Chapter 212: Prologue of Lord of Happiness [2]

Chapter 211

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Episode 53 - Prologue of Lord of Happiness [2]

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"You like that boy, don’t you?"

Lumina rose from her seat, looked at the old man with her face completely red, and waved her hands frantically.

"N-no, of course not... i-it’s not..."

But the old man interrupted her with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, my dear girl. It’s impossible to lie to me. I’m a being who has lived for hundreds of thousands of years."

Then he winked and added,

"Besides, your expression and your actions give you away, hahaha."

Lumina glared at him, her face still flushed red, and shouted,

"Shut up, old man."

The old man folded his arms and looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"You don’t respect your elders, do you, brat?"

At first glance, he looked like a disappointed grandfather criticizing the way his grandchildren had been raised. Lumina suppressed the urge to insult him.

Then she took a deep breath and calmed herself. Whenever Adel was involved, she always let her more childish side show.

And Lumina hated revealing that side of herself in front of people who could use it to make fun of her.

"I’ll get straight to the point, old man. I can remove the Curse of Consciousness, but in exchange, I want the Essence of Divinity."

The old man studied her expression. Then, without saying a word, he sat down beside Adel and looked back at Lumina.

"First, admit that you like him."

He pointed at Adel. Then he removed the bandage covering Adel’s eyes and brushed his bangs aside.

An unnaturally handsome face was revealed beneath it all.

But perhaps it was because of the maturity reflected in Adel’s features, or because after advancing to the Five-Star Realm, the appearance of Awakened individuals naturally became more attractive.

Lumina looked at Adel for a second. The next instant, she grabbed the log she had been sitting on and hurled it at the old man.

The old man remained expressionless. He didn’t move, and the log simply passed straight through him.

Then he looked at Lumina and sighed.

"Ah, children these days are so shy and cowardly. Don’t complain later when this boy finds a girl before he chooses you, or before you finally confess your feelings to him."

A vein throbbed on Lumina’s forehead as she shouted,

"Arghh! Damn it, old man. Just answer the damn question already. Do you accept my offer or not?"

The old man looked at her briefly before turning to Adel.

"My, I wonder how this boy is going to handle this brat’s personality once they end up in bed together..."

Boom!

A burst of Mana exploded right in front of the old man’s face. Unfazed, he casually waved his hand, and the dust vanished.

"Stop talking nonsense, you damned old man."

The old man sighed and finally looked at Lumina. This time, he set the jokes aside and spoke seriously.

"Mhm, so you possess a fragment of Authority, and on top of that, the power of time. Tell me, how many times have you turned back time?"

Lumina looked at the old man without showing any surprise. In previous regressions, she might have regarded him with suspicion, but not anymore.

Lumina answered,

"This is the ten-thousandth time."

The old man looked at her in astonishment.

"On average, how many years do you live in each timeline?"

"Five to six years."

"That means you’re an old woman... mentally."

"...?"

"Stop joking around, old man."

"Alright, alright. In that case, yes, you can remove the Curse."

Lumina nodded.

"Yes, but I want the Essence of Divinity. That’s all."

Without saying another word, the old man simply nodded.

"Very well. If you can do me this favor, I’ll not only give you the Essence of Divinity, but also a ’Flower of Dreams and Wishes’ and, of course, a piece of advice on how to make this boy fall in love with you."

Feeling several veins throb across her forehead, Lumina nodded while suppressing the urge to punch the old man.

"Fine, but what is this Flower of Dreams and Wishes?"

"It’s an elixir. It increases your mana depending on how well it was ’raised.’ It can also awaken two Traits, but keep in mind that you must know what your greatest dream is and what your greatest desire is. If you already know both of them, then you can drink the elixir."

Lumina nodded, slightly surprised.

Although this wasn’t her first time on the Floating Continent, she had never personally spoken with the Tree of Dreams and Wishes.

The reason was simple: she had never had any reason to do so.

As a result, she knew very little about the Tree’s abilities.

In any case, Lumina replied,

"Then I’ll remove the Curse now."

