The comments about Luke and the rest of the Strogueher only ceased when the attendees heard a clatter of heels climbing the stairs to the stage at the front of the courtyard.
"Good evening everyone... It is now exactly eight o'clock, and we are going to start Phase two," said Mikaela ?kerman, the Sensory Mage who was running the event this year.
Before continuing her speech, she looked at some faces in the crowd and smiled.
"As always, we have very talented people this year... Anyway, Phase Two will be a little different from the first. This time, you won't be teleported to a faraway forest, because everything will take place right here in Oukiwa."
People held back their urge to talk to each other because of Mikaela's magnificent presence.
"You will all have two days to find the exact recipe and the right ingredients for each of you to make a vial of the Elixir of Flamel. You will have to deliver it exactly here in this room, before three o'clock in the afternoon. What is the Elixir of Flamel? Find out... But I'll give you a hint, out of respect for those who don't live in Oukiwa. Use this night to rest and tomorrow go to the City Library, maybe there will be some information there." Said Mikaela and finished with a wink with her right eye.
The foreigners sighed with relief when they heard this information because then they would not be totally at the mercy of luck. Still, if they knew that the Oukiwa Municipal Library has thousands of books and that not just anyone can enter it, they would be scared.
Afterward, all the participants were given brass medallions with a numbering and an hourglass symbol engraved on them and were released. Everyone had the choice of staying in the Central Palace or going to sleep elsewhere, and the important thing was to be there at the agreed time and day, with the medallion in one hand and the Elixir in the other.
Two white-haired figures spied them as Luke's group left the Central Palace. Luke felt as if he was being watched; however, he found nothing as soon as he looked back.
"What are you waiting for, Luke? Let's go." Jilly said, realizing that the half-wolf was falling behind.
"N-nothing... I just thought I saw something." He replied and trotted a short way to his companions.
The Second Phase of the Tournament of Legends models surprised everyone, without exception. The making of an Elixir had never been requested before in the entire history of the tournament.
Luke was thankful that he had chosen to side with the Strogueher and not against them because it opened up a range of options for him to react to this situation, but...
"I'm sorry, but I won't be able to help you... That would be counterproductive." wailed Ayumi to frustrate the half-wolf and Nathalia. "Daughter, I want you actually to earn respect on your own merit, to be able to rub it in Wang's damn face." Then she raised her arms, and Luke almost saw flames of excitement rising from the Matriarch's eyes.
"You got it, Mom!" In fact, Nathalia was even more motivated by her mother's support.
Luke wished Alexis was there because she was one of the few people he knew who seemed to know about making Elixirs, but the half-dragon did not return to the Strogueher residence that day.
The next day, the first thing Luke decided to do was not go to the City Library; in fact, he woke up along with the sun to study. Nathalia was still asleep, and he could not let his knowledge lag behind.
Martha was already awake and was more than happy to help the half-wolf. Since Alexis and Nathalia usually helped him, the servant girl hardly had time to get a close look at how little Luke knew about grammar.
"Wow... your handwriting is deplorable." Martha judged as she saw the crooked symbols Luke called his handwriting.
"You're pretty strict, aren't you?"
Slowly Luke was learning more and more about how math and grammar worked. They have no complicated concepts; they need to be worked on often.
A few minutes later, Martha let him continue alone, so she could help the cooks prepare breakfast in the kitchen. A few minutes later, Ayumi came down the stairs from the living room wearing tiny black shorts and a yellow bra.
When she saw that Luke was so focused on his quill and parchment in his hand that he didn't even notice her presence, she hugged him from behind, pressing her breasts into him.
"Hey, handsome boy. You really want to learn, don't you? In the middle of an important national competition and you haven't abandoned your studies... That makes me horny..." She whispered in his ear and lightly scratched his neck with her right hand.
Smiling excitedly, Luke looked hornily at the Elf. "It's very early... and many people are already in the house..."
The half-wolf was sitting on a thick wool rug and propping up his study materials on the coffee table in the living room. The Matriarch turned around, pulled him back a little, and sat on his lap.
"Are you sure? We can still go up to your room..." She spoke with her face slightly red.
No matter how many times she was bold with Luke, she felt the same excitement and shyness of a teenage girl doing this for the first time. Maybe this was because their relationship was a secret, or perhaps because Luke was the right kind of man for her.
Luke grabbed the Elf's thick thighs, lifted her a bit, and tossed her to the side. "Yesterday, you told me to focus on just one thing...so that's what I'm going to do." He dismissed her to tease her.
The Matriarch got up from the floor and put her hand on her chin, impressed. "AraAra~ Being bold as always~... All right, then I'll give you even more motivation. If you are the Tournament Champion, I will assume our relationship for everyone..."
"Are you serious?" Luke inquired, getting up as well.
"I've never been more serious than I am now," said Ayumi, with a closed smile. She still kept inside her chest the sentence the half-wolf told after they had sex for the first time, about them not being able to have a future, but she didn't think that way, not then, not now.
This proposal motivated Luke more than ever, the boy put on his battle clothes to go to the City Library as soon as Ayumi left for work.
When Nathalia came downstairs, still a little sleepy, she saw the half-wolf ready and with his clothes still torn, so she almost fell laughing. "What are you doing?"
Luke was at a loss to understand the intent of the question. "What do you mean? The only clue we have is the library, so let's go there, shall we?"
The girl approached while yawning with her right hand covering her mouth. "The library is not the only clue, and we still have the Elixir's name. And by chance, I ended up finding out through Jilly that my great uncle Manilyn is a great alchemist. Let's consult him first... If he doesn't know what it's about, we'll go to the library."
Nathalia was an intelligent girl and understood that it was not because her mother would not help her, that anyone in her new family couldn't either.
Read 𝓁atest chapters at fr(e)ewebnov𝒆l.com Only