Leaving 2

Two days later... the Wizard organization's ship was drawing ever closer to its arrival time. It was estimated to arrive in about five days. Anglie had originally wanted to go home and see his father, but the Baron had long since gone to the Anse Grasslands and had yet to return. Over the past two days, he had gone back to spend several tender nights with Maggie and Cilier. After leaving a letter for the Baron, he simply stayed at the academy, meditating, practicing swordsmanship, and training with the bow every day. His days were quite fulfilling.

After lunch, Anglie went straight to the archery range as usual.

A vast emerald-green lawn stretched out in a rectangle. At one end stood rows upon rows of archery targets; at the other was a long, narrow shed divided into individual shooting stations, each with a longbow hanging inside. The brilliant golden sunlight made the grass in the field seem especially green. A gust of hot wind blew past, carrying not the slightest hint of coolness.

When Anglie entered, a few scattered people were already practicing in the archery range.

Knowing the place like the back of his hand, he found a shooting station at the far right and claimed it. He took down the brown wooden bow hanging there and gently pulled the bowstring.

"Not bad. It's been maintained quite well." Anglie nodded in satisfaction.

Suddenly, a burst of conversation drifted over from not far to the left. It sounded like several girls had just entered the middle shooting stations and were chatting as they walked.

"Merry, want to give it a try?"

"Okay."

The sound of a bowstring tightening rang out, followed by a whoosh. A wooden arrow flew into Anglie's field of vision on the left, but before it had gone twenty meters, it plunged crookedly into the ground.

"That's amazing!" "So amazing!" "As expected of Merry!" The girls actually gasped in admiration, and they did not sound as though they were putting on an act.

"The farthest I can shoot is about there. I'm nowhere close to Merry!" "Same here." "As expected of Lady Merry Solen." "Are you mocking me?" "How could we be?"

The girls all giggled. "But if my younger brother were here, he would definitely hit the target. A hundred meters wouldn't be a problem for him," Merry said.

"Really? My older sister could definitely do it too. She used to be able to hit the fifth ring." The targets at the archery range had nine circles painted on them, numbered one through nine from the outside in. At the academy, hitting the fifth ring was already considered a decent result.

"But speaking of archery, I heard Anglie is extremely skilled. Nine out of ten arrows hit the ninth ring. Some people say his archery is surely among the top three in the entire academy. Catherine, is that true?" one girl asked.

"As for Anglie, of course it's no problem. Back when he was pursuing me, he even took time to bring me out for shooting practice. Hitting the ninth ring at a hundred meters is no longer difficult for him." A reserved yet proud female voice spoke in an utterly calm tone.

Anglie's face twitched. He recognized that voice. It belonged to the girl the Anglie in his memories had once pursued. Too lazy to listen to any more nonsense, he raised the longbow and drew a wooden arrow from the quiver.

Creak...

The bowstring suddenly drew taut. He did not activate the Chip, relying solely on experience and bodily sensation. After being corrected countless times by the Chip, his physical instincts could already precisely grasp the most accurate posture, angle, and force. With a whoosh, the wooden arrow nailed itself solidly into the bullseye one hundred meters away. The contrast with the other archers nearby was as plain as black and white. A wave of astonished cries and hushed exclamations immediately rose up. In the eyes of these pampered students, such archery was nothing short of divine skill.

Anglie raised the longbow again and continued firing in rapid succession. This time, however, he no longer aimed for the bullseye, instead treating the third or fourth ring as his target. Naturally, every arrow still struck with precision, but he no longer attracted quite so much attention.

This also achieved his training purpose. He shot for more than ten minutes straight, emptying three quivers before wiping away his sweat and lowering the longbow. To fire three quivers in succession without wearing a ring and not injure one's fingers—aside from someone with a Knight Level physique, probably no one else could manage it.

After putting down the longbow, Anglie could still hear the girls in the nearby station speaking and chatting quietly. He adjusted his breathing rhythm and restored his stamina before rising to leave.

He turned and left his station, walking along the corridor beneath the long shed. When he passed the girls' station, Anglie decided to say hello after all. After all, Catherine was a girl he had once pursued. It would count as drawing a line under the matter.

He turned directly into their station. Inside, five beautifully dressed girls were whispering about something, occasionally letting out laughter like silver bells. When they noticed Anglie entering, all five turned to look at him. "May I ask what you need?" one girl asked.

"Catherine? Long time no see. Have you been well lately?" Wearing a warm smile, Anglie stepped forward and walked up to one of the blonde girls.

The girls all fell silent. They looked at one another, taking a long while to react.

"Um... I'm not Catherine. She's over there..." The blonde girl hesitated, an odd expression appearing on her face as she pointed toward the blonde girl at the far left beside her.

"Uh..." Anglie froze speechlessly. But he quickly smiled naturally. "I'm Anglie. Catherine, long time no see." He looked toward the blonde girl at the edge.

Catherine's face had turned completely red. She did not dare raise her head to look at Anglie. She could sense his teasing gaze, as well as the increasingly contemptuous looks from the girls around her.

