded in response.
'So, in short, I didn't do anything to help him out. Instead, it was my surname that helped him out.' While this thought briefly lingered in his mind, Valyr noticed that a bitter smile hung on Wells' face, prompting him to ponder over the man's expression for a bit.
With Valyr asking if he had something more to say after that, wondering if there was more to the matter, Wells' eyes slightly widened in surprise before his expression turned solemn.
Nodding in response, Wells scratched his head for a bit as he pondered over how he was going to make sure Valyr understood his explanation. "Remember the reason why I was told to head back to Anadhar City to return to the family manor in the first place?"
Listening to the question, Valyr went silent for a bit before eventually nodding. "You mentioned that it was due to the monster tide that was happening in Astarto. Because your parents were worried about your safety during the monster tide, they told you head to back to Anadhar City, specifically back to your family's manor."
"At that time, that's what I also thought. However, once I returned to the manor and heard the real reason as to why they made me return, it was then that I realized that wasn't the case." Wells slowly shook his head before letting out a low sigh. "And that brings me to the important thing that I have to tell you."
"The reason why I was told to head back to the family manor was because the family wanted all of the talented family members from the younger generation to head to Algerie Kingdom."
Listening to Wells' explanation, Valyr wondered what the Algerie Kingdom had for a great portion of the things he had to do in the future to be situated there.
The World Quest he had received while talking with Aster sometime ago needed him to head to the Algerie Kingdom for him to make progress. The Imperial Production Guild was on the lookout for him since he was a suitable candidate for the Four Pillars' Inheritance. Though the possibility of them looking for him, in his opinion, was low, they would bring him to the Algerie Kingdom if it was true.
And now, out of Wells' mouth, he heard the Algerie Kingdom one more time.
Although he wanted to say what was on his mind, Valyr kept silent, waiting for the man before him to continue with his explanation. "Naturally, as part of the Anadhar family's younger generation, as well as the eventual heir to the position of Anadhar City's mayor, the older members of the family deem me as someone with a high level of talent. To them, my level of talent was more than enough to warrant the need to send me to the Algerie Kingdom."
"However, once they looked through all of the talented members of the family's younger generation, I was eventually told that I wouldn't head to the kingdom, but instead stay put in the family manor as sort of a reserve that could head to the kingdom if one of the members that were chosen to head to the kingdom fell ill on the day of departure."
"And here I thought my parents had a change of heart all of a sudden." Saying these words, Wells let out a chuckle filled with mockery towards himself, sighing soon after. "I was foolish to think they'd change."
"In any case, with the prestige of your clan, I was able to eventually leave the manor, though they told me that I had to stay by your side and encourage you to head to the kingdom and participate on behalf of the Anadhar family."
"Of course, whether you choose to head to the kingdom or not is none of my concern. After all, they only told me to encourage you to do so, not force you to head there." Wells shrugged his shoulders after that. "The part where they told me to stay by your side isn't really a problem with me. After all, I'd still be able to pursue the pinnacle of the spear.
"Well, now that I think about it, I kind of appreciate that they told me to stay by your side, considering that we're good friends." With that, Wells flashed a light smile at Valyr, who pondered over the words the former said to him all this time.
Eventually, he voiced out the question that had popped into his mind at Wells. "What does your family want me to participate in that involves having to head to the Algerie Kingdom?"
"It's probably the most awaited tournament in the Algerie Region among the younger generation, where all talented fighters and prodigies gather to find out who among them is the best." In response, Wells' expression turned solemn as he replied to the question.
"It is none other than the Myriad Prodigies Tournament."
