– [Alright, I'll tell you.]
– [I don't have a superpower.]
– [And now that you know, will you leave me and choose another planet for yourself, Alvin?]
This confirms what cloud said earlier—he truly doesn't have a superpower. Does Alvin care? No. For him, the inability to gain a power that would help him face enemies doesn't matter.
On the other hand, Mr. Pie cannot give him a superpower, but instead, he gave him an unbreakable sword, a lot of coins, and good treatment—free from belittlement or being turned into a pawn sacrificed for entertainment.
Despite all of this, Alvin didn't mind joking a bit with his planet, saying: "For now, I won't. But maybe I'll change my mind in the future."
– [You scared me.]
Alvin rolled his eyes in annoyance at his master's sarcasm, then asked curiously, "Mr. Pie, what's your name?"
– [I can't tell you. I'm afraid you might reveal it.]
"And what will happen if I do? Will the world perhaps collapse?" Alvin said mockingly.
– [In the simple life I've lived, I've made a few enemies. I'm afraid they might hurt you because of me.]
"I promise I won't tell anyone! Are you happy that Meryl knows her planet's name while I don't even know yours? That's not fair!" Alvin grumbled, hoping Mr. Pie's heart would soften and he'd tell him what he wanted.
– [I'm logging off now; I have a guest.]
"Wait! Don't log off!" Alvin shouted anxiously. He was sure no one had come to visit Mr. Pie—he only said that to avoid the conversation.
Alvin slammed the keyboard and sent several messages, all of which his planet ignored.
"What's he doing?" Elena asked as she stood near the lemon tree, drying her wet hair.
"He's probably talking to his planet," Meryl replied while wiping her face with the towel. "Let's go inside," she added as she started walking in.
"Not having a planet is like being single. And it's a lovely feeling—only Tulip and I have it!" Elena said proudly, earning a light laugh from Meryl.
"Wait a second—what do you mean you have a planet?" Elena shouted angrily, slamming her hand hard on the table.
After Alvin returned from outside and sat around the table with the others, Tulip told them he had a planet.
Now, Elena was upset. On one hand, she was worried Tulip might've gotten involved with a bad planet, and on the other, she had become the only one in the group without a planet.
"When I was stuck in the forest, I accepted her as my Lady," Tulip wrote in the chat with a happy smile on his lips.
"My dear Tulip, we already told you not to agree to a planet's requests before consulting us. It could be a bad planet!" Meryl spoke with concern.
– "No need to worry, guys. Bluebell told me she's a good Lady."
Only now, upon reading Tulip's second message, did Alvin realize something… Tulip has a Lady! "hmm, are you saying your Lady is a woman?" he asked to confirm his suspicion.
Tulip nodded with a small smile. He reached for a cookie and took a bite while listening to the argument that broke out between Meryl and Alvin, as Alvin was more focused on the gender of Tulip's Lady than on her character.
"What do you mean by 'let Tulip enjoy his time'? He's just a kid," Meryl said in annoyance.
"He won't stay a kid forever. You never know what fate holds—maybe he'll marry her when he grows up," Alvin replied calmly, unfazed by her anger, which only made Meryl's nerves tighten even more.
Elena says: You and your planet will get married. And Alvin says: Tulip and his Lady will get married. Meryl held her head in frustration. These two are way too alike!
Elena sighed loudly, drawing everyone's attention. Now, she was the only one without a planet. It's like… placing a hen among a group of strong roosters.
She pushed their hands away from the table and slid the dessert plates toward Tulip.
Then she pulled out the map and spread it in front of them, speaking in a frustrated tone, "Let's focus on the location of the crystal."
The other three knew why she was upset, so they decided to drop the subject and focus on the crystal as she requested.
"The map is still searching," Meryl said with disappointment.
Alvin rolled up the map and set it aside as he said, "Let it take its time—there are still many days ahead of us."
He then placed the digital map in front of him and added, "We'll also keep searching in all the suspected locations where the crystal might be."
"I don't have any ideas because I've never left the residential and commercial areas before," Meryl said, embarrassed.
"And I've only ever seen the desert sands," Tulip wrote before returning to his dessert and refreshing lemon juice.
They all turned their eyes to the silent Elena, waiting for her to say something.
Elena grew nervous under their long stares, then said awkwardly, "I also haven't left the residential and commercial areas."
"Really?" Meryl said in surprise. "I heard that about seven years ago, you went to the Waste Zone to visit your boyfriend there."
"What?" Elena shouted in shock at the accusation. "Aside from the fact that it's not true, and I've never had a boyfriend in my life, how can you even remember something that was said seven years ago?"
Meryl shrugged before saying, "Do you remember that guy who asked you out and you rejected him?"
Elena took a moment to think about it and try to remember, but nothing came to mind.
So Meryl decided to help her out, saying, "His name was Atlas, if I recall correctly, and he used to dye his hair green."
"Ah, I remember him," Elena said as soon as she heard the hair dye detail.
That guy did ask her out, but she turned him down because she didn't want to be in a romantic relationship—and besides, she didn't like the color of his hair.
"Good. Atlas spread a rumor that you were dating a guy in the Waste Zone, and that you went to visit him from time to time," Meryl said calmly, then added, "His words caused a big stir at the factory. That's why I remember your absence."
"That… jerk…" Elena didn't finish her sentence because she didn't know what to say. Even if she felt angry about it, what could she do? It had been seven years!
She sighed helplessly before saying, "As I said before, I've never dated anyone. As for my absence seven years ago, it was definitely due to illness—that was the only reason I ever missed work."
"You don't have to justify anything, Elena," Meryl said gently. "I didn't believe him when he said that.
I mean, good men don't speak badly of women. And Atlas was never a good man at all… I once saw him trying to date a girl who was only sixty years old."
"Send me all the information about that bastard!" Alvin messaged Meryl in their private chat. From that, Meryl understood that Alvin didn't want the others to know about his request.
"Anyway," Alvin spoke, interrupting everyone's thoughts, and added, "We'll head to the Fire Valley track and search there." He picked up a small piece of paper and quickly wrote down the address, then said, "cloud, take us to this address, please!"
"I've heard that name before… I think it's an old railway track in Fire Valley," Meryl said, trying to recall what she had read about the track in a historical book.
"What does 'valley' mean?" Tulip asked curiously. Meryl abandoned her attempts to remember and began explaining to him.
Meanwhile, cloud, who was staring at the written address, asked, "Now? If we leave now, we'll arrive at around 2 AM."
"That's better. We don't have much time to waste," Alvin replied out loud while sending some messages to Mr. Pie.
Meryl looked at Elena and mouthed silently, "He's lost his mind!" Elena nodded and moved her lips too, saying silently, "He's been like this for a long time."
cloud took off toward the location Alvin requested. While the others went to sleep to rest after their earlier battle—and to be in top condition upon arrival—there was a high chance they'd run into some hunters there, as well as monsters.
Late at night, Tulip gently slapped Alvin's face to wake him up. Alvin stared at him for a few moments before muttering, "What happened?"
"We've arrived at our destination," Meryl said as she tucked her dagger under her thigh strap. Beside her, Elena stood counting the number of healing elixirs she had.
"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Alvin asked as he got up, deciding to go to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
"We tried, but you kept saying: 'Darling, it's still too early to wake up.'"
"Did I really say that?" Alvin asked his planet while walking to the bathroom.
– [Yes. And you looked absolutely ridiculous!]
– [If you keep this up, Elena will never accept you.]
– "I told you before, I don't like her."
After finishing up, Alvin returned to the front garden where the others were standing, staring downward in complete shock... Was there really something like that in Noxara? Elena wondered in awe.