Chapter 61 - Results

With a bright smile, the man that defended Ethan from the crowd turned to look at him.

"As I said before, that man was just an idiot that wanted to see everything in his twisted way. To me, it's a goal that I would never be able to reach alone, and even after that, he wanted to continue. I surrender, for me this event was Ethan's win"

With a bow, the man sat again while Everyone looked away

'He's right...but...'

'Admitting defeat...'

Looking at the Thousand Elf on the verge of tears while she was desperately trying to chant [Luna Aldis] on Ethan, they felt a little down

'I can't really trample on his efforts...'

Starting to clap his hands furiously, another man shouted

"You did your best, I couldn't even do half of what you did!"

Hearing him, people started to follow the person who started and, before realizing it, a big applause echoed in the area while Ganesha had a bright smile on his face. Hearing this as well, Lefiya stopped for a moment to look at her surroundings. Understanding only at that moment that so many people could watch her, she felt embrassed while a blush covered her face

'I.. I can't let this stop me.. I need to heal him'

Finally, managing to chant her magic, she did her best to start healing Ethan

'Please..wake up..'

While she was so busy with her job, she didn't even realized the situation Ethan and Ais were in. Staring at her, Ais had a 'smile' on her face

"Don't worry...he'll be fine"

Hearing this, she snapped out of her thoughts while Ais began to stroke his hair. Inhaling, Lefiya closed her eyes to focus more

'S-Sorry...but I am unable to concentrate in this way..'

With a somewhat sad smile, Loki stared at the scene playing in the Arena while Ottar stood still, near Ethan, to protect him from any harm. After the long applause ended, Ganesha was thinking on how to end the event

'I cannot be in favour of either side.... I'll pray for his victory'

Inhaling, he waited for the moment the applause stopped to start shouting

"As you know, I am GANEEESHA, I can see as the event is near the end?"

Understanding that they had to somehow bring this event to an end, people were still mulling over admitting defeat. Seeing this, the same man that conceived defeat before said

"Oh, come on, if any of you are capable of doing even half of what that boy has done then go ahead with your indecision. I hate hypocrites so it's better for you if you decide faster"

Hearing these words, they looked as the smiled face directed at Ethan minutes before faded away, just to be replaced with an angry one

'What's his problem? Can't I be a little indecisive? Everyone here knows that as well, if we don't conceive defeat, The King would annihilate us, but...'

With a hint of shyness, the man in question didn't look at anything in particular while saying

"I surrender..."

Turning around to face The King, they were scared before more and more people returned their attention on Lefiya. This because she was really doing her best to heal him and, this brought few to understand they shared some kind of bond as well. Not so much because she worked hard as it was normal not wanting to lose a partner.

The fact that made them understand were the tears that overflowed from her eyes and stained her face

Not minding about what troubled them, a group full of people said

"We surrender!"

Looking at them, the mages in the arena looked at each other before nodding satisfied

"His magic is so hard to dispel that the only one capable of doing it is himself... I felt completely outclassed facing his magic..so I obviously surrender"

Hearing their fellow mage's comment, everyone had the same opinion

"I think the same"

"He has a bright future as an Assassin and a Mage. We'll probably see him growing much stronger than us.. I'm curious to see honestly"

Going towards the exit together, the whole mage groups exited the arena before staff members entered to take away all the unconscious adventurers.

Looking at him with the corner of her eyes, one of the staff members had some seconds to look at the man that was the star of the event.

Seeing that most of them already conceived defeat, Ganesha added

"Personally, I think Ethan deserved a victory that is very symbolic, even if he hasn't managed to reach the goal, he has shown a strength at a level above the norm. I can only congratulate Loki for finding a person who will be so important to her familia"

Hearing her name, Loki stood up with a somewhat proud smile while every single member of her familia followed her actions. Finally, with time to talk, Loki grinned while she looked at the public

"Now that you saw how strong my child is, do you think he's not worthy of being in my familia?"

Seeing Riveria's expression hardening at her words, she made a mischievous laugh while some of them remembered his words

'I'll entertain you'

'I'm here to prove myself'

Turning to look at his group, one of the few Captains that didn't enter the arena could see how the friendship between them increased

'Even though all of them were put in a group so hastily, having a common goal made everyone able to get along in no time'

With this thought in mind, the Captain stood up while saying

"Loki-sama, I think Ethan can surely be a good member of the familia. His talents and powers are above normal, so it's obvious that he would join the first familia in Orario"

Sitting down, the members of his group stared at their Captain with a 'proud' look. This because they felt lucky to have someone like him as their Captain

Hearing the man's words, Loki nodded before confirming nobody had something else to say. Seeing he could have the word again, Ganesha shouted

"With the succession of these events reproduced in front of me, I, GANEEESHA, declare Ethan as the winner of the event!"