At that moment, the old man raised his hand, and Lumina stopped.

"Before that, when you leave, could you tell this boy to come visit me? I... I want to talk to him."

Lumina looked at the old man. This time he wasn’t joking. Instead, there was a mixture of emotions on his face.

Of course, Lumina couldn’t literally perceive emotions, so she simply interpreted the old man’s expression that way.

"Well, that’s not a problem. He was going to come to the Palace of the Chosen anyway."

"And when would that be?"

"Next year."

"Mhm, alright. Even so, tell him I’ll be waiting for him. Oh, and while you’re at it, tell him you like him."

Several veins bulged on Lumina’s forehead. Then she raised her fist. Seeing that, the old man sighed and thought,

’What a temper.’

***

Taking a sip of coffee, I sat at one of the outdoor tables of a café.

Astrid was sitting across from me, and just like me, she loved coffee.

It was probably what people called family genes.

In any case, after advancing to Five Stars, it didn’t take me long to return to the Imperial Capital.

I simply jumped off the island and flew back, though it was worth mentioning that the mana consumption required to fly at such a high altitude and cover the distance to the Imperial Capital was enormous.

Even as a Five-Star Awakened, I exhausted nearly 30% of my total mana.

"The nanny cried for an entire day."

At that moment, Astrid raised her head and looked at me with an angry expression.

"Do you know what I had to do to comfort her?"

"....."

"I had to tell her that you’re just a heart-breaking idiot."

"Cough... W-wait! Why did you tell her that?"

Astrid shrugged.

"Because I felt like it. Got a problem with that?"

"Aren’t you angry because I couldn’t come spend time with you every day?"

Astrid looked at me briefly. Then she turned her head away, crossed her arms, and puffed out her cheeks.

"No, that’s not it."

"Oh, really? Then I guess you won’t mind if I don’t come back for the rest of the month."

Astrid froze for a moment. Then she looked at me again, this time with a pitiful expression.

"No, wait. I was joking. It was just a joke."

The corners of my lips curled into a smile; sometimes it was better to tease those cheeky kids.

I took another sip of my coffee before letting out a sigh.

At that moment, Astrid stared at me intently. Then she asked,

"You look different. What exactly did you do?"

"Different in what way?"

"In the sense that every woman who walks by keeps staring at you, completely mesmerized and practically drooling, like they want to capture you and make you their husband."

"...."

"Are you going to make even more women cry?"

Astrid asked as though it were an innocent question. A vein throbbed on my forehead as I shook my head.

"No, I’m not going to make anyone cry. And I think my current appearance is because I’m now a Five-Star Awakened."

Astrid narrowed her eyes and, after a second, nodded.

"I see."

Astrid drank her coffee through a straw. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but feel surprised.

’What is this kid? Seriously, it’s like I’m talking to the devil.’

Inside my mind, my master’s laughter shook my mental fortitude.

Every time she laughed, exhaustion crashed over me.

Time passed, and we left the café.

We returned to the orphanage because it was time to take Astrid back.

We had spent several hours wandering around the Imperial Capital, strolling and chatting as usual.

Besides, I had to go somewhere I would be staying for a couple of days before returning.

’Well, it’s about time I enter the Memory Gate of Lord of Happiness.’

At first, I had no intention of completing the Memory Gate, since I was only going to use it as a training ground by taking advantage of the time difference.

After all, one hour outside was equivalent to one day inside a Memory Gate, although, of course, I couldn’t stay there for too long.

In the end, it was a story with a fixed progression, so eventually I would reach its conclusion.

’And the reason I’m going to complete this Memory Gate is because of a Unique Trait my master mentioned.’

It was a Trait that, unexpectedly, would be extremely useful to me.

As for the reason I was going to a specific place, it was to test my strength.

Once I completed the Memory Gate, I would test both the First and Second Forms, and by then I should have already learned the Third Form of Inverted Heaven.

So an isolated place, with no trace of other people, was the ideal location.

And above all, this Memory Gate might help me discover what my greatest Dream and my greatest Desire truly were, allowing me to consume the Flower of Dream and Desire.