Chapter 413: Different Families

Most students would find their families welcoming them back with a huge celebration.

Some students couldn’t experience anything like that. After all, they had made a big blunder during the incident.

Those students who had fallen into despair were being shamed for not having helped. While their criticism was understandable given the situation, people thought that they should be the ones getting accepted. At the very least, they had been ready to lay down their lives for the sake of the entire team.

They wouldn’t just stay behind out of despair.

It was a bit harsh on those students, considering they might end up having their paths cut off. They would be terrorized.

Unfortunately, that was the reality. Not everything was full of color and made people appreciate life.

Some were shrouded in darkness.

Meanwhile, Vera had arrived at her family’s mansion.

A lot of them approached her and congratulated her right away.

"Congratulations."

"You have done a great job."

"It’s a shame that you didn’t take first place, but you have shown more than enough."

Vera had also defeated many of her peers during the universal competition and had performed impeccably. More importantly, they cared more about her dancing with Auric, thinking she also had the chance to rope Auric into the family.

Vera arrived in front of the family council again. This time, she didn’t feel terrified in the presence of all these elders.

She looked her father straight in the eye.

"Vera..."

"Yes, Father."

"Good work out there. However, don’t let your guard down. You still haven’t defeated Clarice, so your goal should be her first and defeat Ellia Stroph Astler next time."

Vera didn’t expect much, but as she had predicted, the people in the family would just compare her to others, especially Ellia.

She was sick of it, which annoyed her every time she saw Ellia.

Now that her hatred had diminished, Vera was able to see everything clearly with a cool head.

It didn’t matter whether they compared her to others anymore. Vera already had a goal in her mind.

She planned to get strong enough that their opinions wouldn’t matter. Meanwhile, Eric needed to get stronger as well.

So, Vera said, "Father, I have accomplished a lot of tasks, but if you want me to defeat Ellia, I don’t think just physical training will be enough. She is also good at managing her business."

"You want to waste your time doing business?" Her father asked with a cold gaze.

"I don’t plan to waste my time. However, I think it will be all right to spend one or two hours a day learning business. In the end, I have to get stronger but remain knowledgeable enough that people can’t take advantage of me. Even if I’m not going to be as good as Ellia when it comes to business, I don’t plan to remain clueless. I believe I have earned that much."

The elders wanted to say something, but they looked at her father, wanting to know his opinions first.

After a few minutes, her father said, "Very well. I will give you that chance. I’ll send you a tutor. After you understand the basics, you may start working in the company."

"Thank you, Father." Vera politely lowered her head.

"You’re dismissed."

Vera nodded and left the room. This was probably the first time she had left the room without feeling annoyed.

She felt calm, knowing that the fact she could finally make a demand to the family council was the first step toward reaching her goal.

She was done complaining. She intended to use all that energy to keep doing her best.

...

In the Astler family, the atmosphere had become tense.

Ellia sat in front of her grandfather. Her parents were sitting to the side, indicating that Ellia’s status was growing closer and closer to that of her grandfather.

Neither of her parents couldn’t say anything because they knew Ellia had won everything.

She had proven herself in business. All that was left was for her to prove her martial prowess.

"Good work, Ellia," said her grandfather. His voice was exuding pressure.

"Thank you very much, Grandfather."

"You have proven yourself for now, but people are still skeptical about you. After all, they think that even if you can get stronger by using artifacts, you will eventually be stuck. Do you have any plans for this limitation? Even with the government’s help, you can probably only reach Rank 5. Do you have any plan on how to become a Rank 6 human?"

Ellia closed her eyes for a moment. "I do have a plan."

"!!!" Her parents looked shocked. If Ellia really had a concrete plan, they wouldn’t be able to shake Ellia’s status anymore.

"Care to tell me about this plan of yours?" Her grandfather asked, looking amused.

Ellia shook her head. "Unfortunately, I can’t tell you about it right now."

When her parents heard this, they felt a bit relieved. This way, they should be able to use this as an excuse.

"Hoh? What is the difference between not telling me about your plan and having no plan?"

"I’d rather rephrase it like this..." Ellia paused for a few seconds. "If I tell you about my plan, I might end up ruining my own chance to carry it out. The question is... are you going to force me to reveal my plan and incur my resentment, or are you going to trust me?"

"!!!" Her parents were shocked. Ellia actually threatened her grandfather.

If he demanded that she reveal her plan, she would resent her grandfather. She might do everything she could to get back at him in the future. She might even kill or desecrate him. On the other hand, if he trusted her, she would repay his trust with kindness.