Before people could get up and leave, Shakti still had something to say

"Now that the event is finished, we'll see each other in the next Monster Feria in 2 months... I hope you'll come back to visit us again. Have a good day"

Making a small bow, she headed in the direction of her room while the public watched without saying anything

Finally, after Lefiya finished healing the 'surface' damage that Ethan had received, She opened her eyes to see Loki now in front of her. Tightening the grip on her staff, she looked down as she heard Loki say

"Let's bring him to rest now, he had enough to face up today. He surely is tired..."

Nodding weakly, she felt as if the staff she held in her hands could do nothing to help him

'My magic..only managed to cure external wounds, it wasn't enough...'

With desperation claiming her thoughts, she was entering her own world but, she was stopped by Riveria that, inflicting a blow on her head, said

"The damage is related to something your magic can't cure, so don't worry so much and keep thinking about how he would feel seeing you struggle so much for him..."

"Then, what should I do...?"

Sighing, Riveria placed her hand on her head. Looking towards the floor, Lefiya felt tears that threatened to leak out once again but, trying to repress them, she Inhaled from her nose a few times while other members of the Loki Familia were already out of the arena

'At this point, I guess she's suffering on the same level of Ais, just that she is probably trying to understand her feelings while Lefiya seems to constantly blame herself.. For now, I can't do anything more for her...'

Just before she was about to take her hand away, she heard a voice next to her

"Oi, Lefiya, why are you so sad?"

Hearing Tiona's words, Riveria glared at her while Lefiya tried to remove the tears from her eyes

"B-Because..my magic wasn't enough..to heal him"

Without hesitation, she had a confused expression on her face before she replied

"That's all?"

Seeing her flinch slightly, Tiona understood it was the case. Smiling, she added

"Ethan managed to give me chills throughout the whole fight! Even though I couldn't watch the last 30 or so minutes because of the dust, that magic attack was amazing! This is what I will tell him when he recovers!"

Hearing these words, Riveria sighed while Lefiya was thinking about Tiona's words

'I s-see... She's probably saying that I'm worrying too much.. I know it's true..but still..."

Determined not to let go, Lefiya continued to think about it while Tiona continued her speech approaching her as she bent over at his own height

"We need to cheer him up because we're his own familia!"

Deciding to intrude, Riveria said

"It's normal to feel sad, but you can't a feeling like this swallow you. Get more determination and encourage him when he is awake, you are one of the people closest to him so your words will have more effect. Your magic may not have served to heal his wounds, but your words will surely heal his heart"

Hearing such a speech, the sadness that could bring her to the floor disappeared as Riveria placed her hand now on her shoulder. Now looking at her, Lefiya was speechless while she added

"Let's return..."

Making a small nod, she stood up with the help of Riveria before starting to walk with the two of them towards the exit of the arena...

'h-h-healing...his...'

With a blush that covered her whole face, she continued to walk towards the exit as Tiona and Riveria didn't utter a word throughout the way

Seeing this strange group returning, Tione asked in a confused tone

"Did something happen?"

Shaking her head, Riveria replied

"It's nothing, I'll go ahead"

Nodding, she saw her leave while She stared at her twin suspiciously

"Did you do something to Lefiya? she's as red as a tomato"

Shaking her head, Lefiya said in a low voice

"D-Do you k-know where is E-Ethan?"

Understanding, she pointed towards the vanguard

"He's being carried by Ais to a room the Ganesha Familia offered us"

Nodding, she didn't say anything more while she headed towards the vanguard. Seeing this, Tione sighed before whispering to her twin

"Tiona, are you sure nothing happened? it's suspicious"

Confused, she stared at Lefiya for a few seconds

"Yes, I'm sure"

Looking away, Tione took a mental note to ask Lefiya when she'll have some time.

'I wonder what happened...maybe she finally understood her feelings?'

Asking this to herself, they returned to the Twilight Manor without any unexpected events occur.

---

(I have a discord server. discord.gg/cpVr5X8 If you enter it, you can choose one of Ethan's future powers from the pool I created, but that's not all! On the server, you can see the reference on some things that will be present in the story! Right now you can freely see some things like the [Twin's Digimon] and [The Devoted Heart].)

(A/N: The Mini arc finished with this chap, from tomorrow, 2nd volume will start)

(Alternate Titles: "Lefiya, from a point of no-return to thinking about how to cure Ethan's heart...Thanks, Riveria.", "Tiona said: Let's chill ya, don't be so sad!", "Sometimes, efforts really leads to results")