Chapter 213: Convincing Eric
"We want Auric Elfe to be expelled from here."
"Just look at the situation right now. Won’t it hurt the university’s image if you expel our son? He is ranked seventh in the second grade, while that guy is an outsider."
"That’s right. Are you trying to expel one of your own because of an outsider, who doesn’t even intend to stay here?"
"Relax, relax." An old man waved his hands down. In front of him were a middle-aged man and woman. Of course, he recognized them.
After all, they were Trevor’s parents.
"Vice Principal! How can we relax?" The father gritted his teeth. He showed Trevor’s picture. "Just look at him. He may have won the battle, but he beat him excessively. If we let such a cruel person go unpunished, he might turn into a terrorist!"
"That’s right. Even with a healer, he will need to stay at the hospital for another month."
"We demand that you expel him!"
The vice principal narrowed his eyes. "Even if I were to do that, a bet is a bet."
"I know you’re worried about your image, Vice Principal. You don’t have to worry about that." The father grinned, showing his screen.
[Despite having won against his opponent, Student Auric Elfe continued to beat him up. A potential to become a cold-blooded killer?]
There were a lot of comments about it.
[Shameful. Even though he is good-looking, to think that he would be such a cruel person.]
[This is definitely excessive. This person doesn’t have the right to be a student. He can’t be taught.]
[He is a criminal. He shouldn’t have gone to a university, he should have gone to jail instead.]
[Expel him!]
The narrative had completely switched, showing Trevor as the victim. The comments were so overwhelming that it looked like expelling Auric was the only option.
"..." The vice principal looked at them.
"Don’t worry, Vice Principal. Even if he has the protection of the Relesha family in the capital city, there’s no one who can protect him if he returns to Thunderer City. Besides, after that incident, the Relesha family’s movement has been severely restricted. They can’t cause another upset anymore."
"..." The vice principal fell silent for some time.
...
Meanwhile, Auric had been answering Professor Schad for a few hours.
"Very good. It looks like you are ready for the presentation." Professor Schad smiled.
"I will still study and review the materials again."
"Hahaha. Even though you are smart, you are hardworking. Excellent." Professor Schad nodded, satisfied.
"However, you surely have heard about the recent topic, right? Aren’t you worried about your own reputation, Professor?" Auric asked.
"Why should I? The least I can do is to stop anyone from bothering you until Wednesday. At that time, your debut will stun everyone, and the academy won’t be able to bother you anymore. That’s why I’m not worried."
"Is that so?" Auric smiled. It looked like Professor Schad intended to support him. As he said, the topic he planned to present was something that could make him famous overnight.
"In that case, you should go back and try to make the slides. We will review it tomorrow. Make sure to have a good rest tomorrow because Wednesday will be your big day. Understand?"
"Yes." Auric stood up and nodded politely to him. "In that case, thank you for your hard work today, Professor. See you tomorrow."
"You too." Professor Schad waved his hand.
While walking, Auric couldn’t help but think about the problem Rose had told him.
’Lindwurm. I might have been too impulsive this time.’
"What’s wrong?" Lindwurm asked.
’I acted impulsively. If I were in a normal state of mind, I would have thought about the potential danger that I might bring to Ellia.’
"Ah. You’re still worried about that." Lindwurm crossed his arms. "So, what do you think about this situation?"
’Well, a mistake is a mistake. I can’t undo it, but I can try to find a solution. The problem is that... what will happen to her after she loses a company?’
"According to that secretary, she probably can’t speak during a family meeting. Remember what Katarina told you back then? They might use this chance to either strike her completely or force her to marry someone."
Auric narrowed his eyes. ’Now, this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. My impulsive action had caused someone to end up in such a situation.’
"So, what are you going to do about it?"
’That’s what I’m thinking right now. Can I reveal one of my other identities? Maybe the Sun Store? Or the fact that I’m a unique element evolution master to stop it?’
"That might not be enough, not because it is not a strong weapon, but because it lacks justification. By revealing this information, people will ask, "Who is Ellia to you?"
"You can probably use a shield such as proclaiming her as your girlfriend or something. However, think about it in another way."
’Another way?’ Auric shook his head.
"Yes. Think about it like this, once you’re known to be someone like that, those people from her family are going to suck you dry. Your movement will be extremely limited, and if you try to break free from her, they will use that as an excuse to use her."
’Ah. If her family knows about it, they will confine me so I can grow in a safe environment. At that time, my skills will be underdeveloped. At the same time, they’re going to do this and that to get the favor of the powerful.
’If I feel suffocated, I might end up leaving. At that time, Ellia will become someone who can’t keep someone like me in the family. As such, she will be branded useless, and her family will make her do whatever they want, and she won’t be able to fight back anymore.’
"Precisely. Of course, unless you like her and want to marry her and are ready to be used by her family."
