Chapter 43: A quite Evening

As time continued to pass, after waiting a while longer and taking his time checking his updated status, Alden finally stood up from his long day of training. Since he didn’t want to get associated with his teammates, who might distract him from his routine, he had decided to come to the park alone.

Now that his training was over, he looked up at the moon floating gently in the sky, illuminating the quiet world with its soft, pale light.

*Gurgle... Grrr...*

As the loud sound of his stomach growling echoed in the silent park, Alden sighed, placing a hand over his stomach.

"Sigh... It seems I will need to grab some food before resting, or I might not be able to survive the next day."

"Well... Nutrition is important. As a former frail and malnourished guy, I should be the one who knows its importance the most."

Alden folded his arms and closed his eyes, adopting a thoughtful look.

"So what should I grab today? Steamed buns? Chicken roast? A meat roll, or maybe fish curry? Hmph... It seems fish curry is quite famous around Beastriheim. Let’s grab that."

Just as he stepped forward to walk out of the park, ready to find a suitable restaurant, grab some packed food, and head back to the hotel where they were residing, several footsteps could be heard approaching from the front.

As he looked ahead, his assigned team walked right into his path. It looked like they were already done with their own training sessions.

"Oh, it seems you are done with your training. We thought of grabbing some dinner, so we wanted to ask you if you’d join us."

Ronan was the first to step forward. His face was kind, showing no sign of the disdain that Alden had already gotten used to from other students.

Alden looked at them. He didn’t react much. He hadn’t even thought they would be kind enough to come all the way here just to ask him. But since they had already come, there was no real need for him to refuse. After all, they were his teammates for this entire academic year anyway.

"Okay... I am also finished. We can go, but I need to wash up first. You guys can go to the restaurant and text me. I will come to the location."

Without waiting for their reply, Alden walked past them.

Alicia watched his back. For some reason, she felt like something about him had changed. Was it his power? Was it his growth? Or was it a shift in his behavior? She didn’t exactly know.

’He looks a little hollow for some reason. Did something happen to him? What could have happened? He also kept his distance away from me and the entire team since this morning...’

As his figure disappeared into the distance, Alicia didn’t wait either and started walking forward.

Behind her, Syrene and Ronan also began to walk. Ronan took out his smartphone to check for a nearby, high-rated restaurant to eat dinner.

Syrene, who walked beside him, kept her eyes fixed on the exact path where Alden had just disappeared. Her face was expressionless, even though a hint of sadness and concern appeared in her emerald eyes. She just couldn’t take her eyes away from that spot.

She turned around, shifting her attention back to her teammates, as if just remembering that she was not alone here.

"Oh, I just remembered. I left some stuff behind in my room. You guys should go ahead. I will come directly to the restaurant too."

Without waiting for their reply, she dashed back down the same path with a hurried pace.

Behind her, Alicia looked at her retreating back. She didn’t stop her, but her eyes narrowed at her disappearing figure.

"Oh, I have found a good place. It has a 4.9-star rating. Is that okay with you, Lady Alicia?"

Ronan asked as he showed her a picture on his phone of a new restaurant that was currently in high demand.

Alicia nodded without even turning around as she stepped forward and continued walking.

Ronan stepped forward to walk beside her so he wouldn’t be left behind.

"Oh, then I will book four seats for us, and I will also send them the live location. Mhmm... Sent it! We can go now."

As they walked toward the restaurant, Alicia kept her steps constant while her mind dived into a whirlwind of thoughts.

’I just hope she won’t reveal ’that’ secret of mine...’

Inside the hotel room, Alden got ready after washing himself and changing into suitable clothes. He wore a plain black t-shirt along with a white jacket. He combed his dark hair with his bare hands. His hair was already smooth enough that there was no real need to use a proper comb.

He walked toward the mirror, checked his reflection, and admired his stylish, handsome appearance.

"Well, it seems my face is becoming more and more handsome day by day. Growth-Acceleration is making me better-looking every single day. Hehe... I just hope I won’t become an old man quickly just because I am growing too fast. That is the last thing I ever want to happen to me."

After looking at his appearance and spamming a few self-appreciative comments to himself, Alden straightened his back and decided to walk out.

He checked his phone, noticing the familiar message alert that had come from Ronan.

"Hmmm... It seems he has sent me the location. Let’s not make them wait."

He stepped forward and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and walking down the quiet corridor to catch the elevator.

Since this was a luxurious hotel, there was no need for him to use the staircase. That was a choice only energetic people would prefer. Being a rather lazy person who didn’t want to waste his time and energy in a worthless debate over which path to choose, he simply decided to take the easy route.

He entered the elevator and pressed ’1’ to go to the first floor. He waited patiently for the lift to reach the bottom.

After waiting for several seconds, the elevator doors opened once again. He stepped out, entering the grand reception lobby. He stepped forward to walk out of the hotel, but his attention suddenly caught on a girl with red hair and emerald eyes sitting quietly on a lobby sofa with a dazed face.

Noticing his entrance, Syrene stood up as he walked toward her. She kept her expression calm and spoke with a formal tone.

"I had just left something behind, and I decided to wait for you. So, shall we go?"

Alden nodded as he turned around to walk out of the hotel doors. She stepped right beside him, maintaining a quiet, respectful distance as they walked into the cool evening air.

’Sigh... It seems I am going to die tonight from awkwardness. I cannot blame anyone else. She was my ’fiancée’, after all...’