Chapter 89

It's been three hours since we found an enemy or anything interesting. We've run around the cave in search of more enemies or ores. But in the end, all we found were long tunnels and empty caves with crystals.

Both of us were not exhausted yet. We had energy for days. It would take a long time before we need rest.

"Any sign of creatures?" I asked Amelia as she led on through the dimly lit tunnel.

"Not at all," She answered. "It's been like that since the skeletons,"

"This can't be all there is to this cave, right?"

I was re-evaluating the entire conquest to conquer the cave now. If this was all the danger, I'd have wasted a ton of energy and mental strength on this.

It would not all be in vain though. It was free practice.

"My legs are aching!" Amelia exclaimed as she stopped walking.

"Do you want to take a break?" I asked.

"Let's stop here for some time," She said as she turned around.

"Let me take that off then,"

I began untying the rucksack from her back. She turned back into her fox form when I took it off.

"Whew~ I'm bored of running around these tiny tunnels," She sighed as she fell flat on her stomach.

I laid back on the right wall of the cave. "I was expecting more difficulty when going into this," I said to spark a conversation.

"Right!? Seeing the soldiers dying, I was expecting some big bad monster to be appearing and killing them all!"

"Seems like we are too strong for this world," I chuckled.

"I am, that's for sure," Amelia said with her chest pumped high, standing on her hind legs

The rucksack seemed quite heavy on Amelia. I should lower the weight somehow.

"Here, take this," I told Amelia while pushing a jar of water to her.

She opened the jar and began drinking the water. I did the same, finishing the jar in one gulp. Throwing it away to lower the weight.

"Throw it away when you finish," I told her. "Let's lower the weight of this rucksack,"

"Why not take a few jars of water instead of keeping the entire rucksack?" Amelia asked. "We can find food in random parts of the cave,"

"I'd rather eat stale bread than have to cook centipede meat,"

The rucksack weighed at least ten kilos when I first started, it feels lighter now. Most of the weight comes from water and torches. Though I wouldn't need so many, I might as well keep it for fire.

Bread barely weighs anything. It was being squashed by all the other items as well, making for more room inside the rucksack.

"Haa~ maybe giving me a blanket would've been better," I said while looking at the ceiling.

Sleep is the least of my worries in this cave. The main concern for me is finding enemies and killing them. It would be good research for hostile creatures outside of humans and surface-level animals.

Not only that, it's practice. There's barely any way to hunt so many on the surface. Finding hordes of wolves and giant insects would be impossible.

Though, I'm still wondering about the dwarven skeletons. What were they?

"Amelia, do you have any clue what those skeletons were?" I asked.

"Not at all," She shook her head. "I could feel their presence like any other, except they were inside the walls,"

"So what did you feel?"

"I could locate countless of them, but not from a single direction. As if they were all around us,"

"That's obvious," I scratch my chin. "They were all around us. Even on the ceiling,"

"But their height and abilities don't make sense," Amelia stated. "They were too small and they acted like zombies. Why do they need food when they are skeletons?"

"Right? They don't need nutrients,"

There should be an answer to all of this at some point, but for now, I'll just be asking the same question over and over again.

My legs felt rejuvenated. I was not exhausted nor did my legs feel tired. But the small break gave me a chance to calm down and relax for once.

Both of my swords' conditions were worsening. I sheathed both of them after the skeletons and never took them out.

If this continues, both of my swords won't be able to continue for the rest of the two weeks.

Amelia came closer to me and sat next to me. I began caressing her back to give her more comfort.

"It's only been the first day, huh?" I said while staring at Amelia.

"There are thirteen more days to go," She said in a sleepy voice in telepathy.

"Let's finish this in two weeks," I said with a reassuring smile.

"That's optimistic. But are we sure we can clear the entire place and return in under two weeks?"

"Can't tell if we don't try, can we?"

Amelia stayed quiet after that, perhaps falling asleep. I continued to pet her gently so that she would feel comfortable and be able to sleep peacefully.

I sigh a deep breath and put my head back on the hard wall of the tunnel. It was dark and barely lit up by the crystal a few feet away from me. It barely gave me any visual on all sides. I had to rely on my senses.

Though, as far as I can sense, there is no threat. This tunnel should be safe so far. Not a single sound could be heard. All I could hear was my heartbeat and breathing.

"Papa, how were you when you were young?"

"Y-your awake!?" I exclaimed.

"I thought you knew," Amelia got up and stared at me.

"I thought you fell asleep," I said while looking back. "Anyways, what did you ask?"

"How were you when you were young?"

A strange question out of the blue. "When I was young…"

"Well, not in this world," She continued. "Like before you came to this world,"

"Haha! Obviously," I laughed. "I have no recollection of what Artorius lived like. But I know how Sung Hei lived like,"

"So, how did he live?" She questioned me with curious eyes.

"Well, when growing up. We were poor, really poor," I began explaining. "We lived in the slums,"

"Slums?" Amelia stopped me. "What's that?"

"It's a district or area where poor people live. Overcrowded, dirty and full of crime,"

Her head tilts slightly and her eyes widen. "You grew up in those conditions?" She asked in shock.

