Chapter 312 Volume V - Chapter 30: Two Meetings
I sighed slightly as I facepalmed myself. Immediately after, a curious and rather raised voice entered my ears.
"So... they let you stay at the academy even though you're an elf?!"
Julian spoke with a somewhat disbelieving expression on his face as his eyes were examining my body, especially my ears. Sue interjected soon after.
"Is that what you're wondering when it's strange that he wasn't thrown in jail in the first place?"
Julian took his eyes off me and turned them to Sue, who was sitting calmly across from him.
"You don't seem surprised that he's an elf for some reason... Did you know it from the beginning?"
Sue ignored Julian's narrowed eyes.
"First of all, he's not an elf, he's a half-elf. Second... no, I didn't know, but I've been witnessing too many things lately to be surprised something like this anymore."
As the two of them continued to bicker, I glanced at Lucia sitting in the chair to my right out of the corner of my eye. When she saw me looking at her, she simply turned toward Julian and Sue.
"Stop it, you two... You are forgetting why we are here in the first place."
The two paused for a moment. A brief silence fell over the room as they both slowly turned to Lucia. So, I turned back to my 'group of friends' who had so far refused to let me speak.
"They've already said most of it on the news... If you've looked at even one of them, there's not much left for me to add. I just wanted to contact you first because you are the closest people to me."
To be honest, I was quite nervous before I told them that we could meet...
What if they think I've deceived them, and they move away from me? What if they don't want to see me as their friend anymore? What if they're disappointed that I didn't tell them my secret...?
After the day I entered the academy, when I woke up the next morning, my chat app was full of six hundred message notifications from the study group... I was scared to read them. In the end, I invited them to meet me in my room, saying that whatever would happen would happen face to face.
But... it was a very different atmosphere than I had expected.
Even though the academy was on summer vacation, Julian had returned here for a short time from his family as soon as he heard the news about me. When I called them to meet him, he was also the first one to come to my room.
When I opened the door and found him in the hallway, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed, I couldn't help but think for a moment that what I had feared was happening. My fear was intensified when he quietly walked in and plopped down on one of my couches.
Sue arrived a few minutes later, followed by Lucia. Celine had written something from the study group but couldn't come to the meeting because of her situation. And Alice... there was basically no sign of her.
So that set the mood. It was only when we actually started talking... that I realized how wrong I had been.
Yes, Julian seemed a little angry with me. But he didn't express it in an aggressive way. In fact, he hardly expressed it at all... He just looked puzzled, that's all. Sue looked strangely confused, but she quickly accepted it. Meanwhile, Lucia seemed thoughtful.
Still, it wasn't like they were yelling at me or trying to end our friendship. On the contrary... they were curious about completely different things. They even started arguing about what I was going to do in the future without even giving me a chance to talk about it.
They were more worried about me being half an elf than what might happen to me at the academy because of it. Which... was something I simply didn't expect.
"So... I... I'm sorry. If you think I didn't trus-"
"Oh, is that why you're sweating where you sit?"
Julian sighed lightly after not letting me continue.
"No one among us is angry with you for not telling your secret... A secret is a secret. I have secrets of my own. Lucia has hers. So does Sue. And you must have a lot of secrets you haven't told yet. Secrets are not something to be told and used as a test of trust, Adrian. What I'm angry about... is that you act as if we're going to alienate you in spite of that."
Lucia continued as Sue nodded slightly.
"It makes no difference to me that you're an elf, or a half one. I don't think it will for Julian, Sue, Celine or Aiden. What we're discussing here now... is how we should move forward in the academy with this reality."
She reached for her black mask for a moment. She tossed her hair back as she straightened it slightly, then fixed her blood red eyes on me.
"In the past, most of the students didn't mess with you because you were strong, regardless of your background. But now it's different. Right now, your background is a complete mess. Everyone thought you were someone who rose from the streets, but now that you've been revealed as an elf in disguise, there will be many who will think that background is a lie."
She paused for a moment. She seemed to think for a moment as if something had suddenly occurred to her, but then she continued.
"Even if it turns out that you are telling the truth about this... you could face racism. Even though the academy regulations only require you to be a Cevilian citizen to be a student here, you are the only person of a different race in the academy. So... the students will no longer see you as you were before."
I didn't change my expression one bit as I involuntarily tilted my head slightly to the side.
"Why is that a big deal...? Even if people's gaze feels different, it's nothing I can't get used to."
Lucia sighed deeply once again.
"Even if it's not important for you, it's important for your professional life, Adrian. People will criticize you no matter how strong you are. And that will affect your reputation. And the worse your reputation gets, the less you will be able to do in the future and the more problems you will face."
Oh... I've never looked at it like that. When I use that perspective of what might happen, it makes being an elf seem like a bigger problem than it really is.
