"Miss." Marcell quickly greeted her with a nod while keeping his eyes on the road.
"Now that I think about it, you are Marcell from my uncle's side, right?" Alea asked with a smile.
"Yes. I'm honored to be remembered by Miss."
"Ahaha, I will leave the road to you." Alea chuckled and turned to Theo and Agata. "I will be using this cubicar as the second girl here."
She extended her hand to Agata, putting on the warmest smile she could afford.
Agata shook her hand and nodded her head. "Once again, I'm Moana. I'm looking forward to working with you."
Alea didn't know why but this Moana seemed familiar now that she finally met her with a calm heart. She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Actually, have we met before?"
"I don't think so. I have only heard about you from Theo and the competition." Moana shrugged with a calm expression. However, some small details couldn't escape Alea's eyes.
"I see." Alea nodded in understanding and translated her gestures. "It seems we have met. Also, you and Theo appear to have met in the competition. In other words, you are someone from another country, probably a participant."
Agata tilted her head in confusion while her heart was screaming, asking, "Did she not hear what I said?"
Unfortunately for her, Theo already facepalmed and let out a long sigh. "You don't need to act anymore. I should have told you that lying to Alea is close to impossible because of her unique eyes."
"What?!" Agata widened her eyes.
"The reason I didn't tell you is to avoid you from becoming too conscious about it and making an unnecessary lie, albeit this is the result." Theo shook his head helplessly, seeing Alea's smile.
Agata turned back to Alea and realized she already lost.
"Only Theo can manipulate the conversation and make me doubt my decision. As for you, I don't think you are at that level yet, so I know that you are someone from another country. No matter how good your accent is, your gesture and facial features can't lie," explained Alea. She didn't know why but this just lifted a burden in her heart.
"In that case, are you scouting Theo now?" Alea asked with a curious expression. She already knew what the others planned to do, so only Theo had an unknown future in front of him.
Theo looked away, not wanting to bother with this matter. He unintentionally exchanged looks with Marcell.
To his surprise, Marcell winked and gave a thumbs up, as if telling him, "You are the winner in life, bro."
"…" Theo closed his eyes and shook his head.
"So, who are you? There are a few noticeable female participants…" Alea looked at Agata with prying eyes and soon realized another way to get her answer.
Agata never expected Alea to have this kind of ability. Knowing it would be better for the other party to not know her identity, she quickly changed the topic. "Since you know my identity, I guess that's enough. I can tell you many things, but my identity is not among them. It's better for both of us."
"Well, I can understand that. Besides, I will know about your identity as soon as you fight." Alea shrugged before glancing at Theo. "So, you are going abroad soon?"
"Who knows." Theo chuckled.
As Alea expected, Theo answered with the most ambiguous answer possible. Though, deep in Theo's heart, the only way to fool Alea was like how God of Mischief talked. Even with a single word like "yes", he could make his heart doubt the answer.
"It's not my place to know it anyway." Alea sighed and changed the topic. "By the way, how are you? It's been a few months and I'm sure you have reached Hero Rank, right?"
Theo shrugged. "Just a bit of luck."
Alea closed her eyes with a bitter smile. She didn't want to admit it, but Theo's leveling speed was faster than her.
Although the increase of their levels was similar, Theo's effort came from missions and the journey he chose by himself. On the other hand, her levels came from the intense leveling inside her own facility, where she could fight relentlessly and increase her levels quickly.
Still, it wasn't like she only leveled up during the past few months. She had something she wanted to show him as well, so she said with an excited but serious tone. "Theo, I know that you have become far stronger, but I won't lose to you."
"You think?" Theo put on a gentle smile as if he didn't believe her.
"Hehe, you are already acting arrogant." Alea chuckled.
"Arrogant and underestimating someone are two different things." Theo shrugged and looked at Agata, "Anyway, I will be fighting with her in this expedition, not you. And you are the leader, not me."
"But that doesn't mean I can't talk to you, right?" Alea smiled. "Your strategy and strength made us win. That's proven by the ring on your hand."
Theo looked away and stopped talking.
Meanwhile, Alea asked Marcell, "That's right. How is the situation going on?"
"We have eliminated several small groups along the way. There's no problem currently."
"Though, there will be one later," Theo added with his eyes closed.
Alea and Marcell turned to him hurriedly with their eyes wide open. They had the same expressions, asking him, "What's going on?"
Theo only said one thing. "I'm just gonna apologize in advance."
"Ehm… You are not trying to kill someone here, right?" Alea gently stroked her cheek with a troubled expression.
"Killing is bad, you know." Theo put on a gentle smile, but that smile just made Alea remember what happened every time Theo smiled.
In that instant, she quickly knew that Theo might indeed kill someone here. And the only person who he might kill would be Xavier. She wondered if she made a mistake in inviting Theo here.
Before she said anything, Agata already leaned on the box next to her while saying, "Anyway, you better get some rest. It's going to be a tiring journey."
"…" Alea shook her head, seeing Agata's ignorance… She simply didn't know what Theo could do.