Dealing with a preoccupied grandma

Vera looked at her grandsons with a serious expression on her face. She didn't doubt that it was time for Viel to go to Elysium, the opposite, it has already been a time since long ago. What preoccupied her was Lux. She knew he wasn't useless, she had never treated him as he was.

If possible, Vera didn't want Lux to go to Elysium because she was afraid that the boy's life would be endangered. Even if he had Viel to accompany him.

"Lux, my love, I know that you want to become a warrior and explore Elysium like your other friends. But you know better than anyone about your condition.!

"Grandma, I know that you love me and want only the best for me" Lux replied. "Also, I know that it is hard for you to believe me, but my body is now healed. I will no longer faint if I stress my body too much. Right Brother?"

Vera glared at Viel waiting for his answer. She wouldn't allow him to lie. Also, it's not like he will do it, Viel is and has always been a responsible and mature boy.

"It's true Grandma. Lux's condition is no longer present, his body is now healed."

Even after hearing Viel confirm Lux's situation, she shook her head firmly. "Lux, life is very precious. I will not let you enter Elysium until I personally see with my own eyes that what you are telling me is the truth. However, this will also be the last time. If you fail to convince me, you will no longer insist on going to Elysium. Do we have a deal?"

"Do I have your word, Grandma?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

It's not like Lux doubted Vera's words, she had never lied to him nor rejected his dream. She always allowed him to train as much as he could.

"Grandma, I'd like to introduce you to someone. He is the one that helped Lux." Viel said as Lux waited with expectation to see Vera's reaction.

"... don't tell me it's another one of those quack doctors you invited in the past?" Vera's face became stern.

"Don't worry, Grandma. This time it's not a bad person." Lux affirmed. "In fact, he also came here to personally talk to you."

"He wanted to talk to me?" Vera frowned. "Where is he?"

"In my room."

"... Lux, Viel. Did you just invite a random stranger inside our house while I was away?"

Vera's steady gaze made Lux feel like he was suffering from constipation and although Viel seemed fine, he was sweating buckets.

"Grandma, let us just introduce him to you first." Viel said. "If he's really a suspicious person, feel free to smack his head silly. But in moderation, please."

Vera reluctantly nodded her head and made a gesture for Viel to fetch the person that healed his brother, while she checked Lux's body. She had already decided that if she find something strange in her grandson, she would strangle him and feed his body to the crocodiles in the river.

A few minutes later, a child, who seemed to be around twelve years old, followed behind Viel with a smile.

Vera was surprised because she didn't expect that the person that her grandsons were talking about was actually a boy younger than them.

Suddenly, Vera's expression became serious as she stared at the young boy with dark-blue hair and gray eyes.

She was a warrior, so it was fairly easy for her to notice even the smallest of things when it came to people.

The first thing that alarmed her was that she couldn't sense the blue-haired boy's presence. It was as if the one following Viel was not a person, but just a passing breeze.

The second thing she noticed were the boy's eyes. Those eyes didn't belong to someone young, but a wise person that seemed to have lived for many years.

'A High-Ranker?' Vera thought as she extended her senses towards the boy who was now sitting in front of her.

"Good day. My name is Eriol, and I am the one that helped Lux fix his body." Eriol said with a smile. "Before anything else, I would just like to say that I am not someone dangerous for you or your family."

"Lux is already healed and, although his body still hasn't reached the standards to enter Elysium, it is no longer burdened by its past weakness. If he trains properly then going to the Newbie Area will not be an issue."

"Are you a ranker?" Vera asked. "What is your rank?"

Eriol blinked once then twice before realization hit him.

"Well, I'm not really a ranker…" Eriol replied. "But, if it will make you feel any better, you can think of me as one, even more powerful that a ranker I would say."

Vera narrowed her eyes. She didn't believe that someone like Eriol, one apparently more powerful than a ranker, would randomly choose to help her grandson. There was no free lunch in this world, and she was sure that the blue-haired boy had some hidden agenda.

'Lux must have something he wants.' Vera thought. 'I better get rid of him before he can do something to my family.'

"Such scary thoughts for an old lady, with all the respect." Eriol commented with a smile. "I swear by my name that I have no evil intentions regarding Lux or Viel. If I planned something so sinister, I would not have gone out of my way to meet with you, right?"

Vera's pupils shrank when she realized that the other person could read her thoughts. This was not the first time she had met someone with this ability. She had her fair share of fighting against these kinds of people in Solais and Elysium. The one thing that they all had in common was that all of them were troublesome opponents.

"Please, can't we have a proper discussion without you thinking of ways to kill me?" Eriol said with a bitter smile. "I came here to tell you that I will take Lux and Viel to Elysium with me and train them for a year. After that Lux will take the test here in the Wildgarde Stronghold again, so he and Viel can join your faction inside Elysium."

"Take them to Elysium?" Vera raised an eyebrow. "You're already a ranker. You can't possibly enter the Newbie Area."

Eriol briefly nodded his head in agreement. "There are laws in Elysium that divide the lands that people can explore depending on their ranks. However, I can bypass these laws and go anywhere unhindered."

"But, we both know that you won't allow Lux to go to Elysium unless he has proven himself capable of surviving by himself. As for Viel, as far as I know, he had already proven himself when he passed the Wildgarde Stronghold trial, right?"

"Yes." Vera answered.

"Well then, since both of us are in agreement, how about we all go on a little trip outside this stronghold?" Eriol proposed. "That way, you will be able to see with your own eyes if Lux had the qualifications to go to Elysium or not."

Vera didn't reply right away. Instead, she looked at her grandson who was giving her a pleading gaze.

In the end, she gave in and nodded her head.

"Very well," Vera said. "We will leave at first light. I want to see if my grandson is really cured of his sickness. If you can show me that he has the means to survive in Elysium then I will allow him to go there. However, if you are lying to me… I don't care who you are, or where you are from. I will ensure that you never see my grandson again. Do I make myself clear?"

Eriol smiled. "Ok, we'll do as you say. I'm waiting for tomorrow."

"Grandma, as much as I would love to see Lux prove himself, I have other things to do. Don't get me wrong, I don't need to see him prove himself because I already know that he is more than capable to do it." Viel said as he corrected himself to not be seen as a bas big brother.

"And what do you have to do?" Vera was very suspicious of her grandsons who she thought were as good as a pair of angels, but were bringing unknown individuals to her house without telling her anything about it.