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We finally docked at a hill that was quite far from the settlement. The hill was high enough, so we landed around its base. The slope was quite steep, but we had no other choice.

Alex immediately took a rope from under the boat and threw it toward a tree so the boat would not drift when we got off.

Alex went down first and swam to tie the end of the rope to a tree trunk.

He slowly pulled the boat closer.

One by one we climbed down, and Alex helped us.

Even though the hill was quite high, at least there were not many tall trees. There were some vegetables growing around, which seemed to be farmland owned by the villagers.

Michelle was still unconscious.

“Is she still sleeping?” I asked Farel after everything that had just happened.

He nodded.

Earlier Alex had checked Michelle’s pulse and pressed on her chest to perform first aid and remove the water that had entered her lungs. But after that she fainted, and Alex realized she had been slightly poisoned by the water she swallowed while swimming.

“Will she wake up soon?” I asked, worried because Michelle was still unconscious.

“Yes, maybe. Give her a few minutes and she will wake up,” Alex said.

After that we looked toward the water again.

It seemed the water level had stopped rising.

Several objects that could not sink floated to the surface, and the water had become murkier, a sign that the massacre of the Elf clan had killed almost eighty percent of them.

While we were staring ahead, suddenly my uncle and aunt woke up one after another. They were shocked when they saw the water in front of them had turned murky and smelled strongly of blood.

“The Elves… are they destroyed?” my aunt said while wiping away tears after realizing what had happened.

The soldiers had gathered them only to wipe out the Elf clan.

I understood what my aunt felt. Perhaps now the remaining Elf clan was barely twenty percent.

As we stared forward, Michelle suddenly woke up and looked around.

“Xanders!”

She called my name.

I turned to her and she looked at me sadly.

“What made you come looking for me?” I asked.

She took a deep breath.

“Can we talk alone?” she asked.

I looked at Farel and Alex alternately. They nodded.

Then I walked a little farther away from them, followed by Michelle.

“Go ahead,” I said.

She nodded.

When she spoke earlier with everyone, her eyes looked sad. But when we were alone, her gaze became firm.

“King Albert is not a good man.”

“He wants to sacrifice you and rule all the clans.”

I nodded because I already knew that he only wanted to use me.

But when I thought about breaking free, what I feared most was my ancient fire hurting innocent people. If that happened, the chaos would be even worse under King Albert’s rule.

“You already knew?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes, I already knew.”

She shook her head when she saw my calm reaction.

“You’re just being used by him. You’re just a pawn he uses to achieve his goals.”

She pressed her hand against my chest as she said that.

But instead of getting angry, I just stayed silent and looked at her.

Our eyes met.

She looked at me with determination.

I reached out to touch her hair, but when I was about to stroke it, she suddenly grabbed my hands and I stopped.

“How did you get here?” I asked.

There were many questions I wanted to ask, but I chose not to ask too much.

I didn’t even know why she came here.

“Are you being hunted?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

She shook her head.

“Alright. I won’t force you to answer.”

She sighed deeply.

Honestly, I didn’t completely believe her words. There had to be something bigger behind all this than just Albert.

We ended the conversation and returned to the others.

Farel’s parents looked at me with warm smiles, while Farel looked at me with curiosity.

They didn’t ask anything about Michael. They respected privacy.

Since the sky had grown darker, we hurried to leave the hill.

I carried my uncle while Alex carried my aunt.

The path was steep, and several times Farel asked to carry them instead, but we refused because he was still injured.

“Let me carry them,” he insisted.

I shook my head.

“Your wound hasn’t even healed yet,” Alex said while chuckling softly.

“You… I’m still capable!”

“You’re used to carrying your parents. Just walk properly,” I said without turning back, while Michelle followed behind us.

We finally reached the peak where there was a waterfall.

That place became our gathering point to decide our next plan.

The journey took about three hours.

Several times we stopped to rest.

Farel also asked to take turns carrying them, but I refused because his wound was still serious.

Because we were exhausted, we decided to rest for a while.

Although the destination was already close, rain began to fall and soaked our clothes.

We had no choice but to take shelter.

From there we saw a quiet cave.

We rested inside the cave because the rain became heavier and the road was slippery. The sky was also growing darker.

Inside the cave we lit a candle that Alex had brought in his bag.

Alex prepared everything. He even brought dried meat for us to eat.

I found it strange how he had prepared everything so carefully.

It was as if he already knew something was wrong with the palace hall.

“You seem like a very careful person,” Farel said while eating the dried meat Alex had given him.

Alex stopped eating and looked at Farel.

“Yes. As you guessed, I already made plans for the future.”

He spoke quietly.

I nodded because it seemed he didn’t want others to know too much.

“Are we staying here tonight?” Michelle asked.

She was sitting a little apart from the four of us.

I nodded.

It was impossible to continue traveling because the rain had grown heavier and there was a storm coming.

“Do you want to sleep?” I asked when I saw how tired she looked.

I also noticed she seemed uncomfortable with her wet clothes.

I took off one layer of my clothes and walked toward Michelle.

“Here.”

I handed the cloth to her.

“No need,” she said while leaning her head against a rock and closing her eyes.

But I still left the cloth beside her even though she refused.

When I returned to the others, Farel immediately asked,

“Why do you care about her?”

I shrugged.

“I don’t think I care about her.”

He chuckled softly.

“I’ve known you since we were kids. You never help women… except Shasha.”

I shrugged again.

After making sure the campfire was burning, the air grew colder.

The wind blew strongly.

My uncle and aunt were in better condition.

Everyone had fallen asleep.

Only I remained awake, staring at the fire.

My body felt tired, yet somehow I couldn’t close my eyes.

Something was bothering my mind.

And I didn’t know what it was.

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