Chapter 33: Partner

Unbeknownst to Noel, one of the bystanders was Anna Stargaze. She almost dropped her jaw when she saw Noel talking to a kid.

'Wait a minute. Isn't that kid... the famous twin Sword Dancers? He should have a twin sister. Noel shouldn't have known about his talent, so why did he help him?'

Her opinion soon changed when she saw the kid dancing awkwardly. She couldn't even call it a dance at that point.

And what even more absurd was when the kid brought other people with him, including his twin sister.

In that instant, she realized something.

'Noel helps them simply because he wants to help them. If it were me, I would have helped the twins simply because of their talents and made them owe me. But it's because he helps them randomly, people naturally like him.

'In my past life, there were many great figures Noel saved, including the twins. Those who felt indebted to him helped him during the rebellion against the Royal Family. That was why they had a hard time fighting against Noel.

'And this is also one of the reasons why I haven't killed Noel yet. He is a great asset to make the kingdom prosper. It seems I need to suffer a bit. Time to train a bit more, so that he can't surpass me.' Anna sighed and disappeared. She was taking a stroll to get something to eat and found a commotion which Noel caused. Since she had gotten what she needed, she chose to return to her place, making sure she was strong enough to handle Noel's hatred until it could be resolved.

Meanwhile, Noel said goodbye to the kids before running around for his training.

He also checked his system to see the progress of his mission.

Medal: Excellent Citizen Merit

Requirement: Help 25 Townspeople (16/25)

Reward: Excellent Citizen Medal and 4 Honor Points

'Hmm? I helped 11 kids just by feeding them today? But who are the two others? Kirika and her mother? Kirika aside, her mother?' Noel widened his eyes, realizing that an indirect help could also be counted as helping people. 'Still, I need to experience how indirect can it be for it to be counted as help.'

After receiving this sign, Noel didn't hesitate to use today and the next day to help some more people, finally completing the mission.

Before going to the barrack again, he checked his system.

[Shop]

Available Points: 6 HP

1 Skill Point (2 HP)

Disinfectant Bandage (1 HP)

Water Bottle (1 HP)

Torch (1 HP)

"Hmm... I had 1 Honor Point left before going to the forest and received three points after completing the Demon Mission. I used two of them. But with the additional four points from helping the citizens, I could buy three Skill Points right now.

"I have two options. First, the next level of Mega Slash and Ardagan Swordsmanship will cost 3 Skill Points, meaning all of what I have right now. On the other hand, I can spend only one Skill Point and save the rest if I choose to learn Swift Strike.

"What should I do?" Noel narrowed his eyes. After remembering the Rivalry Medal, he immediately used all his Honor Points to buy the Skill Points to advance his Ardagan Swordsmanship.

"The test is rescheduled one week later. In other words, I can get more Honor Points to spend later." Noel smirked.

After receiving all the knowledge about the swordsmanship, he went to the barrack as Shale had prepared a big announcement.

There were certainly less people after the previous incident. Although the casualty had been minimized by Anna, there were still at least ten people dying in the forest.

After a while, Shale arrived with Anna in the training ground and shouted, "Attention!"

All of the trainees hurriedly gathered and became quiet.

"15 people out of 60 people have passed away during the last outbreak. Thanks to Anna Stargaze here, we somehow cut our loss more than half. In other words, if not for her, there would be more than 30 people losing their lives. So, make sure you thank her.

"Because of this sudden outbreak, we're going to reschedule the test. The military personnel shall check the condition within the forest first so that this situation won't happen again. Because the number has been reduced this much, we're going to change our method.

"I'm sure that you've realized it but it will be hard for you to kill a demon on your own. You need to get the help of other groups or traps which I have taught you for the past week. Of course, you have no idea how to coordinate with each other as well because you might have known your teammates not long ago.

"Hence, you're going to train in a pair because the test will be in pairs instead of a group of three. There is one week from now. You can learn more about your pair, learn what you need to do and prepare as much as possible. This will allow your pair to be better than the previous three-person group.

"Of course, you're free to add traps and join hands with other groups like the previous test. Because the number is odd, Anna Stargaze will join you as a trainee. That's all. You have 30 minutes to decide your partner and register it. Go!" Shale stepped down.

As expected, Anna instantly gathered the attention of all people because they knew how strong she was. If they could pair up with her, their group would become the top group.

Yet, Anna never accepted their invitation and instead, walked to Noel with a cunning smile.

"Well, Noel... It's been a while."

"!!!" Everyone widened their eyes in surprise.

"Why did she go to him?"

"Did they have a relationship?"

"Certainly, but not a good one."

"What do you mean?"

"Her family was the one that destroyed Noel's Family. In other words, they were enemies."

"The rumor said she was the one giving that idea."

"So, Anna wanted to torture Noel using this opportunity?"

"Damn. Even I couldn't help but sympathize him at this point. He can't really catch a break."

The people were whispering to each other about the information between the two houses. Even Alfred and Lezlev who once partnered up with Noel furrowed their eyebrows.

Anna ignored all their words and said with a cunning smile as if she was inciting his anger. "What do you think, Noel? Do you want to partner up with me?"

Their prediction came true. Anna truly wanted to torture Noel at this point.

But to everyone's surprise, Noel gave her a calm answer. "Sure."

"Eh?!" All of them dropped their jaws, not believing what Noel said. It was clear that Noel needed to refuse it if he didn't want to experience a miserable life, but he actually accepted her invitation.

Even Anna's eyes opened wide.

"Why are you shocked too when you're the one inviting me?" Noel looked at her coldly.

"No, I mean..." Anna couldn't find any words because she had prepared a few pick up lines that could make use of Noel's anger to make him join.

However, Noel took out his sword and pointed it at her.

"This is..." Anna took a step back, feeling a bit relieved since this was how Noel was supposed to act.

"I don't know the reason why you won't kill me right now... Maybe you like to torture me or whatever, but I'll take this chance to have something from you too. I want you to fight me seriously at least three times a day because I'm going to kill you for real. I've said to you that you're going to regret for not killing me." Noel stated with a cold tone.

Anna smirked as she'd got what she wanted today. "Sure. I can agree to that terms. But I need to remind you that you're too weak to even make a scratch on my body."

"We don't know anything about that yet." Noel snorted.

However, both of them thought the same thing in their head. 'Got her(him).'