SPIRIT SOUL

By the time it was nearing daybreak, they had completed their preparations.

The group of four was ready to depart, leaving behind those they had gotten to know during the last few weeks.

Kyle felt reluctant because he had wanted to know the truth about Dirk's schemings.

But, he was just curious to find out what Dirk had done three years ago.

It was nothing compared to the Jars' helplessness of being so close to the truth yet not knowing what it was.

Though neither said a word, their faces bore signs of pain and anger about the needless death of their son.

Sensing their pain made Kyle focus on getting ready as even he kept quiet.

However, all of a sudden, an unexpected knock on their door dragged all of them out of their thoughts.

The first rays of sun had yet to break through the dense foliage of the forest.

Hence, they were curious as to who would show up at such an odd hour.

Too many things had happened the day before.

Hence, it was important for all of them to be updated on the recent developments about everything before departing.

This would help them avoid making any mistakes.

Thus, Mell rushed to the door and opened it to see Gaby standing outside.

She looked at her with a forced smile as she hesitantly asked,

"Are you guys leaving too?"

Her question was the four of them were hit off-guard as Selene instinctively blurted out, "too?"

Gaby's forced smile disappeared, and she sighed deeply before addressing the unspoken question.

"Now that Dirk is dead, I feel...empty.

It's like my anger and frustration about the incident three years ago has no purpose anymore…

I'll leave with the Lahin kingdom's soldiers, and search for a new place to stay for now. Maybe, I will travel after we cross the Sadorla Forest...I don't know yet."

Even if Kyle couldn't completely understand Gaby, it was not difficult to see that the Jars were sympathizing with her.

In the end, Gard and Mell used to like Gaby before their son's death because he was happy with her.

After they had drifted apart, their relationship had been strained and awkward.

Only now, were they again slowly warming up to each other yet again

As such, Mell couldn't help but smile lightly at Gaby as she remarked,

"We will return to our hometown. Kyle and Selene are coming with us, to learn and become stronger before leaving for good. You are free to join us!"

The last line of Mell's answer caused Gaby to look at Selene for a moment before nodding her head.

It was evident that she understood what was going on, and she approved the way they reacted.

Letting Selene enter unknown lands with the status of a noble was risky.

Adding to it the fact that an Aldra, who was not wholeheartedly welcomed by the Lahin kingdom would only make matters worse for the duo.

Thus, their teachers had decided to accompany and provide them with a safety net so that they didn't directly get thrown into the kingdom on their own.

Even less while being at the Fortification stage.

There were all kinds of additional problems Gaby could name without the need to think about it any longer.

As such, staying in the Sadorla forest for a little bit longer was the right choice. And, it was even better for them to be closer to the Lahin kingdom's border.

It would prevent them from crossing the borders without anyone by their side.

However, instead of focusing on the two young adventurers, Gaby looked at Mell and Gard.

She was trying to see if they were really fine with her joining them or it had been a forced invitation.

Looking for an answer, she stared straight into their eyes, but they didn't break eye contact with her.

There was no hatred in the Jar couple's eyes.

Instead, Gaby sensed their kindness which caused her to genuinely smile.

It made her forget about Dirk's death as she asked again.

"Is it really okay if I come with you all?"

Nodding their heads in affirmation, the Jars finally acknowledge that it was not Gaby's fault that their son was dead.

Instead, it was just an unfortunate incident where their son and Gaby's parents had been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Blaming Gaby was not even remotely helpful, and it only gave the Jars' profound sadness.

All these years, they held her accountable for their son's death but it had done little to soothe their pain.

Seething in anger and frustration had only prolonged the phase in which they had mourned.

In the end, Gaby had lost her husband and parents on that fateful day, three years ago.

Thus, they had decided to treat Gaby as if she had truly become their daughter-in-law.

With that in mind, they readily accepted Gaby, who had voluntarily come to them.

Initially, she had wanted to bid them farewell.

But when she saw that everyone was awake and ready to depart, Gaby had instinctively known that they would leave too.

Now that their group had grown to the size of five, they were all seated around the dining table.

They were all having an early breakfast, and preparing themselves mentally before leaving the house.

When they all assembled in front of the town gate, they could already see the Likans from far away.

It was the name given to the lizard-like mounts.

As they approached them, it didn't take long to spot a small group of several hundred Lohars.

They were accompanied by the Lahin kingdom Soldiers who were wearing their fiery red armor.

It was not yet time for them to depart and the open space was slowly filling in.

Looking at them, Kyle was already of the opinion that they were more than enough people for the Soldiers to protect.

With only slightly more than a dozen Soldiers and the same amount of Likans, it was not easy to protect more than 2500 people.

Because of that, Kyle knew that it was best to either stay close to Sven or to travel in the center of the entire group.

In both scenarios, they were protected relatively well.

But with Gaby, and the Jars around, Kyle thought that only beasts at the Krysal stage would pose as an issue, to begin with.

As such, he could probably focus on providing Arashi with more energy during the journey.

Though he could not cultivate during Arashi's evolution, he was not going to sit idle.

Kyle decided to focus on improving every other possible characteristic that didn't require him to cultivate.

