Two weeks had passed ever since Lux's return from Elysium.

He and his Grandma Vera left Wildgarde Stronghold, so the Half-Elf could undertake an intense training session which pushed him to the limits.

With her granddaughter's happiness at stake, Vera had been very strict with the training. It was because she loved Lux with all of her heart that she didn't show him any mercy during their sparring sessions.

It made the Half-Elf understand that even though the kind, old lady, who had raised him since he was a baby, had lowered her rank to match him, his battle experience was lacking, so much that he wasn't able to even touch a strand of her hair.

During the first week, Vera made sure to drill the weaknesses he possessed into him, allowing the Half-Elf to understand his shortcomings better.

Eiko was also undergoing training with Vera. It was not only Lux who wanted to become stronger. As usual, the Baby Slime's motivation was to defeat her archenemy, the Unicorn, Astra, who had defeated her in their last rematch.

Although Lux thought that it was still too early for Eiko to beat Astra, he allowed her to do as she pleased since he understood that having a rival allowed someone to push themselves to the limit.

On the thirteenth day, Vera and Lux stopped their training to allow the Half-Elf to rest properly. Although their training session was rather short, Vera was still quite pleased with how strong Lux had become compared to how he was a year ago.

"Are you ready?" Vera asked as she glanced at her grandson, who was staring at the Academy that was slowly getting closer with each passing minute.

"Yes," Lux replied. "Thank you, Grandma, for everything."

"No need to thank me. I just want you and Iris to be happy."

"Mmm."

As Sophie climbed the banks of the river, a young lady with long, light blue hair, that was fluttering in the breeze, was waving at them from a distance.

Right beside her was a mature beauty, who also served as the Headmaster of Barbatos Academy's personal secretary.

Both ladies had been waiting for Vera's and Lux's arrival. The moment Iris' Guardian Beast had sensed the Half-Elf's presence, it immediately notified its master, who in turn hurried towards the Riverbank to meet them.

If it weren't for the fact that Alicia was walking down the hallway, inadvertently noticing Iris' happy expression, she wouldn't have known that Vera and Lux had entered the territory of Barbatos Academy.

"Grandma, Big Brother, Eiko!" Iris shouted as she ran towards them. "I missed the three of you."

"Ma!"

Eiko immediately perked up after seeing Iris, and happily jumped off of Lux's head, and used her skill, Air Strider [EX], to fly towards her.

Vera chuckled after she saw this scene, while Lux only sighed helplessly as he watched the mother and daughter pair finally reunite, showering each other with kisses.

"It's good to see you look happy and healthy, Iris," Vera said as she hugged her beloved granddaughter in a warm embrace. "Is your father well?"

Iris nodded. "Father has been busy, making sure that nothing would go wrong with the tournament. Even so, he is still a Saint, so this amount of work is nothing to him."

"Indeed, but don't forget that Saints are still people who get tired. My son is just a bit stubborn, but he truly loves you, Iris."

"I know, Grandma, but he's so strict at times. If he really loves me, then he wouldn't come up with the idea of using this tournament to look for my fiance. I already have Big Brother, I don't need anyone else!"

Alicia, who was standing a few meters away from Iris, could only smile bitterly as the young beauty scolded her father behind his back.

Her boss, Alexander, had indeed been quite busy as of late that he didn't even have time to spare to eat meals together with Iris. Because of this, the young lady, who was treated by everyone as the princess of Barbatos Academy, was not in a good mood.

While she was looking at the Grandma and Granddaughter pair who were still stuck to each other like glue, she turned her head to the Half-Elf who was just smiling from the side. Using her ability as a ranker, she tried to gauge Lux's strength, but to her surprise, she was unable to appraise how strong the red-headed teenager was.

As if sensing her gaze, Lux shifted his attention to her and smiled.

"Have you been well, Alicia?" Lux asked. "If you don't take care of yourself, you will not be able to get married even after you become 40 years old."

"Lux, it seems that you've grown quite bold since the last time we saw each other," Alicia replied as she locked the Half-Elf's head into a headlock. "Don't worry, this Big Sister will make sure that you won't die during the tournament."

Lux, whose face was now buried in Alicia's voluptuous chest, felt embarrassed. Clearly, the mature beauty didn't think of him as a man, but as a boy who was still unaware of the intricacies of a woman's body.

Iris, who saw this scene immediately pulled Lux away from Alicia, and wiped his face using her handkerchief. She was doing her best to remove any trace of Alicia's scent from her beloved brother's face, whom she hadn't seen for more than a month.

"Big Brother, you're too careless," Iris said in a reprimanding tone. "Do you let girls grab your head like that? If you have that kind of fetish, I am more than willing to do it for you. So, come!"

The beautiful young lady spread her arms wide in an inviting gesture. Although Iris was only sixteen years old, her body was already showing great promise, which made almost all the boys in the academy look at her with infatuated gazes.

'Unbelievable, she's only sixteen and she's almost a C-Cup,' Lux thought. 'A year or two from now, she will definitely be one of the most outstanding ladies in the Eastern Lands.'

Although he didn't want to admit it, Lux didn't want another young man to become Iris' fiance. This was why he decided to join the tournament and ensure that his step-sister would be able to continue living her life the way she wanted to.

"Big Brother, the tournament will begin in three days," Iris said as she walked towards the red-headed teenager and gave him a hug. "Please, do your best."

Lux patted Iris' head and assured her that she had nothing to worry about.

"Don't worry, no one will beat me," Lux replied in a firm tone. "I am afraid that Eiko will drench me with water everyday if I lose the tournament. Do you know how cheeky she has become since we last saw each other? Iris, our daughter has entered her rebellious phase.

"Pa?" Eiko, who was perched on Iris' head, tilted her head in confusion. She didn't understand what a rebellious phase was, so she decided to just not think about it!

"Big Brother, let's go," Iris said as she held Lux's hand firmly. "Tell me about the things that happened to you in the time we haven't seen each other."

"Ma!"

"Of course, you tell me your story as well, Eiko."

"Ma!"

As the blue-haired young lady pulled the smiling Half-Elf towards Barbatos Academy, a pair of eyes looked at them from a distance.

Alexander had his arms behind his back as he gazed at the Half-Elf who was going to participate in the tournament. A few moments later, he disappeared from where he stood, leaving only a fleeting breeze that also disappeared without a trace.