CHAPTER 293: A TALE AS OLD AS TIME

"A wish?" Lapiz looked at Alex as if trying to see if he was joking or not. "If I join your club, you’re going to grant my wish?"

"Yes," Alex replied. "As long as it’s within my means, I will grant any wish. Just don’t ask me to give you the moon and the stars. I don’t think I can make that possible anytime soon."

Lapiz stared into Alex’s eyes, and the young man didn’t back down.

Before Lapiz had been permitted to leave the Elven Kingdom of Faelarun, Elven Instructors thoroughly taught her the art of detecting lies. And so far, no matter how long she stared at the silver-haired young man, there was not a single hint of lie in his words and body language.

"Okay, I’ll join your club," Lapiz said. "As for my wish, can I ask for it at a later time? I can’t think of any right now."

"Understood." Alex nodded, casually pulled out a registration form from his storage ring, and handed the paper over to Lapiz. "After you’re done filling up the form, just hand it to me tomorrow. You can find me at the clock tower after class. That is where our club room is located."

"Thank you." Lapiz smiled faintly. "I’ll hand it over tomorrow."

They chatted for a few more minutes before the young elven lady bid Alex goodbye and returned to the Vermillion Crest Dormitory, temporary home to the children of noble families.

The young man watched her go until her back faded into the distance.

Just as he was about to leave, a hand held his shoulder from behind, holding him in place in a vice grip.

"Oi, what did you and my sister talk about?"

The most perfect heroine of ELO emitted a powerful killing intent as she held Alex in place.

"Nothing much," Alex replied, not even bothering to remove the hand on his shoulder. "I just asked her if she was interested in joining my club."

"And why would she join your club, huh?" Aeris asked coldly. "She’s already in my club. Don’t get near my sister, Alex Stratos. If you do, I will end you."

Alex scoffed before turning his head to look at the gorgeous lady, whose beauty could bring down the downfall of a nation.

But unlike most students in the academy who all wished Aeris would give them even just one glance, Alex wasn’t charmed by her beauty.

He fearlessly met her gaze, not backing down from the pressure she was exuding.

"Do you know why Lapiz wants to leave your club so badly?" Alex asked.

"Of course!" Aeris replied. "It’s because I’m not giving her enough attention, right?"

"Wrong," Alex shook his head. "It’s because you have gorilla-like strength... awwww!"

The young man had forgotten that Aeris was still holding on to his shoulder, and due to his words, the beautiful elf applied more pressure by accident.

Realizing what she had done, she immediately let him go and took out a potion from her storage ring, offering it to him in a hurry.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you," Aeris said. "Please take this."

Alex accepted the flask and chugged it down.

When he felt that the potion had finally worked, he also apologized, knowing that he was also in the wrong.

"I’m sorry," Alex replied. "I didn’t think my words through either. But if you’re willing, I have a little advice, Senior Aeris. The more you try to control your sister’s life, the more she would distance herself from you.

"If you’re not careful, it will affect her mental state of mind until it goes past the point of no return. I’m sure that you of all people don’t want your sister to have a mental breakdown, right?"

"Of course not." Aeris’ expression became solemn.

Alex knew that Aeris really loved her sister.

But too much love could also hurt someone, especially for Lapiz who was constantly being compared to her perfect older sister.

"Senior Aeris, let Lapiz join my club," Alex said. "What she needs right now is a place where she can independently grow and develop her true potential."

"Do you really think your club can do that?" Aeris asked, still in doubt of whether she should trust Alex or not.

"Yes," Alex replied without hesitation. "She’s in good hands."

Aeris’ gaze never left Alex’s face since their talks had begun.

Just like what Lapiz had done earlier, she was looking for any signs of falsehood in his words.

But she saw none.

Alex’s words were sincere, and even though she didn’t want to admit it, the members of Endless Horizon had proven themselves to be very capable individuals.

"Then tell me one thing," Aeris said in a serious tone. "Is my sister beautiful?"

She just wanted to be sure. What if Alex had a malicious intent for inviting Lapiz to join his club?

After hearing Aeris question, Alex chuckled as if he was hearing a joke for the first time.

