Chapter 203: Reignited Hope

’...slow?’

Regis furrowed his brows slightly, but chose not to voice his thoughts.

He refrained from comparing the current situation to when he witnessed Pandora and Killian’s breakthrough.

Meanwhile, Eldrin continued guiding Aurelia, and a slight frown could be seen on his forehead.

"Just continue what you are doing."

This went on for about half an hour before the mana inside Aurelia’s heart began to condense.

Soon enough, it vaguely took on the shape of a three-pointed star.

However, it did not stop there.

Regis raised his brow as he sensed the abnormality within the mana fluctuation coming out of Aurelia’s heart.

Fortunately, Eldrin used his magic field to control the fluctuations.

This made it so that it would not be detected by monsters and beasts in the nearby Duskmire Grove.

Meanwhile, the star glowing on Aurelia’s chest continued to shine brightly as "points" kept appearing on it, until it became a six-pointed star.

"To think that she would reach the Peak Stage of One Star Realm in one go..."

Regis’s eyes widened, ’To think that she would be this talente—’

But before he could finish his thoughts, Eldrin exclaimed as he leaned back on his log stool, using his hands to support himself.

"Your talent is the worst I’ve ever seen."

"Eh?" Regis’s face froze as he became speechless.

On the other hand, Aurelia’s cheeks flushed, "I-I’m sorry..."

"No, it’s even more impressive." The old mage waved his hands, realizing that his words were a little harsh.

The young girl’s cheeks were still filled with embarrassment.

Seeing this, Regis interjected, "But she was able to reach the Peak Stage in an instant..."

"That wouldn’t be surprising, considering her efforts."

Before the boy could ask any further, Eldrin continued, "This girl, despite her mana automatically being sucked by her gift, she did not stopped using the mana breathing technique."

"When I checked her pulse, I noticed that her mana vessels and heart had already been tempered."

"I assume that you have been doing this for years, right, little lass?"

Faced with the old mage’s sincere question, Aurelia nodded shyly, "Y-Yes, Elder."

"Oh..." Regis could not help but be amazed as he clearly remembered her saying that she had already given up on her dreams.

And that was why she spent her time learning other skills to make up for it.

’I guess, in the end, she really didn’t give up...’

As he was immersed in his thoughts, Eldrin spoke once again, "But I also didn’t expect your talent to be below average. If you had a little more talent, you could have even jumped straight to the Middle or Late Stage of Two Star Realm."

"R-Really?" Aurelia’s expression alternated between embarrassment and happiness.

"Yes. The pressure that your heart and mana vessels endured from continuously taking in mana before being instantly sucked dry could be fatal for others."

"I assume that your father also had a hand in this, right?"

The young girl nodded her head, "Yes, my father always made sure to give me elixirs and nutritious food."

"As expected of the Midas Household." Eldrin then stood up and dusted his robe, "Alright, I’ll be sleeping in the carriage first."

Regis looked at him, "Aren’t you going to teach me too?"

"Well, that was what I’m planning. But causing any more mana fluctuations might attract some unwanted visitors even if I were to use my magic field to control it."

"Oh, and don’t worry about needing to stabilize your star, little lass. I already stabilized it for you."

"Besides, learning too much in a single session might be overwhelming to your mind, so just use this time to get used to moving around while in the One Star Realm."

As he finished speaking, the old mage waved goodbye and proceeded towards the carriage.

"Ugh, that old man..."

Regis scratched the back of his head in annoyance.

The way Eldrin acted sometimes made him confused.

On the side, Aurelia’s shy face was softly illuminated by the bonfire.

"U-Um, should we take a rest too?"

She did not know when it started, but she began to be nervous whenever she was alone with him.

However, Regis’s response surprised her, "Not yet. Come follow me."

"Eh?" Seeing him suddenly standing up and walking further into the forest, she hurriedly followed behind him.

Aurelia looked around, her eyes filled with nervousness, fear, and... anticipation?

She lightly tapped her face, ’What am I thinking?’

