Several hours felt like it was only an instant as Alz explored the unknown areas on his mini adventure within capital. Alz finally made it back to the guardhouse, but there an unsatisfied frown on his face, expressing no joy at his return.

In the past few hours, he had found several interesting fruits and plants that he had never seen before, broadening his knowledge on the vegetation found in the capital, but the all-important location continued to elude him.

"Guess that side is no good." He mumbled to himself before turning to look down at his stomach.

He stared at the guardhouse for several seconds before he gritted his teeth and walked in carefully, making his way towards the dining hall. He had encountered several elves during this time, but most simply sent him a passing glance before walking off.

An odd feeling rose up as he saw thing, causing Alz to stop for a moment and think about it. He soon found the flaw in his previous thoughts, feeling a surge of relief well up within him as he hastened his steps.

His previous experience had left him mildly traumatised, afraid of running into trouble here because he was alone. Now was not like in the morning, when they had Colt with them who was acting under the captain's orders.

Although, after noticing how the other elves were acting, he started to reconsider his perceptions, rapidly arriving at a likely conclusion that put his mind to ease.

He realised that he had probably been mistaken as one of the children who was training here, as he wasn't wearing his uniform at the moment. Having discovered this, he no longer felt the need to proceed cautiously and started moving normally.

Just to be safe, right before he entered the dining hall, he peered in from the entryway to check, but the elf that had called him out the day before was nowhere to be seen. He let out another sigh of relief and walked to the front to collect his meal.

The utensils they provided here was simple, same as their tribe. It was simply food place on a serving plate made of wood. The only difference was that the plates here were more uniform, unlike the haphazard shapes seen back then.

The meal collection went by hassle-free, as it did in the morning. After collecting his plate, he swiftly moved to the nearest empty table, intending to eat quickly before continuing his scouting.

He knew that the others wouldn't have a problem no matter how long he decided to stay, but he didn't want to end up being overly dependent on them.

They had treated him well, but he had already gotten used to a live of seclusion before this and it was not easy to adjust. While he was grateful for the kindness they showed, he also felt constrained when he was together with them, unable to act as freely he wanted to.

After he put down his place, he started to enjoy his food while thinking of the next direction to move in. After all, he knew far too little about the surroundings and couldn't decide based on location, so any direction was essentially the same to him.

When he was halfway through his meal, an unexpected visitor appeared before him.

"Alz? What are you doing here alone?" a female elf said as she walked up to him with a plate in her hands, staring at Alz with a pair of clear green eyes.

Alz froze for an instant when his name was called, but he didn't detect any malice in the voice, so his body quickly relaxed as he moved his gaze up. He truly relaxed after recognising the other party, scolding himself inwardly for his overreaction.

The speaker was Maya, the elf he had encountered yesterday. If there was one thing he could be sure about, it was that she was absolutely not with the group that had mocked him before, knowing that alone was enough for him.

"I'm just grabbing a meal." Alz replied after finishing the food in his mouth.

"But shouldn't you be... N-Nevermind." Maya cut her question halfway through, flustered by Alz's sharpening gaze as she went on. Cold sweat started forming on her palms and she hurriedly looked away, feeling the warning behind his gaze.

Maya knew about the group's itinerary for the day, which was why she was surprised at seeing Alz here alone at this time. Her first instinct was to ask him why, but she wisely stopped before voicing out her question under his piercing gaze.

Alz obviously knew what she was about to ask, which was why he reacted the way he did. He felt slightly apologetic towards doing this, but he was really not in the mood to talk about the pen right now.

Suddenly, an idea sparked in his head, causing Alz to look at her like a hunter eyeing his prey. Maya happened to move her eyes back at this moment, causing her to flinch at his gaze, backing a step from the table.

"Why is he so petty! I already stopped didn't I!?"

"W-What?" Maya took another step back and asked with some agitation in her voice while scolding Alz in her mind, thinking that he was holding a grudge for just now.

From the way she reacted, Alz immediately realised what he was doing wrong and changed his expression like the flick of switch, looking towards her with a warm smile.

