"Who knows? If he develops well enough, perhaps he could even participate in the Grand Competition held in the Royal Capital three years from now."

Even several nearby Knight Captains couldn’t help but look at Nova with surprise after hearing those words. The Grand Competition was one of the most prestigious events in the kingdom.

For Duke Theodore to mention it in relation to a fifteen-year-old boy showed just how highly he thought of Nova’s potential.

Meanwhile, Edward remained silent, clearly caught off guard by the unexpected offer.

."My Lord, I’m glad you think so highly of my son, but I’m sure he still needs more time to grow.

That competition is for people who have already reached the Grandmaster Realm before the age of thirty, and my son is only fifteen."

Edward spoke with slight hesitation. He didn’t want to offend the Duke, but he also felt Theodore’s expectations were a little too high.

Theodore simply laughed.

"Oh, you worry too much. There are still three years left before the competition. That’s more than enough time to focus on his growth, especially if your family stays in Frostholme."

Nova remained silent, but inwardly he couldn’t help feeling puzzled. Why was this man speaking so highly of him? There was no way in hell...Theodore could know that he was the Slaughter Monarch.

Or...Could he somehow sense his true strength despite all his skill monarch Mask continuously working to conceal it?

{He doesn’t know about you, nor can he see through your concealment.}

Liya immediately answered his thoughts.

{It’s simply his intuition. Theodore is the strongest warrior you’ve met so far, and people like him tend to have exceptionally sharp instincts.}

Nova inwardly relaxed. At least his secret was still safe. Meanwhile, Theodore let out a tired sigh and glanced toward the devastated battlefield.

"Anyway, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. This Slaughter Monarch matter is going to give me a massive headache."

He rubbed his forehead. "The Royal Knights will probably arrive in Frostholme at any moment." Turning around, Theodore prepared to leave. However, after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

"Edward, do give me an answer regarding the transfer. If you agree, I’ll personally arrange a good house for your family."

His gaze then shifted toward Nova. "And Nova, I hope you’ll visit my estate sometime. I’d like to personally assess your talent." With those words, Theodore finally left.

Asia remained behind. The moment her father disappeared from sight, she turned toward Nova, after delivering her usual glare, she turned around.

Edward watched the interaction with a strange expression before patting Nova on the shoulder. "Alright, son, we’ll talk about all this later. I need to help with the post-battle arrangements."

Nova nodded.

"Okay, Father." Edward quickly left as well.

Within moments, the crowded area became much quieter, only Nova and Asia remained standing there. For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, Nova finally asked,

"What’s the matter with you? Why do you keep giving me those death glares as if you want to kill me? Did I do something to you?"

For a few seconds, Asia remained silent. Then she slowly turned around and looked at him with her usual calm, angelic face. A slight frown rested on her beautiful features, making her look strangely adorable.

"Why would you think that?" she asked plainly. "I don’t have anything against you."

Nova raised an eyebrow. "Hmm... you say that, but I still feel like you don’t like me for some reason."

Asia folded her arms. "That’s a strange assumption. Why do I have to like you anyway?"

Her tone was calm, but inwardly she was confused herself. She didn’t understand why seeing Nova and Rieka together had irritated her so much. The feeling had appeared suddenly and refused to go away no matter how much she tried to ignore it.

Before either of them could continue, a Deadborn carrying a wounded warrior accidentally bumped into Asia from behind.

Caught off guard, she stumbled forward. Fortunately, Nova reacted instantly. He grabbed her before she could fall, pulling her into his arms.

{I know this situation is a little cliché, but go for it, Host~}

Liya’s teasing voice echoed in his head. Nova immediately ignored his pervert system.

Meanwhile, Asia froze.

Her face had collided directly with Nova’s broad chest, and she could clearly feel the strong arm supporting her waist.

A faint blush quickly spread across her cheeks. Realizing their position, she hurriedly stepped back, suddenly finding it difficult to meet his eyes.