’We’re just friends. Just friends.’

Tap—

As she was too focused on her thoughts, Aurelia did not notice that Regis had already stopped in front of her.

This resulted in her head bumping onto him.

’Eh?’

Looking up, she saw Regis’s worried look, "Are you okay?"

Aurelia flinched and hurriedly took a step back, "Y-Yes!"

"If you want to rest, just tell me, okay?"

"No, I’m fine."

As she came to her senses, she started looking around, "A-Aren’t we too far away from the camp?"

"Don’t worry about it. I’m here to tell you something."

"What is it?"

Seeing the serious expression on Regis’s face, Aurelia became serious as well.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Do you know what your uncle and I talked about back in the fortress?"

She shook her head in reply.

Regis sighed, "Well, I’ll make it short. Before our conversation, your uncle wanted to destroy the Bakurad Fortress along with the demonic humans that infiltrated it."

"What!?" Aurelia could not help but shout in disbelief.

"Yes, and it was agreed by the old man and others too."

"T-That can’t be..."

"But that’s not what I want to talk to you about."

"Eh?"

"What I really want to talk to you about is how I convinced your uncle to change his mind."

"Huh?" Aurelia felt confused, unable to properly follow their conversation.

Regis did not reply immediately.

Instead, he picked a leaf from a nearby bush and handed it to her, "Turn this into gold."

Seeing that he did not seem to be joking, Aurelia removed the glove on her right hand and touched the leaf while activating her gift.

Shng—-

A soft, golden brilliance enshrouded the leaf, turning it into gold.

Regis looked at it and did not speak, only closing his fist with the golden leaf inside his hands.

"This is how I convinced your uncle."

Aurelia did not know what he was trying to imply and just kept silent while staring at his fist.

However, as soon as Regis showed her the once golden leaf turning to its original form, her eyes widened as a gasp escaped her lips.

"W-Wha— I-Impossible..."

He did not speak any word— No, he never needed to.

Aurelia was able to understand everything that was needed to be said just by seeing the leaf in Regis’s hands.

Thud—

Unable to contain her emotions, her knees hit the ground and received the leaf with both of her hands.

"M-Mother... B-Brother... S-Sister..."

Tears streamed down her face as she muttered, her voice trembling while pressing the leaf to her chest with both hands.

Regis did not try to help her up.

He only looked at her with pity, giving her time to process her thoughts.

Overwhelmed by an emotion she had not felt for so long, she did not know how to deal with it.

The reignited hope in her heart made it hard for her to think straight.

The young girl cried her heart out, while the boy did not speak a word.

But that was enough to comfort her, for the young girl only needed to feel that she was not alone in that moment.

After a while, Aurelia’s voice subsided along with her tears.

"I... anything..."

"Hic... anything... I... will..."

The words that left her lips were incomprehensible, her trembling voice laced with quiet sobs.

Regis did not interrupt her and simply waited, patient and silent, for her to collect herself.

The young girl’s voice was brimming with determination.

"Anything..."

In the next instance, Aurelia looked up and met the pair of blood-red eyes looking at her.

"I will do anything."

’Huh?’

Regis felt shocked by the emotions he could feel from her.

Furthermore, he noticed the translucent thread of faith connecting their hearts became thicker and more visible, surpassing Killian and Pandora’s.

A faint iridescence seemed to be sprouting inside the thread of faith as well.

Though it was not fully visible.

Regardless, what really surprised him was the rich emotions she could feel directly from Aurelia’s eyes.

Desperation. Determination. Fear. Hope...

...as well as unwavering loyalty.

It somewhat made him uncomfortable— like she did not see him as a human anymore.

Nevertheless, Regis smiled gently and offered his hand, "Stand up. The reason why I brought you here was so we can explore how you can further control your gift."

"Thank you..." Aurelia accepted his hand with an expression filled with gratitude.

However, she could feel something change deep within her, though she could not point her finger at it.

Unbeknownst to her, the puppy love that seemed to be sprouting in her heart disappeared without a trace.