Without asking any more questions, Reese shifted to the side. Suddenly, he spun, his leg rising in a roundhouse kick toward Ard's head. Ard immediately blocked it with his arm, ducked, and then swept Reese's leg with a foot sweep. Reese jumped, landing on the wall, and instantly kicked toward Ard, who dodged the kick. But Reese immediately pushed off the wall behind Ard and spun, kicking toward Ard's head. Ard immediately jumped onto the wall, then ran up to the rooftop, traversing the wall.
Reese followed him. Both ran, leaping between the walls in the narrow alley, and continued up to the rooftop. "Tap," when they reached the roof, they stood facing each other again. Reese's face looked even more troubled and angry.
"That's enough... just tell me, who are you really... are you from the Ateras Kingdom? Because there's no way you could have learned the same martial arts as me if you were from another kingdom," Reese said, pointing at Ard.
"Uh... sorry, I want to tell you, but I can't... you wouldn't believe it if I told you," Ard said.
"Hmph... fine, in that case, you have to die for knowing my identity," Reese said, immediately lowering his body and taking his stance.
"Stop... I don't want to fight you anymore," Ard said.
"Sorry... but that's not possible," Reese said.
Without warning, Reese vanished and appeared behind Ard, stabbing his karambit toward the back of Ard's neck. But Ard ducked, elbowed backward, and then spun-kicked behind him. Reese jumped back, and "swift," he vanished again.
"Aah... if that's how you want to play... fine," Ard said.
"Swift," Ard immediately vanished, and then all that could be heard were the sounds of a fight—fists hitting fists, kicks clashing with kicks—echoing without anyone visible fighting. Ard and Reese kept fighting at close range at high speed across the rooftop. All that could be seen were flashes of the karambit blade catching the sunlight, looking like beams of light.
"Hah... I'm getting more and more curious who you actually are. You're pretty good, you can match me," Reese said, attacking and blocking.
"Sorry, this is automatic, my body is moving on its own. I don't mean to match you," Ard said, attacking and defending.
"Crack," "Blam," suddenly both appeared in the air and landed smoothly on the roof, keeping their distance. "Huff... huff," both were panting but still staring at each other and maintaining their stances. Ard, seeing Reese getting more serious and knowing that continuing would make things much worse, finally relaxed his stance.
"Wait, Reese... I'll tell you everything, but please believe me," Ard said, raising his palms.
"Okay... tell me," Reese replied, standing upright and dropping his stance.
Ard took a breath and let it out. Then he told Reese about his second life, without mentioning his other lives. Reese, who had looked angry before, was suddenly dumbfounded, as if he couldn't believe what Ard was saying. He gave a cynical smile because Ard's explanation was utterly illogical and clearly an insult to him. But when he heard Ard say he had a 13-year-old daughter named Sophie and a wife named Catelya, Reese's face instantly changed, and his smile vanished.
"What you said... all of that is true?" Reese asked, confused.
"Yes, you, your wife, and your daughter treated me as family, and you're the one who taught me this martial art... you also taught me how to trade and invited me to travel around with you," Ard replied.
"Thud," Reese immediately sat down cross-legged on the roof and thought hard. He looked at Ard in front of him, who also moved to sit cross-legged opposite him.
"Not even my kingdom knows I have a wife and a daughter who was just born now," Reese said.
"That's right, because your wife is from a barbaric tribe," Ard countered.
"So you're not a secret agent from any kingdom, are you... can I trust you?" Reese asked.
"Yes, you can. I won't leak anything about you. I swear on my kingdom," Ard said.
Reese looked back at Ard's face and observed him for a moment. Then he extended his muscular hand forward.
"Alright, I believe you... Third Prince of Fredonia... or the Trash Prince," Reese said, smiling.
"Thank you, and please just call me Ard, because just like you, I'm also keeping my identity secret," Ard said, shaking Reese's hand.
"Good. I won't expose your identity. I swear on my wife and child," Reese said, smiling.
After that, both stood up and then jumped down back into the alley where they had been earlier. As they were brushing off their clothes,
"Hey, Brother Cain, why are you here?" a girl asked.
Reese and Ard turned to look toward the end of the alley. Ard's eyes instantly widened seeing Claudia standing at the alley entrance and looking in.
"Ah... Claudia, I was just talking with a friend," Reese said, glancing at Ard.
"Um... hi?" Ard greeted nervously.
"You? [She walked into the alley] You're the one from that time... you know Brother Reese... sorry, I mean Brother Cain?" Claudia asked.
"He knows who I am, it's fine," Reese replied.
"Oh... I see. [She turned to look at Ard] You know Brother Reese? Are you... also like him?" Claudia asked.
"Um... y-yeah, haha," Ard said.
"Never mind that, Claudia, how is your father?" Reese asked.
"Hmm... okay. Dad is fine," Claudia replied.
"Um... you guys know each other?" Ard asked, confused.
"Yeah, Claudia is my wife's distant cousin," Reese answered casually.
"Oh... I see," Ard replied. "Wow, I never knew that," Ard muttered in his head.
"How did you get to know Brother Reese, and how did you recognize me that time?" Claudia asked Ard.
"Uh... that..."
"Hi, Ard," suddenly another girl's voice cut Ard off.
Ard's eyes widened again seeing a girl emerge from behind Claudia and smiling at him while waving.
"Huh... M-Mirea? How are you with Claudia?" Ard asked, shocked.
"Oh, you didn't know? Mirea is the Student Council President, and I'm her subordinate in the Student Council. We came to the city because we're on a break, right, Mirea?" Claudia asked.
"Yep, that's right. I didn't expect to run into you here, Ard," Mirea replied.
"Oh... so that's how it is. Um... yeah, we usually meet in the library, right, haha," Ard muttered. "This... is totally outside my expectations," Ard muttered in his head.
"Alright, I have to go back to my trade wagon. You guys just chat here," Reese said, walking out and then winking at Ard with a smile.
Claudia immediately turned to stare at Ard. She examined Ard's face from up close, then stepped back, folding her arms across her chest.
"Have we met before?" Claudia asked.
"No, never... I'm sure. I must have mistaken you for someone else that time," Ard answered instantly.
"But... there's something interesting about you. Want to join the Student Council next year? You're still first year right now, aren't you? What do you think, Mirea?" Claudia asked Mirea with a smile.
"I totally agree. Let's just write his name down on the list along with Princess Eva," Mirea said, giving a thumbs-up.
"This... isn't getting more messy and complicated, is it... I hope not... if it is, how will I ever live in peace?" Ard muttered in his head, looking at Claudia and Mirea in front of him.