"Hey, have you heard the rumors? Some strange boy came in a few days ago during the night and hasn't left his room ever since!"
"Yes! I also went to that room a few times out of curiosity, but the only strange thing is the slight tremors every now and then."
As the two men were conversing, a slender hand suddenly slammed down at their table. Surprised, they instinctively looked up to see a teenage girl with dark hair and red eyes. However, it didn't take long for them to take their eyes off her due to her otherworldly vibe.
"Did you say he hasn't left his room for the past few days?"
When faced with her question, they both began to sweat until one of them gathered the courage to speak.
"Y-yes. At least, that's what the rumors say. The inn owner tried to bring him food numerous times, but it was left untouched."
"Is that so, alright then, sorry for bothering you. One last thing, what room does he stay in?"
"8"
Without another word, she slowly walked to the second floor. Her eyes showed a mix of anticipation and confusion.
'To think there would be another cultivator in this place. They said there was slight tremors coming from the room? It's most likely a result of cultivating. I wonder what stage he's at. Well, it doesn't matter, it's probably lower than mine anyway.'
There weren't many powerful people at their age. At most. They'd reach the fourth stage Broken Vessel, like her. Some rare geniuses reach the fifth or sixth, but what kind of heaven-sent talent would come to this shabby place?
Shortly after, she reached the room numbered '8'. Just to be safe, she used spiritual detection to pry into the room's mana. As expected, there was a place with excessive amount of it but it wasn't anything noteworthy.
'Stage 3 Broken vessel, not bad I guess.'
She raised her hand to the door but instead of knocking-
-Bang!
Applying pressure to it, she directly broke the door, sending it flying until it hit the wall at the front. Glancing over to the place she sensed the cultivator, she was surprised to see no one at the bed. Out of nowhere, chills ran down her spine as she felt something cold on her neck. A steel dagger, wielded by the figure behind her, was now threatening to slit her throat.
Then, a hoarse voice rang out from behind her.
"Speak, who are you and what business do you have with me?"
Not daring to move out of fear, the young woman quickly obliged.
"My-my name is Fier Void! I don't have any malicious intentions I swear! I just heard rumors about you and wanted to see if you're a cultivator too that's all!"
"Void? As in Marquees Void?"
"Yes! I am the daughter of Norman Void!"
Not finding any falsehood in Fier's words, the figure removed the dagger from her neck before speaking.
"You should improve the way you greet people, most won't take what you did very well."
Sensing her uneasiness, he tried to ease the atmosphere.
"The name's Luriel Reabler. Sorry for scaring you, but you frightened me quite a bit yourself you see, haha! Please, come in!"
Finally stepping out from behind her, Fier could finally make out his features, namely the black hair and blue eyes. She was very confused at the moment. This boy was around her age, with lower cultivation base, but somehow managed to appear behind her in a moment without her noticing.
She pondered on his last name. There wasn't a noble she was aware of that had the name 'Reabler', then it must mean this boy was a commoner. But that made things even more complicated.
Still slightly tense, she walked into the run-down room and sat down at the wooden table.
Luriel too, was very confused.
'Fuck, it's a noble! Why is she here?! No wait, I have the Prizal crest now, does that make me a noble as well? Damn it Hans, couldn't you give a proper explanation in that knowledge you gave me! And it just had to be a high-ranked noble too! And why the fuck did I invite her in!?'
Sighing, Luriel's eyes wavered. The death of his best friend greatly saddened him. In the beginning, countless thought would surge in his mind.
Could he have done anything to help?
Is the reason Hans didn't escape because of him?
He felt lost and blamed himself for it. He's improved over the past 5 days, though. He simply focused on cultivation and gradually began to accept he couldn't have done anything to help. Sighing again, he turned towards Fier.
"Would you like some tea? Although it's nothing much, I don't have anything else to offer you at the moment."
Hesitating a bit, Fier answered in a timid tone.
"I would appreciate it."
She couldn't be blamed for it either, that guy had almost killed her a minute ago!
'Why did I even accept his invitation?! Damn it, I wanna go out so badly!'
With similar thought flooding his head, Luriel went over to the small kitchen and began brewing the tea he had. None of them spoke a word as the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. After a few minutes, Luriel poured tea in two cups and sat opposite to her on the table. Awkwardness was practically radiating from the open room.
Attempting to break the ice, Luriel was the first to speak.
"Is the tea to your liking?"
Fier flinched a little and nodded, still tense.
"It's good."
Silence…
'Couldn't he have just scolded me or something! What's with this bizarre situation! Does my status as a noble not affect him? How can he be so calm?'
'Can your answer be any more basic? At least try to lighten up the mood!'
That's when Luriel remembered a question he'd been wanting to ask.
"So, what is a marquees' daughter doing in this remote village. If I recall correctly, your family's territory was in the North, so why are you here in the South?"
"I'm going to the Imperial Academy in the central part of the empire but there's still plenty of time left, so I decided to travel for a while."
"Why are you alone them? Surely the marquees didn't let you go without guards."
"This…umm. I kind of… escaped from the guards because it was boring with them around."
Sensing the reluctance in her voice and expression, a wry smile appeared on Luriel's face. 'Can you atleast try and pretend you didn't wish they were here now?'