"Could it be Reed?"
A thought crossed my mind. Reed was the last person who spoke to me before I transmigrated. So I still have some impression of her.
"You mean that emotionless girl?"
Upon hearing this name, Nicola also seemed to recall who it was and asked me to confirm.
"emotionless girl?"
I didn't expect her to give Reed such a nickname behind her back. In some ways, it was quite apt.
"That's right! It should be her! Our classmate!"
I was almost certain now. The name Reed was unique and hard to mistake. As for that Cyra, I suspected she was a male classmate who had changed his name due to the gender change.
Moreover, many people on Earth knew of the name Cyra. It was practically household. So suspicion was high.
Unfortunately Quinn was not among them, which made me feel a little disappointed.
"Classmate?"
Hearing this term, Serena looked somewhat puzzled.
"It's nothing!"
Nicola nodded at me, also seemingly overjoyed.
But after all, going with them raises lots of concerns. She could only tell Serena for the time being.
"Please allow us to consider it further, okay?"
"No problem! We can set off once the fighting here ends."
Serena readily agreed, apparently having great confidence in us. She then turned towards Alfreed and began asking about what had happened here.
...
"Are you really leaving?"
Upon hearing that I and Nicola might follow the Angel Legion back to Edenmere, Adrian and Selene walked over to inquire clearly, unwilling to part with us.
"I don't want to either, but there are many things that need to be figured out."
I explained regretfully. Previously, due to lack of understanding about the angels, I had been avoiding them all the time. But now their attitude seemed much better than I had imagined. So going to Edenmere was especially important.
And some classmates might be waiting for us there. That was an even bigger reason we had to go.
"What about the house you rented in the royal city then?"
Selene naturally also knew about our life in the royal city. At this moment, she was grasping for straws, trying to get us to stay.
"Those are all minor matters..."
Before I could finish speaking, Adrian suddenly said.
"I know recovering your memories is crucial. If possible, let me help look after your house for you?"
"We can't possibly impose like that!"
Upon hearing that, I quickly dissuaded him, "We don't know when we'll be back this time. It would be a complete waste of your money. It's better to terminate the lease first..."
Just as I was haggling over these trivial matters, I suddenly heard what seemed like an argument arising from Serena and Alfreed's side.
"Impossible! I've heard the title Flame God on the battlefield from those monsters before, but have never seen the person. And now you're saying it's a twelve-winged angel with red wings..."
From Serena's words, it was apparent that even the Angel Legion was unclear about Michelle's background.
"But she did claim herself as such! It's said that she even went to the frontlines to oversee the battle. How could you all not have seen her!"
Alfreed rebutted, also looking incredulous.
"Sorry for interrupting, Captain, come over for a second!"
I suddenly recalled an important matter. I quickly cut in and pulled Alfreed aside.
"What's the matter?"
Alfreed was puzzled why Serena didn't even know Michelle. Seeing me pull him for a private conversation again, his face betrayed even more bewilderment.
I secretly glanced at Serena and saw that she was busily commanding the other angels battling the monsters, with no time for this side. Thus, I pleaded softly,
"Please don't tell them about the future Nicola time travelling back to defeat Michelle!"
"Why not?"
He didn't quite understand at first, but soon realized it himself.
"I see... I've never heard of angels being able to control time either. Such matters are indeed a bit too inconceivable."
"But what's going on with you two? It's one thing to have strange abilities, but Serena and the others are still your kin. Is it really necessary to hide it?" He furrowed his brow, clearly puzzled about why Nicola and I were so wary of other angels.
"This is quite a complicated matter, hard to explain..." I scratched my head, struggling to answer. "It boils down to a trust issue."
Not knowing much about the angels' stance, it's wise to keep our abilities under wraps until we're sure of their intentions. Plus, manipulating time is a sensitive ability that attracts attention, and if today's events spread widely, it won't be good for Nicola.
"Is it because of that Angel Descend Formation?"
To my surprise, Alfreed suddenly voiced out his own guesses.
"That formation sounds like it summoned you angels directly from Edenmere right? Earlier, Serena said that you were ambushed inside the Angel Descend Formation, and you even lost your memory because of it. So could it be you're worried the Angel Legion has traitors leaking intel? Or they aren't as harmonious on the inside as on the surface, with internal power struggles instead?"
I was stunned. That work too? I didn't expect him to speculate so much. But I instantly realized this was a perfect excuse. No need to refuse!
