Chapter 385: Final Exams Already? Time to Head Back to Earth!
....
Could it be...
Seito already had the answer in his heart.
Was it because Lili's staggering training speed—reaching Level 3 in a single month—had caught Aiz's attention?
"Seito, she came looking for you," Kirukiru Amou said as she walked up to him, pointing at Aiz behind her.
Seito nodded and shifted his gaze over.
"Lord Seito, using the advice you gave me last time did bring a decent improvement, but I still feel like my progress is far too slow," Aiz stated, cutting straight to the core of her visit.
After receiving Seito's words last time, she had pushed herself to the absolute limit every single day. Her recent growth was much faster than before, but Aiz felt it wasn't enough. Lili's breakneck progression had completely ignited her competitive drive, prompting her to seek Seito out once more.
Hearing her plea, Seito nodded. He had guessed as much.
After a brief thought, Seito replied, "I think the reason your growth feels slow is actually incredibly simple."
"Oh? Please tell me," Aiz said, her beautiful eyes locking onto his.
"It's simple: you are being protected far too well!" Seito answered flatly.
"Protected too well?" Aiz froze, processing his answer. She fell into deep thought over what his words truly implied.
"Do you know why Lili was able to break through so rapidly?" Seito asked again.
"I don't," Aiz shook her head.
"Because she fights for her life every single day! Whether it's a mob or a floor boss that is vastly stronger than her, she will charge forward without a single second of hesitation, even if it means facing death!" Seito explained.
"Death?" Aiz murmured.
When she carefully reviewed her past actions, she realized it had been a very long time since she had experienced a genuine sense of crisis. The reason was simple: every time she challenged the Dungeon alone, she strictly restricted herself to floors that matched her current level. Any monster she couldn't handle single-handedly was dealt with collectively during the Loki Familia's deep expeditions. Although those fights were tough, they were never truly lethal. That was precisely why Seito said she was being protected too well.
Seeing that she understood his point, Seito further explained, "Every time Lili goes down to train, the Grand Drunkard and the boys follow her, but they never intervene in any of her battles. They will only step in to heal her when she is severely injured and physically cannot get back up. Now do you understand why her growth is so explosive?"
It wasn't that they were abusing Lili; it was simply that Lili herself had an intense drive to get stronger! Otherwise, such rapid progression would have been impossible.
With her answer secured, Aiz bowed politely.
"Thank you very much, Lord Seito."
"Don't mention it," Seito waved his hand. "Great breakthroughs are born between life and death. But having the courage to look death dead in the eye is something ordinary people simply do not possess."
"I understand!" Aiz turned around and left right after making her statement.
Her crisp, decisive departure left Seito highly satisfied. The advice he had just delivered was exactly what Aiz needed to shatter her current bottleneck and achieve a rapid breakthrough!
"By the way, where is Bell right now?" Seito turned his head to look at Kitahara Iori, suddenly remembering the main protagonist.
That's right! Seito had run into the main character, Bell Cranel, a few days ago, and had smoothly recruited the boy into his own Familia. Having heard legendary rumors about Lili and Seito's Familia, Bell had joined up without a single second of hesitation! As of right now, Bell was officially a member of Seito's Familia.
"Old Twenty-Eight took him out for a drinking session," Iori answered with a chuckle.
The suited boys were naturally paying close attention to a fresh rookie like Bell. After all, a new recruit meant they had another disciple to collectively train and play around with!
Seito nodded. It was fine to let Bell develop naturally. Since the boy was Zeus's pre-selected candidate for future godhood, Seito would leave his ultimate growth path entirely up to Bell's own choices.
Beep, beep, beep~~
Right then, a system notification chimed. Seito opened his interface to check the logs.
[Executives Private Chat Channel]
Academy Director: @Seito. Seito, final exams are starting tomorrow. You need to bring all the students from Sobu High back home for the testing cycle.
Reading the message left Seito slightly dazed. Had an entire school term really passed by already? Time truly flew. Thinking back on all the divine events that had occurred over the semester, a warm smile spread across his face.
Kirukiru Amou: Do Maple and I still need to take the exams?
Shizuka Hiratsuka: No need. You gods can do whatever you want. The exams are strictly mandatory for the mortals, and since Seito is a faculty member, he naturally needs to return to act as a test proctor.
Seito: Understood.
Closing his status interface, Seito turned to address the crowd in the yard. "Everyone from Sobu High, we are heading back to Earth tomorrow morning to take our final exams."
Hearing the announcement, the guild members froze in shock.
"Holy crap! It's already the end of the term? I didn't even notice the time passing!" Hidenori Tabata complained out loud.
"Same here!" Kitahara Iori agreed, nodding heavily.
Within the crowd, the students from Sobu High and the other academies immediately broke out into loud discussions. The guild members who had already graduated from school could only watch the scene with warm smiles, feeling that it was truly grand to be young.
"Are you heading back tomorrow?" Hestia looked up at Seito, a sudden wave of reluctance hitting her heart. She had grown incredibly attached to the comfortable lifestyle she shared with Seito during this period. Lili also shifted her gaze over, silently waiting for his reply.
"Yes. I'll probably be away for the next couple of days, so I'll leave Kirukiru and Maple in charge of the estate. I'll be back in two days," Seito replied with a gentle smile.
Hearing his reassurance, Hestia and Lili felt a massive wave of relief wash over their hearts.
"Alright then! The second you get back, we are going to celebrate with a massive party at the Hostess of Fertility!" Hestia cheered happily.
"Deal," Seito nodded.
Following that, Seito thoroughly briefed Kirukiru Amou and Maple on a few operational tasks before taking the student guild members and warping clean out of the world.
The God Domain, Floors 61–70.
The Divine Territory, Earth.
Eastern Country, Sakura Province(Japan), Chiba City!
Zip~~!
Materializing right inside his own living room, Seito took a quiet look around his surroundings. The sky outside had completely darkened into night, and the entire city rested in absolute peace and tranquility.
"Finally back home," Seito smiled warmly, embracing the familiar sights of his house.
He briefly extended his sensory arrays to check the perimeter, finding that Kanade Tachibana and the others were already fast asleep. With a quick spatial phase-step, he smoothly stepped straight into Kanade's bedroom.
"Mmh~~"
Sensing a gentle shift beside her, Kanade slowly opened her eyes. The moment her gaze locked onto the incredibly familiar silhouette standing before her, a soft, beautiful smile bloomed across her face.
"Seito-kun~"
....
Thank you for reading.