"Well, well, well…" Anna walked toward Noel while saying, "It seems that our little hero manages to become a big guy, huh?"
Noel's expression became cold as he said, "Thanks to you."
Anna stopped right in front of Noel, her face was only a few centimeters away from his face. She said, "This is not over. We will see how long you can survive."
"No matter what you do, I will continue to survive. Instead, I'll give you a piece of advice now. You should actually beg for my forgiveness, and I might actually forgive you. It's better to give up early." Noel harrumphed.
Their interactions were watched by many. They had their individual opinions about Anna and Noel, but it was clear that they were pretty interested to know what would happen next.
Since the party was over, there was no need for Anna to hold back. Spiritual Energy began to leak out of their bodies, and the pressure started to build up.
The intensity of their energy made the nobles think that these two might clash right in front of the palace. They had known Anna's strength, but Noel's achievement showed that his strength was comparable to hers.
That was why they actually wanted them to determine who was stronger.
But before they could release their full power, the Void Arbiter appeared next to them.
"How interesting… To think that two geniuses of the kingdom want to fight… Don't forget that you are right in front of the palace."
"Teacher?" Anna looked surprised, while Noel remained indifferent. "How about you? You're the one using your ability right now."
"I'm using an ability as an arbiter in order to stop you two from fighting."
Noel and Josephine glared at each other. Noel knew that Josephine was the one who brainwashed Anna. It could be said that she was the cause of everything.
"What fighting? We're not fighting. You're the one interpreting it as a fight. Maybe… the only thing in your brain is violent? What a brute." Noel shook his head helplessly.
"You're pretty twisted for a kid, aren't you?" Josephine was a bit annoyed, but she managed to restrain herself. She continued, "How about you then? You're just relying on someone to give their position to you instead of earning it yourself."
"Giving me their position? Please don't make up things. I earned it. If you can't even get your facts right, then please don't open that mouth of yours. Other than lies and nonsense, what can you actually say?" Noel chuckled.
Josephine's eyebrows twitched while Anna suddenly stepped forward and said, "You should have some respect for your elder."
"Respect is earned, not granted. That's why you're still a kid compared to me." Noel laughed while turning around. "I don't want to waste my time with two girls."
Anna and Josephine wanted to say something, but they realized that Noel had all sorts of replies to shut them up. Ultimately, they chose to remain silent until Noel disappeared into the crowd.
"…" Anna fell silent for a while as though she was thinking about something. "Teacher…"
"What?" Josephine replied with a slightly annoyed tone.
"I will be moving into his territory."
"Huh?" Josephine instantly became confused. If she didn't know her students better, she would have assumed that Anna wanted Noel. But she was the masterpiece she had created, so Josephine knew that Anna wanted his life instead.
"By moving into his territory, I can monitor all his movements and hinder his progress. Besides, even if he doesn't like me, he can't stop me, an Arbiter, from staying."
"So, you're planning to move to his territory with the excuse of helping him?"
"Yeah. When there is a chance…" Anna smirked evilly.
Josephine fully understood what Anna wanted to say. Since Anna would be there, it meant that Noel would have a hard time. Obviously, Noel would like to get rid of Anna. However, expelling her from his territory was practically impossible due to the fact that Anna was an Arbiter sent by the kingdom to 'help' Noel.
Of course, Josephine or another arbiter could do it as well. However, it would make Anna look like she had lost against Noel.
In other words, the only way Noel could get rid of Anna was by killing her. But this would give the excuse for the Royal Family to punish Noel and exert all their forces to destroy him. With both of them dying, the Royal Family could seize back control and eliminate the variables. In addition, Noel had runes, while Anna had those weird abilities. So they could get it after investigating their background for a while.
Meanwhile, Anna would try to kill Noel in one way or another. Even if she couldn't, she could force him to use his money to do useless things with the excuse of helping.
If she couldn't kill Noel, she could at least burn his money and hinder his progress.
Annoying Noel was quite a sweet plan in Josephine's mind.
"Let me confirm this. You should know that his territory is dangerous, right?"
"I know. That's why I suggest it. Now that it has reached this point, why don't I force him to go out and meet those dangerous monsters? When he is heavily injured, I think you know what to do." Anna nodded with a serious expression.
"Seriously injured…" Josephine could deliver the killing blow. In fact, the Supreme Devil Organization would use that information to ambush him.
It was indeed a good plan in her head. She considered the pros and cons for a minute before saying, "Alright. I will handle the Royal Family and Supreme Devil Organization. I'll definitely make the Royal Family support you and stop the Supreme Devil Organization from harming you."
"Thank you, Teacher." Anna politely bowed to her teacher. "I'm thinking about getting all my luggage right now and heading straight to his territory."
"You're not going to wait for a few more days?"
"No. It's better to reach his territory first. I can survey the area and use it to my advantage. Besides, having an Arbiter reach the territory first instead of the lord should be pretty annoying, right?"
Josephine and Anna smiled at each other. Without hesitation, Josephine agreed with Anna's plan and left to explain their plans to the king.
Meanwhile, Noel had returned to his inn, where Rose was waiting.
"Have you finished everything?" Rose asked.
"Yeah. I'm finally an Earl and have a territory. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning."
"That fast? You're not going to use this time to look around the capital and maybe form a bit more connections to other nobles?"
"No. This is enough. If I become a bit too close with other nobles, the other nobles might think of it as a threat to their position. For now, I'll be neutral to buy some time to rebuild the territory."
"Have you thought about the city that will become the capital of our territory?" Rose asked. "Since this is a new territory, it shouldn't be built yet, right?"
"I have asked Dimitri to survey the area. There are a total of five towns, but considering the danger of the area, I think having it lean to the border is a pretty good choice."
"Huh? Why do we need to have the city near the border? Won't it be pretty dangerous?"
"Not necessarily. The border will be protected by the royal army of the Greenwood Kingdom, making the transaction easier for both of us. And since we're at the edge, it's easy to sweep everything. And basically, the farthest area from the border will be the safest and we don't need to do much for them, cutting some cost."
"Though, it won't miraculously make the city the safest, right? Even with all those people from the royal army…"
"Indeed. That's why we'll be creating roads and infrastructures to make the area more accessible. As for the soldiers, Dimitri has taken care of that, and I am thinking about converting some mercenaries."
"Won't it make it easier for them to buy off the mercenaries? They might get information about us from them."
"Not necessarily." Noel shook his head. "I'll be introducing a few systems, so I think everyone will be busy once we're there. Of course, speed is the key. For now, I have the initial fund, but we'll need more money to build the territory…"
"So, you're planning to hunt those demons?" Rose frowned.
"Exactly. This will be a good opportunity to train the new soldiers and turn them into elite soldiers as well. I'll explain the systems in detail on the way to our territory."
"Understood. It will take about two weeks from the capital city to our new territory."
"No. It's only one week. I have set up a few checkpoints and asked Dimitri to prepare horses at each checkpoint. So, we'll be rushing all the time."
"It seems that there are a lot of things I don't know after your trip for almost a year…" Rose sighed.
"Well, I'll be telling you everything on the way." Noel chuckled. "So, get some rest for now because from tomorrow, we'll be extremely busy."
"Alright then. I just have one more question. Do you still plan to involve the Demon Relief Squad to build the territory?"
Noel surprisingly shook his head, not because he didn't want to have anything to do with them anymore, but because he didn't want them to get hurt. After all, the problem looming in his territory was at the level they had never seen so far.
Rose could only nod her head, following Noel's decision.