"Not my whole life," I chuckled. "After I became six we moved to a better place,"

"How was it in the slums?"

"Difficult," I answered. "That's the easiest way to describe it,"

"And… after moving out of it?"

"...Difficult,"

"Huh!?" She gasped. "If both were difficult, then how was it any better?"

"Well, let me ask you this," I picked her up and placed her on top of me. "Would you rather live a life where you can't sleep at night or sleep at night with an aching body?"

"Well… sleep at night, I suppose?" She answered with uncertainty.

"Exactly," I smiled. "There were better opportunities outside of the slums. Though the first three years, it was quite difficult,"

"What happened after the three years?"

"Can you answer this first?" I asked her.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow.

"What is the normal age for a person to kill another human?"

"Eh… Well…"

"A soldier kills when he is an adult. A normal human can go their whole life without killing another,"

"So… what's the answer?"

"There is no answer. There is no average age of killing another human as a normal citizen,"

"Wait, so… what happened?"

"There were three boys in my school. A school is basically what we call an academy in this world. They used to beat me every day. Weapons, fists, kicks, you name it. I've been hit with everything,"

"Why didn't you kill them using magic?" She asked, being ignorant of the knowledge of my past.

"There was no magic in my past life, silly!" I laughed. "Magic was a fantasy concept in that world. We wished it was real,"

"How did you gain so much control over magic in such a short time then!?" Amelia asked, bewildered as she should be.

"This body can control magic. People struggle with magic because their body and mana pool is not as big. But mine has been carved and created in the most pristine conditions,"

She nods her head, satisfied with my answer.

"Anyways, the three boys that used to bully me. They were rich and spoiled, always causing me trouble. No one had any power because Kye, the main kid, his parents… basically ruled the district we lived in,"

"Woah, rough," Amelia commented.

"One day, I had enough. I was being chased by the three down the district till I entered an alleyway. I was cornered by the three and had nowhere to run.

That's when I decided… enough was enough. I won't stand it anymore,"

I began explaining to her the grim details of what I had done to Kye Rexie and Dilan. The memory was as vivid as I remember as if it was yesterday. That memory never left my mind.

Amelia's reaction was, as expected, shock and fear. She was the first person I've told this story to. The only person I could trust–she can't tell anyone.

"You're… a broken man, aren't you?"

"I don't deny it," I smiled gently. "There's a lot wrong with me. Growing up in the slums, I had to grow up faster and stronger than others. It's my survival instincts,"

"But, did your parents not do anything about it?" She asked. A valid question for sure.

"There was not much they could do. We complained to the school authorities but even they were too afraid of Kye's powers. The school could function on his parents' orders. Without them, the school would be shut down in an instant."

She fell quiet after that. Only staring at me as she sat upright on my stomach. I looked away and to my right, into the darkness that is in front of us. A tunnel that is lit up gently by the odd crystals sticking out of the walls.

"Let's continue now, shall we?" I said as I turned to her, giving her a friendly smile.

"Sure!" Amelia exclaimed happily.

She jumped off my stomach and quickly switched back to her original form. I did my duty and tied the rucksack to her. We were off on the road once again.

ALEXANDER'S POV

My eyes opened to the sound of birds chirping and my room being lit up by the bright sunlight, shining through the large windows inside my room.

A painful headache began the moment I took my first breath awake. I squint and groan in pain as I try to look around.

"Ugh… what happened last night…" I whispered in pain.

I felt someone's arm holding me. My shirt was on the floor alongside a white nightgown. My senses returned as soon as I noticed the clothes.

I turned around to my left and saw Olivia. Her arm was wrapped around my torso as she slept peacefully under the blanket. My heart raced as I tried to figure out what to do.

My memory was hazy from last night. All I remembered was Olivia entering my room. After that, my mind went blank.

"Mm… is it morning already…?" Olivia said as her eyes squinted open.

Her grip around me tightened as I tried to move away. All I could do was stay stuck in place as she grabbed onto me.

Slowly her hands traverse around my torso. She felt my entire torso before moving up to my throat.

"What's this…?" She said as she gripped my neck.

"O-Olivia…!" I choked, trying to wake up the drowsy princess.

"Oh, it's you!" She exclaimed with joy before laughing. "I was wondering who was with me in my bed,"

"E-excuse me? This is my bed!"

"I'm the princess," She smiled. "I own it now,"

My heart raced as she continued to feel my chin. Her hand grabbed onto my cheeks and turned it towards her face.

Our eyes met. Her eyes were cracked open while I stared at her with wide eyes.

"Come to the capital with me," She whispered. "Let's have an early honeymoon,"

Before I could react, she came closer to my face. I could feel her gentle breaths on my face as she looked deep into my eyes. I looked back into her mismatched coloured pupils as my heart raced faster.

Her sweet lips caressed mine. They were soft and melted with mine. It didn't last long but every second felt like a minute.

"You have to give me one every morning now," She said before breaking into a sweet smile.

"After marriage," I told her before breaking into soft chuckles.