They all arrived at the mansion, being cared for by the servants who checked if there were any serious injuries, then gathered at a table. Cristian had taken the last thief along with one of his guards and had let them rest before receiving the rewards, and since Liang was the one who found the core, he would receive the greater reward. Alex picked up all the parts of the armor, now complete.
"You two were better than me, so you can keep it."
"I don't want it. Why would I use something like that if I'm already the strongest?"
He already expected this answer from Kael, so he turned to Kai, who was being surrounded by the fairy, only saying that he now had a contract with her. To be honest, he didn't want to hand it over to him, but Kael expected Kai to accept it since, in the original story, he kept that armor for the entire rest of the year until the Infernal Academy arc began and it was destroyed by a Nartheis of Phase Rank Level Three.
'Of course, it won't be destroyed since I won't let that happen.'
"I don't need it, I already made a contract with Kirlia."
"That's right, he only needs me."
Disappointed that Kai refused, he ground his teeth. If it was going to be like this, he should have kept it, but now he couldn't step back. That was the personality he had created for Kael. Alex sighed in relief and picked up all the parts. That armor was very good and would help a lot in assisting his father with revenge.
"It seems you've already decided who keeps what, and it looks like you really ended up with nothing, Kael. This arrogance of yours could cost you dearly."
"It won't, because I'm strong."
Already having a conversation with Meilin, he noticed Elowyn staring at him with a deadly gaze, so he turned his head to the side. He didn't know how Elowyn saw his essence. If it was something unique, she might have discovered it, so he would have to use one of his trump cards so she wouldn't tell anyone.
'I plan to use this disguise many times in the future.'
[Well, you've already gained your reward and two new pacts, so you're fine.]
'That's good, but I'd like to know why I didn't receive the reward from the previous arc?'
[Your rewards are given by constellations, sometimes offering a reward and then something that can double its value, like last time, and this time they decided not to give any.]
Now he was confused. Why didn't they give anything if they seemed to enjoy that fight a lot? Seeing the confusion on his face, the system explained that the constellations can give rewards, but they want challenges for him because that way they'll have more fun. Hearing that, he simply crushed the glass in his hand, startling Meilin beside him.
'Those bastards.'
[Calm down, the reward is good.]
He hoped so, because his desire to find those constellations and beat them up only grew stronger with time. Noticing his hand bleeding, he took a cloth handed over by Qianlan.
"What happened?"
"I just remembered something from the past."
'Damn, I think I made them uncomfortable.'
Seeing the uneasy atmosphere, he decided to ease it a bit by bringing up their skills. As the atmosphere calmed, he decided to let them continue and stepped outside. Everyone noticed what he was doing, so they felt grateful, thinking he must have remembered something about his mother. Meilin looked at her Shengtian companions.
"Could it be we did something that made him remember his mother?"
"Maybe, but what matters now is doing what our queen asked."
They were rivals of Astrong as the two best academies on the continent, and when they received the mission, it never crossed their minds to team up with them. But when the queen gave them a mission, they had to accept. Liang turned to Kai, who was the easiest to extract information from.
"You know, I'm very interested in how strong this Enrico is. Could you tell me more about him?"
"Really? Let me see, where do I start…"
He had a face of feigned curiosity and obtained several answers with a few more questions. He didn't know why their queen was interested in him, and from what he knew, she had even given a mission to watch him from afar weeks ago to the only three Tianlong students sent to Astrong Academy. The only thing he knew was that if their queen was interested, it meant he was someone who could be dangerous in the next battle between academy students.
Valença, seeing this, interrupted Kai from time to time so he wouldn't reveal everything about Enrico. She didn't want to let them know more about the one who would be her husband someday, especially since they would be opponents. What if one of those girls fell in love with the story about how amazing he was?
'No way I'll let more girls join the competition.'
When Enrico returned, the servant entered, giving his thanks and handing Liang his reward: a necklace that increased his magical storage, which made Liang grateful.
"With this, the mission is over, so I'd like to offer a fine banquet today and a celebration for you all."
"There's no need, sir. We'll be returning today."
Virelle entered along with the teachers of both academies and the mercenaries behind. With the mission concluded and Kael's disappointment at not staying longer to taste how that food was made, they began gathering where the adults were.
"That's a pity. I'll send extra money to all in their respective places."
They all nodded, with Shengtian leaving first along one path, followed by Astrong to the left. As the mercenaries were about to leave, the employer approached Alex and Lyssandra.
"I'd like to speak with you later, son."
"What?"
"First of all, you didn't change Lyssandra's name."
At those words, Alex slapped his forehead. He had told her to change her name, but she refused because she didn't want to change it, not even as a disguise. Lyssandra behind him just tapped her head with her tongue out, because this was exactly the situation she wanted to happen.
"And second, why wouldn't I recognize my son?"
"Father…"
Alex decided to remove the disguise, and Lyssandra did as well, revealing that she had black hair that reached only her shoulders.
'Yumeha is better.'
Annoyed by the earlier shove from her, he found any excuse to criticize her in his head. Alex decided to stay since his disguise was already discovered and he wanted to be a knight, not a mercenary, so with Lyssandra, they canceled their novice mercenary cards.
"That's a shame, you had potential."
Kurte seemed disappointed, but those who were most important stayed, so it was fine. Kael, Arvanys, and Dorian began to follow the mercenaries.
"Kael!"
Looking back, he saw Alex smiling while raising his hand in a gesture of farewell.
"Thank you for saving me."
"Thank me by sending me something interesting."
"What for? You'll get stronger without any help anyway."
"Tsk."
He waved goodbye but smiled. In the original story, Alex ended up dying at the hands of Claudio, which drove his father insane from losing his son, after already having lost hope when he couldn't cure his wife, eventually becoming a villain.
'They'll have a good father-son relationship… and the mother too, since I left a message behind.'
When the three behind him started to enter for a conversation, a guard ran to them, saying the prisoner had been killed by someone. Cristian was the first to run. That thief was the only hope he had of finding that person.
"How did this happen?"
Upon arrival, he saw the body of the last thief in the cell, dead, with a letter on his chest. The guards hadn't touched it, leaving it for their lord to decide what to do. Alex behind quickly grabbed the letter and read it.
"Your mother can be cured with an object from a dungeon, but for that, you'll have to convince your king to ally with Tsuyokuni."
The two looked at each other in shock. Apparently, the person who sent this letter knew Cristian was one of the secret advisors of the king of Sanos' territory. But the only thing Cristian and Alex heard was that she could be cured.
"Could it be true, Father?"
"I don't know, but I'll do what this letter asks, and I'll be careful so it isn't something bad… Guards, I want the entire place investigated. I want to know who left this letter."
"Yes, my lord."
All the guards ran to investigate, while in Cristian and Alex's hearts, a flame of hope was lit for her to return to their lives.