Chapter 46 – If Only You Had Come Sooner…
Aiden and his group, who had already witnessed the girl's power, exchanged surprised glances. They knew roughly how powerful she was, but seeing Eleonora dismiss her so casually was hard to process.
In contrast, Alexia’s group, who didn’t have the same context as they hadn’t seen the girl fight due to Eleonora’s actions so far and her strange nature… couldn’t overlook this.
Aware that if anyone was going to claim the girl, it would be best to get ahead and ensure that the trip wasn’t entirely in vain, Alexia stepped forward.
“If you don’t mind,” she said in a measured voice, looking at Eleonora, “I’d like to take her with us. We’ll take care of her.”
Alexia tried to sound as friendly as possible, not wanting to get on Eleonora’s bad side.
Eleonora, barely interested in the conversation, nodded as her gaze swept the area, but there was no immediate sign of danger.
The bodies of the wolves, eliminated by her summons, lay lifeless in the snow, and Eleonora sighed in frustration.
‘Really, no one else wants to fight? How boring...’ Eleonora thought.
The excitement of the battle had faded too quickly for her liking.
Eleonora still felt the need to move, to fight. The body she was controlling felt it too.
Adrenaline.
Since this was a body she had only recently formed a contract with, there were too many things to work on and refine, but for that, she needed to fight to better understand its strengths and weaknesses.
Only through training could she make her candidate strong, and if there was one thing Eleonora wanted to show this new candidate, it was all the benefits of being with her.
Although Eleonora obviously wanted to know her new candidate’s desires as quickly as possible to help fulfill them, something inside her was still nagging at her.
She wanted more.
Controlling a body that constantly experienced being on the edge was exhilarating for Eleonora, making her feel alive.
And, even though she wanted to separate for a moment from her candidate to experience this sensation with her real body... for now, her top priority was protecting her candidate.
While Eleonora was thinking about all this, Thorne approached Alexia and whispered:
“We could take care of the girl too,” he commented, casting a quick glance at Eleonora.
‘This bastard... wasn’t the damn forest enough for him?’ Alexia thought, irritated.
Having already secured the consent of the ego-sword, Alexia responded firmly:
“Eleonora gave me her permission. She’s coming with us.”
Thorne hesitated but eventually backed down.
From a distance, Aiden, who was carefully carrying Marta, gave him a look, signaling not to push the issue any further.
No one wanted to make things worse with Eleonora, not after seeing what she was capable of.
It was better to stay on the sidelines for now.
Eleonora, oblivious to the small tensions between the groups, asked aloud:
“Where do you plan to go now?”
Alexia, relaxing her stance slightly, replied:
“Now that we’ve found you, we need to return to the rest of the class. We’ll be heading back to the city soon.”
“How did you get here?” Eleonora asked, only to confirm what Isuke had told her before.
Not being an expert in technology, Alexia gestured toward Isuke, who calmly stepped forward and began to explain.
“We used a device designed to transport groups of people over long distances. It was originally invented for military use, but it’s now used for more common travel, though its use is heavily regulated.”
Eleonora, seeing no one object to Isuke’s explanation, confirmed that much of what he had said earlier was true.
‘If only you had come sooner…’ Eleonora thought but decided not to dwell on it, as she already had her candidate.
‘Wait. What if I use that device to visit my sisters?’ Eleonora thought, realizing how useful such an object could be for her.
“Is it easy to get one of those devices?” Eleonora asked.
Isuke nodded.
“Yes, but you need a lot of money. At the academy, we have access to a basic one that can only teleport short distances. But the one we used this time was special, a different model... the master used it, and that’s what brought us here.”
“So, the range depends on the device?” Eleonora asked, slowly understanding how it worked.
“Exactly,” Isuke responded. “The more advanced the device, the greater the distance it can cover.”
As Eleonora absorbed the information, Thorne and Darius, who were nearby, felt uneasy.
The conversation was continuing as if they didn’t exist, and the topic was completely beyond their understanding.
Neither of them was particularly knowledgeable about technology or teleportation magic, so they could only watch in silence.
Finally, Eleonora broke the tension with a direct order.
“Lead the way,” she said to Alexia. “I’ll protect you.”
Alexia felt a small sense of relief.
Eleonora was starting to show signs of trust in her, and that could only be a good thing.
Meanwhile, Leo, who had been standing beside the white-haired girl, tried to strike up a conversation.
“What’s your name?” he asked, curious, but the girl remained completely silent, ignoring him entirely.
Despite that, Leo felt satisfied with the sword he had received from Eleonora, though he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when Camila woke up and saw what had transpired.