"You're right. To think even an outsider like you can see it..."
I sighed and hurriedly went along with his words.
"Unfortunately, I've lost my memories. Now Nicola is the only one I can rely on. If too many people, even moles, know of Nicola's and my abilities, it'll be terrible if they want to harm us."
"I understand. I will urge Eleanora and Hayden to keep it confidential."
As expected, Alfreed believed my half-truths and gave me his word.
"Thank you so much!"
I revealed an expression of gratitude. After explaining things to him, I turned my head towards Serena and asked.
"If we go to Edenmere with you, can you guarantee safety? Also, will we be able to come back here? When can we come back?"
"Don't worry. Safety definitely won't be an issue."
Regarding my questions, Serena answered with some reluctance.
"But whether you can return very quickly will have to depend on after meeting Lady Elara. Generally, we angels cannot freely leave Edenmere. But there are exceptions. Moreover, your situation is quite special to begin with. Perhaps there may be special leniency..."
"Then there's no choice..."
Nicola shook her head at me and said, it looked like to uncover the mysteries around us, that Elara was truly a key figure. We could only make a final decision.
"We agree to return to Edenmere!"
"Wait for a moment..."
Hearing our reply, Serena was very happy. She looked around at the battle and saw that in the distance, a few low-ranking angels were jointly facing off against a minotaur but unable to bring it down for half a day. She directly charged at the monster with a swift leap and sliced off its head with one stroke of her sword.
"So fast..."
I couldn't help but gasp. I just felt a gust of wind passing by and she disappeared from sight in that instant.
Of course, what I was referring to here was her flying speed with her wings. I felt that flying in the sky was already fast enough. But contrasting after this, it was like the difference between an ordinary bird and an aeroplane.
"Hmph! I can also slice the head of this minotaur in one strike."
Nicola said somewhat unwilling to admit defeat.
"That's because you have the Condensation Sword hack!"
I commented jealously and resentfully.
"Think of your future self! That's when you'll be the true expert in combat."
"Sooner or later I'll reach that point anyway. Right now, I'm already exploring ways to control time."
Nicola wasn't worried at all. Since the future was destined to have her coming back to show off, then she would definitely be able to attain that level of strength, though the specific time it takes was still unknown.
"Too overbearing!"
I deeply disapproved of her sky-piercing arrogancy.
I was originally still worried whether the existence of that so-called Liana would lead to troubles like my situation. But now, it looked like I was overly anxious. Her future self was perfectly fine! She was living extravagantly without any worries.
"Let's go help..."
Although there was no need, Alfreed still couldn't quite hold himself back. Gripping his weapon, he charged forward to join the battlefield. With him taking the lead, the others also began fighting respectively.
...
Not many magical beasts remained in the area. They were soon completely slaughtered, basically without leaving a single survivor behind.
As expected, the combat power of the Angel Legion was shockingly formidable. With a few dozen of them against over a hundred monsters, surprisingly not one of them fell. Only over ten angels were injured and battered about, but they quickly recovered after treatment from their companions.
"Alright, now we can set off."
After getting people to clear up the battlefield, Serena gestured to me and Nicola.
"Is it very far?"
Seeing that she was leaving most of the angels to follow Alfreed and the others, it seemed she intended to personally send us off.
"Don't worry, it's very near."
Serena said with a smile.
"After sending you there, I still have to rush back to confer countermeasures with the kingdom's armies. If that Flame God is true as you've described, then she's undoubtedly a huge threat."
Although she had previously denied seeing Michelle before, she had to acknowledge that despite the kingdom's armies continuously winning on the main battlefronts, they somehow couldn't advance half a step closer towards the incident epicenter at Tethys Town. According to information received from the frontlines, many soldiers had suffered inexplicable burn injuries. This suited Michelle's Flame God style very much.
"But hasn't she already been sent to another timeline?"
I didn't know why Michelle wasn't showing herself directly, but at the very least, she shouldn't be able to influence the battle from the shadows anymore.
"But hearing your descriptions, it's unlikely that the mysterious figure sent her to the past. So she will definitely still appear in the future. Making preparations for that point in time is only a matter of sooner or later."
As expected of the Legion leader of the first angel legion. Serena's analysis was well reasoned.
Luckily, thanks to my warning, Alfreed, Selene and the others had already aligned their stories. They only brought up that a mysterious figure who could control time suddenly appeared to save everyone, omitting the details about future Nicola's return. Hence, she was still unaware of the full truth.