"Ahh… We're finally back!" Anna shouted while stretching her hands up.
"Please be mindful of your conduct. I didn't say much because we were outside the border, but now, you've returned as a noble daughter." Nicole coughed, reprimanding Anna.
"Eh?" Anna looked annoyed. It seemed that she had become comfortable with the free lifestyle, where she didn't have to be mindful of her image.
They had returned to the Muivell Kingdom. The return trip might be as challenging, but Anna and Noel had grown so much that they could easily go through multiple Superior Demon nests instead of avoiding them.
This was the result of their training, considering Noel and Anna could defeat a Superior Demon on their own.
"Mr. Noel." Damian suddenly spoke up with an extremely polite tone.
"Hmm?" Noel observed his expression for a moment before realizing why he did this. Noel straightened his back and said, "Yes?"
"It's been a pleasure to accompany you." Damian bowed. "It was a great experience that I would never get had I chosen to remain in the kingdom. I even earned a lot from the trip."
"There was an agreement between us. You don't have to think you owe me something." Noel smiled.
"Thank you very much. Then, I will return to the Greenwood Kingdom to report to my kingdom. While I don't think there is a possibility of this happening, I still wish that the next time we meet, it won't be as enemies."
"I sincerely wish the same. If you happen to meet my grandfather, Rainhart Ezenholm, please tell him that I'm alright."
"Of course. He might be the one dragging me to get information about you." Damian chuckled.
Since the terms of the agreement had finished, Damian became extremely polite, treating Noel as the ambassador of the Muivell Kingdom.
"Then… I hope that everyone stays healthy." Damian bowed to the rest before leaving the group.
Since Damian had gone, it was time for Nicole to leave the group as well.
"I have to return to report this matter to the family head. I need to inform him that everyone has returned safely." Nicole nodded.
"Yeah. I still have things to do. Tell him that I'm planning to become an Arbiter soon…" Anna smirked. "I hope you don't mind passing you, Nicole."
"Of course. Your strength is beyond what a Spirit Master can do. I will definitely tell the family head regarding your performance. He should begin preparing for your advancement."
Anna nodded.
Before leaving, Nicole walked to Noel and bowed to him politely. "Young Master Noel… My young miss must be a handful, but please take care of her."
"I understand." Noel agreed without hesitation.
"Wait a minute. What did you mean I'm a handful? I have been the one taking care of him, right?" Anna complained while Noel snorted. "Really?"
Nicole could only smile when she saw their bickering. They always clashed in every little thing after all, but that was probably what made the trip more enjoyable. It definitely dampened the heavy mood during the trip.
When her gaze met Dimitri's, they seemed to come to a tacit agreement regarding their relationship.
So, they smiled at each other before Nicole left the group.
*Cough!*
Dimitri let out a cough to get their attention.
"Ah, right!" Noel nodded in understanding. "We should go to the so-called alchemist who could make the pill that improved the spirit."
"Let's go then." Anna agreed even though she still had a lot of things to say to him.
"Master. You two can go at your pace. I will follow you from far away so as to not disturb you like usual." Dimitri didn't wait for Noel's answer before disappearing. Even though he worded like he simply wanted to return to his usual work, it didn't change the fact that Dimitri didn't want to become the third wheel. So, he left them.
"…" Noel and Anna exchanged looks.
"Tell me about that person on the way," Noel said while turning around.
"Sure. I'll also fulfill my promise." Anna reminded him of the promise of telling him about the experience in the alternate world.
They immediately headed to the aforementioned person on foot as usual. They kept up at a high speed while talking.
"So, this person is called Khalid Mahmud. He is the former Royal Alchemist of the Zaecuria Kingdom."
"Zaecuria Kingdom? Isn't that the kingdom south of the Greenwood Kingdom?"
"Yeah. Unlike the Muivell Kingdom, which has the Tower Association, the Zaecuria Kingdom has a famous job called Alchemist. Due to their unique territory, the people over there are experimenting with things a lot. While it looks similar to the Tower Association, their aim is different. In any case, he's good at making medicine."
"What kind of medicine are you talking about? You said that the medicine could help my spirit, but I don't know what effect the medicine has."
Anna smirked. "Alchemist Khalid's name shook the world in that alternate world. He managed to create a drug that could awaken the spirit forcefully. However, it was limited to those who had discovered their spirits."
"Huh?" Noel tilted his head in confusion because Anna just said two contradictory things.
"Yes. The medicine is called the Awakening Pill. It is a drug that stimulates the Spirit's potential. If you don't have a Spirit Link, it can form a pseudo Spirit Link. If you have a Spirit Link, it will reinforce the Spirit Link, specifically the veins."
Noel raised his eyebrows, feeling amused by the pill's information.
"I didn't know how he got it, but he actually managed to get the pill from the previous civilization that aided him in this discovery. It looked like he was a free man, but I wasn't so sure about it."
"Are you saying that there was someone providing the pill to him?" Noel frowned, contemplating. "The only ones that could get the pills or put them in the black markets for someone like Khalid could get them… Don't tell me, the Third Prince?"
"Mhm?" It was Anna's turn to be confused.
"If you look at his conduct, it's something that the Third Prince would do. By the way, how were the pills distributed in that world? Did the entire kingdom get it? How about the other kingdoms? The Supreme Devil Organization?"
"Now that I think about it…" Anna fell silent, recalling the memories. It seemed that her decision to tell about her experience with Noel wasn't wrong. He managed to see all the details that she never thought about. "I'm not sure about the other kingdoms, but the Royal Family and the Supreme Devil Organization definitely got it. It caused such a huge disturbance that the Demon Banner Army had to get it as well."
"I see…" Noel frowned. "The Third Prince is also a member of the Royal Family. Even though there is hatred between them, he might still negotiate with them. There are lots of benefits he could get by using the pills as leverage. And we have suspected that there is a connection between the royal family and the Supreme Devil Organization. So, it's not weird to see them have the pills."
"So, are you assuming that the Third Prince, the Royal Family, and the Supreme Devil Organization are connected with the Royal Family as the middleman?" Anna asked.
"The Third Prince is a big figure as well, so there's a chance that all of them are connected to each other." Noel shook his head helplessly. "The Third Prince asked for the map, so that must be where he got the goods."
"I have told Khalid that in exchange for the pills, he needed to become our allies."
"Allies, huh?" Noel thought this was a bit troublesome. After all, the other party was a Royal Alchemist. If the Third Prince made contact with him, it was clear who would win.
"Did I mess up?"
"Not really." Noel raised two fingers. "We have two problems. First, how to convince that person to stay as our ally? Second, how to deal with all those three giant powerhouses."
"The second problem can wait until we become a Spirit Grandmaster, right?"
"Yeah. Then, how about the first one? I need more information about the alternate world that I could somehow use to do this."
"I will tell you as much as I can. Though, most of them are irrelevant because so many things have changed."
"I know."
Anna began retelling the story of her previous life. There were parts that she didn't say, either because it was irrelevant or because it was still too private for Noel to know.
Of course, she only mentioned how both of them clashed with each other. She didn't say a single thing about how Noel bullied her or how she massacred a lot of innocent people.
As much as she wanted to tell everything, there were things that were better not to be said. It would affect their relationship for the worse after all.
Noel asked for a lot of details about the information, albeit Anna couldn't answer everything because she wasn't that adept at information. In fact, that might be the reason why Noel called her naive and ignorant. Despite that, Noel actually gave her the chance to regress. In other words, there was something that she could bring in this timeline… something that only she could bring. So, until she found it, she would stick to Noel.
