"Yeah, yeah. We only have thirty minutes, so I'd rather get what I need first before looking around." Noel shrugged and walked to the shelves where they stored Ancient Books.
"Well…" Anna had an awkward smile but still stopped looking around and followed him to the book section.
"Hmm…" Anna narrowed her eyes while saying, "The Ancient Books are for those who have high conversion rate since most people are like that in the past… So, the intensity and power are different. Even so, the Ancient Books are divided into a few ranks as well.
"They are Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Level. What kind of books are you planning to get? The Advanced Level Books?" Anna asked.
"Do you even need to ask?" Noel sighed, feeling a bit annoyed that there was a need for her to ask this question. He thought Anna had been underestimating his intelligence.
"If you get the Adv—"
"It's obviously Beginner Book." Noel shook his head helplessly while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you think I'm a fool? I know that my current level is not enough to use those powerful stuff. I should choose something that suits me. There is still a chance to exchange for something better later."
"Oh…" Anna scratched the back of her head, feeling embarrassed. However, this was the perfect time she tested it. She opened her mouth and spoke in a low voice. "I'm sorry…"
There was no response from Noel as the latter ignored her and started searching for the books.
"…" Anna was speechless and ended up sighing. Ultimately, she looked around to find a book that suited her too.
After ten minutes, Anna had picked her two Ancient Techniques.
'Lightning Z-Bird Step.'
'Four Points Circulation.'
Noel still had a hard time picking on his second book. Seeing his struggle, Anna thought she could give some advice to him. "Are you still searching for one?"
Noel tilted his head in confusion and took a glimpse of the title of the two techniques.
Noticing his gaze, Anna smiled and showed the two techniques to him. "Ah, I got these two. Well, the one who knew about the appearance of the Ancient Demon Tree was you, so I wanted to Four Points Circulation Technique with you."
'In the past, Noel could kill the Ancient Demon Tree by himself. So, he would have done the job without my appearance here. If he wanted to, he could leave me behind by hiding the truth about the tree's emergence. In other words, I've taken something from Noel's future and got benefited by it.
'I've decided to change, so I don't want to monopolize everything. If we technique, it means I get 1.5 books while he gets 2.5 of books,' thought Anna, planning to fix all her mistakes.
However, Noel misunderstood her intention once again. After all, he had no memory about his past life.
He looked at Anna with a weird expression and thought, 'What is she doing right now… Is she planning to make me feel indebted to her again by sharing this technique?'
The scene of her apologizing couldn't help but flash in his mind.
'As expected, she's changed somehow. It seems that this is her trick right now. She's planning to make me owe her to humiliate me even further for feeling indebted to the enemies that killed my parents. No, I won't let her do so.' Noel gritted his teeth.
He hurriedly returned the book he had earlier and grabbed two books that he had seen earlier.
'Bouncing Spiritual Slash.'
'Spirit Aura Breathing.'
He then showed the Spirit Aura Breathing to her and said, "If you try to share it with me, then I'll share one book with you too."
"Noel…" Anna widened her eyes, feeling moved. Noel's action looked like a proof to her realization earlier. She thought, 'That's right. If you're not sincere to others, others won't do the same to you. That's why I'll be sincere to him. In the future, I hope that we can become a good friend.'
Unbeknownst to her, that thought was completely her own misunderstanding.
Noel simply didn't want to feel indebted to her due to his character. There was no other meaning behind it.
"That's right. Let's share then. Together, we can be even stronger." Anna made a big smile.
Even Noel didn't expect this smile from her. It somehow felt different from her usual smile, but he didn't understand it.
So, he ignored it and said, "Now that we've chosen the books, we still have some time to explore this place…"
"Ah, right! Let's go around." Anna nodded furiously. She even took the initiative to be his guide, introducing the items in this treasury.
While they were looking around, she asked, "By the way, what are we going to do after this?"
"I am planning to train for the rest of the month. After that, I'm going for a journey."
"For Individual Mission?" Anna tilted her head, thinking Noel was a bit too rushed.
"Yeah. We shouldn't go too far… At least a month worth of trip before meeting at a certain location to do a Group Mission." Noel sighed. "I need to match the timing for the promise with you… 8 months from now, huh."
"Ah!" It turned out Noel was calculating the promise as well. It was her who hadn't put that much thought into the planning. In the end, she decided to trust Noel and follow his schedule together. "I see. Let's do that then. I'll match your schedule."
"Match my schedule?" Noel looked at her with a weird face. "I don't need your compassion."
"No, no." Anna waved her hand while chuckling. "Let's just say that I'm dumber than you. Since you've put that much thought into the planning, it's better to cooperate."
"Is there a need to emphasize that?"
"Yeah. Absolutely. If only other people can hear that too, that would be perfect." Noel admitted without hesitation.
"…" Anna had the urge to hit him, but refrained herself. "Well, whatever. Just tell me about your plan and we'll match it, alright?"
"Well, since you're dumber, then we can do it."
Anna's eyebrows twitched.. She even took a deep breath to calm herself and said, "Anyway, let's go back."
Noel also thought this was the time for them to go back.
As if expecting their return, the soldiers opened the gate again.
"Well, it seems that you've got what you want…" Oscar was a bit speechless when he saw both of them bringing two Ancient Techniques at the same time. It was clear that someone influenced the other to take it. However, he didn't want to talk about it right now.
"Alright. Since you've got your rewards, you can go back."
"Yes. Thank you, Commander." Both Anna and Noel bowed their heads politely.
Before they left, Oscar grabbed Noel's shoulder and said, "You need to follow me after this."
Noel was confused for a second before remembering the extra rewards for his second identity. He agreed without hesitation. "I understand."