Gata~, goto~, gata~, goto~. While making such noises, the carriage boarded by Alex and the other participants of the rank-up test continued advancing on the highway.
Eleonora was driving, Golfak was on the lookout; however, there was another third person with the two; Lucien.
''I wonder how far we are still from our final destination.'' Lucien raised a question.
To Lucien's question, Golfak did not comment, while Eleonora responded while looking into the distance.
''Look ahead; we are not far anymore because you can see the Zilya mountain from here.''
To Eleonora's words, Lucien looked ahead, and indeed he could see the mountain from their current location; the mountain was extremely tall covered in snow; it looked like mount Everest from Earth, however not as tall as Everest.
''That's true; we are already closer to it. Let's quickly get over this mission and go back; I'm tired of sleeping in the wild; it's not good for the health.''
Eleonora looked strangely at Lucien after hearing his words; shaking her head, she focused her gaze ahead.
Meanwhile, inside the carriage.
''I think we are not far from our destination. Am I wrong?"
To Alex's question, Conrad replied, ''Yes, we will arrive tonight. If you look outside, you could see Zilya mountain from here.''
Alex said before turning his face in Gracier's direction; the latter mood seemed a little down since earlier, probably because they were nearing her former hometown.
''Alexandra, are you feeling unwell?"
''I'm fine, Big brother; I was just thinking about something; don't worry, I'm perfectly fine,'' Gracier responded.
Alex nodded his head, not saying anything; he chose to close his eyes and rest.
Meera also noticed Gracier's mood, not knowing the real reason why; she attributed it to her being tired or because of what happened earlier (First time killing another human). She tried to lighten the mood, but Gracier remained unresponsive, so she gave up.
While Meera was lost in thought about the possible reason for Gracier's sudden depression, Alex, who closed his eyes, was chatting with Silveria.
〖Master, it's not fair you have forsaken me.〗
To Silveria's words, Alex's lips twitched; if someone were to hear her words, they would have mistaken it for Alex abandoning her.
'Why did you say that I have forsaken you?'
Alex asked, fully knowing where the discussion was going.
〖Since a few days ago you never used me in the fight, not even when you were having fun with that girl Eleonora, even when facing the bandits you only used your knives, as though knives are your main weapon, it's us your main weapons, you don't need any other weapons beside us.
If only we had not compromised and let you use an alternative weapon, you won't now be focusing most of your time on using knives.〗Silveria said, not hiding her displeasure.
(As I thought it comes to this.) Alex thought before saying.
'So, it's because you compromised reason why I was able to use knives as a weapon?'
〖What else could there be if it wasn't because we compromised?〗
'Well, I thought it was because I found a loophole.'
To Alex's answer, Silveria giggled.
〖No way, we let you use knives because, without them, you would have died. Usually, you will not use any other weapons besides us because we never authorized doing such thing, it's us nothing else.
We were forced to compromise because of the seal placed upon us; if not, the first time you have summoned us, you could have used us, feel our presence, it's because of the seal, others mistook us for being useless, same goes for you.〗Silveria explained.
'I see, but your way of indicating that I couldn't any other weapons was too brutal. The headache almost killed me; I felt like my head was going to split.' Alex complained.
〖We sorry, it was the only way to force us to stop trying because we couldn't communicate with you and also it was because a part of your soul was rejected the notion of using another weapon beside us after we were linked to your soul.〗
'I see. Don't worry; soon, you'll come out and kill to your heart content; you need to be a little bit patient.'
〖That's good to hear.〗
Master and Spirit's weapon continued chatting until it was time for another shift, this time, Alex volunteered and replaced Golfak, while normally Sebastian should have taken Eleonora's place; however, the latter refused to say she was not tired you could continue.
Alex knew the real reason for her refusal; it was to have the time to chat alone, however just after Alex sat in Golfak's former place, Conrad appeared and sat in Lucien's place.
Eleonora looked at Conrad strangely; he had never behaved like he did today.
Sighing, Eleonora asked,
''No matter how many times I've seen it, it's still beautiful, don't you think it's beautiful too?"
After hearing Eleonora's question, Alex couldn't help but nod his head; the Zilya mountain view was indeed beautiful.
''It's indeed beautiful.'' Conrad also shared the same feeling.
''Alex, what's your goal?"
At the sudden question, Alex looked at Eleonora strangely.
''And why would I tell you my goal?"
''Come on, Alex, tell me. I want to know; we are party members, after all. We should talk about those kinds of stuff to deepen our relationship for better coordination. Don't you think so?"
'What kind of bullshit is this girl spouting?' Conrad wondered; however, he did not voice it out.
Hearing Eleonora shamelessly claims that it was for the greater good, not because of her interest, Alex was amused.
''I see, what you said holds some logic. Well, before answering, tell me, why are you hiding your real identity behind this mask of planners?"
Eleonora's eyes widened for a moment; however she quickly concealed it with a cough.
''Dunno what you're talking about.''
Seeing Eleonora decided to play the ignorant, Alex chuckled and said,
''I don't have any goal.''
Eleonora rolled her eyes inwardly, sighing, thinking how sharp Alex's intuition was. She was sure her disguise was perfect, but I guess not. Her face was too plain.
Shaking her head, she decided to switch the subject because she noticed Conrad's stare; the latter was smiling as if he couldn't wait to watch an exciting show.
''It's true that you can't use magic?"
''It's true. Why do you doubt my word?"
Alex responded before asking a question in turn.
''Well, it's impossible for you not to be able to use any magic because of the frightening amount of Magic power you possess.'' Eleonora's explained.
''I see. It's why you doubt me. I indeed possess a lot of MP, but as I said, I can't use any magic.''
Eleonora stayed silent while Conrad observed Alex see if he was lying or not; however, no matter how many times he observed the young man, he didn't detect any lie on the latter face, which is strange how someone can possess so much of MP and claim that he can't use any magic? If it's true, what use does that amount of MP have?
While Conrad was trying to figure out a possible explanation for Alex's words, he heard Eleonora raising a question, which made him widen his eyes.
''It's because of your Gift? It must be related to your Gift. Am I wrong?"
Toward Eleonora's question, Alex smiled mysteriously and said, ''Who knows.''
''Fufufu! I know that I'm right; the reason you possess so much of Magic Power is related to your Gift. Now, I'm more interested in knowing what kind of gift you possess. Can you please show me?"
''I refuse. Show me yours; I'll show you mine.'' Alex said.
''I don't know what you are talking about.''
''Playing the innocent again.,' Alex said with a tired sigh.
Conrad observed the two start bickering; he couldn't help but chuckle as he found them amusing.
'They will make a great couple with Eleonora harassing Alex all day long. Hehehe, that will be interesting.' He thought if Alex knew what was going through Conrad's, he would have slapped him, saying not to joke around.
Suddenly, looking into the distance, Conrad noticed something.
''We are nearing the village, another 3 kilometers (9842.52 ft). I suggest you camp around here to discuss strategy before making a move.''
''I share the same thought,'' Alex responded before he started searching for an excellent spot to camp for the night; it was already evening, the sun was about to set down.
One kilometer (3280.84 ft) later, they found a good spot; stopping the carriage, they decided to camp here tonight. Meera, Golfak, and Gracier searched for firewoods; meanwhile, Lucien created water that would be used because the nearby water source was on the other side of Gato's Village.
The preparations were ready soon; everybody was sitting around the campfire and eating roasted rabbit caught by Golfak and cooked by Gracier, who has the cooking skill.
After done eating, it would be time for the strategy meeting.