At the same time, Nova glanced toward the culprit. The Goblin Deadborn carrying the wounded warrior gave him a thumbs-up before quickly walking away as if it had just performed a great service for its monarch.

Nova could only roll his eyes his Deadborns were becoming far too cheeky. Still, he had to deal with the current situation first. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Cough... cough. Careful, Princess."Asia immediately glared at him.

"Don’t call me that!"

"Oh, calm down, my lady. I won’t."

Nova raised both hands in surrender. After a brief silence, Asia finally muttered,

"Just call me Asia." Her voice was so quiet low and she barely looked at him while speaking. Nova deliberately tilted his head.

"Sorry, I didn’t hear that."Asia immediately knew he was lying. Even so, after taking a deep breath to calm herself, she repeated,

"I said you can call me Asia." A smile appeared on Nova’s face.

"Hmm... Asia it is."

For some reason, hearing him say that made her heart beat slightly faster.

"Then I guess we’re friends now. And please stop glaring at me like that. It genuinely hurts when such a beautiful girl looks at me as if she’s planning my funeral."

Nova spoke with a perfectly straight face. Asia’s cheeks instantly turned red for once, she couldn’t think of a response, seeing her reaction, Nova chuckled softly.

"Well, I’ve got to go now. I’ll see you again when I visit your house to meet your father."

Before Asia could say anything.

WHOOSH!

His figure blurred and disappeared from sight. Asia stood there silently for several moments, staring at the place where he had vanished.

"How does he move so fast?"

She understood that he must possess some kind of movement-related skill..but still..

She remembered him receiving only a C-Rank potential during the Awakening Ceremony. Even if he had leveled up inside the dungeon, there was no way he could have grown this strong so quickly.

What puzzled her even more was how his physique had changed so drastically in just a matter of days and he was far more handsome now.

As she stood there thinking, a certain memory suddenly resurfaced in her mind. She remembered Rieka muttering that the Slaughter Monarch’s way of speaking felt strangely similar to Nova’s. For a brief moment, an absurd thought crossed her mind.

Could Nova actually be the Slaughter Monarch? The idea lingered for only a second before she immediately dismissed it.

"No, that’s impossible." She shook her head firmly.

The Slaughter Monarch had displayed power that could shake the entire battlefield. He had killed three Rank A beasts, commanded those terrifying shadow creatures, and possessed an aura so overwhelming that even experienced warriors were intimidated by it. From what she had sensed, that mysterious man might have even been stronger than her father.

How could someone like that possibly be Nova?

He was only fifteen years old.

The very thought sounded ridiculous.

After completely rejecting the possibility, Asia’s thoughts naturally drifted back toward her conversation with Nova instead.

Without realizing it, a small smile slowly bloomed on her beautiful face. The battlefield around her was still filled with exhausted warriors and the aftermath of war, yet for some reason her mind wasn’t focused on any of that.

Instead, it kept returning to a certain annoyingly handsome boy .

.....

Nova appeared atop Frostholme’s massive city wall and gazed over the battlefield below. The chaos of war had finally ended. Warriors were carrying the wounded back into the city, medics were treating injuries, and soldiers were handling the aftermath of the battle. Everything was now under control.

Seeing this, Nova silently nodded before calling back all of his Deadborns. One by one, shadowy figures scattered across the battlefield dissolved into darkness and returned to his shadow. The Hydra, Chimera, Earth Dragon were already with him.

Moonclaw was among the last to return. Nova had left it near Rieka to ensure her safety during the battle, but now that the threat was gone, there was no reason to keep it outside.

As the final Deadborn merged back into his shadow, Nova looked toward Frostholme and narrowed his eyes.

Now that the city was safe, it was time to deal with the hidden quest.

==================

[A/N]

Thanks for all the gifts and support, guys. It truly means a lot to me and motivates me to keep writing and improving the story. I hope you’ll continue supporting this journey!

Thanks for reading...