She was taking her breakfast when she noticed him. It was nothing short of a peculiar surprise. Kaen Ame saw that man jumping within the array of flames. Certainly, this was nothing but a grade 1 array but still!

A grade-1 array with elemental properties.

It was not something that a cultivator under the 10th stage should have been able to cross by. And judging from his demeanor and the way he carried himself, he seemed uninjured. Whether he truly was or not was something she could not confirm. But if he was injured, the man had nerves of steel to be able to fake his health so thoroughly.

In any case, she wondered how he managed to do it. Certainly, some geniuses were able to bridge the gaps of not having elements and fighting against cultivators who did have them. However, they were few. Especially on this continent.

As for an array... She knew precisely the might of those flames and someone at that level should not have been able to survive through that. At the very least, she had difficulties imagining how he managed such a feat.

Maybe he had a powerful artifact?

Then again, after a few moments, she turned her attention back to her breakfast. In the end, whether this stranger survived or not was of no concern to her. She was slightly curious about how he survived but that was it.

She had no plans and no reason to involve herself with him.

Fate brought them to meet again? Destiny linked their paths together? Not at all! They just randomly met once more. And they would go their own ways once more, never to interact.

Or so she believed it would be.

Yet...

Yet!

Yet here he was!

Standing in front of her in the same carriage on that very same day. A merchant troupe was leaving the city to go towards the capital and she decided to join as a passenger. And he happened to have done the same. So, here she was, sharing her carriage with him and a mother with her child.

She looked at the man. He had long purple hair, different from when she saw him at the inn. At the time, his hair had been brown... Then again, he was probably simply being cautious. After what happened, she could not blame his action.

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Aside from the hair, he also changed outfits. His robe was now a deep green with designs of wind in clear blue. And there were no longer any weapons on his person. At least, none that could be seen from a glance.

A quick glance let her notice that he was not wearing any spatial rings either. She guessed that he was hiding it within his robe so as to not alert anyone of his identity as a cultivator. This was, after all, a merchant's troupe made of mortals. Though quite a few cultivators were hired as bodyguards for the convoy of two dozen carriages.

They were not the only travelers as well but ended up placed in this carriage together. She still did not believe in fate but her curiosity did grow.

Was he going to the capital too? Or would he stop at a different city on the way?

This troupe would go for the capital while having a few breaks at different cities to trade. So was the merchant's way. She bought her spot all the way to the capital. What about him?

She wondered whether she should ask or not. And, before she could, the carriage began to move. They departed. At that moment, the little girl in the woman's arm cried in surprise a little. The woman calmed down her daughter that was no older than seven or eight and apologized to them. The man politely stated that it was perfectly fine and began to chat about random things with the mother.

The weather, the cities, the traded goods... They talked though the discussion seemed to lack substance. At the very least, it seemed to be completely useless banter. Who cared about the drop in tomato's prices?

After some time, he introduced himself: "How shameful of me to not have introduced myself till this moment. My name is Baem. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance"

The mother answered: "The pleasure is mine, Sir Baem. You may call me Olivia. And this little troublemaker is Julia"

The cultivator, Baem, smiled at the little girl who seemed wary of him and stated: "A wonderful name"

The little girl smiled shyly before nudging herself further closer to her mom. It was quite cute... At that time, Baem spoke to her: "How about you, milady? How should we address you?"

She wondered why he would bother to try to get her to chat with them but still replied without much thoughts: "Kaen Ame. You can call me Ame"

He nodded with that same smile. There was a small silence that the mother broke after sensing it: "Well, Sir Baem, Lady Amy, may I ask as to where you two are traveling to?"

Baem was the first to answer: "To the capital for me, Lady Olivia"

Ame curtly answered: "Same"

In her mind, she was wondering whether he planned to try to be recruited by the royalty like her. With his ability, it would be impossible. She sighed inwardly as she wondered why she was so curious about that. They were strangers after all.

The mother, unaware of her internal monologues, continued to discuss on the topic as she said: "We are only going to the next city to join with my husband"

Baem nodded as he asked: "Might it be for holidays?"

She answered: "No. We are moving there. My husband was promoted over there"

Baem beamed as he congratulated her: "My congratulations to your husband"

And they continued to chat about her husband from there on. About how he works in the blacksmithing union and such. It bore her. What was the point of learning anything about this? She closed her eyes and began to meditate.