"Did you succeed?" Celeste asked when she saw William reappear in front of her.
The Half-Elf nodded with a smile. He then glanced at his two Familiars who floated beside him.
"Chloee, do I look more handsome than before?" Elliot asked as he approached the little fairy who was looking back at him with a curious gaze. "I swear that after I ascended, I became 50% cooler."
"Eh? I don't see any difference," Chloee replied as she circled Elliot. "The only thing that changed is the number of your wings. Are you supposed to look cooler because of it?"
"My goodness! I am sincerely troubled by your lack of aesthetic criticism."
"Aesthetic criticism? Is that edible?"
While Elliot and Chloee were having a heated discussion.
Claire flew towards Conan, and the latter immediately hid behind William.
"Don't worry, I will not hurt you," Claire said. "I just want to look at the changes to your body."
"Y-You can look, but don't touch," Conan replied.
"Look. I'm not going to eat you, okay? I know that you just recovered, so I just want to check your condition."
"Just check my condition? You're not going to do anything else?"
Claire nodded. For some reason, after seeing how worried Princess Aila was to Conan, she felt an indescribable feeling of irritation in her heart. She didn't understand why she felt that way, but it made her feel very uncomfortable.
Because of this, she decided to take a different approach in regards to the Devil Familiar, who seemed to have developed a trauma from her incessant physical examinations.
Seeing that the four familiars were getting along just fine, William bid Celeste goodbye as he went towards the Library of Hestia Academy.
Right now, he intended to seriously upgrade all of his Job Classes and unlock the true power of the Jack of All Trades.
Since the Prince of Thunder Job Class had reached its maximum level, William decided to ascend it to its next form.
The only problem was that he needed to travel to the Forbidden Land of the Seventh Sanctum and find the Hall of Thunder.
He had already asked Optimus about the Forbidden Ground, but the latter said that it didn't have much data about it. The only thing that the System knew about the Seventh Sanctum was that it was close to the Western Edge of the Central Continent.
The nearest city to the Forbidden Ground was the Port City of Alabaster. This Port City was a Neutral Ground, where Humans, Beastkin, Dwarves, Half-Elves, and Elves live in harmony.
Slave Trading was banned from this city, and any slave trader that was caught loitering around its borders was given the Death Penalty.
Just like the name suggested, this City of Alabaster was a major trading ground due to its access to naval trade. Several Merchant Ships that hailed from the Silvermoon Continent would often dock here to bring rare commodities that could only be found on the homeland of the Elves.
Since he wanted to know more about his destination, he decided to check the Library to read the relevant references that would aid him in his quest.
Although he said reading, the only thing he needed to do was open the pages and have Optimus record the information in its database. The System would then compile the information and give William the summary of the things he needed to know about the Seventh Sanctum.
"Should I bring the others with me?" William muttered.
The Forbidden Grounds was a dangerous place and very few people had the courage to venture inside it. Very powerful monsters that couldn't be seen anywhere else in the continent usually thrived inside this perilous domain.
Of course, there were also rare ingredients, herbs, and metals that were used for cooking, alchemy, and forging.
Only those that had confidence in their strength and ability would visit this forbidden ground. The riches that could be found inside it was enough for anyone to be set for life.
As the saying goes, with great danger, comes great opportunity.
'I guess I'll just ask them later,' William mused as he walked towards the library. If his wives decided to follow him then he would not turn them away. The Quarterly assessment lasted for a month, so he still had plenty of time to go to the Seventh Sanctum and discover the secrets that could be found within this mysterious domain.
—–
"Lilith, how can you be so careless?" Empress Andraste asked in a helpless tone. "You should have escaped immediately when the Myriad Beast appeared. Why didn't you prioritize your safety?"
"Mother, I couldn't possibly leave the others behind," Lilith replied. "If I left them to fend for themselves, wouldn't that tarnish our reputation? What would others think of me?"
"Silly girl. You are not fighting against a Millennial Beast. That is a Myriad Beast! If William hadn't arrived, you might have become that Dryad's nursery by now. So what if your reputation is tarnished? You could have escaped and asked for help.
"Hestia Academy would have definitely sent its experts, even Byron would personally lead the expedition in order to capture that Dryad. You didn't need to put yourself in unneccessary danger because of strangers!"
Lilith frowned as she looked at the projection of her mother. Right now, she was inside her room in the Girl's Dormitory. She had just finished taking a bath when the communication crystal that Andraste had given her started to glow.
She didn't expect that the moment she answered it, she would receive a nagging from her mother who was currently in the Ares Empire.
"Sorry, Mother. It won't happen again." Lilith sighed."I will be more careful next time."
After hearing her daughter's apology, Empress Andraste finally stopped her nagging.
When she had received Byron's report about what happened to her daughter, she immediately hurled profanities at the Headmaster of Hestia Academy, which made the latter almost throw the communication crystal away.
Byron opted to inform the Amazon Empress about what happened because he was afraid that Empress Andraste would misunderstand, once she received a report from her daughter, Lilith.
Right after their talk ended, she immediately called Lilith which led to the current situation.
"Okay, just don't let this happen again," Empress Andraste said softly. "How is the progress with William? Did you manage to invite him to the Ares Empire?"
Lilith shook her head. "He is a tough nut to crack. It seems that he is satisfied with his wives, and has no intention of visiting our empire."
Empress Andraste smirked when she heard her daughter's words.
"Since that is the case, it's time for you to make your move," Empress Andraste. "You already know what to do, right?"
"Yes, Mother," Lilith replied. "Whether he wants to do it or not, he will not have a choice after I'm done with him."
"Good girl. The Crimson Festival is almost here. Do your best to invite him to attend the festivities. Wait… it will be better to invite your entire class. You can even invite your homeroom teacher to come.
"That way he will not be too guarded when visiting our empire. As long as he steps inside our domain, he is as good as ours."
Lilith smiled sweetly and nodded her head.
"Leave this to me, Mother." Lilith smirked. "I will definitely make it happen."
Empress Andraste smiled evilly as well. "Good. As expected of my daughter. Don't worry. I will make the necessary preparations on my end."
The mother and daughter pair giggled as they gave each other knowing glances.. They look forward to the unexpected gains that they would acquire on the day of the Crimson Festival in the Ares Empire.
