Traveling for a week, only stopping from time to time to either eat their meals or set up camp at night they have finally arrived at Berrick Valley. Aster never stopped sneakily asking personal questions to Keira in hopes he may catch her off guard and use Keira's words against her when the time is right. Despite Aster's smooth and glib tongue, Keira still manages to give indirect answers.

The carriage came to a halt, signaling they had finally arrived. Keira's heart ran with excitement and nervousness. Although she knows the Manpasikjeok is within the vicinity due to the system's help, they don't know the exact spot it is hidden or buried under.

Keira surveyed the valley and she was greeted with emptiness. The trees and plants that were once present in this place are nowhere to be found. It is barren, exactly like the intel she had gathered from last week. Just stepping foot in this place already sends shivers down her spine.

Keira: [I thought I already purified all the land from the darkness powers?]

System 999: [That still remains a fact Host, but the cause of this eeriness does not stem from the darkness present in this world but from the Manpasikjeok. An object that does not originally belong to this world.]

Keira: [Ahh, is that why it is so powerful that it could directly send me to the next world?]

System 999: [You stand corrected Host!] System 999 thought that its Host was not as dumb as it had recently thought.

Keira: [But, if this item is in fact this mighty, can it just not directly put me to my real world?]

System 999: [Although this artifact is extremely powerful, this item is not omnipotent. It doesn't have enough power to supply vast world travel.]

Keira already anticipated this response, so she didn't feel that bummed about it. If it were this powerful from the beginning, the system would have already informed her rather than letting her take extra steps to travel to the other worlds again.

Seeing Keira staring out the distance, immersed in her own thoughts Aster inquired Keira once more in hopes she would finally answer as they have already arrived at their destination.

"Are you finally going to enlighten me, my lady Kei why you are so eager to travel to this desolate place?"

Snapping back from her thoughts, Keira looked at Aster and decided to answer him, "I am trying to find an item that was lost during this war."

Aster looked at Keira with a perplexed look. The royal palace had already cleaned this place, retrieving all the remnants of the war they could gather to not endanger the lives of the citizens. From scraps to ownerless swords, they were already retrieved by him.

"Perhaps I may have already obtained the item you are seeking for Kei. All the things that were left after the war was already either destroyed or stored away in the palace."

Keira replied, "No, I am fairly certain that the object I am looking for is still here."

Seeing Aster was still puzzled, Keira decided to give Aster a hint relating to the Manpasikjeok. She knows if she wouldn't give Aster an answer that could satisfy him, he would remain persistent especially when they have finally arrived at this place. Aster could even maybe help her find the Manpasikjeok but in exchange, she would need to find an explanation for her connection with this item.

Thinking about this matter already gave Keira a headache. Keira is still resolute on answering Aster for she knows how annoying this guy can get.

"The fact that this place still remains barren is already enough proof that the item I am looking for still lies within this place." Keira casually explained to Aster.

Aster's eyes widened and said, "The other knights and including myself have already thoroughly inspected this place inch by inch. However, if that item of yours is indeed the reason for this place to still be lifeless, then it would not be surprising we would miss it."

Keira only nodded in response. Nevertheless, Aster still continued to seek answers from Keira.

"Then if I may ask Miss Kei, how do you know such an item exists in the first place?"

As expected from the male lead, it would not even bother taking Keira's nod as an indication to end their conversation and even have the balls to ask the question that Keira tries to avoid.

Keira directly look at Aster's eyes and curled her upper lips forming a sneer stating, "My Highness Aster, I have tried to overlook the boundaries you have stepped in the past days we traveled together because I have high respect for the King of Angulus Kingdom and the knight who graciously slayed demons for the people's sake, but don't you agree that there are things better off not known to the public, so how could one person be an exception? You are no God after all, so you are not obliged to know everything. And don't worry because once we find this item, I would personally destroy it."

Keira just randomly spouts out random things in her mind that could appease Aster. She didn't expect it would turn into a flow blown speech. Hopefully, the male lead manages to make sense of her gibberish. And when Keira said she would personally 'destroy' the Manpasikjeok, she meant she would personally 'use' it and maybe destroy it in the process.

The knights who were listening in the background were appalled by the insults Keira threw to Aster. They all look in Aster's direction, frightened by what's about to come. They knew that even though their King was benevolent, taking insults right in front of your face is a different matter. They wouldn't be surprised if Aster were to ask them to arrest this suspicious woman they just recently began acquainting.

Aster was at first stunned by Keira's impromptu speech, and even had the audacity to sneer in front of him while spewing slander. Of course, Aster didn't actually mind all of that but instead, he burst into laughter. He didn't think that his Keira would actually be this adorable. Even her 'sneering' face touched a part in Aster's heart.

The knights were already puzzled as to why they were back here in the Berrick Valley for inspection when nothing unusual recently happened. Only then did they find out it was merely an excuse to accompany this woman. They somehow understand what caught His highness interest when this woman was absolutely stunning if you were to forget that she was extremely shady, but this scene in front of them all left them flabbergasted.

TimeArt

Will upload one chapter per day until the first arc finishes. Thank you for reading <33