CHAPTER 263: AN UPDATE ON THE WAR.

Inside his room, Noah didn’t rest like he had told Ichigo or the other competitors. Instead, he felt compelled to return to his shop and check on the situation that had been weighing on his mind.

The civil war between the elves was growing increasingly complicated, and he would be a terrible shopkeeper if he left Lola and Leo alone during such dangerous times. While the shop’s magical protections would certainly defend them against any foolish attacks from the elves, Noah still didn’t want to abandon them during such dire circumstances.

Before departing, Noah made a quick call to his father, who hadn’t heard from him today. Alan asked various questions about the tournament experience, the food he was eating, and they shared the kind of normal father-son conversation that grounded Noah in familiar warmth.

After ending that call, he replied to Ethan’s message before deciding it was time to return. With a conscious thought, the portal materialised before him, and he stepped through.

Arriving inside the shop, Noah found Lola and Leo positioned by the window, observing whatever was happening outside with obvious concern.

Sensing his arrival, Lola immediately turned to face him, abandoning her surveillance despite the importance of whatever she had been monitoring.

She smiled upon seeing his face, recognising that he was no longer carrying the emotional burden that had weighed him down earlier.

"Welcome back, boss. Took you some time—just sixteen hours," she said with gentle teasing that carried underlying relief at his return.

Noah scratched the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed sigh. "My bad, I needed some time alone. Thank you for your words earlier... they really helped me process everything."

She nodded with understanding before a look of concern appeared on her face. "Anytime. But you might want to see this..."

Her gaze returned to the window, and Noah followed her line of sight. The view that greeted him resembled something from an apocalyptic nightmare—the area beyond his immediate surroundings had been completely transformed into a wasteland littered with bodies.

"How did this happen?" Noah asked with growing horror at the scale of destruction.

Lola began her narration.

"After you left, the fighting escalated beyond anything I’ve seen. They fought each other relentlessly, each fighter following his opponent until one of them died."

She gestured toward specific areas of devastation visible through the window.

"Those grandmasters began using stronger spells with a large area of effect. What made things worse is...you know..."

"I know." Noah interrupted her before nodding his head. He knew that his items had made these grandmasters have the ability to cast their powerful spells more than once, which made the devastation even worse.

Her voice carried growing concern as she continued.

"But the real tragedy began when massive numbers of master-level reinforcements arrived from both kingdoms."

Noah kept a straight face as he listened to Lola’s words. Whilst he was slightly affected, it wasn’t to the point that his judgement would be affected. He maintained a neutral position on the ongoing war. Sure, his items had amplified their powers, but the war was inevitable between these two kingdoms.

Ultimately, the devastation that they had caused was in their own hands. He hadn’t forced them to fight for the item, nor did he force them to use the items to destroy each other.

She pointed toward a particularly devastated section of the battlefield.

"Within those sixteen hours, both sides had lost most of their master-level forces or at least the ones that were sent."

With a calm but curious expression, Noah said. "There’s one thing I still want to know. What happened to the luxurious smoothie? Do you know?"

Lola shook her head. "I’m not sure," she admitted, her voice low. "But... I believe the dark elves might have managed to bring it to their leader."

Noah’s brows rose for the first time; he couldn’t believe that the light elves allowed the dark elves to deliver the item to their leader. "Why do you think that?"

Her tail gave a slight flick as she recalled the moment. "After an hour of watching the fighting outside, I realised something quite obvious. I was too weak. If things escalated and you were caught in it, I wouldn’t be able to protect you the way I should. So I chose to stay inside and practice. I focused on strengthening myself whilst waiting for your return."

Her eyes hardened, the memory clearly vivid. "But then... during my training, I sensed them. Two overwhelming auras are pressing down on the neutral zone; their powers are above all of the grandmasters on the battlefield. I stopped immediately. It didn’t take long to figure out who they were—the leaders of the light and dark elf factions."

Noah’s expression remained unreadable, though the sharpness in his gaze betrayed his interest. "Go on."

"The dark elf leader was the first to act. He didn’t want the fight to erupt here. Not sure about the reason, but he moved to draw the queen away. The light elf queen reacted instantly and pursued him. Her speed was... incredibly fast. She certainly used your energy drink to increase her speed. But, nonetheless, she cut through the air so fast that none of her own people could follow, not even the archamages. In seconds, the two of them vanished from sight."

Lola’s ears lowered slightly. "After that, there was nothing. I don’t know what became of them, or of the smoothie. But I believe the dark elf leader truly carried it, then the queen’s pursuit would make sense."

After hearing Lola’s perspective on the fight that had occurred while he was away, Noah had a few guesses. Lord Regent Darian had most likely lured the queen to fight for the item away from her grandmasters. As for the reason why the queen had fallen to his trick, Noah wasn’t sure.

But either way, Lola was right about one thing. They were both too weak, and without the shop, they were sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

His gaze turned towards the shelf where the items had been stocked.