System vs Rebirth

"Ah. That's an amazing experience," said Anna while leaving the airship.

Felicia remained silent after witnessing the true power of the Ardagan family. She had joined the family for quite a while and thought she had seen everything that the Ardagan family could offer. But from time to time, she would be shocked by a new invention that could literally alter how they conducted warfare.

Noel turned to Zel. "I think we've got most of the data."

"Yes. I will definitely work hard to perfect the airship. My engineering blood is screaming right now."

Noel smiled and turned to Blacksmith Vine. "Thank you for your hard work. I hope that you can continue to improve the airship."

"Yes, sir."

Last but not least, he turned to Felicia. "I'm planning to expand to the north soon, so we'll be hunting a lot of demons soon. Make sure to put that in mind while training the Rune Magicians."

"Understood. This will be a good experience for the Rune Magicians as well. And I'll inform the Greenwood Kingdom's representative regarding this matter."

"Alright. Work hard." Noel smiled and patted her shoulder while walking back to their car.

Anna just followed Noel back to the car. To her surprise, Noel actually sat down in the passenger seat instead of the driver seat. It only meant one thing. They actually had another place to go before going back.

Since Noel didn't say anything, it seemed that they should head back first and turn around later.

The blacksmith and even Zel couldn't help but feel astonished when they saw the car moving away. It was so much easier to drive and move faster than a carriage.

"So, where are we going next?" Anna asked after they had driven for a while.

"We'll be visiting my parents. While you have seen my mother, I still have to introduce you to them and tell them about our marriage personally."

Anna was happy that Noel thought that way, but there was one problem. "Do you think they will meet you? Won't they run away just to remain hiding?"

"If they can do it, then sure." Noel shrugged. "Besides, we have to inform the Greenwood Kingdom and Damian that I have become a Marquis. In the end, they are staying in my future territory, so I don't want to deal with more problems than necessary."

"Oh!" Anna nodded in understanding. The Muivell Kingdom could use that excuse to attack Damian and the others. So, he wanted to push them away before the expansion.

Anna drove the car northwest even though she was still doubting that his parents would meet them.

Of course, the meeting with Damian came first. It was just a brief meeting unlike the airship test. He simply warned them about the expansion and his new title, which made it understandable for them to move away.

As for the next arrangement, he thought about placing them north of the airship workshop since, by the time the next attack arrived, his city would have finished building its wall. There was no need for Damian to take care of them anymore.

Still, it didn't change the fact that they needed to discuss it with the Greenwood Kingdom first before they could leave this place.

After that, they continued driving north where they suspected his parents were staying.

The road was a bit rough even for the car, so they slowed down quite a bit, searching for a road that could be used.

All of a sudden, Noel waved his hand and said, "Stop."

"What's wrong?" Anna applied the brake gently this time. By the time they came to a complete stop, Anna suddenly picked up someone's presence with her instinct. "Ah!"

Noel simply turned his head to the left and said, "If you're not going to come out, I'll force you… Silvester."

"…" The silence remained for a few seconds, but Noel kept locking the same tree with his gaze as though he could see Silvester.

A figure gradually came out of the tree while saying, "I apologize, Young Master… I'm under the order—"

"To hide from me. I know." Noel nodded with a nonchalant expression.

Still, the fact that Noel could find him much faster than Anna shocked him. He took pride in his stealth technique, but that confidence was hurt when Anna found him. But to think that the young master of the family he served managed to find him so easily. He wondered if he had grown too old for this job.

What he didn't know was that Noel simply found him through the Affection Medal. Yes, he saw his name among the trees.

"Well, I'll just want you to call my parents here." Since Silvester had his job, he also didn't want to prolong the conversation.

"This…" Silvester scratched the back of his head, not knowing what to do. This was different from Anna since the one requesting it was the young master.

"Alright. Let's do it this way. If you're not going to call them here, it means I have to find them personally. So, by the time I meet them…" Noel raised his fist with a devilish smile. "I'm going to punch them in the face. You sure are going to take responsibility for that, Silvester."

"…" Silvester was speechless. He had seen how Luke always dealt with the problem, but thought that his son would become much more shameless than him. "I can't guarantee if they will meet you or not, but I'll try. Please stay here, Young Master."

Noel nodded as Silvester disappeared.

"Was that threat necessary?" Anna asked with a wry smile.

"No." Noel shrugged. "But we don't have a lot of time, so it's better to speed things up. Besides, this area will be cleared soon, so I'm still not sure where they are going to stay once we begin our expansion."

"That's true." Anna agreed with him. "In our previous lives, you haven't done any expansion. In fact, you were only an Earl at that time. The Runegard Company is not built, and basically, you haven't utilized the true potential of your land and rune.

"If we're talking about runes, there aren't many Advanced Level Runes. The rune technology is not that good either. If we can utilize the land properly, we won't have to worry about anything." Anna explained.

"Indeed. Everything can happen because you are by my side." Noel glanced at her with a smug smile.

Anna placed her hand on his cheek affectionately but soon pushed his head away. "Smooth talker."

Still, she couldn't deny it. If Noel wasn't so focused on fighting her, he would have developed his territory more.

"Now that I think about it, with all this development, I can't predict the future anymore. In fact, all the information in my head has become rather irrelevant."

"It doesn't matter. Even without it, you are able to suggest all those brilliant ideas. Why would you care about it?" Noel shrugged.

Anna wanted to say something, but she soon stopped when she sensed the presence coming toward them. There were only two people this time and both of them were coming at the same speed. Considering Noel's father wasn't a fighter, it seemed that they had failed to meet them this time.

To her surprise, the ones coming were actually Silvester and Leysha, Noel's mother.

She had been the one meeting Anna and Dimitri, so it wouldn't be weird for her to appear this time around. His father, Luke, still remained hidden.

They stopped a few meters in front of Noel.

In an instant, Noel's and Leysha's gazes intertwined. Leysha was still as young as he remembered. On the other hand, Noel had grown up. The young kid who had been lazing around all day had disappeared. Instead, a responsible and hard working adult stood before her.

Leysha had heard about all his achievements, which always brought her joy. She wanted to tell him that she was proud of him. She wanted to hug him and showed that she cared for him. Unfortunately, it couldn't be done as she had to remain hidden.

But for the first time after the execution, she could finally meet her son. There was an argument earlier, but Luke finally gave her permission to meet him.

There was an awkward silence, no one actually took a step forward. Noel could see the happiness, excitement, and anticipation in Leysha's face. At the same time, she also felt ashamed that she had to do all this and make Noel suffer.

Noel's expression remained unchanged. There were a lot of memories resurfacing in his mind. Whether it was the real memory, or the one he created during the sword saint's trial, Leysha always loved him.

As if realizing that he should be the one to take the initiative, Noel took a step forward.

In that instant, Leysha burst into tears as she ran to Noel, trying to hug him. She wanted to show how much she missed him and loved him.

However, when she was only one step away from him, the unthinkable happened.

*Pak!*

"!!!" All eyes opened wide. Silvester and Anna dropped their jaws, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

With a cold face on his face, Noel actually slapped Leysha.

Silvester's face turned pale. Earlier, Noel said that he would have to take responsibility if Noel had to find his parents and punch them in the face. He thought that it wouldn't happen since he had brought Leysha here.

Yet, the reality was different. The crisp sound of that slap snapped him back to reality. He wanted to cry but had no tears, wondering why the young master ended up slapping her.

When Silvester saw his face, he could only think, 'It's really not a punch, but a slap? You're going to kill me, Young Master.'