When Daniel reached the training grounds, he saw Avina and a few other young members of the Lionheart family practicing. Though, what they were doing couldn’t really be called training.
It looked more like playing around, but the moment they saw Daniel, they stopped whatever they were doing and came over to him.
Without hesitation, they bowed slightly and greeted him with respect. Even Avina wasn’t an exception and followed their actions. All of them felt respect toward Daniel, seeing him as more of a teacher.
Even though, from the outside, it seemed like all he did was beat them up, after every beating they could really feel themselves growing much stronger, especially their bodies.
"Alright, go back and keep doing what you were doing," Daniel looked at them and said with a smile.
"Master, you’ve been gone for a few days. Aren’t you going to train with us today?" They didn’t leave, instead asking with hopeful eyes full of light.
"Sorry, I’ll be leaving soon. I came here to say goodbye."
"Master, are you really leaving?"
"We thought you were going to stay here forever! Did someone anger you or insult you?"
"No, but the work I came here to do is finished, and it’s time for me to go. If there’s a chance in the future, we’ll meet again."
They tried their best to convince him not to leave, but it was useless. In the end, they unwillingly went back to their practice.
However, Avina didn’t return with them. She kept staring at Daniel with sadness in her eyes.
"You’re really leaving?" she asked in such a quiet voice it was barely audible.
"Yeah, I wanted to say goodbye before I left and check on how you were doing. No one has bothered you again, right?"
"I’m fine... after that day, no one bullied me again. But knowing you’re leaving makes me sad. Can’t you stay?" She looked at Daniel with innocent, sorrowful eyes and gently grabbed the corner of his clothes with her small, soft hands.
"Unfortunately, I can’t. I have a lot of things to do. But like I said, we’ll see each other again." Daniel sighed and answered.
"Really? But how long will it be? Will it take a lot of time?"
"I don’t want to lie to you. I honestly don’t know."
Avina went silent and didn’t say anything else. A spark of grief flickered in her eyes. To her, the man standing before her was someone very important — in truth, her savior and her hero.
If it weren’t for him, she would still be bullied, left without any friends, and maybe even driven to end her life just to escape the pain.
But in her darkest moment, this man helped her. Maybe for Daniel, what he did was something small and simple — releasing a bit of his aura and saying a few words.
But for her, it meant the world. Not seeing him these past few days had scared her, though her new friend Ilaris had told her Daniel was away on a mission and would return soon.
That thought gave her comfort. But now, hearing he was leaving again, and this time for long, she once more felt lost.
Daniel sighed when he saw this. He reached out his hand and suddenly created a flower using Death energy and the Law of the Moon.
"This is my gift to you. The day I return, or whenever I’m nearby, this flower will glow." Then he handed the flower to the girl.
Avina took the flower, her eyes lighting up as joy returned to her face.
"Then promise me you’ll come back."
"I promise."
After their final farewell, Daniel left and headed toward Selera’s palace. The guards, seeing who he was, greeted him respectfully. One of them quickly went inside to report his arrival.
It didn’t take more than a few seconds before the guard returned.
"The young lady is currently in her garden, watering her favorite flowers. Please follow me to meet her." The guard led the way.
Daniel nodded and followed. Soon, through the palace, they entered a beautiful garden that looked no different from a small paradise.
It was very lush and colorful, with a wonderful scent filling the air. In the middle stood a gorgeous pavilion along with a pond.
Selera was lovingly watering her flowers, while Olivia lazily sat on one of the chairs, grumbling to herself.
"I didn’t expect you to have a hobby like this," Daniel said with a smile, which even made Olivia immediately turn her head when she heard his voice.
"You finally came back! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for another training fight with you?" she quickly stood up and came toward him.
"I thought you wouldn’t dare challenge me again," Daniel laughed.
"Even though you’re scary, sparring with you really improved my skills."
"In the future," he gave a vague answer, then shifted his gaze back to Selera and walked toward her.
"Sometimes, when I get bored or feel tired, this place acts like medicine for me," she said softly.
"I can see that," Daniel nodded.
For a while, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere turned a little strange. Both had a lot to say, but maybe from exhaustion or other reasons, neither felt like talking.
"You came to say goodbye?" at last, Selera sighed and asked.
"That’s right. My role is finished, and Andreas doesn’t need my help anymore."
"I expected that. Meeting you has made me very happy. I hope we can see each other again in the future," she said while suppressing the strange feelings in her heart.
"Of course we will. After all, I made you a promise, and I’ll keep it." Daniel smiled, making a smile appear on Selera’s face as well.
After their farewell, he turned and looked at Olivia.
"I won’t say goodbye to you since we’ll see each other soon. Don’t forget your promise — as soon as you leave here, contact me. We’ll return to your home together."
"Alright, alright, don’t worry," Olivia laughed and nodded.
After that, Daniel left and returned to Andreas’s palace. It was nearly night. But before entering fully and closing the door behind him, he sensed something. Using his spiritual sense, he checked inside the palace and saw that Ilaris and Andreas were talking.
Andreas’s face was flushed red, showing clearly that he was finally confessing his feelings.
Daniel smiled, quietly stepped back out of the palace, and closed the door behind him. He didn’t want to interrupt them. So instead, he decided to head to the library for some research.