Chapter 560 - Their Gratitude

After putting Rae back in her bedroom, Arthur left the scene. It was early morning the next day when the envoy from Runera arrived to take them. However, when Arthur was sitting on his chair and folding a metal ring into itself, a knock came on the door in the early morning.

"Alexie," a voice called from outside. "Are you asleep?"

"Yes, I am," answered Arthur as his finger wrote a rune in the air, which showed him who the person outside was. It was Julia, wearing her formal runemaster outfit.

"I heard you were accepted into the exploration of the ruins on your own," she continued regardless of his question. "Let me inside for a talk."

"I rather not."

"I will scream."

Arthur stared at the older woman, speechless at the immaturity before he swung his finger for the door to swing open. Julia blinked her eyes before a smug smile appeared on her face.

"Does that threat work?"

"Always with men," she said before she skipped steps inside his suit, pausing at the realization that there was nothing inside but a single chair. "Were you robbed?" she stared at the place with a daze.

"A meditation session never hurts," he placed the ring inside his pocket. "What do you want now?"

"...what kind of meditation?" she asked and ignored his question. "There is nothing here as if the person sitting inside is a plant."

"And this chair is my pot," sighed Arthur helplessly. "You are starting to annoy me, Julia."

"You dropped all pretenses already?" Julia twisted her mouth with displeasure. "I would have sat down for a chat, but Monk Alexie never prepared for guests."

"And Monk Alexie is ready to kick someone out," frowned Arthur, but the runemaster did not budge. Instead, after a sigh, he raised his hand as his storage ring glowed to take out a chair in front of him. "Have a seat."

Julia snickered before sitting in front of him, her robes falling to the side and revealing her long legs, which she placed one on top of the other. Arthur knew she wanted him to look, but he did not satisfy her.

"As you know," she placed her hands on her legs with a smile. "My family lives in Runera. As you tag along with me, we can explore the ruins as we desire. There will be no need to work for the scholars there."

"I don't plan to work with anyone."

"That is not how it works, sweetie," she laughed and shook her head. "Runera is very strict of the admission passes it gives to outsiders. The only reason this is happening is their desire to uncover these ruins, and their attempts failed so far."

"I don't plan to work with anyone."

"...the first time was cute, but now this is concerning. The moment you step foot inside Runera, you will be monitored. Unless you have a Sigil, then the runic arrays will restrict your access to many places."

Arthur sighed as he started to feel mentally drained by her. Julia's persistence was probably the scariest thing about her. If he had known she would stick to him like this, the previous Arthur would have never saved her.

"Runera is the artifacts hub of the world ever since its existence," Julia tried to tempt him. "I know that you are too prideful to be my assistant, but this is beneficial for both of us."

"This has nothing to do with pride. I don't like you as a person. I once witnessed a fight between two people in Kera's Runes Association, and you helped the noble even though he was the one at fault. I have nothing against working with anyone in the Runes Research Department except for you."

His honesty shocked her, but Arthur felt like he needed to say it. This person might not be a villain, but he had no reason to like someone so selfish, as human as that trait is. His life was filled with selfish people, and he never befriended them.

"...you were there?" she asked with surprise. The revelation left her speechless. "I was concerned about... that noble's father was..."

"A master of some guild," continued Arthur with a wave of his hand. "His statue is irrelevant because I know the reason you did it. You were currying favors with him for the resources he can provide you with."

"Believe me, I regret that incident more than anything," she said with a weak smile. "You might not have recognized him, but the other young man turned out to be a runic genius. I destroyed my connections to a prodigy for some materials for my research. How scary it is that a single choice can change everything?"

"It is scary," replied Arthur for the first time with sincerity. "However, like many before us, we need to take responsibility for the choices we made. You cannot run away from a wrong choice."

As their eyes met, a silence followed. Julia stared into his eyes long enough until the two of them believed the other person was a painting. The runemaster was the first one to nod and rise.

"I understand the reason now," she said with a weak smile. "I showed you my real character, and this made you hate me. I will never bother you again with this request. I wish you luck, Alexie," she said before bowing slightly and leaving his room.

Arthur watched her walk out of the door, and then his rune reactivated to reveal her walking through the hallway. Even though she seemed to accept her mistakes, it did not stop her from holding a look of regret.

His rune disappeared because Arthur knew better than to intrude on someone's moments of weakness. However, this conversation was not as useless as he believed it would be. Although his impression of her did not change, Julia turned out to be honest.

Arthur might hate someone for their mistakes, but he respects those who own up to them. This is the reason that he did not hate Lyari or Kar. Those were villains that he needed to take down, but they shied away from their goals.

"Although hearing this would make Gaia scold me," smiled Arthur as he rose to his feet. "I will also take the path I chose until the end. No matter how ugly it might get."

It was soon time to leave Jerano and head toward Runera. Arthur looked at the two chairs before taking them into his subspace, and with this, his suit was empty as if he was never there.

It was how things were supposed to be, and Arthur erased every trace of his existence. An outsider needed to leave in the end, and he knew that. Arthur's boots struck the wooden floor before he crossed the door, and it closed behind him.

The students began to leave their room, heading to their respective departments. Arthur gazed at with regret while students were carrying mechanical parts for their mechas.

His achievements in Runera were now erased, and he was never there. However, the memories were still there of what happened, and anything else could be rebuilt.

Everyone turned to look at him as the students passed him or the other way around. Their whispers spread as their fingers pointed at him. After a certain while, Arthur began to notice the students following him.

Arthur did not stop them or question their actions and continued his route. The closer he reached the portals of Jerano, the more students followed after him. At some point, their number grew so large that Arthur believed they were several departments combined.

The noise disturbed him for a bit, but Arthur carried on to the envoy of Runera. Their entourage was waiting at the portals of Jerano, which should lead them outside. However, as he arrived at the public square, Arthur realized that many more students were waiting for him.

"I see that even the great Alexie can be surprised," said a voice from behind him. Arthur turned to find Emma smiling at him. "Everyone knows that you are leaving soon, so they chose today to say goodbye."

"I don't know them," frowned Arthur at Emma, who shook her head and turned toward the crowd in front of them. As he followed her gaze, Arthur saw Ivan stride forward with Ori scratching his head behind him.

"Master Alexie," bowed Ivan as he got closer, surrounded by thousands of Jerano students. "We want to bid farewell and thank you for everything so far."

"I am a store owner," Arthur shook his head as he turned toward the crowd. "Everything I gave you was paid for with Jerano points."

"We know that you decreased the prices the more you sold, so the profits were minimal," a giant man said from the crowd, who Arthur remembers fighting in the exam along with a short healer. "You are the sole person who cared about the less-wealthy students of Jerano."

"Are you a part of this, Oriole?" asked Arthur after turning toward his friend, who shrugged with a sly smile. "You did not need..."

"I want my friend to get the respect he deserves," said Oriole with helplessness.. "Accept their gratitude, Alexie."