“I know you’re there. You can come out now," I called out to no one.

But a badass character would say this when they found out someone was following them. It was something the super-strong guy would say.

I waited for a couple of seconds, and no one responded.

So I was talking to no one? Thankfully there wasn't anyone around to see what had happened. It would be pretty embarrassing. At least, Carpy won’t remember this.

"How did you know?" A sound came from the bushes, and Delia emerged from behind one of the trees. Her eyes were wide. “I thought my stealth was quite advanced. Do you have some kind of sensory special ability? I knew you were lying before when you said your ability was some lame pain resistance..”

Holy shit! There was someone following me?!

Okay, okay, I have to play this calmly. Yeah, just play it like I knew all along. "I almost didn't notice you. You’re good at this. Maybe you could teach me a couple of tricks?"

"Not good enough, apparently," she seemed a tad disappointed with herself.

No, your stealth was definitely up to par. I didn't sense anything, even when she was so close. "Don't follow me. You have your duties as the next clan head. Are you sure you can do something like this?"

She didn't say anything at first and then sighed. "I keep thinking about the time when I couldn't help you. Do you know how it feels to be so powerless? Watching your cousin, your family about to die and not be able to do anything about it?"

"That doesn't exactly explain why you're following me," there's no way she could come along.

The place I was going would be where I had to experience my training arc. Delia being there would be needless trouble.

She was family, so I didn't care about her reputation. Whatever she did to other people, she was kind to me. But other people knew of her reputation, which might cause even more problems than I already had.

"Well, coming with you will be easier on my mind. No one knows where you're going, and it could be dangerous." She shrugged and walked up next to me. The dangerous aura around her said she wouldn’t take No for an answer. "C'mon, now that I don't have to hide, we can move faster."

"I don't want you traveling with me. You will just bring trouble," it was best to be blunt with someone like Delia.

"Kon, my baby cousin. I think you misunderstood something,” she put her hands on my shoulder. She then continued to look at me like I was a kid. "I don't give a shit about what you think. I'm doing this to make myself feel better. Honestly, you're not even part of the equation."

How could she make something so nice sound so selfish?!

Also, I'm definitely part of the equation! You're coming because you wanted to protect me. So don't just say things because they sound cool! She should think first if her words made sense for the situation before she said them out loud!

I wanted to tell her many rude things and how she should contemplate and plan things out. Could she even be here? She was the next clan head. Did she tell anyone she was following me? Why did I have the sneaking feeling that she had just decided to do this without telling anyone?

Of course, I wasn't stupid to say such things. "You would just cause more troubles and fights down the road, which would cause me more harm. Just go back to the clan and train. Maybe one day, you will reach a level of power where you can protect me. The clan head has probably already sent people to hunt you down anyways."

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Delia stared creepily. There wasn’t even a spec of emotion behind her gaze. Was she going to punch me?

She snorted and started walking back toward the direction of the clan compound. "Whatever, just go and die in a ditch, you stupid brat."

I couldn't see her face, but by the way she was clenching her fists until her fingers turned white.

Yeah, she wasn't happy, to say the least.

This event could make her stronger. Delia had a lot of potential, and her special ability was compatible with her too.

Unlike many others, I don't remember Delia from the original story. So she will have to work hard on her own. Hopefully, she won’t die an early death. I was pretty fond of my cousin. The bickerings were quite fun.

Taking out a map, and a pen, I circled a dozen mountains. The person I was looking for would be in one of those mountains. However, I didn’t know the exact location. But I understood the rough area on the map.

After that, I walked for a couple of minutes. I stopped. "Still following me?"

The words came out of my mouth with full confidence. But I couldn't sense anything. Waiting a couple more minutes, I continued my walk.

It seemed like my cousin wasn't following me, which was good. I didn't have much time, so I must have my training arc before the Expert Exorcist Exams.

…

Not even a full day later, the clouds rumbled and turned darker. It looked like it was going to rain. I needed to find shelter. My body was tough, but I wasn't immune to the cold. Also, if it came down to a fight in these mountains, it would be dangerous to fight in the mud.

There weren't any villagers nearby. At least that’s what the map which was made with the latest information showed. The Dark Sword clan was the king of information, so their maps were good.

Surging Ord through my body, I jumped from tree to tree. I searched for something, anything. Even a cave would do.

But in the distance, there was some smoke. A hut? A village?

I ran through the trees with each step faster than the one before. My legs almost hurt due to how quickly I was jumping past trees.

But it started raining a lot when I reached my destination, and I was soaked.

It was a small village hidden to the side of the mountain. There weren't over fifty houses, so the population should be small.

I walked toward the biggest house, which looked like a town hall, and knocked on the door. "Anyone there?"

No one answered my calls. But there was some shuffling behind the door. Were they preparing for an attack? No, I have to think about this logically. There's no way someone would plan an ambush for me all the way in the sticks. Still, I should be on guard, just in case.

"Anyone there?" I knocked again. "I'm just a merchant whose carriage slipped down a crevice. My merchandise is gone, and the horse died. I need some shelter."

People were usually a bit nervous around Exorcists. Who wouldn't be? The average exorcist could kill the average human in one hit. The said exorcist probably wouldn't suffer any consequences legally after he killed the human.

That was the world we live in.

Now that I think about it. Maybe saying I was a merchant was a weak excuse. What would a merchant sell here, in the middle of nowhere? Who would he sell it to?

But there weren't many professions in this world that would have a reason to be here. My second alternative was to say I was an adventurer or treasure hunter. That would probably get me more suspicious looks. The last option was to say I was a bug researcher who got lost.

None of those options worked when talking with some village in the sticks. I could solve this whole thing by crashing the door open, but when people start solving problems with their fists. They become stupid.

After waiting for a bit, no one answered. Welp, I'm going to sneak into the houses and sleep under their bed.

Wow, that came out creepier than I thought. Thankfully I don't say stuff like that out loud. The context of the situation isn't creepy though.

Just as I was thinking about giving up, the door to the big building opened, and a man with a thick trustworthy mustache looked me up and down. Then he said, "Come on in."

The inside of the big building was filled with people. The roof was leaking a bit, but everything was okay. "I'm sorry for intruding. I didn't know you had so many people here."

"Don't worry. They're the village people. When it rains like this, the river that runs down the mountain will usually flood. Sometimes, the houses get caught in it. But this place is on a hill, so it's always safe." The mustache man said.

His explanation sounded logical. Though I couldn’t help but feel like every time I looked away, every one of the villagers (even the kids) glared at me with cold gazes.