NOVEL NEXT B1 | Chapter 54 - Questions
Alexia
“So you’re sure I can’t kill him?” I ask with a frown while glaring down at the building currently holding the crown prince in it from my place on the tree. “Because I kind of want to now.”
“Please don’t,” Astrid says, shaking her head with a slightly amused look on her face. “We need him in case his father survives his dungeon.”
Right. Can’t go killing the son of a former ascendant who could very well be strong enough to challenge me in some way if he gets out of his dungeon alive.
“Alara also mentioned that she would rather have him alive for her friend’s sake,” Astrid adds, making me frown for a moment before I shrug.
After hearing about what the man has done since the Tutorial began, the first thing I thought was about killing him. But since I can’t do that, I’ll just have to trust them to take care of him.
On that note, the others are all only about in the mid to late level thirties. And none of them have explored deeper into the jungle, only going around the outer edge of it instead.
So I know where I’ll be going soon.
I quickly open the timer left on the Tutorial while climbing to my feet on the tree branch and stretching a little.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Time Left Until the Tutorial’s End
2 days, 20 hours, 20 minutes, 1 second
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Looks like I have a few days left to reach level 100.
“You heading out already?” Astrid asks, bringing my gaze to her.
I nod my head and tell her, “Yeah. This team feels too tense for me to stay here all the time, and I really want to get to the level cap of Tier 1 before the Tutorial ends.”
The people down in the base have been repeatedly glancing up at me like I’m some sort of terrifying monster for some reason. All because I killed a few nobles.
It’s not like it was my first time killing, nor should it have been theirs. After all, everyone in the Royal Academy is sent on a bandit slaying mission during their first year. So everyone should be accustomed to killing. Or at least able to do it.
Otherwise they probably would’ve died on that mission.
“I’ll probably end up making my own little house somewhere nearby this base, but I won’t be staying here myself,” I tell my sister, seemingly not surprising her in the least. “You can count on me to defend the base if necessary though, assuming I’m nearby at the time.”
She faintly smiles at that and nods before stepping up to me and giving me a hug. Then we separate again just as quickly, and I turn to face the jungle.
Time to see just what’s hiding inside this jungle.
The Base
Astrid watches her sister jump off into the jungle for a few seconds before smiling and turning back to face the base, finding half of the group having stopped working to watch her leave. So Astrid jumps down from the tree to land at the center of the base in the midst of the quiet.
And it only takes her sister vanishing into the trees for them all to begin rushing her, asking question after question after question nonstop.
“Where is she going?!” “How did she get so strong?!” “What’s her Legendary Feat?” “Why isn’t she human anymore?”
All questions they were too afraid to ask while she was here… rather sad.
Then one last question brings Astrid’s attention to Alara as the others grow quiet.
“Will she be joining our group?”
The first thing Astrid notices is that everyone around her from both her original team and the new team look conflicted about the question. With the exception of Aidan, who just looks excited, even though he had originally looked wary of her twin after seeing her species change.
After a second, Astrid shakes her head and answers, “No. My sister said she’ll be making a place for her to live nearby the base, but she won’t be joining our group.”
Some of the people around her sigh in relief while others tense up slightly.
“How well do you know your sister?” the princess asks, making Astrid narrow her eyes at her in irritation.
Aidan quickly answers in Astrid’s place, “They’re twins and have been extremely close for as long as I’ve known them.”
“Then how likely is it that she’d turn on us?” the princess continues, and just seconds later Astrid appears next to her with her shadow blade held at the princess’s throat, shocking the princess and everyone else around them. Except for Aidan.
“Calm down, Astrid!” Aidan exclaims, quickly putting his hand on Astrid’s shoulder and pulling her back a little while being careful not to push her into accidentally harming the princess. “She doesn’t know your sister, so please cut her some slack!”
Astrid glares at the princess for a few seconds before slowly pulling back and saying, “The only way she would attack you is if you gave her a reason to. She isn’t some wild dog like you seem to be making her out to be. Class S species or no.”
The princess gulps in a display of fear and nods her head. Then Alara steps up and asks, “Will we be able to count on her help if something happens to the base?”
Astrid doesn’t take her gaze off of the princess as she answers, “She said she would help if she was nearby.”
“That’s all I need to know then,” Alara says with a nod of her head before beginning to walk away, only to pause and turn her head back to Astrid as she asks, “Actually, does she have any idea where she might want to build her house?”
“Why are you asking?” Astrid asks with a frown.
Alara blinks once and answers, “To know where we’re going to be building it?”
Wait, we?
“We?” Elizabeth’s fiancé asks, sounding surprised.
“Yeah,” Alara says, glancing at him. “If she’s going to protect us the least we can do is build her house.”
The man looks like he’s about to say something, only to close his mouth and nod, seemingly agreeing with the plan in the end. And to Astrid’s surprise, no one voices any complains.
Astrid smiles.
I’ll have to keep an eye on the princess, but everyone else seems to be warming up to at least the idea of her living near here. Even if it’s just for her protection, or in some of their cases, gratitude for being saved.
After thinking about that, Astrid looks around the base. Then she finally realizes that most of the casualties they’d suffered during the battle with the crown prince were to the princess’s team, leaving Alara’s team dominant in numbers by a fair margin. Since the only one they had lost was Rob.
Guess it makes sense that she’d be so nervous.
Astrid glances at the princess before deciding to help them with building.