Chapter 401: I Don’t Know If You Are Very Brave Or Very Stupid
Alex sat and ate quietly as the villagers danced around the bonfire to the beat of the music.
The young man was mildly amused when Nessia pulled Charles towards the bonfire to join the villagers’ dance.
Folk dances were common in the Kingdom. Most commoners learnt the steps when they were still children and teens. Dancing together was a crucial part of celebrations like harvest festivals and weddings.
These simple dances often had similar steps and were very different from the dances that the nobles preferred during their own gatherings.
To the nobles, folk dancing might look crude and unappealing, but for the majority of commoners, that was the only dancing they knew.
Soon after Nessia had convinced Charles to dance together with the villagers, Princess Xenia dragged Chuck along, eager to join the fun.
Alex cackled when he saw the troublemaker’s unwillingness. Chuck looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than here, but the warrior princess’s vice-like grip ensured he was going nowhere except where she wanted him to go.
If not for the next couple, he would’ve continued laughing evilly at his roommate.
With Cairo’s hand in hers, Elaine practically skipped towards the bonfire. Alex made a ntal note to ask Efa if anything had happened between the two of them.
"I bet you didn’t see that coming."
Alex almost choked on his food when Efa suddenly appeared beside him and whispered in his ear.
After surviving the coughing fit, he narrowed his eyes at the mischievous scout. She grinned widely in response. Clearly, she wasn’t going to offer any information unless he asked first.
"Did sothing happen between them?" Alex asked after valiantly resisting his curiosity for all of five seconds.
"Yes," Efa answered. "It happened during our trip to Heracle Mountain."
"Huh?!" Alex’s jaw dropped as he wondered if exhaustion could cause him to mishear things. "You all went to Heracle Mountain?"
Efa nodded. "We did."
"Then did you take so kind of trial together?" Alex asked.
The young lady giggled. "Elaine and Cairo took a trial together. I took a different trial from them."
"Now it finally makes sense," Alex muttered. "That’s why you and Efa suddenly beca Rank 4 and Master beca Rank 5."
Efa arched an eyebrow because Alex seed to know exactly what they had been through.
She decided to cut straight to the chase. "Do you know about the secret of the Heracle Mountain?"
"Yes. My club mbers and I went there as well."
"So... that power that you used to end the battle is the ability you gained from that trial?"
Alex gave her a thumbs-up. "Yes."
There was no longer any need to keep it a secret from Efa since she had already been there too.
In fact, even if Efa and Cairo hadn’t known about the secret of the Heracle Mountain, Alex would have told them about it before they parted ways once more.
He motioned for Efa to co closer.
"Do you know the second part of that Chain Quest?" Alex whispered in her ear.
Efa nodded. "It’s in the Faelarun Kingdom, right?"
"How did you know about it?" Alex wanted to know how the trio had stumbled upon this secret quest that not many knew about.
"If I tell you that I beca aware of it because of a dream, will you believe ?" Efa asked.
"I will," Alex answered without hesitation. "If that was how you learned about it, then I’ll believe you."
Efa smiled, touched that Alex didn’t even bat an eye at such a crazy idea.
She could tell from his eyes how serious his belief in her was, which made her sigh in relief.
"Then is it safe to assu that you and your club mbers will also go to the Kingdom of Faelarun?"
"We will go there during the Inter-Academy Competition that will be held in Faelarun," Alex stated. "How about you guys? Are you going to head to Faelarun right now?"
Efa shook her head. She told Alex that Cairo had decided to go there after three months because he wanted to explore a dungeon that he had always wanted to challenge.
As to what the na of that dungeon was, Efa had no clue! Cairo hadn’t told them where it was.
"Also, congratulations, Alex," Efa added in a teasing tone. "It seems that you have managed to get close to one of your Queens."
Alex neither confird nor denied her statent. He kept his silence and resud eating his stew.
Perhaps understanding that it was still too early, Efa dropped the topic. Instead, she told Alex about her adventures with Cairo and Elaine.
They had been traveling all over the Kingdom. From ti to ti, they accepted quests from the Adventurer’s Guild.
In exchange, Alex shared about his ti in the academy, letting Efa know that he was doing quite well for himself.
"Truth be told, I thought that you would get bullied because you are a commoner," Efa comnted. "I have heard many stories about how the nobles treat the commoners."
"Well, it does happen." Alex didn’t feel the need to deny that bullying did happen in the academy. "That’s just how it is. Unless the Professors and the Headmaster make a determined effort to put a stop to it, nothing will change."
Alex wasn’t delusional enough to claim that his blackmail incident in the academy had put a stop to bullying.
The only thing it did was to prevent anyone from bullying his club mbers because they were under his protection.
The nobles still hated him, this was a fact. But they had chosen to just ignore or avoid him completely because he was unpredictable.
Suddenly, Alex sensed an intense gaze land on him. Instinctively, he turned to look in its general direction.
"What’s wrong?" Efa followed Alex’s eyes, but didn’t see anything unusual. "Did you see or hear sothing coming from the forest?"
"I... I might just be imagining things." Alex frowned.
The intense gaze had lasted only for a mont. However, it hadn’t contained any hostility.
But, deep inside, Alex knew that it ca from sothing beyond his league.
His sixth sense was telling him that sothing dangerous was out there, and yet the lack of killing intent or malice made him believe that whoever looked at him had no intention of hurting him.
Still, he decided to play it safe, and opened his map in a subtle manner.
The mont Alex confird his suspicion, a shudder washed over his body.
"I think I’ll go back to rest at Simon’s place, Efa," Alex said before walking towards Village Head’s house. "Don’t mind
and just enjoy the festivities."
Alex walked briskly, doing his best to prevent his entire body from shaking from fear and anxiety.
He should have felt safe staying with so many people, but he still chose to go away.
Why?
Because the person who was staring at him could easily kill everyone in the village even if they all worked together to resist him.
After entering the house, Alex went straight to his room and firmly locked the door. He knew that locking his door was useless, but he still did it anyway.
As soon as that door was locked, an overpowering presence locked him in place.
"I don’t know if you are very brave or very stupid."
A cold voice spoke behind him.
"Tell , do you know who I am?"
Alex trembled uncontrollably, not daring to turn.
He felt that if he were to look, he would not be able to walk away from this place alive. He had no choice but to keep facing forward while doing his utmost to stop his body from shaking due to the instinctive, primal fear that had overtaken him.
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