Vera looked at her grandson with a serious expression on her face. She had known that Lux had wanted to go to Elysium to prove that he wasn't useless, but Vera had never treated him as someone who was.
For her, Lux was a child that filled her lonely world with colors. Although he wasn't the healthiest of individuals, he would do his best in order to help her in any way that he could.
If possible, Vera didn't want Lux to go to Elysium because she was afraid that the boy's life would be endangered.
"Lux, I know that you really wanted to become a warrior," Vera said softly. "But, even if your heart wills it, your body is not strong enough to see it through."
Vera wanted to say that Lux didn't have to think about anything else and just live a happy and comfortable life, but she held these words back. She knew, more than anything else, what her grandson wanted to do in life.
"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."
Vera 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?"
Lux breathed a sigh of relief. He grew up being spoiled by his grandma, and the latter treated him with great care. Although they'd had several arguments in the past in regards to his dreams to go to Elysium, Vera had never rejected his dream, and allowed him to train as much as he could.
"Grandma, I'd like to introduce you to someone," Lux said. "He is the one that helped cure my body."
"... don't tell me it's another one of those quack doctors you invited in the past?" Vera's face became stern. "How many times have you been conned by people into buying those random potions that only made you sick? Have you not learned your lesson?"
Lux coughed lightly because he couldn't refute his grandma's words. In the past, he had bought some shady strengthening tonics from the merchants that passed through their stronghold. Although these tonics looked good on the outside, their effects were horrible, causing Lux to suffer from rashes, or fever, for a few days.
"Don't worry, Grandma. This time it's not a quack." Lux patted his chest with confidence. "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. 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. However, he gritted his teeth in order to take control of the situation.
"Grandma, let me just introduce him to you first," Lux said. "If he's really a suspicious quack, feel free to whack his head silly!"
Vera reluctantly nodded her head and made a gesture for Lux to fetch the person that healed his body. She had already decided that if the quack was planning to hurt 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 Lux with a smile.
Vera was surprised because she didn't expect that the person that Lux was talking about was actually a boy younger than him.
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 Lux 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 no quack doctor.
"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."
Vera narrowed her eyes. She didn't believe that someone like Eriol would randomly choose to help someone. 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 grandson.'
"Such scary thoughts," Eriol commented with a smile. "I swear by my name that I have no evil intentions in regards to Lux. 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 to Elysium with me and train him for a year. After that he will take the test here in the Wildgarde Stronghold so he can join your faction inside Elysium."
"Take him 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, 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 your beloved grandson 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.
After a brief inner battle, Vera sighed and reluctantly 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 and nodded his head. Vera's threats had no meaning to him, but he could understand how much she cared about Lux.
Although the general plan had been derailed from the start, he was still happy that the candidate they had chosen was well loved by his foster family.