Anglie nodded in satisfaction. His goal had been achieved. This unexpected turn of events would be enough to leave a deep impression on Catherine's companions, and through them, the message that 'his relationship with Catherine and the others was merely ordinary' would soon spread. Back then, he had fallen from his horse because of this girl and died outright, yet no one had even come to offer a single word of concern. It was his own servants who had hauled him home in a carriage. Though it had been the original Anglie who died, he still had no desire to become deeply entangled with a woman of such poor character. Being inexplicably dragged into trouble under the banner of his name also left Anglie rather displeased.

The atmosphere became strange and awkward to the extreme. In the end, Catherine could no longer endure it. Covering her mouth, she turned and ran away. The remaining girls, however, politely greeted Anglie. "Senior Anglie, Catherine said she is your fiancée. Is that true?" the blonde girl from earlier asked.

"How could that be?" Anglie shook his head. "She and I are merely ordinary classmates. Back in the Rudin Kingdom, we were taught under the same knight. And don't call me senior. I might not have enrolled any earlier than you." He smiled.

"That won't do. Senior, your talent in archery and linguistics is famous throughout the academy. We're only ordinary students, so calling you senior is hardly excessive." Another girl, Merry, who had short black hair, said with a smile.

Anglie casually chatted with the girls for a while before taking his leave. His purpose achieved, he had no interest in wasting more words on them. He went straight back to the dormitory.

He knew exactly what Catherine was thinking. This girl was nothing more than a vain, arrogant vase. In her mind, as long as she took the initiative, Anglie would certainly pursue her as fiercely as he had before. Then, just as she had in the past, she could coyly yield only halfway, putting on a show of great reluctance before agreeing. It would give her face while satisfying her vanity. That was why she had so naturally presented herself as his companion. In her eyes, Anglie would surely be longing for it, delirious with joy. What she had not expected was that the current Anglie was no longer the wastrel young master of the past, but another soul entirely.

Catherine's matter did not cause much of a stir. Candia and her brother, along with several companions close to them, became like clowns—the subject of idle gossip at dinner tables. Anglie later heard that Vivac had ultimately not touched those people, merely warning them once. He had even made it known that he was sparing them only because they had once known Anglie. In any case, Anglie no longer kept any of them in mind.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Anglie's physique improved by another 0.1, reaching 2.9. And at last, the Wizard organization's ship arrived.

Somewhere on the docks of Maruya Port.

A long stone path extended from the pier into the sea, stretching for more than a hundred meters. Its surface was paved with unknown black stone slabs.

Deep blue seawater lay on both sides of the path. With the wind and waves, the water slapped against the path's foundations again and again.

Dressed in white Swordsman attire, Anglie stood amid more than a dozen people waiting for ships. A black bundle was strapped to his back, and a silver cross sword hung at his waist. His tall, well-proportioned figure made even his somewhat ordinary face appear rather handsome. Beside him stood old Adolf, his beard white with age, along with two personal guard Swordsmen. Because of the Wizard organization's secrecy and the importance of this news, only the two of them and two trusted guards had come.

The noon sun was exceptionally scorching. Those waiting for ships kept taking out handkerchiefs to wipe away their sweat.

Soon, a neat fleet slowly emerged on the horizon and sailed toward the docks. Most of the vessels were medium or large cargo ships, some blue and some white. Whales and tridents were printed on all their sails.

"That is the fleet of the Sea View Trading Company. The ship you're boarding is the one at the very end. Be careful not to get it wrong," Adolf quietly instructed in a solemn voice.

"I understand." Anglie nodded seriously.

He raised his head and gazed at the distant ships.

Blue sky, blue sea—the ocean and heavens were one color. Azure filled his entire sight. Only a row of white and blue specks in the distance was slowly approaching. Strong sea winds carrying the fishy salt scent swept past in gusts, making the corners of their clothes flap loudly. Mixed into it was the sound of waves crashing against the dock.

Caw caw!!

Two white seabirds swept across his vision. The people around him also began chatting animatedly. Those who had come here at this time and place were likely passengers boarding the merchant fleet as well.

More than a hundred people were gathered rather densely along the sea path that stretched for over a hundred meters. When Anglie looked back, he saw several dozen more people standing on the shore behind them.

Adolf patted Anglie on the shoulder. "Stop looking. The people arranged by the port are all here to provide cover for you. There are far fewer people who will truly board the ship."

"Us?" Anglie sharply caught the implication. "How many others are there like me? Do you know, Mentor?"

Adolf shook his head. "I don't know either. In any case, among those boarding the last ship, anyone around your age and under thirty could be one of them. You'll find out after you board. Someone will gather you together and explain it."

The fleet drew closer and closer.

The specks that had originally been no bigger than sesame seeds had now become gigantic ships as tall as buildings, and they continued to grow larger as the distance closed. Each vessel looked roughly as large as a large oil tanker from Anglie's previous life on Earth.

"So huge..." Anglie marveled. "These ships should have other sources of power too, right?"

"Of course. Ships like these cannot move on wind power alone. The sails were fitted only to save power." Adolf too watched the approaching fleet with admiration.