System vs Rebirth

"So, where are we going now?" Anna asked. "Also, I have to tell you about Fire Bird Nest and the Body Strengthening Liquid."

"You can say it after we're done with this." Noel shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Anna was confused, feeling Noel had changed a bit.

"Yeah." Noel nodded with a serious expression. "I'll deliver the promise first and you're going to pay me after that."

Anna felt something weird with Noel. Although he was using the business term between them, he seemed to have changed a bit. This time for sure, Noel's hatred had diminished for a bit.

Still, there was no way for her to know whether Noel just faked it or not like the whole time they were together.

"Anyway, let's go."

"Where?"

"My family mansion."

"Your family mansion? Wait a minute. It's true that your family territory is in the middle of our return trip, but your family mansion is guarded by the royal family."

"Are you going or not?" Noel didn't want to argue with her, so he simply asked with a strict tone, demanding an answer between 'yes' and 'no'.

"Yes, definitely." Anna sighed. She had been thinking about Noel after leaving the cave, wondering what he was talking about with the Sword Saint. The Sword Saint seemed to be able to know about Noel's secrets with his power. So, she believed that the Sword Saint was also aware of her reincarnation. It was proven when he actually knew she wished to get his blade.

She thought for a moment and asked, "Noel. Do you mind if we go somewhere else first? I want to ask someone to attach the blade to the handle I have prepared. I'm sure that this sword will be useful for our mission."

There wasn't supposed to be any fight in this infiltration mission, so they might not need to even unsheathe their sword. But he couldn't really brush away the potential where they were found out.

"Alright. As long as it doesn't take more than three days."

"Of course, attaching it will only take a day at most. Though, we have to go to the Barun Plain first. Since we're talking about the Sword Saint's blade, I want a Master Blacksmith to handle it."

"Barun Plain… It deviates a bit, but we can indeed go there. Alright." Noel agreed to her request. "We still have a few missions left before our graduation, so we need to hasten our pace."

"Are you going to graduate early?"

"No. It's better to use that time to make more preparation. I have many things to do after all."

"So busy." Anna chuckled. "But I'll match your pace!"

"You can graduate earlier. No need to wait for me. There's no reason to do so."

"Aren't we going to be stationed at the same place if we graduate together?" Anna smirked. "Won't this be perfect for more adventures?"

He didn't want to admit it, but Anna was truly a good partner. She could cook, knew many things, and a great fighter.

On the other hand, Anna considered Noel as a guy who could improve rapidly, a commander, and someone that could keep up with her. He was the only one who wouldn't leave her alone in the future when she became strong.

Still, Noel's plan was to use the graduation to create his second identity. Having Anna there wasn't a good plan, considering Anna knew about his second identity.

"Whatever. I don't like being with you." Noel snorted.

"Eh…"

Anna chuckled as they continued to travel. They rode the horses to the former Ardagan Family's territory. No one had occupied this land for the time being because the royal family hadn't given any noble enough jurisdiction for this plot of land.

When Noel looked at this city from the outside, he had a nostalgic feeling because this was where most of his memory came from. If the execution never happened, he would still live in this town.

Anna lowered her head, feeling bad for what she suggested in the past. In fact, she wanted to be reincarnated before the execution. However, this was the situation, she had one more chance to make it right at the very least.

She gently brushed the sword on her waist. Her new sword had been completed. With the Sword Saint's blade and the Ancient Demon Tree core as the materials, she had produced a weapon only second to Noel's Ardagan.

Noel hurriedly wore a long robe and hid his face with a mask along. Of course, he covered his hair with hood. No one should know he had visited this place.

Even Anna had to do the same.

"So, how are we going to infiltrate this place? The gates are guarded, so I don't think we can go through them easily." Anna asked. "Does your family have a secret tunnel that leads to the outside?"

"None." Noel shrugged. Though, he simply didn't know whether there was a secret tunnel or not since he never learned the family business from his father. "This city is built in a safe place, so the wall isn't that high. We just have to climb it."

They had stopped in the previous city to leave their horses since it would be hard for them to enter with a horse. They even stood a bit far away to make sure no one spotted them.

"But there should be soldiers guarding the wall."

"We're going to infiltrate during the night and make use of our Moon Blessing. Search for any dark parts and go there."

"Then, we should hope that tonight is cloudy." Anna nodded in agreement.

"Not necessarily." Noel shook his head and pointed at the wall. "You can barely see them, but there are a few dots moving on the wall. How many are they?"

"The dots must be the soldiers' heads… Wait a minute, there are only two pairs of soldiers for that long wall?" Anna noticed Noel's secret meaning.

"Yes. If they only put those many during the day, we might only encounter a pair during the night. So, the infiltration won't be that hard. Though, we still have to be careful."

"Alright." Anna agreed with the plan.