Little Bei seemed distraught by the sudden lifting. He was held between two powerful hands and hurled around in circles, fondled on two plush platforms, smooth cheeks rubbing against his face.

It all happened so quickly that the little cub couldn't comprehend what type of world and experience this was.

Meanwhile, Kaito and the other guy walked over to greet Lian Feng and Kage.

Kaito cupped his hands respectfully.

"Kaito. I greet you."

Lian Feng repeated the gesture with a welcoming smile.

"I'm Lian Feng. I greet you too."

Kaito shifted to Kage and bowed.

"We saw the clues you left us at the Twin Towers. They enabled us to solve things quickly—thank you so much, Brother Kage. That was thoughtful of you."

Kage exhaled and closed his eyes.

"It was payment for the sword. And meant to aid Talia more, since she was the one who needed help."

Kaito smiled.

"It's still thoughtful."

He shifted his gaze to the source of the smoke, thinking.

'Did they disperse that many beasts all on their own?'

He stole a glance at Kage and Lian.

'Is Brother Kage more formidable than I realized? Or is it this Brother Lian Feng? Feng, Feng—I've never heard of any Feng though. Still, he looks too striking not to be known. His clothes, his bearing, even the color of his hair!'

Meanwhile, the boy with teal eyes introduced himself to Kage and Lian Feng.

"I'm Haru Brightwind, and I'm from the Valdris continent. I hope I pass the academy entrance examination and become a student—learn a lot. Make friends with all of you!"

Talia seized a moment from the cub.

"We should all be friends! I'm sure together we can forge something formidable—all parts working like a whole.We're going to make an amazing team here! I just know it! We'll all help each other succeed!"

Her eyes radiated warmth.

"Thank you so much, Kage! I saw it! You helped me with the second marker! But you don't look well—are you okay?"

She turned to the smoldering corpses, and her eyes widened at the mound of carcasses.

"What?! Did you two alone kill this many beasts?! Holy metal! You're fortunate."

She observed Lian Feng, blushing slightly.

"Who is this?! You lack a sword—I can help you with a sword! You look like you were forged from sunlight! Heavens! Men like this exist?! Wheew! The heat from the fire is intense. I'm going to need a lot of water. Does anyone know of nearby streams?"

Kaito opened his mouth then closed it again. At the same time Haru responded cheerfully.

"There's no need to expend social capital on something so trivial."

She glanced left and right, trying to avoid meeting Lian Feng's eyes. Meanwhile, the son of the dragon just stared, blinking in confusion.

Kage exhaled and slowly lifted himself up.

"We should move. We don't need to walk fast, but we need to walk nonetheless. Hopefully we can reach the location of the third marker by nightfall."

Lian Feng looked at Kage and steadied him slightly with his shoulder.

"How many markers do you think exist?"

Kage glanced at them.

"I've got no idea, but let's hope this is the last. I don't think the academy would thrust us into the Silent Grove without preparation."

Haru nodded as he realized what Kage implied.

"So the scrolls are meant to be opened before we venture into the Silent Grove."

Kage nodded.

"Most likely."

Kaito silently observed the conversation. He looked like he had something to say, but nothing made it out of his mouth as everyone began to move forward.

They walked for a while throughout the afternoon, and Talia shared roasted meat amongst them all. The group wanted to pause to eat, but Kage insisted they press on.

It was the third day. They all felt like they could use the break—all of them except Kage, who wanted to reach the Silent Grove as fast as he could.

The others understood and respected his drive. It wouldn't be so bad if they could also arrive at the Academy Gate in five days instead of seven. In fact, there would be exceptional examinees who would accomplish this feat.

After walking throughout the day, they eventually settled at night and slept. While they slept, Kage and Bei kept watch. He sat on a tree to get a proper angle of the entire area, while Bei was cradled in his hands as he stared at the moon.

The moonlight did not reach this area of the forest as efficiently as before—proof enough that they were nearing the forest's depth and reaching the foothills of the mountains, from which their true climb would begin.

If things went well, they should spend just a day in the Silent Grove and reach the mountain on the sixth day, or at the latest by the morning of the seventh day.

However, if things proved to be difficult and refused to go well...

'That one is unique. That's where my money is.'

[The Wolf of the North shakes his head and asks you to employ a little optimism, at least for Bei's sake. He says the little cub is still too young to defend itself from harm.]

Kage looked at the sleeping cub in his arms and stared forward with an indifferent expression.

'Welcome to life, kid. It's bitter, but what choice do we have?'

Kage looked forward with a forlorn expression, casting his thoughts into the distant moon and sinking into its beauty.

He heard footsteps and glanced down. Kaito was walking toward him, looking up through the forest.

He finally spotted Kage and chuckled.

"Wow. You must have a thing for trees, Brother Kage."

Kage looked down at him with a blank face.

"Can you stop being so formal?"

Kaito allowed a short laugh.

"I do want to... but not knowing your clan makes me very cautious around you. Do you mind if I join you up there?"

Kage made an irritated expression and responded coldly.

"Yes, I do. Don't join me. Go back to sleep."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.