"How was I supposed to know? When I saw her in a maid costume, I thought she came here to cause trouble. ''
And then, the owner of the voice, who had been conversing with Belicia for a while, also approached her, bowing his head in front of her. "I'm so sorry. I truly didn't know you were a friend of the captain."
'What is happening here? Do they really refer to the Dan I know as captain? ' Belicia wondered in amazement, observing these unfamiliar individuals approaching her in their plain, black attire.
"Please don't blame him. We made a biased assumption when we saw you because someone wearing the same maid costume caused a commotion here not long ago," explained the only girl in the group, who had short black hair and wore all-black clothes. Her tone carried a hint of apology.
'Are they referring to Tika? That foolish woman is causing trouble for me even here, ' Belicia thought angrily, starting to understand their cautious behavior.
"So, can I see Dan? Where is he?" Belicia inquired.
She was still having trouble accepting the fact that Dan was in fact their captain, and she was determined to verify for herself whether or not this was all just a misunderstanding. Despite their seemingly recent awakening as item holders and their poor appearance as servants, their ability to watch Belicia through the darkness without her detecting them served as a testament to their strength. It was clear that they possessed techniques beyond what their outward appearance suggested.
"Oh, certainly. The captain should be training with the others at the moment. Allow me to guide you to the training grounds," the ordinary-looking girl with black hair offered.
"Don't worry, you can go. We'll keep watch here," the person who had thrown the knives and fork reassured, retrieving them from the ground and stowing them away in his dimensional storage for later use.
"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes," the girl said, receiving a nod of approval from her companions.
—
'I still can't believe how much this place has improved in such a short time,' Belicia thought while following the short-haired girl, her eyes scanning the surroundings.
Aside from the fact that all of the streets had been repaired and cleaned, the surroundings appeared to be very quiet, and she did not see anyone else other than these three people who were here to guard the area.
'The technique that they use is most certainly not a low-tier technique. Even a mid-tier should not compare to it. No wonder the esteemed high rank chose them as servants. These individuals must be once-in-a-lifetime prodigies, mastering such a powerful technique,' Belicia marveled, observing the short-haired girl leading the way.
Even though she was walking casually, not a single step that she took made the slightest sound, and it appeared as though she was walking on the street without even disturbing the wind that was blowing.
Based on the weapons they wielded and the clothing they adorned, Belicia deduced that these individuals were previously slum dwellers who had recently awakened as item holders. That's why she found it difficult to believe her eyes when she witnessed their remarkable proficiency in utilizing such a potent technique.
Belicia had spent weeks, months, and even years honing her skills in order to achieve the current level of mastery she possessed in the mid-tier technique that had been passed down through her family. However, it was evident that the technique employed by these individuals surpassed even the mid-tier technique of the Demugen family. As a consequence of this, achieving such a level of mastery ought to have been an even more difficult task.
''You haven't been here for a while, have you? '' the short-haired girl asked, noticing Belicia's surprise and keen observation.
''Yeah... It's been... a few days, '' Belicia responded. The sheer fact that this person had achieved mastery in a technique of such immense potential made Belicia question whether the passage of time itself was nothing more than an illusion.
''Just a few days, indeed. Yet, it was enough for our Master to completely transform our lives,'' the short-haired girl spoke with utmost respect and reverence.
'She must be referring to that high-rank,' Belicia reasoned.
Even though she had never seen a high-rank item holder in person before, just hearing about the powers that they possessed was enough to astonish her.
Therefore, because of this reason, the changes that took place here suddenly did not seem to her to be all that surprising anymore.
That is until she witnessed the scene before her.
"We have arrived. This is our training ground," the short-haired girl announced.
Belicia was at such a loss for words that she could not respond right away. She was going through the most profound jolt of her entire life at that very moment.
After giving it some thought and wondering for a while whether what she was seeing could possibly be an illusion, she came to the conclusion that it was, in fact, real. She mumbled in a tone that conveyed complete disbelief, asking, "Are you certain that only a few days have passed?"
Belicia's astonishment didn't stem from the presence of impressive equipment or a vast training field at the site. In fact, compared to Demugen's training ground, this place appeared modest, resembling an empty, desolate land without any enclosing walls.
What truly left her in awe was the sight of hundreds of people now occupying the training ground. The most astonishing part was that all of them seemed to be engrossed in intense training, yet an eerie silence pervaded the atmosphere. Not even the gentlest breeze could overpower the hushed ambiance of the place.
"How is this possible?"
Belicia had initially attributed the mastery of the powerful technique by the three individuals she had met earlier to their exceptional talent. However, the scene unfolding before her shattered that belief.
Hundreds of people were now demonstrating the same technique with almost identical mastery, and what is more, is that they were simultaneously practicing other techniques in conjunction with the one they had already mastered.
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