"How is it?" Noel asked while looking at Tristan. This time, he was wearing the clothing unique to this kingdom. Due to the harsh condition, the clothing was thin but covered the entire body. Only those who didn't mind the tan would expose their skin to the sun.
Noel also bought some shawls and clothes for himself.
"This is good." Tristan nodded with a serious expression. This might be the first time he had clothes this smooth. Even back in his village, he could only wear ragged clothes since they didn't have enough money. "Can I really wear these clothes?"
"Yeah." Noel turned to the employee. "Can I get two more sets for him along with the same number of women's clothing? Her size is similar to him."
"Understood." The employee helped him pick the clothes without hesitation. Seeing how Noel didn't mind spending a lot of money for a slave, the employee was planning to pick some good stuff that was more expensive.
Despite being that expensive, it only amounted to two gold coins, which Noel could easily pay.
While the employee was taking care of the payment, Noel couldn't help but ask, "Is the parade always held on this street?"
The employee remembered that Noel had to wait until the parade was over. She nodded, "No, Sir. The parade will be held depending on where the group is coming from. So, it can be from the west, east, or south. It's been three months since this street was used."
"I see. No wonder why people are happy… I thought you would be a bit bored after seeing it multiple times." Noel nodded in understanding.
"Haha. We won't ever get tired of it. The parade is not only to celebrate and thank the protector, but also for the occasion of praying for the next harvest."
"How do you become a protector?" Noel asked another question.
While wrapping the clothes, the employee answered, "Unfortunately, I am not aware of the answer. Though, I've heard that you can either rise from the bottom or become the previous protector's successor."
Noel remembered the old man who happened to be a Spirit Grandmaster. "Was the previous protector among those people from earlier? I believe I saw a strong middle-aged man."
"Yes, Sir. It's surprising that you noticed it despite being a foreigner. Sir Reshian was the previous protector and decided to take a successor, Sir Ramirez, three years ago."
"I see." Noel saw what the employee had done, so he grabbed the bag filled with clothes and said, "Thank you."
"Thank you very much for your patronage. I hope you enjoy your visit to this country." The employee politely bowed to him.
Noel waved his hand, signaling Tristan to follow him. He got some crucial information and new thoughts about his future territory.
It seemed that he wasn't wrong in visiting another kingdom. Due to the difference in culture, they had different ways of ruling. While a lot of them couldn't be applied to the Muivell Kingdom, he still learned some of them, which could be useful in the future.
After buying a few other necessities, Noel and Tristan finally returned to Dimitri.
Surprisingly, they already saw Dimitri teaching Sandra.
"Dimitri. You already began?" Noel frowned. He thought about letting Sandra recover fully first before teaching her. This way, it would be more effective.
However, Dimitri said, "I'm sorry, Master. The girl asked me to start right away since she didn't want to be left behind. So, if we are alone, I will teach her about etiquette and all kinds of work related to a maid. When both of them come, I'll begin teaching basic martial arts, how to read and write, and some stuff about Spirit."
"It seems that you've gotten a good grasp on the schedule. For now, you can teach them how to read and write in the morning. I will take some time to teach him about runes during the day. And during the night, you teach them about the rest."
"Understood." Dimitri agreed with the schedule Noel put.
Noel considered how good Tristan's memory was in this decision. He believed that Tristan could grasp the runes sooner or later. So, he wanted to focus on his Spiritual Energy and Spirit as the foundation of his runes.
"Thank you very much." Tristan knelt in front of him and thanked Noel. This was the first time he was treated this well, especially by the people who thought about his future.
Seeing Tristan's gratitude, Sandra also knelt in front of Noel to thank him.
"No matter how much you're going to thank me, it's going to be useless if you can't pass the tests. So, you can save them later." Noel waved his hand as if treating it as not a big deal. Of course, before becoming Noel's disciple, Noel didn't plan to elevate their status from slave to commoner. Though, he would treat them like a proper human being.
"Yes."
"Alright. Help us pack up the luggage. I have bought some food for us to eat before leaving this place."
The two happily followed Dimitri. After distributing the bags and filling up their bellies, they continued their journey to the next city.
During the journey, Noel taught Tristan about runes, measuring his talent.
"The rune system consists of strokes that follow the natural flow of Spiritual Energy. Depending on the depth of the stroke, the size of the line, their shape, and other things, the flow will become different."
Noel then formed three Strength Blessing Runes in front of Tristan and asked, "What do you see from these three?"
"Mhm…" Tristan furrowed his eyebrows, having a hard time. At first glance, all of them looked the same. But if he inspected them carefully, there were a few different lines scattered among the Strength Blessing Runes.
"I think there are a few differences from what I can see." Tristan was a bit unsure and began to point out the difference. "Like this one."
The one he mentioned had a different curve, which was easily distinguishable. However, Tristan had a hard time finding the details among them.
This was the difference between Rose and Tristan. Tristan had a good memory, which was useful for the memorization of the runes. With this, he could cram a lot of knowledge in his brain and began experimenting after learning a lot. On the other hand, Rose had a pair of eyes that could find all those differences due to her exceptional five senses. However, she would have a problem making a breakthrough in the future.
That was why Tristan was more suitable to be Noel's disciple.
It appeared that he had to train Tristan's eyes. While it might not be as good as Rose, with an increase in perception, Tristan should become good quickly.
After hearing Tristan's answer, Noel asked, "In that case, which one will succeed?"
"I think this one… I can't find a lot of fault in this one." Tristan pointed at the right one.
Noel began pouring his Spiritual Energy into the three runes. Unfortunately, each rune actually failed and faded away.
"That's…" Tristan looked down, thinking he had made a grave mistake.
"This is the difference between normal methods and the runes. If you want to use a Rune, you are unable to create even a single mistake, or it will cause a problem. The disruption in the Spiritual Energy because of that error will affect the entire rune and cause it to fail. That's why your memorization is suitable for this." Noel ended it with encouragement, showing the reason he chose him.
"Of course, you will face a lot of problems. You can create runes like this, but if you don't have good control over your strokes, causing the line to be bigger, smaller, or have some changes, it won't get activated as well. Hence, I'll be training you about all basics first before moving to the runes. But during that time, I also want you to memorize the runes: their strokes, their size, their pattern… everything."
"Understood, Master. I'll do my best." Tristan was determined. There was a reason why Noel chose him. He didn't plan to waste this chance and disappoint Noel.
His family had sold him as a slave, so he didn't really have any attachment to this kingdom. Everything he wanted was just to follow Noel and turn his life around.
With that determination, Noel began teaching him about all the basics. If they were resting, Noel would ask Tristan to use sand or paper to draw the runes. If they were walking, Noel would provide him with some verbal lessons.
During the morning, Tristan and Sandra learned from Dimitri. Reading and Writing were extremely important if they wanted to be a part of the Ardagan Family.
As for the night, Dimitri showed no mercy on them and pushed them to their physical ability to the limit.
After they slept, Noel used his Force Control to stimulate the natural recovery so that their muscles could repair themselves at a quick speed and be ready to face the next day's training.
Even though Tristan and Sandra felt like they had been pushed to the limit as though they were forced to mine until they dropped dead, they didn't have any bad thoughts about Noel and Dimitri.
They could feel the care from them. While it didn't provide any apparent result physically, they still got some results mentally.
Finally, a week passed by. They finally reached their next destination, where Noel got a mission from Ardagan, the Ricoral City.
He was planning to get an item that could help Heisk. At the same time, he wondered how a desert like this would have an ice-element item.
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