"It's been a while, my little grandson."
Noel smiled. On the one hand, he was dumbstruck by his grandfather's power. On the other hand, he felt a bit helpless because he had to rely on someone else to solve his own problem.
"Let me take care of this." Raincart waved his hand. As he said those words, two more arrows blasted through the ice wall. Due to its position on the lower part, the huge blasts caused the entire wall to crumble, revealing what happened on the other side.
Qiel couldn't help but frown, never expecting that the situation had become like this. The Spirit Masters had died in the Atracaeca Kingdom, and the Spirit Grandmasters had all died in the Greenwood Kingdom. Even though Nelfer was heavily injured, he was by no means weak. Yet, Nelfer couldn't hold a candle against Raincart.
"…" Qiel maintained her silence, but it was clear that she had been defeated… miserably, in fact. Not only did they lose a lot of Devil Inspectors and Bishops, but they even lost one Devil Saint without being able to capture a single target. This might be the biggest loss they have suffered so far.
More importantly, Dimitri hadn't used his True Spirit Body, meaning that he could directly rush to the Demon Banner Army to inform them about the situation. They would definitely launch a massive counterattack when they knew that one of the Devil Saints had died.
Raincart glared at her as if telling her, 'What? I'm merely killing the terrorist that invades my kingdom.'
It was something she couldn't refute. And with Dimitri there, she wouldn't have enough strength to resist both of them.
Fortunately, Raincart was a former royal magician. Even though he had retired from his position, it didn't change the fact that his every move represented the country. If such a person entered the Atracaeca Kingdom to chase after her, it would mean aggression to the Atracaeca Kingdom.
So, this time, Qiel was lucky that she didn't cross the border earlier.
"I will remember this." Qiel gritted her teeth before disappearing. Even if she said anything, it wouldn't change the outcome anyway.
Raincart harrumphed before waving his hand to the air, shooting a blue light that exploded after reaching a certain altitude.
It seemed he was informing the rest of the people to take care of the situation.
After that, Raincart turned around and walked to Noel, who looked a bit ashamed.
"Grandfather." Noel lowered his head, apologizing for the fact that he ended up forcing him to come here.
Instead of getting angry, Raincart actually smiled and patted Noel's head. "You've grown up. Despite being chased by two peak Grandmasters, you can still survive and even create a plan to kill one of them. I'm impressed."
"But…" Noel bit his lips. He couldn't do that without relying on him, so Noel felt he didn't deserve that praise.
"Haha. What kind of grandfather am I if I can't even help my cute grandson." Raincart chuckled. "Instead of looking down, how about you accompany this retired old man for a while? You're not going back to the Muivell Kingdom immediately, right?"
Noel made a wry smile. He felt grateful and said, "Yes. I'm planning to master my fire and directly break through to the Spirit Grandmaster. That is if Grandfather doesn't mind me staying for a while."
"Good, good." Raincart nodded, satisfied. He glanced at Dimitri, saying, "You've worked hard."
"Thank you, Sir. Since Master is with you, I can finally leave his side for the next plan."
"Thank you, Dimitri. Sorry for giving you this much burden." Noel also thanked him since Dimitri had been fighting against Nelfer this whole time.
Dimitri smiled before lowering his head to excuse himself. He turned back into the shadows and headed back to the Muivell Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Raincart turned to the two kids and asked, "Who are they?"
"Let me introduce them." Noel looked proud. After all, Tristan and Sandra had completed all the ordeals and became the big reason why they could reach this place. "This is Tristan, my disciple. He is learning Rune from me. And this is Sandra, a maid in training. In fact, the only reason why I'm able to reach this far is because they have gone through dangerous ordeals to send that letter."
Tristan couldn't help but smile because his dream had been achieved. Noel truly introduced him as his disciple to his grandfather. Even Sandra was praised a lot in that simple introduction.
"Is that so?" Raincart patted the two kids' heads. "Unfortunately, I didn't bring any gifts with me, so let's go back to the Ezenholm Family first."
"Yes, Grandfather." Noel agreed without hesitation as he noticed a lot of soldiers coming to the area.
A middle-aged man came to Raincart and said, "Sir… have you finished your business?"
