The druid walked a few steps ahead, guiding the way to where Alice waited with the prisoners, while Mark and Aria followed calmly behind.
They had walked a good stretch without exchanging a single word, enjoying a fairly comfortable silence, until Aria decided to break that calm.
"Master… can I ask you something?" she said, glancing at him sideways.
"Yeah," he replied, somewhat curious. "What's on your mind?"
Aria hesitated for a moment before speaking.
It was clear she'd been thinking about it for a while and was now trying to find the right words to ask it.
"What's your plan for the future?"
"Well, right now my priority is completing my pending quest," Mark replied, raising an eyebrow. "And, once and for all, unlocking the ability to level up."
"That's not what I mean…" Aria said, gently shaking her head.
"Then what do you mean?"
"What comes after that… let's say you complete the quest, control the south, get stronger. And then what?"
She frowned slightly.