Both Kyle and Selene shortly met Sven, mainly to tell the group that they would travel with them until they would pass by Niro town.

After that, Selene also informed Sven that they would visit the Lahin kingdom a few months later.

For now, they had certain things to finish first.

In the end, the Soldier Captain's task might have been to bring back the Lohars and Selene, if she was truly a double awakened.

However, he wouldn't force Selene to join them.

She was not only a Baroness, but she had also awoken a Darkness affinity at such a young age.

Selene had her own free will, giving her the right to decide where she wanted to go.

This made her even more unique than she had been before.

It would be even more reason for Sven to try convincing her to enter the Lahin kingdom with them.

Despite that, he didn't do anything like that. Instead, he accepted the answer Selene gave him as he simply voiced out his advice.

"If you want to enter an academy in the Lahin kingdom, the first year will start in around six months.

I believe you can easily apply to enter any of the academies because you are a noble.

I'm not sure about Kyle, but some academies allow a butler, or bodyguard to enter the academy.

As long as he stays by your side, it should be fine.

I recommend that you apply for the Glory Knight academy.

But you will have to be prepared for fierce competition.

It means you might as well be bullied for having no power, wealth, or lands!

This is obviously because you recently became a Baroness, but I would still recommend you to join the academy.

Studying at one of them is a privilege you receive from the Lahin kingdom, and the opportunities and connections you can build up are superb!"

Kyle was not sure why, but he felt like Sven was favoring him.

It was weird, and Kyle was not even sure why he thought that way.

But, the way Sven talked with them felt as if he was genuinely trying to help both of them, not just Selene.

If he knew that Sven had noticed the light flicker in Kyle's emerald-colored eyes before it had diminished only a moment later, he would be more worried.

Kyle had used his Nurture ability to try figuring out the exact ratio between his nurturement of the white shroud in correspondence to the progression of Arashi's evolution.

This was important to create a rough plan for the journey through the Sadorla forest.

Even if Sven couldn't see what exactly the young Aldra was doing, he knew that Kyle was slightly different compared to the other Aldras he had seen before.

In fact, Sven was genuine of the opinion that Kyle was much stronger than most Aldras.

He would even say that Kyle seemed stronger than some Lohars, despite having the weakest cultivation base!

The fact that Kyle had been able to react before anyone else, and even more important before a sign of life-threatening danger was more than enough to determine his hidden potential.

It was a disgrace for Sven and his subordinates that Kyle's reflexes were quicker than their own.

His quick thinking had saved Selene from Guard Dirk's attempted assassination, but they simply hadn't noticed anything odd before it happened.

Whether this was luck or not, the young Aldra had saved a noble of their race, and Sven was honor-bound to treat him fairly.

This might not be demanded by the Lahin kingdom's politics.

But as long as it was not forbidden, he would do his best to help those that helped him.

Sven would have been executed, or at least severely punished if the news about his inability to protect a noble had reached the kingdom.

The fact that he was right by their side when the attempts occurred was humiliating.

At that moment, Sven couldn't help but look in the direction of the Guildhall.

The thought of his kingdom's rules made him sigh deeply.

It made him recall his old memories, and more importantly the day at which his sister had awoken the Maest cultivation vein.

If Laila had awoken both cultivation veins, nothing bad would have happened.

But owing to the Lahin kingdom's regulations, she had become a Variant.

This made her stand on par with foreign races or lawless individuals within the Lahin kingdom, forcing her to enter a branch of the Guild.

It was not long after that Sven lost contact with his sister, but he had not expected to meet her inside the inconspicuous town.

Vila town harbored more coincidences and secrets than some cities with a population in the millions, which was truly unexpected.

Taken by surprise to see her he acted instinctively.

Being a soldier, his kingdom's rules were drilled in him.

Thus, he had lashed out his sister once more, after everything she had already overcome.

"Should I just meet her once?" He blurted out, not realizing that he had spoken his thoughts out loud, let alone that Selene and Kyle had heard him.

The moment Kyle heard Sven, he turned serious.

His words made him recall his past and the things he regretted not having done.

"There is still some time left before the remaining Lohars arrive. Don't regret not having met Laila afterward. Live without regrets!"

Sven had asked nobody in particular but Kyle answered him.

His eyes flicked to Kyle who smiled at him, his eyes urging him to act upon the words.

Kyle's words seemed to have hit him deeply.

As Sven looked into the young man's eyes that seemed to be filled with exactly what he had said- regret.

Even if Kyle's life was not special, there were many times he had regretted not having said anything, to the people he had loved.

This regret had dispersed with the reincarnation and his second chance.

He had told himself to never do anything, knowing he would regret doing it later.

As such, Kyle was more careful in certain aspects.

At other times, he acted straightforward and confident, which was exactly what he wanted Sven to do too.

Convinced by his own emotions and Kyle's seriousness, Sven simply handed over the Laikan's reins to Kyle before rushing off.

His speed was breathtaking, and his feet stirred up the loose soil, sending bits of it flying around.

In minutes, he disappeared which caused a faint smile to emerge on Kyle's face.

What Kyle didn't know was that Selene had witnessed every single motion and emotion in his face.

Through this, she realized that not only she had suffered in the past, but Kyle had lived a sad life too.