Days later...
Vicente was finally back in Saltstar City after almost four months since Lina Seidel's departure.
After a long trip in which he had completed some of his goals, he was back home to continue watching Nina grow up.
Arriving in the city early in the morning, he would soon see all of his most regular contacts locally, from Jasmine and Layla to Nova, Eva, and Newton.
Some of his weaker men had strengthened when he was away, but none among his stronger subordinates had improved in level.
They were certainly stronger with each passing day. However, they still needed to make progress to significantly change their current capabilities.
Onyx had finished his dormant period after devouring the 'ordinary' flesh of the superior vampire's body. He was already at the end of the 4th stage, but that wasn't enough for him to become a Paragon.
However, when Vicente saw Onyx on his estate that day, he noticed that this creature was very close to advancing to the 5th stage.
If he gave Onyx any 5th-grade resources in the future, this beast would likely evolve stages quickly!
In addition to the improvements in the strength of the men and beasts in the group, the Fuller family was more influential than ever. With the local nobles aware of how strong he was and with the recent agreement with King Seidel, he was now practically a celebrity to whom everyone wanted to be connected.
The result? In those four months or so out of the city, his family made new deals with provincial nobles while the family's part in the provincial underworld advanced, conquering more men and cities under their control.
Even Nova had greatly improved her influence over the soldiers of the royal army in the province. She had created her faction earlier, and now this group already had 200 Captains and 5 Commanders.
She also had 4 of the 10 soldiers in charge of Saltstar City's Martial Court on her side, a significant amount of support for Vicente.
With all this local support, few things could stand in the way of Vicente's group now!
This was his best moment when he had to grow up before new challenges hit him.
And so, soon, he would experience a few months of peace to do his business and cultivate without too much stress or sudden commitments!
...
11 months later...
In the blink of an eye, Nina had grown up a lot and left almost all her childish traits behind, reaching 12, just a few months shy of her 13th birthday.
When she arrived at the Saltstar City Royal Academy this morning, this beautiful young woman, 1.55 meters tall, with body curves that were increasingly remarkable for young people of her age and a beautiful smile similar to her mother's, all the students in the surrounding area couldn't help but stare at her.
Nina was not only one of the most beautiful girls at the academy, who was in her penultimate year there. She was one of the best students, with one of the top five grades in the entire institution.
She was already guaranteed a place at the Seidel Magical College, but even if she hadn't, her good grades would have ensured her success in entering it.
Many boys looked at Nina with thoughts of how incredible she was and how lucky one would be to be by her side. At the same time, the girls were thinking about how she was a great competitor or even an inspiration to more ordinary girls.
Nina was still deaf, and she always would be. Her condition was irreversible. But her physical fitness had improved a lot in recent months thanks to the resources Vicente had obtained from the two secret Cataclysm Order outposts and the things he had bought.
Previously, she had problems getting around, but now that problem no longer existed. Her physical condition had reached an excellent level, and she was now even stronger, faster, and more resilient than almost all the young people her age in Saltstar City.
Nina had not yet awakened her magical powers, of course. But her physical strength was already similar to that of a Junior Apprentice.
Newton and the other doctors in the Fuller family now believed her physical strength was already similar to that of a Junior Apprentice.
that her chances of awakening her powers were not bad, although there was still a greater chance of her failing than succeeding in getting her Magic Gem.
However, before she left Millfall to come and live in Saltstar City, her chances of successfully awakening her magical powers were less than 2%; now, she had more than a 25% chance of succeeding in her Magic Awakening.
Even so, Vicente continued to invest in his sister, with Newton and the family doctors working together to keep looking for better chances for her.
Finally, on arriving at the academy at the time she always did, Nina was soon next to Killian, her best friend there.
Seeing Nina, Killian couldn't help but feel differently about her. Previously, he hadn't understood the comments made by his sister and Nina's brother. But now that he was nearing his 13th birthday and already looked more like a grown man than a child, he couldn't help but see the interesting 'attributes' of his friend's body.
He tried not to think too much about these parts of Nina, but he found himself looking at her waist or bust every now and then.
It was something stronger than him, something beyond his control!
But he was no fool. He didn't stare at Nina for too long to attract attention. He always found something to distract his mind from her body and avoid embarrassment...
Nina had already noticed a few moments when her friend looked at her differently than he used to in the past, but she still thought it was something innocent. She knew other boys looked at her, but she didn't think that of Killian yet.
After greeting him, she smiled and said, "Killian, do you know what I heard from my brother today? The train line between Saltstar City and Metal City will be ready in six months. How about you accompany me on the first train trip linking these two cities? We can get to know the city my brother is building."
Killian opened his eyes with interest. Vicente's trains had become famous in the province, and even powers from distant parts of the kingdom were talking about them. So it was only natural that he was very interested in it.
"This will be on our vacation... All right, it'll be a good opportunity."