Auric’s face was distorted.
"See? Just the thought alone annoyed the hell out of you."
’Well, is there another possibility?’
"Because of your skills and uniqueness, you need to become strong first. This way, you won’t be taken advantage of easily. In the end, the one with the strongest fist is the right one. With that, you can help her break free from her family."
’Well, I don’t think I can do that yet, unless I reveal my identity. Then, it will just go back to the first problem.’
"Exactly."
Auric crossed his arms, pondering. ’How about I use this presentation? Professor Schad told me that this research could actually help create a lot of other things, right? Can’t she make a business out of it? This way, I can help her while earning some money.’
"That might be possible. However, you need to know what kind of business she currently has first. If that’s not aligned with her current business, it’s the same as asking her to spend a lot of money setting up the necessary research and infrastructure. It is going to risk her standing even more."
’The situation is rather hard to fix...’
Lindwurm nodded. He actually thought that this kind of problem would be good for Auric’s development.
By realizing that his actions could cause consequences that he might not be able to fix, Auric could be more careful in the future.
Besides, he wasn’t worried too much about Ellia.
Lindwurm said, "This is not a simple problem. How about you focus on what’s in front of you first? Then, after the path has been opened, more options might appear."
’Let’s do that for now.’ Auric sighed. He felt responsible, but he couldn’t exactly find a solution.
So, the only option for him was to do well at the conference. If he still couldn’t find a solution even after this, he might ask Mathias for advice.
...
While Auric was going back to the mansion, Vera had finally arrived at the hospital.
She knocked on the door first before taking a peek inside, finding Eric and Tommi. "It looks like you’re having fun right now."
"!!!" Tommi couldn’t help but stand up. "Senior Vera."
He respected her, but he didn’t exactly admire her. Instead, he stood up so that he could bow his head. "Thank you for saving Eric."
"Thank you for helping me." Eric also lowered his head. "I will repay this debt."
"Not at all. Your strength was what helped you survive that kind of ordeal." Vera waved her hand before turning to Tommi. "Can I get a bit of time with him?"
"Of course. I’m going to grab a drink." Tommi agreed without hesitation.
Once Tommi left, a small smile appeared on Vera’s face. "How are you?"
"I’m good. I can return to the academy tomorrow."
"That is good. In that case, once you come back, I will give you a small gift."
"A gift? You have saved my life. How can I even accept your gift?"
"You should know Auric challenged Trevor, right? I earned a lot of points from that match. I wanted to share it with him, but he told me to share it with you instead." Vera chuckled.
"That’s..."
"You don’t feel like accepting?" Vera chuckled. "Well, if Ellia were to give me something, I definitely wouldn’t accept it."
"Then..." Eric’s eyes brightened.
"Unfortunately, this time it wouldn’t matter if you accepted it or not." Vera shook her head. "I already exchanged the points for several items that might suit you. They can’t be exchanged back, so if you don’t accept them, I have no choice but to throw them away."
"What?" Eric was taken aback. He wanted to protest, but Vera’s expression suddenly turned solemn.
"You know..." Vera looked up as though she were recalling a memory. "...I was compared with Ellia a lot, like... a LOT!
"Being born into such a family can guarantee that you will live in luxury for the rest of your life. However, you won’t be able to live freely.
"At a young age, I was trained not only as a talented fighter but also as a bride. A bride who would steal all the achievements, money, and connections that my future husband has for the family.
"I’ve been doing my best to show them that I’m strong, but it has never been enough. I keep losing to Ellia.
"I have done my best, but in the end, it won’t change my fate. While I do hate her, I am somehow envious of her. Even though she has a unique-element avatar, she has a certain say in her family.
"If her family wants her to marry someone, she can simply reject the proposal. Meanwhile, if I do the same thing, my family will bury me. They will cut off financial support, which will make me progress at a slower pace. It will result in my not being able to keep up, and so on.
"This world... is fair and unfair at the same time. You win some, you lose some. You can have a powerful element, but it is harder to evolve.
"Being good with a sword, good at elemental manipulation, and so on can be considered a talent. But what matters most is actually your determination."
Vera looked at Eric with a sincere smile. She recalled what had happened to him. "When I saw you back then, I realized that I wasn’t determined enough. If I were to do 120% of my best, I might actually be able to change my fate.
"I never realized it all this time. Ellia might have been that determined or... desperate. Because of that, she was able to achieve all that.
"Thanks to you, I’ve realized what I need to do in the future. That’s why this is my thanks to you.
"Please don’t reject it."
Eric froze. Looking at an expression that he never thought she could make left him dumbfounded.
"As for saving your life, how about you repay me in another way? You have to do well in the future first. After all, I prefer a situation in which we both owe each other something rather than making it even." Vera winked playfully.
