In a dark tent, Noel gradually opened his eyes, feeling the slight touch that disturbed his sleep. But it wasn't just a slight touch, he could feel a soft cushion covering his arm and his something locking his leg.
He didn't know where to begin, but when he turned around, he could see a woman's sleeping face right in front of him. She was Elsa.
Elsa might not be as beautiful as Anna, but with her mature charm and the well-endowed body, it was hard not to look at her. Yet, the person in question was actually hugging his arm, sleeping next to him peacefully.
'Ugh, how does the situation end up like this…' Noel muttered inwardly while trying to get some sleep again.
…
A few hours ago.
After Alanton finished gathering all the Demon Crystals, they immediately moved to the spot Ilzen was talking about and set up a camp.
Alanton and Elsa were going to search for herbs since they brought back the water and the meat from the battle earlier. Meanwhile, Noel took care of the tent and Ilzen prepared the meat.
As soon as they returned to the camp, Noel immediately helped Ilzen cook while learning from him.
Ilzen's explanation was concise and understandable, so Noel stored everything in his mind. He even wrote down a few tips in his notebook. Though, he just ripped the paper out of his book to note everything since it was from his Rune Notebook, the book that was going to be the basic introduction of rune.
Noel didn't know that his action actually happened in the previous life too. Anna might not have a direct influence, but Noel certainly went to the Ezenholm Family in the past and ended up learning from Ilzen.
This ripped page would be questioned by all the people in the world because it must contain something far deeper for an introduction. That was why Noel ripped it apart.
Noel told them that he just used it for cooking notebook, but no one believed it, thinking such a great master wouldn't give them the correct answer.
That action became the greatest wonder that Noel created in his previous life, and yes, formed by others' misunderstandings.
Still, the current Noel didn't know about it and hadn't regretted his action yet. He happily took note of important parts and started cooking.
After they finished, they took turn for the nightwatch and since they had an even number, they decided to split the group into two. Noel got Elsa as his pair and somehow the latter refused to set up another tent and simply used this tent to sleep.
Of course, Noel never did anything and never planned to, since relationship would just hinder him in his path.
There was also another reason why Noel paired up with Elsa instead of Ilzen even though they could use that time to study more about cooking.
For Ilzen, rest was important. Resting one's body was good, but resting one's mind could allow the other party to absorb the knowledge they had just learned, so he didn't want to use every second to teach Noel.
In the end, Noel just slept and woke up. This might be a good rest once in a while that he rarely got after spending most of his time training.
The next morning, Noel immediately returned to the army to complete the mission.
"Are you kidding me?" The supervisor slammed the table while glaring at Noel. "Did you say there are four Advanced Level Demon in the border? And you claimed you'd killed them?"
"Yes." Noel nodded with a calm expression. "These are the four Demon Crystals. After you eliminate all the demons roaming around, the situation will soon return to normal."
"Do you think I'll believe you? You are just an Apprentice Knight. You're not even a full-fledged knight… You think I'll believe an Apprentice Knight who claims to be able to kill multiple Advanced Level Demons?"
The supervisor was just stating the fact coming from his experience. He had been in this field for twenty years, but even a full-fledged knight from the Demon Banner Army had difficulty in fighting against a few Advanced Level Demons, let alone an Apprentice Knight.
Noel could understand him as well. That was why he remained calm this whole time as if ignoring all his words.
"You can choose whether you want to believe it or not. Still, you should have heard from the informant that there are multiple Advanced Level Demons, right? I'm simply confirming their existence… it's up to you whether you want to believe it or not." Noel shook his head helplessly.
"You…" The middle-aged man wanted to rebuke all his words, but Noel wasn't from the regular army, but the Demon Banner Army. The Demon Banner Army was known to be arrogant compared to all other army because they had more authority. That was why if his anger completely took control, he might do something that would lead to his demotion.
Noel looked at his face and said, "Also, my mission is to investigate the cause of the demons. I have completed my job then and you have to give me the proof of completion. Well, I accidentally solved it as well, but it's your problem whether you believe it or not. If my investigation is proven to be wrong, then the Demon Banner Army is the one going to regulate my failure, not the regular army. Don't you think so?"
The middle-aged man gritted his teeth while glaring at Noel. He truly wanted to beat him, but he had no authority over him.
Just like Noel said, the Demon Banner Army would be the one delivering his punishment if the mission turned out to be fake.
And the one who sent Noel here was the Demon Exterminator Shale. His reputation was simply far too scary… enough to bury all desires to make Noel pay for his arrogance.
He took a deep breath and said, "Write all your reports down and I'll send it to the branch near this place."
"Got it." It seemed that the supervisor was more rational than he originally thought. So, Noel didn't mind writing everything as long as he could immediately leave the city.
