After putting on the expensive clothes that Vera had left in his room, Lux looked in the mirror and sighed.
In front of him was a handsome Half-Elf with short red hair and green eyes, who would easily pass as a celebrity back on Earth. Sometimes, Lux wondered how differently things would have ended in his past life if his looks had been as good as this.
Truth be told, Lux would sometimes think that he was in a dream. There had been more than one occasion when he said to himself that if everything was a dream, then he didn't want to wake up.
Fortunately, he was clear that this was his new reality, and he had decided to live this life to the fullest.
Just as he finished brushing his hair, a knock was heard from the door, and his Grandma Vera looked at him with a smile on her face.
"My grandson is really handsome," Vera complimented as she walked towards Lux to take a closer look at him. "Are you almost done?"
"Yes, Grandma," Lux replied. "I can go anytime."
"Good. Iris will take a while before she can finish her preparations, so go ahead and go to the Event Hall."
"You're not coming with me, Grandma?"
Vera shook her head. "I'm going with Iris later. You're the Champion of the Tournament, so there are many people who want to meet you. If I were to go with you, wouldn't they think that I'm a third wheel or something?"
Vera's teasing tone made Lux smile. He knew that his grandma didn't like mingling with strangers that much and preferred the company of those she knew, like the Guardians of Wildgarde Stronghold and her family in Barbatos Academy.
"I'll see you later," Vera said as she fixed the non-existent creases in Lux's robes. "Several ladies might approach you later. Although you are already Iris' fiance, having more grandchildren is best."
Vera gave Lux a wink before leaving the room. The Half-Elf knew that his grandma wasn't joking when she said that she wanted more grandchildren. Although he now had Iris, having more than one wife was very normal in Solais and Elysium.
This was especially true for High-Ranking nobles, as well as people who had a very high status in society.
A few minutes later, the Half-Elf walked through the spacious hallways that led to the Event Hall. Along the way, he met several people, and most of them gave him greetings as he walked past them.
Lux also returned their greetings because it was the polite thing to do. Now that he was known as the strongest youth in his generation, he had to set a good example in order to not tarnish his and his Grandma Vera's reputation.
When Lux entered the large doors of the Event Hall, the Master of Ceremonies shouted his name, causing countless eyes to glance in his direction.
The Half-Elf just smiled as he walked with confidence. After encountering so many hardships in Elysium, as well as fighting in the Lionheart Tournament, he didn't feel any pressure even with thousands of people looking at him.
Some looked at him in respect, awe, and admiration.
Others, jealousy and envy.
There were people who looked at him with contempt, but they were merely outliers. Lux didn't mind because their thoughts didn't matter to him.
He was the Champion of the Tournament, and he didn't need to prove himself to anyone in the Event Hall.
While Lux was scanning his surroundings, he inadvertently saw Cai pushing a trolley into the buffet area. The Boar was taking a bit of every meat dish it came across, while completely ignoring the vegetable dishes.
Not far from it was Keane, who held a small plate filled with vegetables and fruits.
Unlike Cai who liked meat, Keane preferred fruits and vegetables. Although the mysterious swordsman could eat meat as well, he would choose to eat fruits and vegetables as long as they were available.
"Ah, My Daddy. Come here and join us," Cai said as soon as it saw Lux, who was already walking in their direction. "You look good in that suit. As expected of someone who is a member of our Secret Organization, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."
Lux wanted to say that he was not a part of its not-so-secret organization, but he knew that Cai would completely ignore any words of rebuttal, so he decided to not waste any of his breath trying to correct the Boar, who had taken Second Place in the Tournament.
"Can you eat all of that?" Lux asked as he gazed at the piled up meat dishes on Cai's food trolley. "You really are a pig."
"Shut up," Cai replied. "I'm a growing Boar, so this is only normal. Just look at Little Swordy. All he's eating is fruits and vegetables. That's probably why he looks so skinny. I've been pestering him to eat some meat, but he just tells me to mind my own business."
"That's right," Keane said. "Mind your own business."
Cai snorted. "See? How stubborn. You should talk some sense into him, My Daddy."
"It's Lux," Lux commented. "Stop calling me My Daddy."
"But you are My Daddy, no?"
"I am not your daddy."
"Tsk."
Lux felt really helpless because Cai was not the only one who referred to him as My Daddy. Even the people who had greeted him earlier called out to him as "My Daddy," instead of his real name, Lux, which made the Half-Elf regret choosing that name to hide his identity.
Just as the three of them were about to go to the table that was reserved for the Elite 4 of the Tournament, Gilmore, as well as a few of his cohorts walked up to Lux, Cai, and Keane, who held plates filled with food.
"All three of you are going to the Sacred Dungeon, right?" Gilmore, one of the Four Kings, asked in a tone that was only audible for those who were close to his vicinity.
"Yes," Cai answered before Lux and Keane could even reply to Gilbert's question. "They are coming with the Rowan Tribe's delegation."
Since Lux and Keane had already agreed to join its Faction in the Dungeon Expedition, it made sure to tell Gilmore that the Blondie Swordsman couldn't poach its two VIP guests from its team.
"I see," Gilbert said in a slightly disappointed tone. However, the other party's disappointment didn't last long and was quickly replaced with determination. "It seems that all of us will be competing in the fastest clear in the Normal Difficulty. Let me make things clear, I will catch up to the three of you soon. In the next tournament, the one who will win will be me."
After saying his words, Gilmore and his entourage left, leaving a confused looking Lux and Keane behind.
Seeing their reactions, Cai could only chuckle.
"No one knows what we are planning to do," Cai explained in hushed tones. "The Normal Difficulty is already hard to clear, and not many are even able to clear it."
"In the ten years since the Sacred Dungeon was discovered, the Normal Difficulty has been cleared only two times, and only a handful of warriors were left each time that happened. We're not like those weaklings. Either we go Hell Mode, or we go home!"
The Boar had a serious expression on its face, which was very different from its happy-go-lucky attitude.
"But, why do we need to go clear the Hell Mode instead of the Normal Mode?" Lux asked. He didn't mind going to Hell Mode because he already promised to go, but he was curious why the Boar was so adamant in challenging the hardest difficulty setting of the Sacred Dungeon.
Cai didn't answer right away, but its expression turned extremely sad for some reason. Only after the three of them were seated at their table did it start to talk about the reason why it wanted to challenge the Hell Mode of the Sacred Grove.
"It's because according to an ancient text, a certain flower blooms inside the Hell Mode of the Sacred Domain," Cai explained. "That flower can cure many illnesses, including the Purple Plague."
Lux and Keane both looked at the Boar in disbelief because they knew that the Purple Plague was the plague that erupted more than a hundred years ago during the Hundred-Year-War.
It was a plague that wiped out entire kingdoms, and was said to still have no cure, even to this day.
