Unfortunately, the peaceful time couldn't last long.
Just one day after their return, Anna had to leave again.
They used the cover of the night so that no one would know she was gone. They would realize it sooner or later, but it didn't mean much.
Anna was accompanied by Dimitri, who had to finish all the matters before the people reached this city. Of course, Balott tagged along since he had to handle the negotiation.
"I'm leaving them to you, Dimitri." Noel gave a gentle smile.
"Yes, Master. I will not let any harm befall them." Dimitri nodded with a serious expression.
Noel then turned to Anna. "Be careful out there, will you?"
"Don't worry. I will return as soon as possible."
"I don't mind if you take longer as long as I can see you safe and sound." Noel shook his head. He could handle all the problems as long as he worked hard enough, but he would have a headache when he saw her injured.
"Emm," Anna mumbled and just hugged him for a moment. She wouldn't be able to see him for a while.
After Anna became bolder, Noel also became accustomed to this kind of action. He just enjoyed her company, fully knowing that she wouldn't be here for a long time.
Sadly, they had to go soon. So, Noel had no choice but to let her go.
"I'm going."
"Take care." Noel nodded while waving his hands.
The three immediately rode the horses to the north, planning to meet Damian.
Noel stood still until he couldn't see anymore.
Fortunately, the journey was safe as the Greenwood Kingdom had killed all the demons around them.
It only took them three hours to reach their destination. Since they left past midnight, the sun was about to rise when they were about to reach their destination.
Anna couldn't show herself even to the Greenwood Kingdom since her existence here was a secret. Meanwhile, Dimitri and Balott had reached the Greenwood Kingdom camp.
It wasn't a big camp, but it should have contained one to two hundred soldiers. And with Damian at the helm, it was going to be hard to defeat them.
"Who are you guys?" A scout suddenly found them and asked out loud while holding his sword.
Dimitri seemed to have sensed the scout and took out his badge. "I am Dimitri, the butler of the Ardagan Family. I'd like to request a meeting with your commander. It's fairly important."
"!!!" The scout widened his eyes for a moment. He obviously understood that they were here for the sake of the Ardagan Family. So, if the Ardagan Family visited them, they had been told to treat them as their highest level guests. And he had known Dimitri's name as he was one of the most important people in the family according to the report the second princess had sent. "I understand. Please wait for a moment; I will report to the commander immediately."
They followed the scout to the gate of the camp before the guy informed Damian. As expected of Damian, he was already awake a long time ago and was swinging his sword when the scout told him about Dimitri's visit.
It didn't take too long for Dimitri and Balott to reach Damian's tent. He was accompanied by a rather skinny man. His frame didn't look like a fighter, but his gaze kept examining them.
"May I know the reason for your visit this time, Dimitri?" Damian asked.
"The master is thinking about proposing something."
"Oh? I'm all ears." Damian nodded. He perfectly understood that Noel would be generous whenever he made a proposal. It wasn't that he was kind, but he simply didn't want to get the feeling that they owed them something.
"I believe you have heard about our water system from Princess Livia, right?"
The person next to Damian was the first to react. His eyes brightened. All the fuzziness in his eyes earlier had completely gone. "Do you mean the water system that is said to be able to provide the city with unlimited amounts of water without manual labor?"
"Indeed." Balott also stepped up. "That kind of water system. If you agree to our condition, then we don't mind selling this water system, including the runes involved within the system to you. As you already know, the introductory rune book might contain a lot of runes, but it's still very basic and lacks a lot of essential runes for the technology."
He thought for a moment and asked, "And your condition?"
Before Balott said something, Dimitri raised his hand, asking Balott to stop. He looked at Damian first as if confirming something.
Damian nodded his head, showing that they could trust the negotiator.
"We'd like you to accompany young lady Anna to that place," Dimitri stated.
"That place?!" It was vague, but Damian instantly understood which place Dimitri was talking about. "Again?"
"Yes. There is a matter that can only be resolved there. Unfortunately, none of the experts in the Ardagan Family can be moved, including me, right now. So, the condition is for you to accompany her there. If you accept it, we won't mind selling the water system."
"Well, she has become a powerful Grandmaster this time. But it's still extremely dangerous, considering there are only two of us." Damian contemplated hard. Even though he had experienced the journey, it was still something he didn't want to repeat.
However, Balott added, "You might not know about this, but the design has been improved further and will soon be perfected once the people working on it arrive. If I have to say, this system will allow every single building in the city to have access to unlimited amounts of water without needing to get out of the building."
"What?!" The man next to Damian couldn't contain his shock. "Did you tell us the truth?"
"What's wrong?" Damian asked.
"I'm researching the technology of the previous civilization as my side job. When I take a look at the prosperous town the previous civilization had, it's clear that they have a system that is capable of such a thing.
"Water is the city's lifeline, so having water in their house all the time will give a lot of benefits like hygiene, easy access to drinking water, and a lot of other things that can boost an establishment or shop. Either way, just by having water alone, you can improve the city drastically."
"I see…" Damian remembered that they mentioned the runes involved in it. The reason the Greenwood Kingdom provided him with a negotiator was not as simple as negotiating with them. This person had authority and knowledge about a lot of things, allowing them to agree on the spot. After all, they were aware that Noel might not be able to wait for them to wait for the royal family to reply to their request.
