Chapter 128
Feeling the strong confidence in Kiriya’s words and looking at his bright, fearless expression, Riveria felt an unexpected flutter in her chest.
"The new generation really is terrifying," Riveria said with a quiet sigh. "Young people these days are frightening."
"Hey, hey, why do you sound so old all of a sudden?" Kiriya immediately complained. "You’re not that old, are you?"
Riveria said nothing.
The corner of her mouth slowly lifted, but she quickly pressed it back down.
After all, she was his senior, an elven royal known for elegance.
She still had an image to maintain!
"You said training in Sage Mode is extremely difficult. Ais... can she really succeed?" She finally asked the question she cared about most.
"Who knows?"
Kiriya’s answer made Riveria pause.
"What did you say?" She asked again, not quite sure she had heard him correctly.
"I’m not sure either. Maybe she’ll succeed in a few months. Maybe she’ll never manage it in her lifetime." Kiriya replied honestly. "Even in the place where I learned Sage Mode, there were only a handful of people who ever succeeded."
In theory, Kiriya believed Ais had a very high chance of success.
After all, she had spirit blood running through her vein.
As a race loved by the gods, spirits were born with exceptional magical talent and strong affinity for energy.
They could even wield great powers like controlling wind and rain without the guidance of Falna, which already showed how extraordinary they were.
On top of that, Ais was already a Level 5 adventurer.
Guided by Falna and tempered through years of training, both her physical energy and spiritual energy had reached a very high level.
If this were the Naruto world, she would be considered someone with outstanding chakra talent, a large chakra reserve, and high affinity with natural energy.
In other words, she was practically made for Sage Mode training.
But this was still Kiriya’s first time teaching someone else Sage Mode, and across worlds, no less.
There were far too many unknown factors, so he did not dare make any guarantees.
He had to set expectations in advance. Otherwise, if these people hoped too much and Ais failed, the disappointment would be brutal.
"Then..." Riveria pressed her lips together.
She could already imagine Ais’s disappointed little expression.
Just thinking about it made her heart ache.
"Well, there’s no need to be that pessimistic." Kiriya spoke to reassure her. "Even if she fails to master Sage Mode, a new energy system will still help her a lot. Besides, I have a few powerful ninjutsu I can teach her too. I won’t let her waste her time for nothing."
After saying that, he noticed Riveria staring at him with a strange expression.
He scratched his head.
"What?"
"You... why are you being this generous?" Riveria could not help asking.
"Well, you know..." Kiriya chuckled and gave her an honest-looking smile.
It made Riveria want to raise her staff and hit him.
She knew it!
There really was no such thing as a free lunch!
This boy looked generous and open-minded, but in truth, he had plans of his own.
Was he worried about ninjutsu spreading outside?
Apparently not.
If the one learning ninjutsu became his woman, then there would be no problem, right?
He was not being some saintly good person.
He was simply strengthening the future members of his own harem!
"You already have Goddess Hestia, and now you’re setting your sights on Ais too... Isn’t that a little greedy?" Riveria sighed.
"Depends how you look at it." Kiriya answered without a flicker of doubt. "Wanting more than you can hold—that’s greed. But when you’re strong enough to hold it, it’s just taking what’s yours to take."
Riveria was left speechless by his shameless logic.
But after thinking about it carefully, she had to admit that he was not entirely wrong.
This world had morals and laws, yes, but those were mostly used to restrain the weak. True powerhouses had always been the ones who broke rules and created new ones.
With the strength and growth speed this boy had already shown, as long as he did not die young, he would most likely stand at the top of Orario one day.
Perhaps even at the top of the world.
At that point, forget two women.
Even if he built himself a grand palace and filled it with woman, no one would be able to say a thing.
But once that involved the girl she had raised like her own daughter, Riveria found herself deeply unhappy!
"Your appetite’s a big one, boy, I’ll give you that. But Ais..." Her gaze sharpened past anything before it. "Are you ready to carry that child’s fate on your back? The enemy she means to bring down is the One Eyed Black Dragon. The Dragon of the End."
"Oh, that." Kiriya showed no sign of retreating.
If anything, he looked eager. "Even if you didn’t mention it, once I’m strong enough, I’d still want to smashed that Black Dragon myself."
After all, that thing was the biggest boss in this world.
Defeating it would be an unprecedented achievement, an absurdly massive haul of experience.
How could Kiriya possibly let it go?
’Prime True Several Thousand Hands versus the Dragon of the End!’
Just hearing that sounded really exciting!
"Boy!" Riveria’s voice turned hard. "Don’t treat that monster with such a carefree attitude. That creature is completely different from any enemy or monster you have faced so far. Forget being Level 3. Even if you were Level 7, Level 8, or even Level 9, you would still be no different from an ant before that Black Dragon."
Back then, the Zeus and Hera Familias had possessed one Level 9, several Level 8s, and countless Level 7s and Level 6s.
In Riveria’s eyes, they had been nothing short of a team of gods.
She had challenged such people countless times in the past, and every single time, she had been utterly crushed.
Yet that kind of lineup had suffered a devastating defeat against the Black Dragon.
Soon after, both Familias completely withdrew from Orario’s stage.
That power was despair given shape.
As Riveria spoke, her chest rose and fell sharply, in time with the turmoil inside her.
Pat.
Kiriya placed his hand gently on Riveria’s head and stroked her hair.
The warmth of his palm passed through her hair, making Riveria freeze for a moment.
To her surprise, she felt no urge at all to pull away.
"Relax. I’m not that reckless." Kiriya’s smile was gentle. "If I don’t have real confidence, I won’t go looking for that Black Dragon just to suffer. Thank you for worrying about me."
"As long as you understand." Riveria let out a breath of relief.
Then she suddenly noticed Kiriya’s hand still resting on her head.
Her face flushed, and she immediately slapped it away.
"I was not worrying about you. Also, do not touch an elf so casually!"
"Hahaha, understood, understood." Kiriya did not mind at all.
Just then Ais came running back, her usually blank face lit up with excitement. "Kiriya, Riveria—I can refine chakra now." As she said it, she caught Kiriya’s hand and passed a little chakra into him.
"Mm. Not bad." Kiriya nodded, satisfied. "You really do have the talent for it, Ais."
"Hehe..." Ais didn’t laugh aloud, but the corners of her mouth eased slowly up—the pure, guileless smile of a child praised by her parents.
---------
Read 30 Chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator