"In that case, we'll head to the forest and eliminate the bandits." Lees smiled, assuring the baron.
"Yeah. Do your best. May lady luck bless you with her presence." Titus nodded.
Lees then led his group toward the forest. Little did they know, there was a pair of eyes observing them from afar.
It didn't take too long for the message to arrive.
In the cave within the hill, a man was sitting on his bone chair. He had long, black hair and a muscular body. Due to the torch illuminating the cave, the temperature within the cave was much warmer, causing him to not use any tops.
After looking at the message, Davei said, "Three people from the Duxia Academy are coming to this place. It seems they're pretty bold. One of them is older, so I believe this guy is a second-year student. They should have strength similar to mine. That's why they're confident."
"Boss. We should kill that person and the other guy and keep the girl! Hahahaha!"
"We should ambush them and make them pay for underestimating us."
"Can they even reach here?"
"They should be able to reach here. The baron has been scouting the area, so they should have found this place."
Davei looked concerned. It felt like things weren't so simple.
However, the former vice captain of the barony, Pavel, stood up and said out loud, "Boss. Just let me do it. My strength has improved a lot. If I have four people accompany me so that two people can pinch each supporter, we will be able to win.
"Besides, I know this forest the most. We can ambush them and deal with them easily!"
Davei squinted his eyes. The bandit group, especially him, had helped Pavel a lot. It was easy to see that Pavel was trying to take advantage of this to express his gratitude.
Nathan shrugged. "I can give out a plan, but no one can assure that everything is going to be alright. If all of a sudden, there's a continent falling from the sky and destroying the world, no one can really say it for sure.
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"If you're going to say everything is going to be alright, then you have to keep your promise. That's why all I can do is continue to worry, think about what the enemies will probably do, and just do my best."
Sera tilted her head in confusion. "I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong, but this is the first time you say it without any confidence at all. Am I lucky to see this weak side of yours?"
Nathan chuckled. "I have been weak this whole time. I just love to act tough."
"You? Weak?" Sera dropped her jaw as if she had just heard something unbelievable.
"Yeah. I'm weak. In fact, I'm afraid the day where I consider myself strong will come one day."
"!!!" Sera was startled. She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing it wrong. After all, it felt like her teacher was the one in front of her instead of Nathan.
Sera couldn't help but recall the words that the Pope said back then. "There is nothing more enjoyable than knowing you are weak. After all, being weak doesn't mean a flaw. It just means you know there's room for improvement.
"Once you become strong, that's the end of your path. You won't be able to see the path to become even stronger. You asked me why I was never angry, even when people scorned me, right? It is enjoyable to know that there's still something I can still overcome.
"Ask anyone who has reached the top, they will give you the same answer. We are just waiting to see if there will be a person in the future who can make us think we're weak."
After recalling that answer, Sera fell silent. It was no wonder why Nathan was able to improve a lot in such a short period.
Their mindset was already different.
A smile soon appeared on her face. "I see. So that's how it is."