"I kind of get it... So what should I do about it?"
This time Sue quickly jumped into the conversation.
"You have to change the way people look at you, basically. You need to work harder than you used to and put your achievements and the fact that you are a citizen of this kingdom on the stage more than the fact that you are an elf. Then people won't care that you're an elf anymore, at least I hope and think that way."
Julian nodded in agreement. He started to say something of his own. But... it was at this point that something struck me. So I interrupted him.
"If my reputation goes down... won't it affect your reputation as well?"
Julian quickly shook his head from side to side.
"On the contrary, people's opinion of you will improve when they see that you remain friends with us. We are nobles, Adrian. Lucia and I both come from the pillar families of the kingdom. There may be a few inconveniences for Sue... but they will probably be far outweighed by the effects that Lucia and I will cause."
Immediately after that, Lucia confirmed that Sue would not be affected, along with her own thoughts. Sue was... frankly, largely indifferent to the talk about her.
In this way, Julian and Lucia moved on to another rather long conversation between themselves. They were talking about improving my reputation and making sure that Sue would not be affected... but this meeting, which I had planned to simply explain the situation, took a very different turn.
Aside from the fact that what I feared had happened, it was a great relief to see that what I had hoped would happen had happened. As I watched my friends arguing amongst themselves... I felt happy again to have met these people.
At the same time... I felt even more grateful to Aiden, who had been instrumental in my meeting these people. I found myself even more excited and wanting to try to heal him.
And so... time flew by.
*******
"Calvin. Begin talking."
I looked at the old man squinting at the holographic screen just above the table where I was sitting.
There was not a single hair on his head that had not grayed. With the wrinkles on his face and the collapsed appearance of his body, he looked like a man at the end of his life. He was definitely one of the oldest 'humans' in the world.
However... this old age was by no means a hindrance to him. On the contrary, it made him look even more frightening than he already was.
Besides the old man, there were five other people who appeared on the screen with him. And so, I started talking.
"Adrian Caleo... has indeed been chosen by the ordea. And even though his status is shown as a rookie, he has a C grade tolerance and a C- grade limit. He has really high potential. Besides that... even without ordea, he seems to be quite strong. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but... I think he can become as strong as Lithoa Laergas."
The old man's eyes twitched. He waited for a brief moment as past memories flashed before his eyes.
Of course it would be like that... After all, he had met this man, Lithoa Laergas, face to face long ago. That aside, he had suffered a bitter defeat against him.
"Are you sure, Calvin? The man you're talking about is on a completely different scale. Are you sure that someone who hasn't even turned twenty can become as powerful as him?"
When I nodded my head in agreement without hesitation, this time everyone on the screen couldn't help frowning slightly.
"Even though he's a half-blood, there's no imbalance in his body. Everything is... perfect. He is literally the embodiment of perfection as if he was created to be especially strong. As a half-elf, he has a mana heart and circulatory system. On top of that, he has human blood, so he has access to the system. And his talent... I don't think I even need to mention it."
After my words, one of the people on the screen opened his mouth to speak. He was the most gigantic of us all, bald with his eyes closed. With a slightly darker skin color and a single horn on the left side of his head, he looked like a real demon.
"If what you say is true... it is a miracle that Saligia has kept him alive so far. We should change our minds and start training him now."
I answered him quickly, shaking my head from side to side.
"No, I don't think that would be a good method."
The huge and bald hannya immediately frowned.
"Why is that?"
"Because as perfect as I say he is, his mind is not fully developed. Adrian Caleo is naive. He still has much to live and learn. If we take him to the Valley right now, he will become stronger without changing or developing this mindset. I think it makes more sense for him to... experience things first. I will continue to teach him how to use the ordea, as agreed with the leaders of Lunerra, to give him a good foundation."
One of the six, a woman with pointed ears, tried to interject quickly, but the old man did not let her. He had a serious expression on his face, he was really thinking carefully. But... he didn't seem to want to move quickly.
"If that's what you think... I trust you, at least for now, Calvin. We will not go back on our decision and will proceed in the same way. When the time comes, we'll deal with him according to where he is. If he really is what you say he is... then he will take the place of one of us in the future anyway."
There were certainly those who were not happy about the decision. It was easy to see it in the way they looked. The elven woman who was not allowed to speak was one of them. Yet no one said anything.
"Keep watching him. Guide him appropriately, Calvin. This meeting is over."
Before anyone could object or say anything, the meeting ended abruptly. I found myself alone in the darkness of my room. And all I could do was... sigh deeply.
I wonder what will happen in the future... First Aiden, now Adrian... I can hardly keep track of what's happening anymore.
The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on fr(e)𝒆webnov(e)l.com