"Come and sit, you're eating too right?" Alz asked in a gentle voice, as though the scenes that played out earlier had just been part of her imagination.

Maya instinctively backed off another step as she felt a chill travel down the back of her spine. She was creeped out by his sudden change in attitude and wanted to just turn and leave at this very instant, but as the old saying went, curiosity killed the cat.

She hesitated slightly before walking up to the table, taking the seat that was opposite to Alz. There was fear and some anger in her from before, but her curiosity had won over her in the end. She had been curious about him since yesterday and didn't want to let go of this chance.

As the two elves sat face to face, Alz started thinking of of how to broach the subject when Maya suddenly spoke out before him.

"Hey, how old are you?" Maya asked a question that had been on her mind since she first met him, something she was extremely curious about.

Alz was slightly taken aback by the sudden question, but he didn't see the need to conceal it, so he honestly replied, "I should be turning 17 soon."

When he returned to the tribe, he had dropped by the library to check the records, discovering how much time had elapsed during his stay at the archives.

"So, he's the same age as me."

"Hmm, I see." a curt reply escaped Maya's lips.

Next, she went on to set off a barrage of questions at Alz while neglecting the food that was before her. The questions she asked were mostly simple, unimportant questions, such as what his hobbies were and what he usually did.

"What did I get myself into..."

Since he had a favour to ask from her, Alz tried to answer most of the questions properly. However, when it came to sensitive questions such as those which related to the archivers, he naturally did not answer them honestly and chose to fabricate an answer instead.

"I hope this was worth it."

This went on for several minutes and Alz was starting to feel some fatigue set in, but Maya showed no signs of stopping. Realising this, Alz inwardly decided that it was about time and forcibly cut Maya off, moving into the real reason for his sudden change in attitude.

"Maya, do you know this area well?" Alz asked as he turned to look at her.

Maya pouted slightly as she looked at Alz with a mildly resentful glare but Alz was unperturbed by her gaze, calmly waiting for her reply. After a few moments, Maya finally caved in with a small sigh, understanding that her questioning session had came to a close.

"Well, I was born and raised here, of course I know it well." Maya replied as she turned her head away from Alz.

"Then, is there a lake nearby where people don't usually go to?" Alz smiled at her reply and followed up with the real question.

"I do know one, but it is quite far from here." Maya replied after only a brief moment of thinking, surprising Alz with speed of her reply.

"Perfect!"

"Can you bring me there?" Alz asked, his voice quivering slightly with excitement.

Had he continue scouting alone, the chances of finding a suitable location were slim and he wasn't sure if he could even find one within the next five days, much less today. He had also asked Colt previously, but Colt did not have any good places to recommend.

After all, despite the long period he had spent in the capital, a large portion of his time was spent training and on duties. Most of the guards also rarely explored the areas within the barrier during their free time, opting to spend the time in the guardhouse or exploring the outside.

Alz was disappointed when he learnt of this from Colt, but Maya was different. As a child who was born here, she was usually barred from leaving the protection of the barrier and most of the recreational facilities here were geared towards the guards.

Hence, they were more likely to explore the areas within the capital, which was what Alz had placed his hopes on. Indeed, his gamble seemed to have paid off from his words, and he felt relieved for having not wasted his time answering questions earlier.

Well, had she not known of any suitable place, he would not have minded either. He was just taking a chance as he would have been eating here regardless and there was hardly any loss for him in the matter.

"I don't mind... but when?" Maya titled her head slightly as she asked, not understanding the excitement behind his voice.

"Now!" Alz replied with a wide smile as he stood up from his seat, beginning to walk away.

"Wait, wait! At least let me finish my meal first!" Maya quickly protested causing Alz to freeze in his tracks.

Alz returned to his seat with an awkward expression on his face, sitting back down once again.

"Sorry... I got a little too excited." he said and started to silently stare at her half-finished plate, waiting for her to finish.

Due to the constant pressure exerted by pair of eyes beside her, Maya finished her meal quickly and led Alz out of the guardhouse, towards the place she had mentioned earlier.