CHAPTER 404: FUTURE HEADACHES

Andreas and Daniel’s eyes turned toward Ilaris, who still seemed a little hesitant. However, after a few moments, that hesitation completely faded, replaced by certainty.

"I’ve decided to return to the elves."

Andreas opened his mouth, but no words came out. It was as if he didn’t know what to say—or if he should say anything at all.

In the end, he closed his mouth and let out a sigh. Just like he had said before, he would fully support this girl’s decision.

"Are you sure? Because while you’ll definitely have a high position among the elves and many of them might value you greatly, that won’t apply to everyone. You could get caught up in complicated rivalries, politics, and mental games," Daniel warned.

Even though he would be sending Rynor with her, keeping watch over her through his parasitic will, he himself wouldn’t be there.

Ilaris was destined to rule over the elves. While many of them would support her, there would certainly be elves who would refuse to acknowledge her—some might even try to assassinate her.

For example, the children of the Elf Emperor or the other successors. There was no way they would simply give up their claims to inheritance.

And while Ilaris was technically an adult, she was still no different from a young girl with no experience in handling such situations. It could be extremely dangerous for her.

"I’m sure. I’m tired of being weak. If hardship is the price of becoming strong, then I’m willing to pay it," Ilaris said firmly. She had made up her mind and was prepared to accept any cost.

"If you’re sure, then that’s fine. But understand that I can’t come there to help you. I can only assist you through Rynor. Also, it’s better if you lie about your connection to us," Daniel said.

Unfortunately, elves didn’t have a good relationship with humans, and he couldn’t go to their lands to directly help Ilaris gain inheritance.

If he could, that would’ve been great. He could’ve seen the elven civilization firsthand, and maybe even caught a glimpse of the World Tree. But for now, it was impossible.

The future was uncertain. Maybe he’d one day find a way to temporarily change his race or something similar. Until then, this girl would have to face everything on her own.

Still, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Through this, Ilaris would mature and grow stronger.

"When are we leaving?"

"I don’t know. My work here is basically done. Tormyn has been dealt with, I already have ideas for Selera and will resolve it tomorrow. The only things left are the mission Andreas has to carry out, and Lioran. For that, I’ll need to go to the Mage Tower," Daniel replied, then looked at Andreas.

"I don’t know when they’ll announce the details of the mission either. They said a week, but it could be tomorrow or the day after. It shouldn’t take too long though."

"Good. Then we’ll be finished here soon."

After that, they chatted a bit more about other matters. Ilaris was tired and went to her room early to sleep. That left just the two boys. Truthfully, Daniel also needed some rest and didn’t stay long. Though before leaving, he gave Andreas one last piece of important advice:

"Before she leaves, tell her your feelings." Then he went to his room and collapsed onto the bed.

"I miss my family." It had been a while since he had seen them, and he longed to visit them again, even just for a short time, outside the Celestial Domain.

But he knew he couldn’t in his current situation. He needed to settle the matters here as soon as possible.

"Now that I think about it, I haven’t done a single stream." Daniel suddenly remembered and started laughing.

Not that it was really his fault. He genuinely hadn’t had a chance to stream or record anything. Destroying the Corruption Worshipers had been a good achievement, but everything had happened so suddenly.

Thinking about it now, he hadn’t really had any opportunities throughout his entire adventure to film anything. Each of those situations, if exposed, could have placed him in extreme danger.

"I should just tell Lana about this later. It’s better if she comes up with the ideas and I just carry them out," he sighed. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just abandon Lana’s plans either—they were necessary for the survival of the guild.

For now, he set those thoughts aside—at least until he saw Lana again—and focused on another issue.

"Should I challenge the third and fourth floors together?" he muttered to himself.

His power was already enough to challenge the fourth floor of the tower. On the other hand, he felt the third floor, even if difficult, shouldn’t take too much time.

So the thought of attempting both floors in a row had crossed his mind. Still, he wasn’t sure—it was just an idea for now. It would depend on how strong he became after taking care of his other tasks.

He still needed to go to the Mage Tower, and he also planned to visit the Gulf of Sumer. If after all that he was strong enough to defeat S-rankers, then he would definitely clear two floors back to back.

"Of course, I also need to find Eva." Then a key appeared in his hand. He had promised to give it to that girl.

Though he doubted finding her would be easy.

"Ugh, so many things to do. Just thinking about them makes me tired," he grumbled to himself. But there was no helping it.

On top of all that, he also had to follow through with Lana’s plans, especially concerning the Awakened Association. Even thinking about all of it gave him a headache.

He was starting to regret ever becoming an Awakened in the first place. Before, he could sleep whenever he wanted, and his biggest responsibility had only been picking up and dropping off his sister from school.

And now? He was getting tangled up in the politics of some of the most powerful forces in the world.

He had never thought things would go this far, all while carrying secrets he himself didn’t even fully understand.

Including his own bloodline!

"Thinking too much won’t help. I should just sleep." He sighed and slowly closed his eyes. Tomorrow, he had to meet Selera.