Meanwhile, Noel and the others were heading to the other town where they could find the branch of the Demon Banner Army to seek some treatment.
Noel was riding with Anna. Due to her exhaustion, Anna was curling up, sleeping. Noel had to carry her while riding the horse without complaining. After all, Anna had truly exhausted all her Spiritual Energy and stamina to bring a reinforcement.
On the other hand, Lokhar was riding with Kirika in Anna's horse. This would probably be their last ride, considering Kirika had to go back after this.
Suddenly, Kirika moved her horse closer and said, "Sorry about this, Noel. And thank you for everything… Even now, I can't do anything to repay you and end up owing you more."
She looked down, feeling ashamed of her weakness.
Even though Anna looked sleeping, she was still conscious. She heard her words and thought, 'Kirika is one of the most talented people in this generation. If I didn't regress, Noel might end up getting some help from her.
'Now that I think about it, after that incident, Noel was the one subjugating Kirika. Knowing that there was a Devil Bishop playing in this scheme… Wait a minute. Did Noel actually pair up with Kirika in my past life?
'He somehow got caught and experienced the pain Lokhar had to endure? And Kirika was sent to the Devil Bishop? But Noel should be able to escape by using his strength, unless Noel had done that but he couldn't defeat a Spirit Wielder in the past. After all, Noel had become far stronger compared to his past at this point.
'That's probably the reason. This is such a coincidence. To think I haven't changed the future, only alter it slightly with Lokhar replacing Noel's position… I haven't altered too much of the future, so I guess we're good for the time being.' Anna thought and felt at ease, knowing that she could still expect something from the future.
Now that her heart had calmed down, she gradually drifted to the dream world.
On the other hand, Noel caught a glimpse of Kirika's ashamed face. He said, "Then, make sure you have a good reception for us if we ever visit your family in the future."
"Huh?!" Kirika was baffled for a moment before understanding Noel's words. She was sad because she ended up relying on her family again despite wanting to be independent.
Noel sighed as his usual motivation side took over. He pulled out his sword and showed it to her. "This is my family heirloom. Even if I have lost my family, I still rely on my family. Have you ever said this saying? No one can choose their birth parents.
"Yes, it's not your fault to be born in a noble family. But what you do is the problem. You might be born with silver spoon, but if you end up losing that silver spoon before you die, that's your fault.
"That's why you don't have to be ashamed relying on your family. Even if you don't have anything to rely on, you can create a connection with those in power. The key is simple… Communication." Noel glanced to the side as if implying that Lokhar didn't need to be down either.
"!!!" Kirika noticed Noel's gaze and looked at Lokhar. That was right. Lokhar was born from an ordinary family, so he had to do everything by himself. And Noel had hinted the connection and her family.
Kirika understood what he wanted to say, so she turned her head and said to Lokhar. "I owe you this much from what you have done, Lokhar. If you ever feel too troubled or just want to stay away from any fight, come to my Loetzel Family in the Greenwood Kingdom. With your strength, becoming a knight shouldn't be a problem."
Lokhar was surprised by Kirika's invitation. After all, this favor was overwhelming to an ordinary person like him. Even though she would be leaving soon, she still gave her a huge gift.
A smile appeared on Lokhar's face. "Certainly. Thank you, Kirika."
Kirika smiled. She had another determination when going back to her family. To make sure that she could repay Lokhar's favor in the future, she had to become the leader. Political marriage? She wouldn't accept any of those. If they dared to push that matter to her, she would just show her strength to overcome anything to the point her father had no choice but to give his position to her.
She couldn't choose her family, but she could choose her future. Instead of complaining and falling into despair like other women in noble families, she wanted to be strong and fight for herself.
Upon that realization, Kirika politely bowed to Noel. "Thank you, Noel."
"I didn't do anything. You are strong, Kirika. And that's how it'll go from now on."
"Hehe." Kirika smiled as an image of their first meeting flashed in her mind. Noel simply said a few words, but those words changed her. Even after eight years, nothing had changed.
The image of a chubby girl talking to the uninterested Noel had now been replaced by the stronger Kirika getting another advice from the gentle Noel.
Lokhar raised his fist and said, "Thank you, Noel. I apologize that at first… I actually looked down on you. Sorry. And thank you for everything."
"No problem." Noel nodded and bumped his fist. "After this, you're alone, so you might have to work even harder."
"I'm prepared to do that." Lokhar chuckled.
The three were smiling at each other.
If Anna was still awake, she would have said, 'Just another dose of motivation from Noel.'
She just wondered how many people that Noel had changed in the past. Not all of them would participate in that rebellion after all.
Helping a hundred thousand people, changing tens of thousand people. This was Noel's strength.
Anna didn't regret her choice in this life. In fact, she had done all the worst possible things to Noel in the past, so she wanted to change her way of living this time.
Anna hadn't realized yet that she was also one from the tens of thousands people that Noel had changed.