"How old are you exactly?" Noel inquired as he recalled Exile's earlier words.
From what he understood, The White Death appeared once every two centuries, yet the man claimed that he had seen it when he was younger.
It was either he had heard Exile's earlier statement incorrectly, or the life spans here were incredibly long.
And to Noel, this was a door that would open many others in his understanding of this world.
"256. I just recently turned 256 last month, should you believe it. We high humans age quite longer than regular humans, you see" The man remarked as he once again inhaled on his pipe the rosmarish scent, his grey-blue eyes sharp yet foggy as they stared into the empty space beyond the fog.
Noel stood silent, as he organized this. The age of two hundred and fifty-six revealed more than he could wish more.
For starters, that indicated that the man's experience exceeded any of that of humans back on modern earth. His experience itself was astounding and that being under his leadership would be very ideal, and would increase his chances of survival.
But that was not a sound judgement, Noel concluded.
Why? Because the average of what Exile has labelled as 'High humans' could be more or less than what he currently is. However, that makes a contradiction, and that is Exile's appearance.
Why does Exile, who is 256 years old so old, while someone like Elias, appearing young, claims to be 800 years old?
It is either that there is a factor that plays age appearance in contrast to age like a form of preservative or energy, or that he is missing something.
But the most important step now? To know the difference between a high human, and a normal human. From what he understood right now, high humans could live for long periods of time, while average humans lived less than them.
Was age the main difference, or was there more to it than what met the eyes?
Noel nodded his head in understanding, his eyes unfocused as he looked back to the senile man that walked in deliberate steps besides him that reflected a very large amount of experience, specifically in taking lives in the chant of strategy and glory.
A mind that relied more on the loopholes of war than on the brutalism of the weapons.
"So what makes High humans different from normal humans? Is it their age? No, rather ..."
Noel asked as he rubbed his lower chin, a habit he had when he used to stay unshaved for several weeks out of sheer laziness.
"What is the main factor that affects their longevity in comparison to average individuals?"
He spoke as his brows furrowed, almost as if he was asking himself, more than Exile. To his question, Exile's eyes remained unchanged as he apathetically watched Noel's attempt to subconsciously make Exile answer his question.
A traditional manipulation tactic.
When many humans want to gain the attention of others or retain an answer to a certain question, they 'subconsciously' pretend to mutter to themselves often, as if questioning themselves about the answer.
And when they reach an incorrect solution on purpose, the other party, hearing their mutters, would interfere and correct it.
Classic.
A hollow smile made its way on Exile's dry lips, his dead grey-blue eyes lingering on Noel.
"... And what do you think is 'that' factor, Noel?"
Noel who was lost in thought raised his head confusion tainting his pupil for a fragment for a moment, before they retained their usual glint.
He hadn't expected Exile who hadn't spoken his name once until now, to say it. It was odd in all due respect.
But even so, Noel understood as he had seen in many people previously on earth. He had expectation. Expectation from him that would eb able to determine what that 'factor' was just from previous hints he had seen, or judged from Exile's previous actions.
It seemed that even Exile hadn't expected much from Noel, and was merely testing him to evaluate his worth to his goal, whatever he had in mind.
Noel's mind raced as he thought over Exile's previous actions he had observed from the last few hours he had met him for. Brushing the strands of hair that blocked his eye, he delved into his ocean of thought, as he watched the white snowflakes falling from the grey-white, cloudy sky.
After a moment of thought, his red lips parted.
"Energy" A smile made its way on his lips, curving them into a crescent, as he reached a realization.
The realization had dawned on him with surprisingly low effort.
Exile, hearing this, let out a small laugh, a hand in his pocket, as he turned to face Noel, his dead eyes with not an ounce of emotion scanning Noel properly for the first time in a pragmatic notion.
He pointed his cane towards Noel.
"Correct. You fulfilled my expectations, perhaps even trespassing them. My congratulations."
The thought had first came to him in reality back in the library when Elias had informed him with his inaptitude to magic. At the time, he was rather disappointed that even after transmigrating, he would be unable to use magic.
But when he thought about it now, something seemed unusual about it.
Elias mentioned the existence of otherworlers, and none of them had magic either, in accord to her. But even so, that made me think that 'Wouldn't there mean that there is a chance that other people from another world still exist out there'?
Sure, he didn't have the guts to ask Elias if there were other otherworlders other than him still existing, but it seemed that otherworlders had a certain job to fulfil in this world if they were summoned several times.
It simply wouldn't make sense to use resources to summon otherworlders for no clear purpose.
However, that wasn't how he had reached that conclusion how Exile's age was extended in comparison to normal humans and the main difference between High humans and average humans.
If those otherworlders had children, would they have an aptitude for magic, or not, if their spouses had an aptitude for magic, while they didn't?
The thought, seemingly random, was actual relevant more than most people would think, as Noel hummed, lost in thought.
Would they be critiqued for their lack of magic if they were born without it? Like how the African's were ostracized by the American people back in the 17th and 18th century? If they aren't, would that mean that people without energy are normal?
In comparison, Elias had stated that her age is 800 years old, an astounding age that would be impossible to reach no matter what current technology people back on Earth would use. And furthermore, she displayed magic. At that, it may seem nothing special ... but when he thought about, it actually was connected to Exile.
How?