System vs Rebirth

"Alright. We'll go tomorrow morning. The battle won't be small, so I hope that everyone is in their best condition." Paul stated with a calm tone, knowing this was the best idea. "Is there any objection, Demon Hunting Squad?"

The muscular guy glanced at his adviser, who nodded his head. Since there was no problem, he finally agreed. "Fine. We shall do it according to your plan. Just don't become our burden."

"We don't know who will become the burden." Paul smirked, not fearing the challenge.

"Hmph."

Since both of them had reached an agreement, they came out of the room, finding the butler.

"We have reached an agreement and will go tomorrow morning. Please inform the lord about it."

The butler nodded with a serious expression. However, the baron had left some messages. "I know it's uncomfortable to sleep together in one room. And the mansion doesn't have enough room to accommodate all of you. Hence, the lord has prepared an inn for all of you."

"Oh?" Paul thought for a moment. It was great to get a place to sleep, especially a comfortable bed, before a battle. So, he certainly wouldn't reject it since the lord had prepared them. "Please give my thanks to the lord."

"Let me guide you to your inn." The butler nodded and extended his hand.

They left the mansion without hesitation since they had some preparation to do.

As soon as they reached their room, Noel immediately walked away, planning to leave the inn.

"I'm going to go around the town. Although the appearance looks good, I don't know if this town is truly good or not." Noel waved his hand as if saying they didn't need to follow him.

"Yeah." Noel was sleeping with Jonathan and Zion. Both of them exchanged nods, waving their hands. "Have fun."

Noel nodded and immediately left the inn. He had a different purpose for coming out. He had promised Anna they would meet every three months after all.

'Hmm… I don't know where to look. Has she reached this place yet?' Noel muttered. There were a lot of things he wanted to say to Anna. He also wanted to see how much Anna had progressed during the past three months.

His appearance was quite eye-catching, considering he wore a masquerade all the time.

Since it would be boring to not do anything while he was here, Noel tried to buy a bag of apples to feed some kids, wondering if he would find some amusing kids like the ones in the Demon Banner Army Headquarters or not.

Of course, he didn't plan to be attached to these ones.

But when he just finished buying the apple, someone stopped next to him and raised her hand. "Excuse me. Do you mind if you share the apples with me?"

The familiar voice completely startled him. The woman next to him wore a coat that covered her entire body, so he couldn't see her face. However, he still could see the blond hair resting on her chest.

"…" Noel sighed, knowing who she was. "Sure."

"Sorry for this… Even though this is your favorite fruit, I'm simply too hungry."

"Want to grab a bite then? I've just arrived here, so let's find a good restaurant, so we can eat peacefully."

"Hoho, are you asking me for a date?"

Noel was surprised by her reaction. Usually, she would be the one who got startled by the request, but this time, she had a lot more confidence in herself.

Noel extended his hand. "If you don't mind…"

Both of them smiled as they walked side by side without looking at each other. They looked like strangers from others' perspectives, but their movements were completely in sync.

It didn't take long before they found a restaurant that offered a small private room to talk. Noel didn't bother to rent the room and ordered some food.

Meanwhile, Anna finally took off her hood and released her blond hair. "Ah… this feels nice."

Noel smiled, feeling the change in Anna. From her expression alone, he could see a lot of confidence as if she had seen a lot of things. She also appeared to be more mature.

Although she often acted childish, it felt like this time, that character had been diminished.

Noel opened his mouth, saying, "It's been a while, Anna."

"Yeah. How are you?" That was right. The woman was none other than Noel's partner, Anna Stargaze.

"I could be better if you didn't appear right next to me so suddenly." Noel chuckled.

"It can't be helped. I have become an Inquisitor now, so this is the kind of work I've been doing." Anna chuckled.

"Your strength doesn't seem to have grown a lot, but… I can see a huge change in your temperament."

"Hehe, are you looking down on me?" Anna smirked. "If you do, you might get crushed by me before you know it."

"I'm looking forward to it. I hope that you also have grown here…" Noel pointed at his head.

"Are you telling me I'm stupid? For your information, I'm not stupid. You're just too abnormal." Anna harrumphed. However, her expression soon became serious as she added, "Of course, I won't rely on you completely this time."

"Hoh?" Noel smirked, feeling excited to see how much she had grown.

As if sensing the waitress outside, Anna suddenly put on her hood back. The waitress didn't say anything when she saw Anna. She just put the food on the table and hurriedly left them alone.

"Well, I guess we should eat first." Noel chuckled while looking at her. "You must be hungry after running all the way here."

"Of course. I'm hungry." Before Anna began to eat, she looked back at Noel and reminded him, "You haven't forgotten about our bet, right?"

"The betting game about who can give more information. Of course, I haven't forgotten about it. We can share our information later after we finish our food." Noel pointed at the food since they should finish it while it was still warm.

"True enough."