System vs Rebirth

Chapter 126 Date Battle

Hearing what Shale said earlier, Anna couldnʼt help but make a playful smirk as she turned to Noel and asked, ”Should we go on a date then? I mean, training.”

If this was the normal Noel, he would certainly correct her again, implying that they were just going to train.

However, Noel actually answered her with a calm tone. ”Sure.”

”Huh?” Anna wasnʼt prepared for this kind of answer. She subconsciously took a step back, looking at Noel dumbfoundedly.

,m ”Why are you so surprised when you are inviting me?” Noel frowned.

”No…yes!” Annaʼs mind went blank.

Even though he accepted it, Noelʼs sole purpose was to confirm whether what Anna said was true or not. If they walked around together for a while, Anna should slip out sooner or later. Hence, he could confirm that everything was a facade.

ʼIʼm not going to let you lead me by the nose anymore.ʼ Noel was determined to prove her words.

”Whatʼs wrong? Since youʼre the one asking me out, you should be leading. Where should we go?”

”Thatʼs… Thatʼs…” Anna looked left and right, trying to get some help or some time to think.

But Noel pressed her harder by walking away. ”If you donʼt want then, you shouldnʼt say something like that.”

”Wh-what?” Anna bit her lips and hurriedly caught up to him. Even though, she didnʼt know what to do, she should accompany him right now. She could come up with something on the way.

ʼWhat should I do? Even in my past life, I never experienced something like this.ʼ Anna panicked.

But a scene in the past flashed in her mind.

Back then, she was exhausted. She stabbed her sword to the ground just to support her body.

While panting, she looked at Noel who was standing on top of the cliff.

Noel had a sad smile, but it wasnʼt due to his body covered in wounds.

With his body darkening due to the orange sun being the backlighting, his appearance looked even sadder. Noelʼs gaze felt like he had lost something important.

That appearance of his couldnʼt be forgotten because he also said, ”Anna. You donʼt know anything.”

”Just give up, Noel. Your body is already wounded. Even Iʼm exhausted right now, my current condition is enough to kill you. Surrender!”

Noel shook his head. ”Surrender, huh. Living is worse than death, so why do I want to surrender? Instead, I prefer dying… After all, dying in your hands might not be that bad.”

”Huh?” Anna was taken aback by that last statement. She was supposed to be Noelʼs nemesis, yet, the latter said otherwise.

As if Noel tried to annoy her again, he stuck his tongue out and said, ”Just kidding.”

”You—” Anna wanted to get angry, but she was too late, Noel had jumped off the cliff.

”Iʼll see you many more times in the future.” Noel smiled as he fell.

”What?” Anna tried to grab him, but he was already far away. However, she also found a river underneath the cliff and Noel fell onto the water.

Noel was an extraordinary Spirit User, so it was clear that he wouldnʼt be dying by falling into the water. But Noelʼs wounds would make him bedridden for a long time.

”Kh. I want to jump, but my Spiritual Energy is not enough to protect my whole body. Am I going to kill him even if it means a part of my body is crushed?” Anna gritted her teeth and stomped the ground in frustration, giving up on the pursuit.

However, that image of Noelʼs sad smile always lingered in her mind.

…

Remembering that scene, Anna couldnʼt help but think, ʼNow that I think about it, despite Noel showing such an extreme hatred, he truly had changed her life. And that last sentence of his… what does it truly mean?ʼ

Unfortunately, her thought was broken because Noel asked her, ”So, where are we going?”

”A-ah!” Anna was startled, but she immediately said, ”The Demon Forest!”

”Huh? Why would we go to that place?”

”Thereʼs something I want to show you… though, around the sunset.”

”Then, what will we do to pass the time?” Noel squinted his eyes, judging her.

”Thatʼs…” Anna was thinking hard before eventually a good idea flashed in her mind. ”We just strolled around the forest. I mean, weʼve been to the forest a few times, but each time, weʼre fighting against time, making us rush many things.

”This time, how about we slowly walk around and just enjoy the scenery? Even though itʼs a forest filled with demons, itʼs still a forest. Not like the demon can do any harm to us as long as itʼs not an Advanced Level Demon.”

Noel furrowed his eyebrows. ”Are you sure you want to waste my time of training with this idea?”

”!!!” Annaʼs body trembled for a moment. Noel was a training maniac. Although he wasnʼt a muscle brain, he truly trained whenever he had the chance.

Still, Anna could come up with an excuse. ”Resting itself is also a form of training. You need to properly rest your muscle and allow them to heal themselves so that they can grow stronger.”

”…” Noel paused for a moment. ”Fine.”

”Great.” She smiled.

With Noelʼs agreement, they proceeded to walk to the gate.

But as expected of Noel, he grabbed Annaʼs shoulder and stopped her from leaving the gate.

”What are you doing?” Anna wanted to complain, but Noel had already left her. ”Huh?”

She soon found him standing in front of a stall selling bread and returned with a bag of them.

Because of her inexperience, Anna forgot the fact that they were still early in the morning and they hadnʼt had any breakfast. Even if they could skip the meal, Noel wanted to make sure that they had enough energy to move around and kill demons if they tried to attack them.

Noel gave her some and said, ”Here you go. This should be good for breakfast. You should cook for lunch.”

Anna received the bread with a dumbfounded expression and saw Noel starting to eat the bread as if she didnʼt care about her expression.

Little did he know, inside that nonchalant expression, Noel was thinking, ʼHehe. In addition to your unpreparedness, this action will make you feel challenged because you havenʼt done anything even though youʼre the one asking me out. Youʼll surely show your true nature.ʼ

However, what Anna did was completely the exact opposite what Noel expected.

She lowered her head, looked at the bread for a while, before taking a small bite. The bread wasnʼt particularly delicious, so Noel couldnʼt understand why she would blush.

ʼHuh?!ʼ