Rebirth: Childhood friend of the heroine

The whole morning, Alex and Beatrice were involved in the conversation, the prior receiving knowledge of his birthplace and the criteria for joining the tournament.

It would happen right after the summit, which would be taking place in Grimland.

Beatrice later said she needed to return, since,

"I am still not discovered as an accomplice to my mother. So I need to return as soon as I can."

Alex raised his brows, "Won't they suspect you? I mean, you often come here to check on me?"

Beatrice shook her head, "As much as it pains to say, the people of the clan have slowly forgotten about you—except for the patriarch who still goes to meet your mother seldom."

Alex took a strong gulp upon hearing that.

Beatrice left not so long after with Hector. The older male told Amanda and Edric to rest here for the time being and wait for further orders from the Academy.

Given Aborne is no longer in the condition to continue with the internship, Edric might have to return to the Academy.

Now, in the dining hall sat only five members, two being the members of the family while the other three were the students of Soulforge.

Edric and David were tired and wounded so they only had soup for dinner and decided to turn in early today.

The head position was left vacant since it was the seat for the family patriarch. On the right, Alex sat between two females.

Across him were two vacant seats beside Amanda, but no one chose to sit there.

'I feel cramped…' Alex inwardly muttered as Celestria was peeking glances at him and Rebecca was blatantly staring at him with a grin.

"Here, try this. It suits your taste." Rebecca suddenly picked a small shrimp that was coated in glaring red spices.

She brought it near Alex's lips, and subconsciously he would have bit on it as well, if only Celestria hadn't held Rebecca by her wrist, and smilingly told her,

"Alex's stomach cannot digest spicy food. I wonder if you want him to suffer."

Rebecca glared at the girl before freeing her hand, "You think Alex is weak? Pathetic."

Celestria's smile widened, "It's not about weak or strong, Miss Steelhound. It's about preference; Alex prefers delicate and soft food, and hot and wild food makes him suffer. So I guess you can take the hint?"

Saying so, she extended a tender and creamy piece of chicken cutlet in his direction.

Amanda raised her brows, she didn't know Celestria had it in her.

Veronica was surprised as well; seeing the teenager making it evident about what he prefers and that Rebecca should stay away from him.

'Alex is quite popular among ladies~'

Rebecca snarled, "Tastes change with time!"

Celestria retaliated, "But the general preference remains the same!"

Alex, who was getting tired of all the nonsense(he didn't understand the actual meaning behind the food war), suddenly bit on both chicken and shrimp.

"Hoh~"

"Wow~"

Amanda and Veronica instantly showed a surprised smile while Rebecca and Celestria were flabbergasted by his 'choice'.

Rebecca and Celestria both glanced at each other, before returning to focus on their food.

A heavy silence descended in the room after that.

….

"Yo, doing good?" Later that night, Alex went to Edric's room and found the guy reading a book.

Edric softly nodded as he rested the book away and gestured for Alex to sit down.

Edric's body hadn't recovered completely and there were still dark burnt marks there; half of his face, left arm, and everything down his waist was charred.

Although he didn't look in pain, Alex knew moving around would cause him great agony.

"You aren't going to blame yourself for all this, right?" Edric asked, his brows drawing closer.

Alex scoffed, "Like hell. It was your choice to stay back."

The frown from his face disappeared and Edric heaved a sigh, "Yeah, exactly. And not like this would be the first time I am getting hurt, and thanks to this experience, now I know where I should be heading."

"Hmm?" Alex asked, "What do you mean?"

Edric explained, "Becoming a knight was my dream, however, after Sir Aborne visited me a few hours ago, I realized something."

With his eyes resting on nothing particular, the raven-haired added, "I need to go beyond the level of a knight. Sir Aborne said, that as of now, I am already stronger than any knight under his command. And maybe stronger than Sir Aborne too."

Heaving a sigh, he concluded, "I need to…widen my horizon."

Alex nodded slowly, happy that Edric had come to this realization on his own. Having a small ambition would cost him dearly when that otherworldly bastard shows up.