After contemplating for a moment, Damian asked, "What do you think about the proposal, Mr. Rex? If I were to accept it, would it benefit the kingdom?"
"Benefit the kingdom? I think you're underestimating the value of this water system. Right now, only their city has this kind of access, but if the royal family publicizes this method and applies it to all the cities in the kingdom, what do you think?"
Damian could see the impressive rate of progress in every corner of the kingdom. His contribution wouldn't go unnoticed.
After thinking for a while, Damian said, "I don't really mind accompanying her to that place, considering Earl Noel trusts me that much. However, it doesn't mean that it's going to be an easy journey. If you still think that only two of us are enough, then I will accept the agreement."
"Young lady Anna has become a powerful grandmaster. I'm sure you are also aware of her special ability. So, the master fully supports this notion." Dimitri assured him.
"If that's the case, I will accept the condition. When do we leave?"
"As soon as possible. The young lady is waiting a bit further to the north."
"Alright. Please give me half an hour to pack up my luggage. Mr. Rex, please take care of the rest of the negotiation."
The negotiator nodded his head, seeing that he would be discussing this matter with Balott since Dimitri had stood up as if he were about to leave.
Unbeknownst to them, the trip would become much safer than Noel predicted.
Anna, who had been waiting outside the camp, was waiting for Dimitri to bring the news, only to find that there was a strong presence coming in her direction.
Anna placed her hand on her blade, but soon noticed the familiar level of threat.
"Hmm?!" Anna politely bowed her head while saying, "Good morning, Aunt Leysha."
"Oh my. Your reaction is so fast I can't even surprise you." The same lady Anna encountered during her demon subjugation had once again appeared before her. She was none other than Noel's mother, Leysha Ezenholm.
"The fact that you are here is already a surprise. May I presume that there is another camp ahead?" Anna asked with a solemn tone, knowing that Noel's parents were still helping him in the shadows.
"Yeah. Once we knew that Dimitri visited the camp, he said 'If you want to help, then go. You have met her before, so meeting her twice shouldn't be much of a problem since it's not like she will go anywhere near the kingdom.' Do you want to go somewhere?" Leysha asked.
"That's…" Anna hesitated before saying, "I don't think I will answer that question when there is another pair of ears listening to our conversation." Her gaze was locked on the empty space on her left.
Nothing happened until Leysha said, "She got you good, huh, Silvester?"
"I apologize." That voice was followed by a snapping sound as the light started bending around him and a figure appeared out of nowhere. "My apology. I am Silvester, the former Pillar of Espionage of the Ardagan Family. I greet young lady Anna."
Anna couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows. She managed to find him because of her instinct. If she was a normal person, she wouldn't be able to find him at all. His strength barely reached Spirit Grandmaster, but the way he disappeared was so skillful. Not many could find him.
With him, Leysha, and one more person who was known to be the former captain of the Ardagan Family's garrison, their current power consisted of three Grandmasters and a handful of experts. Anna was quite impressed that they had this kind of power while hiding.
"I'm fine here, so please return for now." Leysha waved her hand.
"Understood." Silvester disappeared once again. This time, Anna felt the danger was moving away, so she finally stated, "I wish to go to the former territory of the Ardagan Family."
"The former territory? Are you talking about our Ardagan Family?"
"No, even older than that."
"!!!" Leysha was quite surprised that Anna knew about the location. Even if they wanted to explore it, they didn't know the location, so they had never set out. "Are you sure you know the location?"
"Noel and I had visited that place once, together with Damian and Dimitri." Anna confirmed it without hesitation. "Right now, Dimitri is talking with Damian to have him escort me there."
"Only both of you are going?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, Noel couldn't send anyone else due to the current situation. And it's not like we can take advantage of the Moon Temple for this, so only two of us will go."
Leysha thought for a moment before nodding her head. "Alright. In that case, the three of us will go. With me here, the journey will be much safer, right?"
"I can't deny it, but are you sure about this?"
"Yeah. I'm quite curious about the former territory as well. Luke still has Silvester and Raven, so he should be fine. He has given his permission too. As much as I want to just tell Silvester and Raven to follow us and ditch the Greenwood Kingdom, we can't do that at the moment. Silvester is still tracing the demons while Raven is building traps to intercept them."
Anna obviously didn't have any objection if such a strong person would accompany her. And both of them thought of another purpose for this trip.
Yes, both Anna and Leysha wanted to form a good bond with each other. Leysha wanted to know more about her future daughter-in-law while Anna wished to know Noel from Leysha.
While they were focusing on each other, Dimitri's voice suddenly echoed in their ears.
"Is that you…"
Both of them couldn't help but turn around, seeing Dimitri's shocked faces. Dimitri rarely showed his expression, so this was indeed a rare occurrence.
In the past, Leysha and Luke had told him to accompany their son and protect him, but they never told him where they would go or what their goal was.
So, it was a shock to be able to meet them again. After all, Luka and Leysha were the ones who changed his life. From the path that covered his hands with blood to the one that took care of others.
Dimitri just walked to Leysha before falling on one knee and saying, "I'm glad that you are in great health, Madam."