"Hoh? You dare to threaten me?" Her grandfather glared at Ellia. "You’d better choose your next words carefully. Look at me! I’m not amused."

Ellia calmly nodded. "Yes, I’m threatening you. After all, isn’t this how you’ve been training me, Grandfather? The Astler family doesn’t back down from threats. We threaten those who threaten us!"

The room fell silent for a few seconds. Her grandfather suddenly smirked before laughing hysterically. "Hahahahaha! That’s right. We won’t be afraid. They should be the ones afraid of us."

Ellia didn’t continue further. She really felt exhausted from dealing with this insane grandfather and annoying parents.

...

The situation was a bit different in Katarina’s household.

"It looks like you’ve come back. Great work over there." Her father smiled.

"Yes."

"However, I did notice that you’re quite close to Auric Elfe. What is your relationship with him?"

"That’s not what you should ask, Father." Katarina simply posed a question. "You should ask, ’What am I going to do now?’"

"..." Her father paused for a moment before asking that question. "What are you going to do now? You’ve proven yourself to have the suitable talent to become a Rank 6 human, so you have the qualities to lead the family. As long as you—"

Before he even finished, Katarina stopped him with a gesture of her hand. "No. That takes too long. I told you, didn’t I? I intended to settle the matter involving the elders of the family as well as my younger brother. I don’t plan to waste my time with them anymore. I’d like to request a family meeting, and I want you to announce that I’m the heir of this house and that this arrangement will remain in place until you have no choice but to give that seat to me."

"Those are such bold words. I hope you can back it up."

"I intend to demonstrate it at the meeting. I asked you to wait until the training program was over. Now that it’s over, it’s time to get rid of any opposition." If she wanted to be useful to Auric, she knew she couldn’t remain like this forever. She needed to get hold of the complete power of this family.

That was why she didn’t intend to play around anymore.

"Very well. I will hold a family meeting next week. However, I’m warning you that your current achievement is not enough for that. You have only proven your combat ability. What are you going to do at the family meeting? I just hope you’re not there to embarrass yourself."

"Of course not." Katarina smiled. "What am I going to do, you ask? Isn’t it obvious? To assert dominance."

While the girls were focusing on their respective families, Auric had finally returned to Thunderer City.

He didn’t want to cause a disturbance, so he simply slipped away so that he could get to his house as soon as possible.

To do that, he had asked Stella to create an escape route for him so that no one would recognize him at the airport.

"Thank you." Auric waved his hand. "Just get some rest today. We will discuss everything else tomorrow."

"Got it." Stella nodded, not saying anything as she was the only one other than Auric who knew what had happened to his mother. "Take care..."

"Yep." Auric waved his hand, but Stella was worried about him. That was why she didn’t leave. She just stayed in her new car outside his house so that she could check on him.

When Auric opened the door, he looked at the cozy living room.

"Oh my. You’re back! Welcome home! I’ve prepared your favorite food today." Natalia smiled.

Auric blinked his eyes and found himself facing the dark corridor and living room with no one to greet him. Judging from the dust covering the floor, he knew his mother had actually left the house not long after he headed to the training program.

This familiar-looking living room, where he used to share his stories with his mother had become a cold, dark, and lonely room.

The usually clean kitchen had been covered in dust.

He never thought such a day would come so soon. He ended up being alone in this house, knowing that no one would return.

Lindwurm watched him quietly. Usually, Auric would be cheerful and unaffected by everything. After all, he used to have everything—money, affection, and family. This time, his back, which was usually brimming with energy, felt empty and lonely.

Auric paused for a moment before heading to the master bedroom. He turned on the light while looking around.

He actually found a notebook on the table. He had never needed to go to the master bedroom, so he never knew about this notebook.

Feeding Auric milk. (Completed) Feeding Auric his first oatmeal. (Completed)

It was his mother’s bucket list. Since he was created out of nothing, her desire was what made her feel more alive.

As she went through the list, Auric was having a harder time holding back his tears.

Getting called Mom. (Completed) Discovering my son’s favorite food. (Completed) Going to kindergarten with my son. (Completed) Making his lunch box. (Completed)

Auric kept flipping through the pages as the list continued. She had a lot of wishes, no matter how small they were.

Everything had been marked completed... everything except for one.

Punishing my son after he made a big mistake.

She used to tell him he behaved too well, so he never thought punishing him was actually a part of her wish. He wondered if she ended up resenting him for not allowing her to fulfill everything she wanted.

Auric closed the book and slid down the wall until he reached the floor. He just looked at the ceiling before closing his eyes and letting out a long, exhausted breath.