67 Who are you trying to deceive?

Gilgamesh's gaze turned to Eris as he began to assess her strength, swordsmanship talent, and determination. It was evident that she trained in fencing; her strength far exceeded that of the average children her age. Considering that, maybe she spent a lot of time training, which was quite rare for a noble girl. 

Is it a request from her father or simply a personal desire? 

Eris's arrogant demeanor, her character, and all the other things that made her who she was caught Gilgamesh's attention. Although he certainly got the impression that she was imitating someone else. 

"Don't you think traveling in a carriage is rather uninteresting when magic is available to everyone? I mean, not only have we made advancements in magic, but also in the field of engineering, yet nobody seems to care about making progress in these aspects..." Gilgamesh touched the wood and thought about those flying contraptions he had in his Babylonian vault. 

Eris looked at Gilgamesh strangely and asked, "By the way, how is it that you're traveling alone at your age?" 

She knew Gilgamesh was alone except for a few guards, but it was very unusual for a child like him to be in this city alone and without any adult companions. He seemed different from the others, so she decided to invite him to stay the night at her home after learning he had no place to stay. 

At that moment, Eris, who usually kept everyone away because they annoyed her, inexplicably felt at ease with someone like Gilgamesh and didn't mind inviting him into her home for the night. For anyone else, that would be strange, but when someone gets to know Gilgamesh, and it's not in a battle, what normal people feel is a sense of familiarity, closeness, and comfort in talking to him. Similar to the Human God, who makes people believe everything just by talking to him, for Gilgamesh, his charisma is more than enough to make the impossible possible. 

Gilgamesh couldn't help but be this way, but he didn't mind because it was something that shaped him as a person. So, he had always leveraged these qualities of his body to get what he wanted, no matter how difficult it might be to obtain. 

"I want to travel the world, and my first stop is in this city. Of course, I don't need an adult with me because I am an extraordinary man." Gilgamesh said with a smile. 

"That's amazing! Maybe I'll do the same when I grow up." Eris's eyes sparkled as she clenched her fists and said, "Of course, before that, I must go to the capital to challenge the Bloody Prince to a formal duel. My dream is to defeat him." 

These words made Gilgamesh smile broadly; he remembered that this was a title given to him throughout the Asura Kingdom, and it didn't really bother him. But he was still interested in what this girl before him thought. "You want to beat him? The only way to beat me in this world would be in... in what?" He didn't know, but there must be something in which he could be defeated. 

"Do you think you can defeat him?" Gilgamesh asked curiously, looking at Eris, awaiting her response. "You should know he's a cruel prince who coldly kills his rivals. You should be careful about what he might demand as a bet for his victory; he doesn't accept duels easily." 

"Of course, my goal is to defeat him, but someone as incredible as him would be stronger when I face him!" Eris exclaimed with embarrassment in her tone. Then she said, "But he's not much bigger than me, so there's a chance I could beat him." 

"Of course you can, I can help you beat him!" Gilgamesh said as he brushed his hair back. "With my help, you'll be able to defeat that arrogant prince, don't you think?" 

"With your help? Although I admit you're amazing, I'm sure your sword skills are inferior to the Bloody Prince's." Eris waved her hand and rebuked Gilgamesh with blunt words that would hurt anyone else. 

But Gilgamesh was having fun at this moment, so he changed the topic of conversation. "By the way, I noticed you were angry during our first encounter. What was that about?" 

"That... I... I..." Eris remembered why she had been angry and clenched her fists. Her father and grandfather were discussing the possibility of an arranged marriage for her, which had upset her greatly because they hadn't consulted her. "I just heard that someone might propose an arranged marriage to my father, where I would become the fiancée of a complete stranger. I won't accept something like that." 

After hearing that, Gilgamesh nodded and said, "It would be very thoughtless of those who want to propose that and not consider your thoughts, especially since it's about your future. But you shouldn't worry; maybe it's just a possibility." 

"But maybe someone as incredible as the Bloody Prince might decide to do it. Politics is something that many don't understand, after all. What do you think?" Eris took a long time to process Gilgamesh's words and finally said, "I don't care. If I say I won't marry that way, I never will, no matter how amazing the person is." 

Ghislaine couldn't believe how oblivious Eris was. Was it so difficult to see that she was in the presence of Prince Gilgamesh? It was true that it would be hard to believe that the prince, who didn't like to leave his mansion, was now in the Fittoa region. But she had to admit that this boy's behavior had been normal the whole time, as if he were just a child, similar to Eris's behavior. 

It was known that Prince Gilgamesh's faction was growing at an alarming rate, which Ghislaine had heard from Eris's grandfather. So, they needed to consider what to do to keep the family on top of all this. 

Gilgamesh smiled and said, "It doesn't matter; I'm stronger than that prince you're talking about. I could defeat him with one hand." 

Hearing Gilgamesh's words, Eris was astonished. These were very arrogant words to say and think, but she didn't see it that way, so she said, "Haha, what kind of nonsense are you saying? I'm sure the prince is more magnificent than you. Maybe you can beat him in bets, but not in swordsmanship." 

"If you can beat me in a duel, then I might consider you have some skill. But you're much bigger than me; that wouldn't count as a worthy victory to boast about." 

Gilgamesh interrupted Eris's words and said, "It seems I'm about to turn eleven, but that's not important. Age is just a number; after fifteen, age no longer matters in terms of wisdom." 

Eris looked at Gilgamesh challengingly and said, "Are you trying to sound interesting by using words I don't understand?" 

"Not at all; I'm not that simple," Gilgamesh said with a smile as he looked at the walls of the Greyrat mansion, the residence of the feudal lords of this city. 

Now, they had reached their destination...