Lux had just left Iris' residence in the Academy when a Boar "accidentally" met him when he was about to look for a gift for the blue-haired beauty, who was going to celebrate her birthday today.
"Oh, there you are, My Daddy," Cai said with a smile. "What a coincidence, I was looking for you."
Lux blinked as he looked at the Boar, who seemed to have gotten chunkier since he had last seen it. Little did the Half-Elf know, the prize money, which he had won as the Champion of the Tournament, was being used to pay for the food that the Boar had kept adding on his tab.
"Where are you going?" the Boar asked. "Are you planning to visit Little Swordy? He just regained consciousness this morning as well."
"Uhh… why not?" Lux thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea to visit the skinny swordsman, who he considered as an acquaintance after spending some time together during the tournament.
The Boar chatted non-stop with Lux all the way to the infirmary, telling him about a particular Dungeon that bordered the territories where the factions of the Six Kingdoms belonged in Elysium, which would open in a few days.
According to the Boar, the entry to the Dungeon was highly restricted, so only the guilds that had received the approval of the Six Kingdoms would be allowed to enter its Domain.
"So, I was wondering if you and Little Swordy can join our Rowan Tribe in conquering the Hell-Mode of the Dungeon," Cai said. "Naturally, it will not be for free. If you do this for me, my Grandpa, who is a Saint, will owe you one favor."
Lux's curiosity was piqued after hearing Cai's words. Aside from Alexander, the Rowan Tribe Elder was one of the remaining Saints in the territories that belonged to the Six Kingdoms.
This was why the Rowan Tribe held great prestige, allowing them to move unhindered to the various territories that belonged to these nations.
Seeing that Lux seemed to favor the idea, the Boar decided to throw one more bone at the Half-Elf to make him agree to its request.
"Um, are you perhaps looking for a gift for Iris?" Cai asked. "Actually, I have the perfect gift with me. I was planning to give it to her after I became the Champion of the tournament. But since I didn't manage to win, I'll hand this gift over to you. Trust me when I say that this gift can never be bought with any currency in the world. It is one of a kind, and you will not see anything like it ever again."
Lux could tell that Cai wasn't making things up in order to bring him over to its side. After careful consideration, getting the favor of a Saint was already a wonderful thing. Although Alexander was his step-father, they weren't particularly close, so he didn't have the guts to ask the Headmaster of Barbatos Academy for any favors.
The Elder of the Rowan Tribe, on the other hand, was said to have a very good personality. Because of this, even Alexander allowed Iris to visit the Rowan Tribe in order to participate in their annual celebration as the representative of the Academy.
The gift that Cai had wanted to give to Iris if it won the tournament would surely be something special. Because of this, the Half-Elf was quite tempted to bite into the offer that was being dangled right in front of him.
"I'll decide after I see this gift of yours," Lux replied after thinking things over. "If it's good then I will join your team in exploring the Hell-Mode of the Dungeon."
"Alright! Make sure not to break your promise, okay?" Before the Boar could say other things, its body trembled, making its face look pale.
"Um, you go and visit Little Swordy first," Cai said. "Visit me in my room later. I need to do something first."
Cai didn't even bother to wait for the Half-Elf's reply and briskly strutted away, not even looking back at the bewildered Half-Elf, who looked at the retreating Boar in confusion.
'I guess I'll visit Keane first,' Lux thought before heading straight towards the Infirmary where the Skinny Swordsman was said to be staying.
—---
"How are you, Keane?" Lux asked as soon as he entered the room.
"Better since Cai is not here," Keane replied. "I swear that pig will be the end of me."
Lux chuckled as he dragged a chair to sit beside the swordsman's bed, giving him an appraising look.
"Congratulations on becoming the Champion," Keane said with a smile. "When I first saw you in the Qualifying Matches, I never thought that you would actually be the last one standing in this tournament."
"Thank you," Lux commented. "If you hadn't been weakened to the point of near-collapse, I'm sure that you would have been a strong contender for first place."
"There are no if's in this world," Keane said firmly. "Cai was meant to become your opponent in the final match. Although I didn't want to say this, there was a high chance that even if I wasn't injured that badly, Cai might have still won against me if it used its Trump Cards without holding back."
Lux nodded his head in agreement.
Even he didn't expect Cai to be so formidable. Perhaps if its last trump card had fully activated, Lux, as well as its summons, might not have been able to stand up against its Third Form.
"What are your plans after this?" Lux asked the skinny swordsman, who—in his eyes—was quite mysterious.
"The first thing I want to do is escape as far away from Cai as possible so I can attain true peace."
"Goodluck with that."
The two warriors gave each other a knowing smile before giving each other a bitter smile.
"You are going with Cai to the Dungeon?" Lux asked.
Keane nodded. "I just want peace. I can't attain it if I'm going to be stuck with it for life. How about you? Are you going?"
"Yes," Lux answered in a heartbeat.
"With you around, I think it is now possible for us to clear the Dungeon," Keane stated. "I'd also love to see how you fight in your peak. I wasn't able to get the opportunity because I was out cold."
Lux smiled, but still gave the mysterious swordsman assurance that he would do everything in his power to clear the Hell-Mode of the Dungeon, which was widely known to have crushed the Six Kingdoms' hopes when it came to being able to explore the secrets hidden inside its depths.
