Rich

In the end, Aiden and Alexia agreed to inform their groups about the separation after they had eaten.

Aiden didn't understand why Alexia imposed this measure, but since he had already promised to pay her despite their abandoning, he accepted.

Alexia ordered Leo and Darius to check the surroundings as they were in the best shape.

The rest of the group set about preparing the area to eat, but…

"It's too hard!" Thorne shouted as he dropped the axe he had used to try to cut the tree.

"What's wrong?" Alexia asked, approaching.

"The wood of these trees… It's like it's made of iron," Thorne replied, rubbing his sore hands.

"I couldn't even make a notch."

Alexia frowned and approached the tree. Hitting the wood with her mana-covered hand, Alexia felt the tree's great resistance.

Definitely, this was not an ordinary tree.

"What the hell?" Alexia murmured as she rubbed her hand.

"See?"

Meanwhile, the group's mages, Mara and Selena, continued examining the shiny leaves. Mara held a leaf between her fingers, observing how the light seemed to emanate from within.

"It's fascinating," Mara whispered. She couldn't believe that a leaf could emit heat without damaging itself.

"The leaf is emitting a strange energy… it's not mana… nor aura… and much less sacred power," Selena explained while frowning.

Although they didn't say a word, both took a small vial from their pockets to store as many samples as possible, even if it cost them filling their special bags with this rare material.

Camila, who had been sitting next to Isuke doing nothing as they hadn't brought the firewood to make the fire, saw how he was meditating in silence.

Taking advantage of their solitude, Camila asked:

"How close are we to 'it'…?"

Camila felt ignored, as Isuke remained silent for several seconds, and just when she was about to get up to see why the others were taking so long…

"We're close."

These words made Camila crouch down again to ask:

"How close?"

Her heart had started to beat faster.

What if Leo and Darius had already found it?

This expedition… this was more than just an expedition for her. From the moment Isuke entered the forest, she felt how the sensation that guided him skyrocketed.

Originally, despite her doubts, she felt this was the way, but now that she was here… surrounded by these strange trees, the sensation that guided him just kept swirling around.

The size of this forest seemed endless, and if they mismarked the place they had entered… they would probably get lost in this strange place.

Who exactly was Eleonora?

This question made Isuke sink into his thoughts, as her voice…

That desperate voice…

That nervous voice…

That voice… it was a sweet voice that had undoubtedly been through a lot, but…

"Isuke?"

Camila's touch on his shoulder completely brought Isuke out of his thoughts.

"What?" Isuke asked grumpily, and before they continued their conversation, Alexia arrived carrying small pieces of wood.

"Here you go."

Camila was confused by the poor pieces they were giving her.

Did they really think she could cook something over this firewood?

Alexia, seeing Camila's confused expression, clarified:

"The wood of the trees here is extremely hard. When Leo and Darius return, we'll ask them to cut more wood, but for now, you have to do the best you can with this."

Camila nodded several times before going to prepare everything for the meal. Alexia, noticing Isuke's haggard face, asked:

"Have you rested at all?"

"We're close. The sensation changed."

"Be more specific…"

"Before, it was a compass pointing here."

"And now?"

"The compass is spinning."

'Could it be a test from the ego-sword?' Alexia thought as she tried to decipher the reason for this change.

Minutes later, Leo returned with Darius, and both reported that there was nothing strange around except for some small animals roaming around. Hearing this last part relieved Alexia, as it meant that there were other prey in this forest besides them.

After that, Alexia showed the others the properties of the trees, so while Camila finished preparing the meal, a competition began among the boys to see who could cut more pieces of wood.

"Hey, what do you think about reporting this place when we get back?" Thorne proposed as the idea came to him.

"Right! We could get rich selling this material to the army," Darius commented.

"I see it complicated. First, we'd have to properly record the place where the Kluir transported us," Isuke explained despite being apart from that competition.

"Kluir?" Thorne repeated, puzzled.

"It's the name of the teleportation device that brought us here. Didn't you know the name?"

"I'm not interested in those things," Thorne replied, crossing his arms.

"Isuke! And do you know how to get that information?" Darius asked, excitedly approaching him.

Interposing in his path, Leo answered:

"First things first. Let's solve the search for my object, and then you can make all the money you want from here."

Despite being considerably separated from the boys, hearing Leo's comment, Alexia raised her voice to say:

"Guys, come eat!"

"Huh? But we're not done yet…"

"Just serve it," Alexia whispered to Camila. Then she went to the place where the girls were.

"Do you have any idea where Aiden is?"

"Aiden?" Marta asked, puzzled.

"Oh, if you're asking about him… don't worry. He often walks alone to check the state of the surroundings… I think he should be back in a few minutes," Selena replied.

"Aiden is a fool… why didn't he go patrol with the boys? I don't get it…" Marta said while breaking one of the leaves in half.

"Well… do you want to eat now? The food is ready."

"Really!?" Marta asked as she stood up.

"Yes."

"Come on, Selena. Our exhaustive and hard investigation will continue after trying whatever that healer has prepared."

"Her name is Camila…"

"What did I say?"

Accompanying both girls to the place where Camila was attending to everyone, Alexia went to assist her while she finished devising in her mind the best way to persuade Aiden's group.