Chapter 85: Journey

"Since we're running instead of riding a horse, the journey will take at least a day longer. I guess we need to focus on our speed as well as the time limit," said Anna while stretching her body.

"Yeah. And we've this luggage." Noel glanced back. Since they were going to have a journey on their own later, they brought their own tent and tools. So, their luggage weighed the same.

"Indeed. Let's go then." Anna smirked, looking at the horizon.

Noel nodded as the two started running to their destination.

This was the first time Noel and Anna ran for such a long journey. Even in the past life, Anna rode a horse or carriage when traveling this far.

So, it was quite surprising to see Noel pushing himself this far.

'No wonder he could grow stronger that fast in the past life. His dedication toward training is something to be praised of. The more I am with him, the more I learn how he behaved in the past.' Anna thought while running.

Noel ignored her gaze and continued running, following the road. They had no way to pinpoint their exact location when traveling, so they followed the dirt road and turned to another direction when they met the crossroads.

It was true that they could arrive earlier by going straight one way, but they would end up getting lost because they couldn't pinpoint their exact location.

Even so, Noel didn't complain. How could he complain? This was a perfect opportunity to continue his running training.

During the day, they just kept running. There wasn't even much talking between them. During the night, Noel would train himself by making himself aware of the surroundings even if he fell asleep.

It was tiring, but if he could do this, he could travel alone without getting ambushed by monsters or people.

Meanwhile, Anna hunted a wild animal that hadn't been turned into a demon for their food.

Although the atmosphere was awkward most of the time, Noel never showed his hostility openly anymore. If Anna talked to him, he would listen and reply to her. For Anna, this was a huge progress.

On the second day, Noel found another set of training that could be done while running. It was Spirit Aura Breathing.

This would increase his proficiency by the time they arrived. Even Anna copied him.

After a long seven days, they had finally reached the outskirt of the village.

The village had no wall to keep them safe. They probably had not enough money to build one.

From a single glance, most of the houses were made of wood instead of bricks. The difference of quality of living was clear to see.

There was no way he would find something like this when he was a noble. The most he would do was going to another city, never a village.

"That's the village." Anna was pretty excited to experience this kind of life again. She had sworn to herself that she wouldn't mistreat people again, so this was the first step to achieve it.

"Look." Noel pointed at the people that were moving around the village. Some of them held a weapon, some held their farming tools. However, all of them seemed to be vigilance. They were probably afraid of the incoming attack.

When one of the villagers spotted them, they informed the others. Women and children hurriedly ran back to their houses and closed every window and door. The men gathered in front of the village while holding their weapons and tools to fend off the invaders.

They were quite hesitant because they could only see Anna and Noel. If it was a bandit group, they would come with many people.

Seeing their hesitation, Noel took out his knight token and shouted to calm them down. "My name is Noel Ardagan, an Apprentice Knight of the Demon Banner Army. We're here because the request for bandits subjugation. Please lower your weapons!"

"?!" The people became a bit confused after listening to Noel's words. They looked at each other, wondering what to do.

Suddenly, they moved back, giving a way for an elderly man. His aged face was filled with wrinkles that he had a trouble to even open his eyes.

Still, he slowly approached both of them and asked, "I apologize for our behavior. However, I have a request that I hope Sir Noble can comply. Would you mind showing me the token so that I can confirm your identity?"

Noel thought about using his family name to make them think he was a noble to stop them from attacking them, but it seemed he made unnecessary fear.

'Yeah. I shouldn't use my family name when introducing myself. People won't know that I'm a fallen noble without knowing me personally.' Noel had gotten used to the prejudice in the Demon Banner Army, so he didn't put too much thought in his introduction.

Still, it was useless to cry over spilled milk. Instead of fixing the misunderstanding, Noel put a gentle smile to assure them that he wasn't a hostile noble. He then handed the token to the village chief. "Here you go. Don't worry. I can understand your unrest."

"Thank you so much." The village chief respectfully received the token before inspecting it. After he made sure Noel was real, he returned the token and dropped to his knees. "I apologize for my rudeness before."

When the people saw the village chief kneeling, they also dropped to the ground since Noble like him would have a good reason to eliminate this village. Pointing their weapon at a noble could be punished to death after all.

Noel hurriedly bent down his knees and helped the elderly up while saying, "There is no need to kneel. I understand your action. The bandits have terrorized you so much that you're scared of anything. That's why I'm here to solve your problem. Instead of kneeling here, why don't you get up and talk about the bandits?"

"Oh." The village chief was surprised by Noel's gentleness and kindness. Even though he had stood up, he still lowered his head, pleading. "Please save this village."

"Yes, that's what I'm planning to do. Let's talk somewhere else?"

"Y-yes." The village chief nodded furiously. "Let me invite you to my house. I shall tell you everything I know about the bandits."

Behind Noel, Anna was taking notes of Noel's action on how he deescalated the situation and even made them feel assured.