"Yeah. I'd have to trouble you in cleaning this up."
The man looked at the mess and understood the assignment. At the same time, he also noticed Noel and the strength he possessed.
He couldn't help but say, "Congratulations, Sir."
"What congratulations? this kid can't even stay in one place for a long time." Raincart harrumphed, complaining about the fact that Noel didn't want to stay in his place.
The man could only make a wry smile as he watched Raincart bring them away.
While walking, Raincart couldn't help but watch Tristan and Sandra. Even though Noel introduced them as a maid in training and his disciple, their interaction looked closer.
Raincart approached Noel and whispered, "Be honest with me. Do you have any woman you fancy over there?"
"What do you mean? I don't have anyone like that. If I have one, she will end up getting targeted by the enemies. I still don't have enough strength to protect her or anything." Noel shook his head helplessly.
"Come on. You have become an adult. Normally, a noble child is already married one or two years before becoming an adult. Don't be like your father, who doesn't let me hold my kid until you're four years old." Raincart snorted.
Noel was speechless. He didn't know why the topic suddenly turned into this. "In any case, I'm not planning to have one soon because I'm still weak. Maybe after reaching Peak Grandmaster, I can finally do something about it. But not now…"
"Instead of searching for a woman you need to protect, how about getting one that can protect you? Look at your mother; she is far stronger than your father. That's right, I have heard a few things about you from Damian." Raincart recalled for a moment. "I heard that you have a close relationship with Anna Stargaze?"
Cough!
Noel didn't expect that statement and said, "What do you mean…"
"You don't have to be shy. I've looked into it… She is the most talented woman in the Muivell Kingdom. She indeed tried to execute you or something, but from the stories Damian told me, it seemed to be a misunderstanding. I heard that she is going to become an Arbiter soon since her fight against another arbiter is happening soon."
"What?" Noel knew that Anna was going to do it, but there were still a few months from the time limit. It looked like she was rushing, but at the same time, he thought Anna wanted to use the remaining time to solidify her position as an Arbiter.
"I think this girl is good and her father is your father's best friend. So, how about marrying her? Looking at the fact that she can already manifest the True Spirit Body means she might be the one protecting you. So, when are you going to get engaged with her? If you say you don't have enough standing after the fall of the Ardagan Family, you can just use my Ezenholm Family to propose."
Noel shook his head helplessly. "Our relationship is not like that…"
"Not like that? So, do you hate her or something?"
"No. I don't hate her. Even though I still need an explanation from my father regarding the entire thing, I no longer hate her."
"Then, what is stopping you? Is she not beautiful enough? But isn't she one of the most beautiful ones in the Muivell Kingdom? Her character? No, do you like her in the first place? I think she is the only one who can stand beside you."
Noel scratched the back of his head. He felt like his grandfather was interrogating him. It might be because he was frustrated by the questions that he tried to recall all his memories about Anna so that he could use them to counter Raincart's argument.
But he ended up recalling the little bet they had, the game they completed together, and all the other small fighting. It was frustrating, annoying, tiring, and taxing. Yet, when he recalled those memories, they gave warmth, happiness, and comfort.
Despite wanting to counter his grandfather's words, Noel ended up saying, "She is beautiful. Anyone would definitely like her. In fact, I even admire her. She is not perfect, but she is always doing her best to become a better person."
"Then…" Raincart became more interested when Noel looked so serious. He first urged him out of curiosity and desire, but it soon changed to a consultation.
"But…" Noel couldn't help but remember the time Anna proposed a little bet followed by a peck on the cheek. He said helplessly, "…I feel like I will lose if I admit it. Besides, if we ever end up together, the royal family would make a huge fuss about it and we would be besieged from all directions."
"Eh?!" Raincart looked annoyed as if he didn't understand why such a small matter stopped him. "You are too smart for your own good."
Raincart patted his shoulder and said, "Sometimes, you don't have to think too much about that. It's just as simple as saying, 'I love you.' You know, as a noble, you will get used to a political marriage. In fact, being able to say 'I love you' to your partner is something that you should treasure dearly. This is advice from your grandfather. You might be smart, but there are problems that are so simple you can solve them just by being dumb. Don't think too much and just do it."
