"Don't tell them about my condition. They didn't know it. They don't need to worry about trivial things." Souta said in a low voice to Alea who was walking beside him.
Princess Alea was surprised when she heard that Souta's comrades didn't know that his mana pool was damage. She nodded her head at him and replied that she wouldn't tell anyone about it.
"I sense another trouble. If this help increased my strength then why not." Yujin sighed as his shoulders drop. He felt that this group was prone to trouble. It was fine if they were not the ones to start it or they didn't do any bad things. As long as they were right he wouldn't mind fighting other people. He would even use his spirit power to defeat such person.
Alice glanced at Lumilia and Lynn and she saw their look. 'They got jealous.' She thought as her mouth curved upward.
"Where's Jagret and others?" Souta approached them and asked.
"They are still in their room preparing to head out," Lumilia answered him while glancing at Alea.
"Okay, I'll go and say something to them before they leave," Souta said as he patted her shoulder and went inside the inn.
Since they knew Alea, Souta didn't have a problem leaving her in his comrades. They could strengthen their bonds with just a simple talk.
Souta went upstairs and enter the room that Jagret rented. He saw Jagret, Ginvi, Charise, Donna, Evren, and Finsi preparing themselves. They were packing up mana potions and healing potions.
They turned their heads when they heard someone entered the room without knocking. They went back to their things after they saw that it was Souta.
"Do you require something in your expedition?" Souta asked them. If they need something, Souta would get it for them. They would satisfy their needs just for them to clear dungeons as many as they could.
"No, captain, we have everything we need in clearing the dungeons." Jagret stepped forward and replied to him with a smile on his face.
"So, how will you divide this group into two?" Souta asked as he looked at everyone in the room.
"I'm with Ginvi and Finsi," Jagret replied while looking at his two comrades. Ginvi was the half-elf guy with mohawk style hair. Finsi was a short guy with a thick beard. He was a dwarf.
"Good composition." Souta nodded. Jagret was the damage dealer of the group while Ginvi and Finsi were the mage and tank of the group. They could fill up their weaknesses.
The other group was Charise, Donna, and Evren. They didn't have a tank in their group but they have powerful attacks. Charise was a ranger, Donna was a samurai, and Evren was a mage. They could easily kill a second evolution monster with their combination attack.
"Good. I'll go now, I hope you bring me good news." Souta said as he looked at Jagret in the eyes.
"We won't disappoint you, captain," Jagret replied to him with a serious expression.
...
Lumilia didn't have a time to ask Souta where he went as he already entered the inn. She puffed up her cheeks as she looked at the inn in displease.
"Princess Alea, what are you doing with Souta?" Bryan asked Alea. He was the only one among them who believe that Alea was a real princess.
"I'm just talking to him about the..." Alea was about to say the spring of life but she stopped as she recalled that Souta asked her to keep it a secret from his party members. "Hmph! You don't need to know the affairs of your leader! If he wanted to tell you about it then he would speak on his own."
Lumilia and Lynn narrowed their eyes when they heard her words. They grew curious about what Souta did with her. This only amplifies their curiosity. They wanted to ask but from Alea's looks, she wouldn't tell them about it.
Lynn didn't know that she already knew Souta's secret. Her senses told her that Souta didn't have a mana in his body. She thought that everyone knew this so she didn't say anything about it.
Alice sighed while looking at these two girls in their group. She glanced at Yujin and saw that Yujin was also looking at her.
Yujin opened his arms with a helpless expression as if saying that they should let them be.
While they were talking they heard someone called Bryan.
"Bryan! Is that you!?"
Lumilia and the rest turned around and saw three people approaching them. They looked at Bryan and wondered why he knew these three people.
The three people walked forward and stopped in front of Bryan. They looked at him with widely opened eyes and asked, "Bryan, is that really you? This is me, Hexan, number six!"
Bryan tilted his head to the side. He lifted his hand and scratched his cheeks before smiling wryly. "I'm sorry, I don't know any of you."
The man who introduced himself as Hexan was wearing a simple leather armor and pants that every adventurer wear. The other two were wearing the same thing as Hexan.
Hexan was a tall man with light blue skin. He had two furry ears and a tail. His eyes were sharp and his eyebrows were thick.
They were shocked when they heard that Bryan didn't know them.
"I'm Yvrin, number ten, do you remember me. You're the one who named us." A short man with grey spiky hair stepped forward and introduced himself in front of Bryan. His arms and neck were covered in green scales.
"I really don't remember any of you," Bryan replied to them. He looks like he really didn't know the three people in front of him.
Lumilia, Brando, Lynn, Alice, and Yujin just looked at them without saying anything. The words of these three people shocked them but they managed to hold their curiosity.
The three people looked at each other and they dropped their shoulders.
"He didn't remember us Hex."
"Yeah, it seems that he forgot about what happened in that place, Yv."
Bryan just looked at them as he didn't know what to say to these three people. They knew him but he didn't know them. He tried to remember their face but nothing comes to his mind.
At this moment, Lumilia stepped forward and asked the three people, "Excuse me, may I know who are you to Bryan?" She decided to intervene as she saw that Bryan wasn't lying when he said that he didn't know these three.
"Who are you?" They asked Lumilia as they didn't answer her question. The three of them looked at her from head to toe. They just realized that Bryan was with these people.
After a while, they looked at Bryan and smiled. "You've found your comrades Bryan. I remember when you always said that you want friends when were still a child." Hex said as he rubbed his eyes.
"You don't need to worry about us." The man who called himself number six nodded. "If you didn't remember what happened seven years ago then it's fine. We're glad that you're living a happy life."
Bryan was speechless. Lumilia and the rest too were stunned. These three were acting as if Bryan knew them.
The remaining one patted Bryan's shoulder and said, "I'm number seven, you always called me brother seven in the past. I'm glad to see that you're fine. Treasure your new found comrades."
Bryan nodded at him with a dumbfounded expression. He wanted to talk to these people but he couldn't say anything. He couldn't open his mouth.
Number seven added, "But I'll warn you. They are still looking for you, number one. Be careful and watch out if you don't want them to destroy your peaceful life. Once they found you, they will hunt you down and bring you back to that place. After all, you're the greatest creation, the masterpiece. They want you."
Hex smiled at everyone and bowed, "Thank you for becoming Bryan's comrades. We will not bother you anymore."
They then left after bidding farewell.
Lumilia, Alice, Brando, Yujin, Alea, and the butler looked at their back. The things that they heard were hard to process.
"Who are those people?" A familiar voice sounded behind them.
Lumilia looked over and saw Souta. She regained her posture and replied, "They said that they knew Bryan in their childhood but Bryan didn't remember them."
"Hmm...?" Souta squinted when he heard her. He then felt someone tugged his shirt. He slightly turned his head and saw Lynn full of sweat on her forehead. She was trembling as if she saw some terrifying creature.
"What's wrong Lynn? Are you okay?" Souta quickly placed his palm on her forehead and asked her.
"I-I'm fine, S-Souta..." Lynn shook her head and she slowly said while trembling, "But those people are strong... It feels I'm standing in front of three powerful monsters. It's different. The energy in their body is different. It's mana but there is something is else..."
"Did you feel their power?" Princess Alea joined the conversation.
Lynn slowly nodded her head.
"Those three. This Princess and her butler could only feel the power of that man who called himself number ten. He's at least as strong as my butler but the other two... We couldn't feel anything out of them. There are two reasons. One is that they are normal people while the other one is that they are stronger than us. At least, S-rank level." Princess Alea said seriously while looking in the direction where the three went.