After a brief pause, Alex changed subjects, "You sleeping here alone?"

That question took him by surprise as Edric said, "You know right…that I and Amanda are still not there."

Alex raised his brows, "Yeah, social norms."

Edric narrowed his eyes, "Why does it seem you don't give an F about them?"

"Because I don't."

Edric chuckled, "Get yourself a girlfriend before we continue this conversation."

Alex heaved a sigh. That mockery, hah…

Alex didn't stay there for long, and after saying, 'Take care', he walked out.

—-------**-------

Ten days went by. That incident has shaken Amanda down to her core and she still gets nightmares of that night when she was inches away from death.

Although she has yet to recover from the trauma of being helpless, her relationship with Alex returned to normal.

After spending a few days recovering, Amanda, along with Celestria—the latter being awfully reluctant—returned to the Capital.

Since Aborne was injured and his team was annihilated, he decided to take a break for a month; as such, Edric's internship was shifted to Steelhound—a decision that Eric took after he saw Edric taking that attack and coming out alive.

No one argued over the decision since there was no better mentor than the Steelhounds who could teach a warrior at Edric's level.

….

In the capital, inside a closed space, Amanda was engaged in her training.

Amanda stood still, the blindfold pressing lightly against her skin. The indoor training ground was silent, the darkness around her heavy and suffocating. Then, with a faint hum, the first target emerged—silent as a ghost and coated in a thin, shimmering layer of Soul energy.

She didn't need her eyes. Amanda's senses flared, sharp and unyielding. A flick of her wrist summoned a spear of ice that formed instantly, frost spreading along its edge like hungry vines.

Crash!

The spear shot forward, shattering the target in a single, precise blow. Before the fragments hit the ground, two more targets materialized from opposite corners, their Soul energy rippling faintly in the dark.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Amanda turned sharply, her boots scraping against the stone floor. A wave of frost erupted from her outstretched palm, freezing the air into jagged shards. The shards exploded outward, slicing cleanly through the approaching targets.

The ground beneath her chilled as she pivoted. Another target appeared, hovering just above her. She raised her hand, and a massive spike of ice launched upward, piercing through the Soul-coated surface with ease.

Targets appeared faster, their Soul energy pulsing ominously. Amanda moved like a predator, swift and relentless. The sound of cracking ice filled the air as she dismantled each threat with brutal efficiency. Frost clung to her every step, the ground glimmering in her wake.

By the time the final target burst into icy fragments, the training ground was silent once more. Amanda stood amidst the shattered remains, her breath steady and cold mist swirling around her.

For the final strike, she unsheathed the short sword she carried. Her eyes remained still unneeded as she sensed her target moving left to right.

The girl pinpointed the distance and the direction of the target and anticipated where it would be when she began approaching it with heavy steps.

Just a few meters away from the target, she leaned forward, attached the sword to her hip and after blowing a cold breath, she launched forward

SHLINK

In an instant, she was standing behind the target which was still moving. However, with a breeze, the upper half of the training doll was cleaved and fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Clap Clap

The sound of someone clapping resonated as Amanda removed her blindfolds and turned towards the familiar man.

"Marvelous, Amanda. You have beaten your own and even my record."

Amanda faintly smiled as Devon approached her with a smiling face.

However, his smile turned into a smirk before he asked, "The last attack…don't think I didn't notice it."

Amanda rolled her eyes, "So what? He nearly killed me, can't I copy one of his moves?"

The last sword strike was an imitation of Alex's sword art.

Devon chuckled before telling her, "Now, today's training is done. Return to your room."

Amanda raised her brows, "But there is still some time left before breakfast?"

Devon informed her, "I am chosen as an escort so I need to leave as soon as I can."

Amanda hummed in questioning as she asked, "Escorting whom?"

However, she soon regretted asking him,

"The greatest hope of humanity and your elder sister~"

—------**-------

A/N:- Thanks for reading.