Nova stood before Veliora, staring into her vacant eyes.

'She really can't see anything?'

He waved a hand right in front of her face—no reaction. Not even a blink.

'Guess I'll have to wake her up the hard way.'

His fingertip sparked with arcs of lightning as he pressed it gently against her collarbone. The jolt was instant, her muscles seized, her legs stiffened, and her body lost balance, falling down. But before she hit the ground, Nova caught her with one arm.

'Can't have the goods damaged,' he thought, holding her steady. 'She's definitely a noble. If she's bruised, her family might not pay as much.'

Veliora's hazel eyes slowly cleared up in awareness. Her head snapped toward him, panic rising in her throat as she realized someone was holding her. She opened her mouth to scream but froze the moment she clearly saw Nova's handsome face.

After a brief moment of pause, she stammered "W-Who are you?"

He let her go and said casually, "If it makes you feel any better, you can think of me as your savior. I'm sure you already know what kind of situation you were in, right?"

Veliora's initial excitement at being saved by Nova dimmed at the mention of what might have happened if he hadn't intervened. She gave a slight nod, biting her lip. "Yes… I know," she murmured.

'Good. That'll make things simpler,' Nova thought.

He offered her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, you're safe now, Miss...?"

"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself," she said quickly, flustered. "I'm Veliora. Thank you for saving me, sir."

If Father knew I hadn't properly introduced myself or thanked my savior, he'd surely scold me.

'I shouldn't be too direct with these nobles, after all, they're not bandits.' Nova gave a small nod. "In that case… Miss Veliora, may I be so bold as to ask you a direct question?"

"There's no need for such formality, sir," Veliora replied, her tone soft. "If something's on your mind, please ask. I'll answer to the best of my ability."

From the side, Letto and Jovar watched with growing curiosity, eager to see what this young man was up to.

'Now that she's said that...'

Nova's smile widened, his tone shifting to one that left no room for refusal. "I'm sure Miss Veliora has a family waiting for her back home. Where do you live? I'll personally escort you to ensure your safe return."

"That would be wonderful, sir," Veliora replied, her eyes bright with gratitude and hope. "I live in Larmida, but I have business to attend to in Myra. It should only take a few days to settle everything. If Sir doesn't mind waiting, we can depart for Larmida in three days."

'Larmida...' Nova's thoughts sharpened. 'She's not just a noble, to live in the capital she must be high on the ranks too.'

Not wanting to arouse suspicion, he paused, as if considering it, then gave a calm nod. "Very well. I'll accompany you to Myra, and in three days, we'll travel to Larmida together."

With the decision made, he gestured toward the path ahead. "Let's not linger here any longer."

Only when the word "leave" was mentioned did Veliora finally glance around, scanning the area for the old man who had accompanied her. Her eyes fell on his lifeless body—crumpled among several dead bandits.

The sight froze her breath in her throat. Then she saw Letto and Jovar standing nearby, alive and seemingly unharmed.

Her chest tightened in panic. Her breathing turned rapid and shallow, eyes trembling.

Nova sighed inwardly. 'What a hassle. Her family really should've hired better guards instead of leaving all the work to me.'

Stepping calmly between Veliora and the two surviving bandits, he reassured, "There's no need to fear them. They won't be able to harm you now."

Veliora's wide eyes slowly shifted to him. Seeing Nova standing protectively before her, she slowly calmed down.

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Once she caught her breath, she asked, "Why... why aren't they dead?"

"One of them is ready for a new beginning," Nova said casually, "while the other is currently paying the price to obtain it."

Veliora only blinked at him, confusion clouding her eyes.

He softened his tone and added, "A clean slate. They'll become new people, better than who they were."

Veliora slowly unclenched her fists, unaware she'd been holding them so tightly. She took a deep breath, then spoke in a quiet, resolute voice.

"If that's what you've decided, Sir, then I'll fully support you."

"Perfect, then." Turning to the two bandits, Nova pointed at Jovar. "You, stop being a bandit." Then he gestured to Letto. "And you, come with us."

"Yes, Sir! I won't cause any more trouble!" Jovar said quickly, bowing nervously.

Letto gave a quiet nod and silently fell into step a few paces behind Nova and Veliora as they exited the cave.

About a hundred meters out, with the cool breeze brushing past them and Veliora walking at his side, Nova continued their light conversation.

'Hmm,' he thought, eyes flicking toward the cave in the distance, 'this seems to be my current range.'

Back in the bandits' cave, Jovar slumped on the crude wooden throne, muttering to himself.

