The Third Prince Of Darkness

Chapter 132: Before the tournament

18 Days Later - The Tournament's Starting Day

During the past Eighteen days, I sent a long letter to Avanne, but since it would take at least a month for a reply, there was nothing I could do but wait. Of course, I didn't ask any questions about a possible my child because of the risk of the letter being intercepted. Honestly, I was beginning to understand why Avanne had kept her pregnancy a secret.

After all, our separation had happened after "that day." She had likely found out that I had been imprisoned and chose this path to protect her child. But the strange part was that the information about me being imprisoned for trying to kill Richard hadn't reached outside the palace.

Perhaps she had visited the palace on the day it all happened. Either way, when I thought about why she hid my child from me, no other reason seemed more logical. Or maybe all of this wasn't true, and Avanne wasn't pregnant after all. These were still just possibilities. In any case, there was no point in dwelling on this now.

When Avanne's letter reached me, I would more or less find out if such a thing had occurred. After the tournament, I'd have to visit the Kingdom of Asina anyway, and during that visit, I would also learn the truth by seeing Avanne. I had also informed Roxanne of the situation, just in case, and told her to bring me Avanne's letter without causing any harm if one arrived.

But now, I needed to focus on the tournament. Since I planned to win and reveal my true identity at the end, my attention had to be on the tournament. So why was I planning to reveal my identity during the tournament? The reason was simple. By displaying a show of strength during the tournament, I hoped to gain prestige and respect.

But if I showed too much power, I would attract a lot of attention, which would mean more enemies. So why was I still sticking to this plan?

The answer was simple. When people see an extraordinary talent that they could never reach, the first emotion they feel may be envy or admiration, but over time, these emotions turn into awe. For example, in my previous life, the most popular sport was football, and there were two exceptionally famous footballers.

These two were so far ahead of the other players in terms of talent that, at some point, every football fan became in awe of them. People admired them while watching, and some even loved and defended these players more than their own family members whom they had known all their lives.

This is the power of an unreachable person.

I had a similar plan in mind. I would display such a skill during the tournament that people would have to respect me, and some might even become admirers. Of course, there would always be those with inflated egos who would hate me, but such people would never pose a real threat. Additionally, some higher-ups might see me as a threat and try to eliminate me, but I was planning to reveal my identity.

Any sane person wouldn't want to make an enemy of the next heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Asina.

Furthermore, considering that I also owned the largest company on the human continent, I wouldn't be an easy enemy for anyone. In the very unlikely event that I found myself in a difficult situation or something happened that I needed help with, I could reveal my secret of being a dark element bearer. Because of this, I could easily seek refuge on the demon continent.

In short, my plans were set, but of course, nothing ever goes exactly as planned. If something happens outside my plans... then I'll have to make a decision when that time comes.

"Hey, how much longer are you going to stay in there? I'm about to wet myself!" my roommate, Taktav, yelled.

I put down the book in my hand, stood up, washed my hands, and walked out of the bathroom, where I saw Taktav standing with his rabbit ears drooping as if in pain.

"You could have used the women's restroom," I said mockingly.

"Haha, very funny!" Taktav shouted as he rushed into the bathroom.

But I don't think he realy would have had any problems using the women's restroom. Anyway, it's time to get ready. The tournament was probably still an hour away. But I had promised the members of the unit that I would be there at least half an hour early, so I'd better hurry.

Since we would be given either armor or regular clothing according to the starting event of the tournament, I dressed in casual clothes and left.

I wonder if my roommate Taktav will be participating in the tournament. After all, I've heard he's exceptionally talented, especially in theoretical lessons. That alone proves how skilled he is. After all, in the theoretical classes, he was even better than me. And if he shows talent even in the tournament, I should definitely recruit him as a member of my unit.

---

After just five minutes of getting ready in my room, I headed out. As soon as I stepped outside the dormitory building, I saw Roxanne and Ellera standing right next to my door. Interestingly, the two of them were getting along well. Already I never really thought Ellera could get along badly with anyone, but at the same time, she didn't get along with people very well.

What I mean is, Ellera doesn't really have enemies, but she doesn't have friends either. Because she always has a wall around her, she never formed any close friendships. However, over the past eighteen days, she had been making a special effort to befriend Roxanne, and it seemed like her efforts had paid off.

It was likely because of me, but I must admit, watching Ellera make a friend was a source of great amusement for me.

"Hey, girls," I said, approaching them.

The moment Roxanne noticed me, she ran up to me and hugged me tightly. She tried to reach up to kiss me, but as usual, I had to bend down a little for her lips to meet mine. After kissing me, she smiled foolishly and went back to eating the cotton candy-like thing she was holding. Then I turned to Ellera, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her close.

As a result, the silver circles in her eyes began to turn, and her cheeks slightly reddened, but she still acted as if my approach didn't matter to her.

Our relationship still hadn't reached its final stage, but at least for the past few days, I had been able to kiss her on the cheek. As I got closer to Ellera, I noticed that the silver rings in her eyes were spinning faster. Her face was as emotionless as ever, as if she were only physically present. But her eyes... her eyes betrayed her.

The spinning rings showed that something inside her was stirring. Even though Ellera appeared robotic, these small signs indicated that she wasn't entirely devoid of feelings.

I paused for a moment. I had never seen her like this before. I was used to kissing her on the cheek, but this time, an overwhelming desire to kiss her lips surged within me. I didn't know what would happen, but I had to try something. I leaned in closer and gently pressed my lips to hers.

At that moment, everything stopped. Ellera was motionless, as if frozen. The rings in her eyes paused for a brief moment, as though she didn't quite understand what was happening. Her heart was pounding wildly. Ellera's lips were cold and still, yet deep down, there was something—something stirring. As I kissed her, I pulled back a little, waiting for a reaction, and what I saw delighted me.

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A deep blush spread across Ellera's pale white skin. She quickly turned around and began walking toward the tournament arena.

"Humph!" I heard Roxanne grumble right beside me.

"What? I thought we already talked about this," I said, turning toward her.

"Yes, we did... but since you kissed her, now you have to kiss me too!" Roxanne said, as if she had forgotten that I had just kissed her before Ellera.

There was nothing I could do; Roxanne was just like that. I leaned toward her again and gave her another kiss. This time, I felt that Roxanne was a bit more aggressive, but fortunately she cut the kiss short without prolonging it. After kissing me, she went back to eating her cotton candy with that same silly grin.

"Alright then, let's go," I said to Roxanne.

The two of us caught up with Ellera, and we started walking toward the tournament grounds. Fortunately, since the tournament area was very close, we reached there within twenty minutes.

---

When I arrived at the tournament grounds, I saw all my unit members there. Since the first round of the tournament was about to start, we approached the tournament portal after a brief speech. After confirming our identities with the officials, we entered the large building next to the portal. Each of us entered different rooms and changed into the clothes provided for us.

Fortunately, none of our members were late and shortly afterwards, we approached the portal with all my unity members and then one by one we passed through the crowded portal. And thus, the first day of the tournament began...