"Beautiful?" Alex asked in contempt. "A single word is not enough to describe all of Lapiz’s good points.

"Not only is she beautiful, she’s also dependable, trustworthy, diligent, modest, elegant, humble, kind, caring, reliable, honest, hardworking, generous, gentle, talented, selfless, disciplined, graceful, radiant, and has a smile that could make demons rethink their life choices."

Aeris blinked. "...That many?"

Alex nodded firmly. "I’m not even done yet. She’s noble, loyal, supportive, thoughtful, and—above all—she has the rare gift of being the perfect little sister anyone could wish for. If you asked me to make a list of her good points, I can confidently write three hard cover books and publish them for the entire world to see!"

If she were being honest, she found Alex’s word’s impressive. So much that she was tempted to lock Alex up so the bastard would never see her sister ever again.

"Well, I do agree that she is the best little sister in the world," Aeris nodded.

"Right?" Alex smiled. "So, sister-in-law—errr, I mean, as her older sister, you should not be too overprotective of her and allow her to spread her own wings to soar in the sky. Don’t worry—I, Alex Stratos, promise to protect her in your stead!"

"... Is it just me or do you look like a bad person right now?" Aeris narrowed her eyes because she could sense that Alex seemed to hold some feelings for her sister. "Can I really entrust my sister to you?"

"Of course." Alex patted his chest with confidence. "Senior Aeris, please trust me like you trust your relatives."

Aeris blinked. "... I don’t trust my relatives."

Alex froze. "Oh. Uh... then trust me like you trust your sword, then!"

Aeris tilted her head. "My sword once broke during a duel."

"Okay, okay, bad example," Alex coughed lightly. "Then trust me like... like you trust a good pair of shoes! You walk with them every day, they support you, never betray you—"

"My last pair of shoes got destroyed during our last dungeon expedition while we were being chased by a high-ranking monster," Aeris commented.

"...Wow. You have a rough life," Alex muttered before quickly recovering. "Alright, new analogy. Trust me like you trust gravity. Always there, always dependable, keeps you grounded!"

The young lady was about to say something, but Alex would probably not run out of analogies, so she decided to hold back.

"Fine," Aeris sighed. "I’ll trust you just this once. But if something happens to my sister, I’ll make you regret it for life. Do I make myself clear?"

"Loud and clear," Alex replied. "Thank you for giving me and Lapiz a chance. I will not let you down."

"You better." Aeris glared before walking away.

When the young lady was finally out of sight, Alex was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

’I guess I’ll return to the dormitory for now,’ Alex thought.

The young man walked away, not knowing that Lapiz had witnessed a huge chunk of their conversation, left unnoticed as she hid behind a tree.

She initially came back because she had a question to ask Alex only to encounter such a surprising scene. While she may not have heard the entire conversation, she at least heard the part where Alex described all of her good points.

As someone who had an inferiority complex and was always compared to her sister, she felt warmth spread inside her chest as she recalled everything that Alex had said.

It was as if someone had given affirmation to all the hard work that she had done in the past, making her tear up a bit.

"What a strange human..." Lapiz muttered as she left her hiding place and looked in the direction of the Ironheart Dormitory.

She then looked at the registration form in her hands with determination before heading in the direction of her own dormitory.

The young lady was still hesitating whether she should join Endless Horizon or not. But after hearing Alex’s words, she felt that she should at least give it a chance.

Somewhere in the academy, in the tallest tower that belonged to the Headmaster, a young lady wearing a fox mask was holding a crystal ball in her hand.

Within it, Lapiz’s image could be seen as she walked back to her dormitory.

"The threads of fate tremble," the young lady said as she traced her hand on the crystal ball. "Should her heart falter, darkness shall claim her soul. The gentle little sister... will become the vessel of calamity. Do you have what it takes to save her... Alex?"

The light on the crystal ball slowly faded, its soft glow dimming until only the faint outline of Lapiz remained.

Then—

Darkness consumed the room.

From within that darkness, a laugh that belonged to a devil echoed, as if enjoying an amusing tale that was as old as time.

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A/N: Second Chapter will be posted 2 hours from now.