"What cursed luck... A brat storms in, wrecks everything, and I have to thank him for stealing my damn sword, no less. How low I've fallen..."

He let out a long, bitter sigh. But then he paused.

A strange warmth began to spread through his body. Brow furrowing, he looked down at his hands.

"What... what's happening?" he said, confused.

Before the thought could fully form, lightning erupted from within him.

A blinding flash lit up the cave. A deafening crack of thunder followed, echoing through the mountains. When the light faded, nothing but a pile of ash remained of Jovar.

Outside, Veliora and Letto both flinched at the sudden boom. The sky above them was perfectly clear.

"Thunder?" Veliora said, glancing upward, puzzled.

Letto looked equally confused.

Nova, however, just chuckled under his breath and whispered, "A new beginning, indeed."

Veliora turned to him. "Did you say something, Sir?"

He shook his head with a faint smile. "No, nothing to worry about."

Veliora gave Nova a suspicious glance but not even a minute later, she was back to chatting as if nothing had happened.

By the time they reached Myra, the sun was beginning to set, casting warm golds and purples across the sky. The journey had taken far longer than necessary. Veliora had insisted on a leisurely pace, admiring the scenery, and Nova had no choice but to match her stride. Hours had passed covering what he could've done in a fraction of the time.

At the city gates, she turned to him. "Where should I meet you in three days?"

Nova replied evenly, "We'll meet here, at this entrance. At dawn."

She gave a cheerful nod, then waved as she walked down one of the several streets "Alright! I'll see you in three days!"

Nova watched her go until she disappeared into the city. Then, turning to Letto, he pulled a set of clothes from his Inventory, plain sweatpants and a simple t-shirt, and tossed them to him.

"Change into these."

Letto blinked at the unfamiliar garments but didn't hesitate. "Yes, Sir," he said, quickly getting to it.

///////

When Letto saw Nova leading him toward the knight camp, his eyes lit up with realization. So, he lied… He really is a knight. But why pretend otherwise? What's he hiding?

Nova, dressed in his now crimson colored light armor, stepped in front of the knight camp. The guards, familiar with Nova's face, didn't ask any question letting the two go through the entrance and they made their way toward the dormitory.

'Lopaz and the other two must still be out training,' Nova thought, glancing around. 'Perfect. I won't need to explain a thing, Letto can just be new recruit in their eyes.'

Once inside the room, Nova turned to face him "Listen carefully. For the next three days, you'll only leave this room to go to the canteen for meals. The rest of the time, you stay here. Understood?"

Letto nodded immediately. "I understand."

With a nod to Letto, Nova turned and left, making his way toward the training grounds in search of Instructor Morai.

As he walked, his thoughts churned.

'I've got a mountain of notifications waiting, but no time to sort through them. I'll need to carve out a moment later to check them properly.'

'More importantly, I can't let Morai know I've awakened my Aura. There's no advantage to revealing it now and if they find out and I become too valuable they might not even let me leave in three days.'

His eyes narrowed slightly as he continued through the camp.

'I should wait to see what kind of reward I can get from the girl's family before making any major moves. In the end, my mission is clear: bring down the two kingdoms and the empire. The method doesn't matter.'

When he reached the training grounds, he spotted Morai quickly. Keeping his Aura tightly suppressed, Nova approached.

"Instructor," he said, stopping in front of him, "I've come to report the successful completion of the mission you assigned me."

Morai eyed Nova, his gaze settling on the blood-soaked armor. Raising a brow, he said, "All that blood and none of it yours. I have to admit, page, you've surprised me. When I gave you the mission, I figured you'd take a week at least, picking them off slowly. Yet here you are, not even a full day later, reporting it done. Tell me, how'd you manage it?"

Nova gave a respectful nod. "Instructor, you've seen me training with the spear, so I won't pretend it was anything extraordinary. The bandits didn't have the skills to counter me, but I couldn't just charge in recklessly either. To make things easier, I started by taking out a few from the shadows with quick, silent kills before openly taking on a few of them. Honestly… I'd say I got lucky."

'Not that it matters if you believe me,' Nova thought. 'I've mixed truths with lies, good luck finding out which is which.'

The instructor fixed Nova with a long, appraising stare before finally nodding.

"Good job, page. You're dismissed. Go back and rest, resume training tomorrow."

"Yes, Instructor," Nova replied respectfully, then turned and walked away.

Morai watched his retreating figure thoughtfully. I don't know how truthful he's being but everyone has secrets. If he wants to guard them, I won't pry.

Besides, he mused, he's not a spy from the other kingdoms or the empire. That's more than enough for me.

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