Chapter 631: Sailing South

A few minutes passed like that until, eventually, delegates from the royal family began moving through the gathered crowds, passing down instructions on how everyone would be venturing out to sea.

It was then that Elion learned something rather interesting from Evander.

The Legacy World only allowed a maximum of five hundred entrants each time it opened.

That made Grimholt Academy’s allocation of fifty spots quite impressive.

Ten percent of the entire quota!

Then again, Grimholt was an academy where talented youngsters from practically every race gathered, so perhaps it wasn’t all that surprising.

What did surprise Elion, however, was the fact that the Triad Alliance’s group and the students from Grimholt Academy had actually been assigned to the same ship.

It was quite an unexpected turn of events.

Still, Elion liked it this way.

At the very least, he would be travelling alongside Mira and the others, and being separated from them before they even reached the entrance would have been an annoying ordeal.

Boarding proceeded relatively smoothly.

Five massive vessels towered above the docks as groups were called forward one after another, royal officials checking names and allocations before allowing them aboard.

It was while they were boarding, however, that a very unlikely face finally appeared.

William came running down the docks like a headless chicken.

Elion’s eyes narrowed.

The young man’s appearance was almost unrecognisable compared to his usual neat and arrogant self.

His face was badly battered, with bruises and scratches covering much of it, while his clothes were in a similarly unpleasant state.

His hair was dishevelled, his breathing ragged, and the way he kept glancing behind himself made it seem as though someone was chasing him.

Strangely enough, there didn’t appear to be anyone following.

By the time Mira, Isolde, and Tessa noticed him, they were already aboard the gargantuan ship.

William hurried toward Professor Lolanthe and began speaking with her near the docks, seemingly explaining something in a rush.

The three girls watched him for a few seconds. Then, almost instinctively, they turned toward Elion.

He was looking in the same direction, but the expression on his face left all three of them confused.

Elion was smiling.

’Like a lamb to the slaughter.’

...

Ezra and Julian kept exchanging uneasy glances, occasionally looking toward Xavier as though expecting him to do something.

’Isn’t he... a little too calm?’

The same thought seemed to cross both of their minds at once.

They had been thinking it for the past several minutes.

The five ships had already set sail toward the vast expanse of the southern ocean, and the sound of waves striking against the hulls, the salty smell of the sea, and the distant but constant cries of seagulls had already filled the air.

Yet Xavier still hadn’t said a word.

Of course, it wasn’t only Ezra and Julian who felt uneasy.

The other seventh-years, including Evander, whom Elion had finally let go, were all noticeably tense.

For as long as they had known Xavier, he had always been somewhat aloof.

But never to this extent.

None of them could tell what he was thinking.

There was simply no way he could remain this calm considering everything that had happened.

At least, that was what they had expected.

They had all watched Xavier’s younger brother, William, completely embarrass himself earlier.

The moment William realised Elion was actually there, he had reacted as though he had seen a ghost.

He became so frightened that he lost his footing and fell straight off the bow, plunging into the water below.

By the time he managed to swim back toward the docks and climb aboard again, he had made sure to keep as much distance from Elion as possible while constantly casting wary glances in his direction.

Now that...

That was a normal reaction.

Xavier, meanwhile, looked completely unbothered.

In the end, Ezra simply couldn’t take the silence anymore.

Clearing her throat awkwardly, she finally spoke.

"Boss... are you alright?"

"Hmm?"

Xavier glanced toward her and smiled. The smile made Ezra shiver from head to toe.

Xavier never smiled!

"Whatever do you mean?" Xavier asked calmly. "I’m completely fine, but thanks for asking."

Then, as though there were nothing strange about what he had just said, he turned back toward the vast stretch of deep blue water.

Ezra stared at him.

Xavier never thanked them like that!

Not for anything!

Slowly, she turned toward the red-haired Julian again.

Julian merely shrugged.

...

The fast-moving ships created a gentle drizzle as water splashed calmly from the surface of the parted waves.

At times, one could even spot creatures of the sea swimming alongside the vessels, keeping pace for a while before eventually disappearing beneath the deep blue waters.

Meanwhile, aboard one of the ships flanking the vessel Elion was on, a pair of beautiful golden eyes were glancing in his direction with subtle curiosity.

"If I might ask, Royal Princess Isla, who is that young man in the black bodysuit over there?" Solara asked. "He seems to have caused quite the uproar when he arrived earlier."¹

Despite having arrived with a ship of their own, Solara and her entourage had still elected to board the vessels offered to them as a gesture of goodwill.

Of course, there was another reason as well.

The representatives of the Veloria Kingdom had offered to accompany them on the journey, and Solara had seen no reason to refuse the young princess’s invitation.

Princess Isla’s wavy purple hair shifted as her blue eyes followed the Holy Daughter’s gaze.

Sure enough, an infuriatingly handsome but very familiar face soon came into view.

A faint blush appeared on the princess’s cheeks, but she quickly recovered.

"His name is Elion Nova. As far as I’m aware, he’s an exceptional talent who was once affiliated with Grimholt Academy. Recently, though, he’s become affiliated with the Vampires."

She paused briefly.

"I suppose there’s no harm in telling you since it’s already widely known, but he’s betrothed to their princess, Celeste Chronos."

Solara’s brow rose with interest.

"Oh?" Her golden eyes narrowed slightly. "Then he’s someone worth paying attention to, no?"

"It seems that way," Princess Isla replied with a nod.

Solara continued watching him.

She didn’t quite understand why, but even from such a considerable distance, she could perceive a strange sort of warmth radiating from Elion.

Naturally, she already had her suspicions as to what it might be, but she couldn’t be certain unless she touched him directly.

However, she was almost convinced that what she was sensing from him was the faintest trace of divinity.

Such a thing was normally extremely difficult to perceive.

However, Solara had spent most of her life channelling divine power and was blessed by it personally.

Because of that, she had developed a sensitivity toward its presence that very few others possessed.

And there was definitely something unusual about Elion Nova.

After observing him for a long while, Solara finally turned away and directed her gaze toward the waters ahead, seemingly having lost interest.

Behind the two women, Althea frowned.

The possibility that the Holy Daughter might take an interest in some human male was something she didn’t particularly like.

Unfortunately, it was also something she had no authority to interfere with.

Regardless, Althea silently made a mental note.

She would keep an eye on this particular young man. His face, build, and presence were committed firmly to memory.