"I hope you behave from now on, Alex," Lydia said, her tone turning more serious now.
Eva also appeared next to Alex and looked at him, her concern showing.
"I don't understand. Where do you plan to run anyway? Without someone as powerful as a grandmaster protecting you, there's nowhere on the continent where you would be truly safe from the Alderfells," Lydia said, then continued, her brows furrowing slightly. "Staying with me here could actually land you a chance of getting strong enough to not have to worry about being retaliated against by the noble family."
"I do have somewhere to go, and someone to meet as well," Alex finally said.
The couple had been quite kind to him—kind enough to look after him even after he threw poison at them—so they at least deserved the truth.
"Oh? Do tell," Lydia said. Eva also paid attention, leaning in slightly.
"I know a way out of the continent that bypasses frontier control, and my adoptive mother and sister are waiting for me," Alex confessed.
"You got adopted?! When?" Eva finally spoke, surprised.
"Remember the catching up we did? Well, between leaving the forest and reaching the magic academy, I left out that part, to protect them," Alex said. He couldn't move at all, so he had no rush telling the story.
At least they were far enough from where the conflict had started that no guards were passing by, especially since there were few places to hide close to the border. The quiet around them made the moment feel strangely intimate.
Lydia and Eva understood why he wouldn't say anything about them before, since any connection he had could be exploited against him.
"How are they called?" Eva asked softly.
"My mom is called Susan, and my sister Evelyn. They're waiting for me to return so we can leave," Alex replied.
Now that he was thinking about the time they caught up over breakfast, Alex remembered a promise Lydia had made to him.
"Hey, Lydia," Alex suddenly called.
"Hm?" Lydia replied.
"Didn't you promise me that you would do something for me as thanks for saving Eva?" Alex asked, a small grin etched on his face beneath the helmet.
Lydia was caught by surprise—she remembered that she had, in fact, promised him that, and she already knew what his next approach would be.
"Well, consider letting me out, and taking me out of the city, as returning the favor," Alex said exactly what she expected.
"Hmmm," she murmured, thinking. She was unwilling; after all the trouble she went through to catch him and all the potential he showed, the idea of letting him slip through her fingers irritated her. But Eva would look down on her if she ignored a promise.
"You promised," Eva said to her, noticing that Lydia was thinking a bit too much.
"Okay, okay," Lydia finally gave in. "I actually regret a little promising you that now," she confessed with a sigh.
Still, she got up and helped Alex stand.
Then she placed a hand on his shoulder, and while holding Eva's hand, they teleported.
A few seconds later, they reappeared outside the city walls, where the distant hum of the capital faded behind the open wilderness.
"On you go, scoundrel, and let me warn you—if I see you in the capital once again, you're not getting away from enlistment," Lydia teased.
"You're quite amusing, Lydia," Alex chuckled.
He then separated and turned back, seeing the couple still holding hands.
"If you ever get married, remember to invite me to your wedding," Alex said. He smiled, though the helmet hid it.
"Yeah? And where am I supposed to send the invitation?" Eva said sarcastically.
"Remember the paper I gave you?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Eva replied.
"You'll know where to send it when you open it," Alex responded indirectly, then continued, "In fact, you may open it right after I leave. No need to wait fifteen days."
"All right! I was at my limit holding back from taking a peek at it," Eva said.
"One last thing. I've heard from the guards chasing me that I was also being searched for killing the girl who accompanied Bren. Well, I didn't even lay a hand on her.
"I killed Bren with poison, and my elements are water and wind, so if she didn't die poisoned, and didn't die by a wind or water spell, it wasn't me."
Alex defended himself against his second accusation of murder. He didn't mind pleading guilty to killing Bren, but he wouldn't admit to killing an innocent person.
"I'll keep it in mind," Lydia said.
"Okay, then there's nothing more to be said," Alex said, and took off the helmet.
He placed a hand on his heart and bowed slightly.
"It's been a pleasure seeing you happy and well, Eva, and I wish you both happy lives going forward." He gave his farewell.
"Likewise, Alex. Do behave from now on, will ya?" Eva replied.
Alex turned around and started running toward the jungle.
Once he was out of sight, Eva took out of her artifact ring the piece of paper Alex had given her. She opened it and read aloud:
"Capital city of Aurethia, alchemy shop named The Philosopher's Stone. If you need anything, find me there."
"Hah, he seemed quite convinced that he would have escaped," Lydia said.
"Well, he did. And even without your help, he was almost there," Eva replied.
"AH! I forgot to ask about the way out of the continent he said he knew, fuck!" Lydia said, face-palming.
Far away, Alex kept running. Elarion had a small village in the southwest, and it would only take a few hours of running to get there.
This was when his stamina potions came in handy. He ran, used one, and kept going. The only setback for overusing these potions was the increasing muscle damage, but he fixed that with a healing potion each time.
After six hours of running, he reached the village, where he rented a fast carriage toward Lyssan.
It would take an extra day to reach, but he took it anyway. His idea was to get there before his wanted poster did.
The following day, Alex reached Lyssan, where he sent the confirmation letter to his mom since he had no time to go back to Perrin's Gate.
After that, he went once again toward the teleport hall and teleported to Tarrinhold for a thousand gold coins.
He was almost there—the cave connecting the continents was in the northwest of the city. He didn't even enter the city proper, deciding to waste no time.
As he traveled through the jungle toward the cave, he reminisced about his life.
He had lost many precious people and gained some others. He had been through terrible situations, but also truly happy ones—like the day he was adopted. He had made interesting connections: Eva, Lydia, Scarlett, Fabian. And he had hated too many people.
He still intended to keep his promise of living by Marc's values: protecting those who could not protect themselves.
Alex walked and rested while thinking about his past. He would have liked to see Mary once more before departing, but life rarely allowed what one wished for.
After some time, he found the entrance he was looking for.
He stood at the entrance and looked back.
'This is my last look at home. But this is not a goodbye, but a farewell for now,' Alex thought, then walked into the cave, leaving behind his old life.
A new one awaited on the other side.
(End of Volume 1: Merciless World)