Chapter 459 Clearing Doubts
Two demon beasts were seen following a carriage at a uniform speed. They were Roo and Argo.
The carriage they followed contained their respective masters. The owners were prohibited from entering the cities with their demon beasts unless special permits were issued to them. Plus, the distance was too much for two Ace rank beasts to fly with their riders on their backs. Therefore, the two rankers chose this mode of transport.
The demon beasts would need to wait outside the city of Arangar for security reasons.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Eren asked Altas.h.i.+a without looking at her. He was looking at the ever-changing scenery while exhaling his smoke outside the carriage window. They were heading towards the city of Arangar, a place about a 14-hour carriage ride away from the army camp.
The carriage they were riding in had no wheels. It was a Novice rank artefact that had a simple levitation array inscribed at its base. The carriage would levitate above the ground, guaranteeing b.u.mp-free travel for its pa.s.sengers. That"s why even when they were being pulled by two powerful colts at high speed, Eren and Altas.h.i.+a did not feel any discomfort. The interior of the carriage barely moved.
The carriage was driven by a rankless mortal. He had made sure that his clients were well taken care of by trying to make this trip a pleasant experience for both of them.
Various snacks and beverages were placed inside the s.p.a.cious carriage that measured 4 metres in length and 2 metres in width. The seats were plush with velvet covers draped over them. They were placed on the opposite side of each other. One side was solely for Eren"s use while the other was occupied by Altas.h.i.+a.
There were two very large windows on either side of the carriage cabin. Eren was sitting in one corner of the cabin. Altas.h.i.+a was sitting on the diagonally opposite side from Eren.
"I"m trying to figure out why the guy who had tried to flirt with me so many times got so silent eventually?"
Altas.h.i.+a asked with an almost stoic face. But the corners of her mouth were stretched into a light smile.
"Heh! It"s simple really."
Eren kicked the b.u.t.t of his smoke outside the window and looked at Altas.h.i.+a with a slight smile of his own before responding.
"This can not be a one-way street, Altas.h.i.+a. I tried approaching you many times since we shared a kiss, but you didn"t reciprocate enough. I can only take that as a hint."
Altas.h.i.+a had a blank expression on her face. But she cursed herself in her mind for acting so aloof. She liked Eren"s overt and covert attempts to approach her. She enjoyed his attention. But she didn"t want to get out of her comfort zone while doing that. So even though she was starting to get interested in him, she acted as if she wasn"t.
Eren acted like he meant the words he said. He took out a spell scroll from his storage and started reading on it. It was an Ace rank wind-element spell that he had received from the army after applying for it. He had paid in his contribution points.
The Wind Blades Tornado was a relatively common spell among wind-element users. Its mana circuit combination was simple to understand. Additionally, the spell was optimized to be used in close and mid-range combats with a low mana cost.
Eren had already understood the basics of the spell. Now he was looking at the spell"s variations and how to activate them using the modulation in mana points. The butcher liked to be precise with his spells after all.
"Only strong and determined men can afford to date a strong woman. Weak men would find excuses."
Altas.h.i.+a finally replied after some time. While keeping a straight face, she looked out the window to avoid Eren"s gaze. She wanted to convey to Eren that he had given up too soon.
The butcher stopped reading from the spell scroll and looked at Altas.h.i.+a before bursting into a heartful laugh.
"Hahahahaha! Oh boy! And here I thought I was being extra cheesy."
Altas.h.i.+a had a red tinge on her cheeks when she heard Eren"s laughter. But she didn"t reply and continued looking outside the window. They were only an hour away from the city of Arangar from the scenery outside.
Eren stopped laughing quickly after. He then returned to reading the spell scroll.
"I don"t know which idiot spoke that line, Altas.h.i.+a. It must be a woman who doesn"t know s.h.i.+t about "strong and determined" men."
Altas.h.i.+a focused her gaze on Eren again when he said that. She was about to say something when Eren continued while continuing to read up on the scroll.
"The thing about strong men… they respect themselves way more than their pursuits in partners. The line you said just now seems more like an excuse some of the most egocentric women would come up with to justify their unreasonable smugness.
Only determined men can afford to date a strong woman? Bulls.h.i.+t. I"d rather be with someone who respects me for the attention I give her, no matter how she is to others or how successful she is as a person.
Why not face your feelings head-on and ask the guy you like without waiting for him to approach you if you consider yourself to be strong?"
Eren chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. Then he put the scroll back into his storage, closed his eyes, and tried to recall everything he had just read. So far everything seems okay.
Altas.h.i.+a didn"t know what to say when she heard Eren"s reality check. She had just said what she had intended, which was to keep Eren"s attention on her. But she didn"t know it would have the opposite effect.
"Eren, maybe I didn"t mean to say it like that. But don"t you think your views are equally harsh as well? What"s wrong when a girl wants her man to fight for her?"
Eren shook his head again as if to convey that Altas.h.i.+a still didn"t get what he wanted to say. He clarified it by replying immediately.
"There"s nothing wrong. But I"ve made my intentions clear to you. But your responses to those intentions reflect the doubts you have in your heart.
Now, for a change, I want you to fight for me after your doubts get settled. I want you to be on the frontline now."