Eric stayed silent. Although nothing was explained in-depth, a lot of implied meaning could be understood.
No wonder it was better for mortals not to know all this, or else they would feel pressured, depressed, and desperate. They hadn't even started, but they knew even if they tried their best, they could only be underdogs almost forever, and this reality would make them feel extremely psychologically pressured.
But Eric himself was pretty chill and also excited.
Who cared about all this? He was never interested in racing to the top or even had paranoia about losing his life at each step. He would definitely take his time to explore as much as possible at each Rank before moving forward.
Eric grinned and nodded at Lysandra.
Lysandra smiled too. She knew Eric wouldn't feel pressured no matter how high the sky was. He had proven this during the conversation with Elara yesterday.
Lysandra had many things that she wished to explain and suggest to Eric, but she held back, as this knowledge was best learned by experience. She anyway planned to leave behind quite a few things, including various knowledge.
Lysandra's expression then turned sober as she glanced directly below at the hill.
Although Eric didn't know what Lysandra was seeing, he had a hunch that she was looking at Elara, who was taking a bath.
He really didn't know if Lysandra could actually 'see' inside a hill with her 'eyes', but he hoped the poor Elara wasn't being taken advantage of by her own mother!
"Back to the topic." Lysandra turned toward Eric and continued, "We High Elves have a condition—some may call it a sickness or disease, and some may call it a blessing. This is something so rarely seen that most of us don't even remember it. That's because most High Elves automatically become Mana Wielders by age six or eight. Even commoner High Elves, with no resources and pathetic talents, reach Rank 1 by age ten at the latest."
"This is an advantage my race has compared to others. Even other Elves, like Dark Elves, don't have this benefit. In short, all High Elves—without even understanding anything—automatically reach Apprentice Rank due to their inherent talent for sensing Mana. Going beyond that takes something else entirely, so not everyone can reach Master Rank. Many don't even reach Rank 2 for a long time."
Lysandra explained this so Eric could understand the core of Elara's condition.
"Wow. So, in other words, you High Elves have no adult mortals?" Eric was amazed. This was some top-tier racial advantage.
Lysandra smiled and nodded. "That's right. Even the few who fail to become Mana Wielders will eventually get a cure, as we are very wealthy as a race."
"There are also rare cases where a High Elf didn't get the opportunity to become a Mana Wielder for whatever reason. These failed ones don't necessarily ever truly 'fall' in love. They might enter physical relationships with partners and even say they're in 'love,' but that isn't necessarily the 'falling in love' I'm describing."
"In short, it's not simple to obtain the love of a pure High Elf—even they themselves are helpless in that regard. It's an extremely rare occurrence."
Elara's love—or rather, a pure High Elf's love—was almost a top-tier Spiritual Oath. It was very similar to an Ultimate Oath but slightly different. Since Lysandra didn't want to explain too much, she skipped all that.
Eric thought deeply and nodded in understanding. "In other words, it's so rare you completely forget about it?"
Lysandra nearly slipped and fell off the branch—Eric had hit the nail right on the head!
She glared at him, gritting her teeth.
After a long moment, she conceded, "That's right! Due to reasons I suddenly lost interest in explaining to you, I crippled Elara's Mana Veins, kept her as a mortal, and made sure she couldn't receive help from anywhere!"
In fact, even Elara didn't know Lysandra had done such a thing—otherwise, she would have hated her with every fiber of her being.
Lysandra was internally proud of having completely fooled her daughter for so long. She had already planned to fix Elara's Mana Veins after returning to the Elvin Continent, but before that, Eric appeared out of nowhere and created this bizarre, once-in-a-lifetime situation.
Eric backed away from Lysandra. She was too damn crazy—even crippling her own daughter.
'As expected of a Grandmaster! Their thought process is beyond a mere mortal's understanding!'
Lysandra snorted and explained, "This High Elf 'disease'—or, from my understanding, a blessing upon blessing—only triggers when they're still mortal and at an appropriate age. Children under ten or twelve don't truly understand love, even if they feel longing. It's far from the love I'm describing."
"So, aren't you too damn lucky?!" Lysandra glared at Eric.
In truth, Lysandra was glad it was Eric whom Elara had fallen for.
Pure High Elf's love was a double-edged sword and very dangerous if held by a vile person, which was why it was understood as sickness and disease. There were also a few other reasons for that, but according to the records Lysandra had read in the past, it was a very beneficial effect for the Elf who was in love—and for the person who received the love of that High Elf. They now held the sharpest sword, one willing to do anything for their lover, including sacrificing their own life or even their own children if necessary.
Lysandra had a fairly good understanding of people of all races' characters thanks to her long life. She knew at least this much: Eric wasn't someone to take advantage of other people's kindness and backstab them. This much was good enough; the rest didn't matter in how he chose to live or take actions in his life.
Elara's birth was calculated and intentional—otherwise, Lysandra wouldn't have had another child at this stage.
'But who would have thought it'd turn out like this...?'
She sighed internally.
Eric smiled awkwardly. He didn't think he was lucky to be forcefully married off. Although Lysandra wasn't forcing him, this situation made it very difficult for him to reject Elara in the future.
He didn't really believe everything Lysandra had said, but the good thing was he wasn't forced to make any decisions at this moment, and that was good enough.
Future decisions shall be made by his future self!
Meanwhile, Riya was jumping in Mind Space with excitement while crying out in a 'controlled' tone, "Yes, yes! Everything is going according to my plans!"
Eric rolled his eyes. He had no idea what Riya was excited about or what her evil plans were, and he also had no interest in knowing. So, he ignored her.
He coughed and asked, "Well, leaving all that aside, will Elara be able to recover by tomorrow?" He didn't really care about things too far in the future, but for now, tomorrow's battle was the main event.
Lysandra didn't answer Eric's worry and instead asked another question curiously.
"Are you not going to inquire about Elara's symptoms or what benefit or curse she will receive from this 'disease'—or if there is anything in it for you?"
Lysandra felt a little touched. She hadn't thought Eric would turn out to be so innocent.
Shouldn't he take this opportunity to make demands or at least extract some benefits from her?
If she were in Eric's shoes, she would have already started rubbing her palms to make the best use of the rare opportunity. After all, Elara was the sweetest, cutest, youngest daughter of one of the strongest Grandmasters in all of Celestia! Not to mention, she was the queen of an entire continent! Well, Eric didn't know these facts, but he at least knew Elara's mother was a Grandmaster.
Eric was speechless.
What did Elara's matter have to do with him? But he also understood what Lysandra meant.
He shrugged and grinned. "Whatever Elara's condition is, it's hers alone to deal with. Benefit or not, I won't judge it—it's for her to make use of those."
"I also don't want to hear any pre-concluded matters studied from someone else's past love. It's up to Elara whom she wants to love and how she decides to live with it."
Eric did plan to request a few elixirs or cures from Lysandra after the Dark Elves were wiped out, but it wouldn't be because of Elara's love, and he also wouldn't ask for more than that. He already owed them too much; other resources he could gather at his own pace in the future. He wasn't in any rush for anything—at least, not right now.
Riya suddenly felt as if icy water had been dropped on her head. She immediately yelled out in a 'controlled' tone, "Hey, Eric! Don't be stupid! Ask her for resources! We need lots of Tier 1 alchemy supplies to kick-start your journey! Don't be a fool—ask!"
Eric ignored Riya. He still had some humility left in him!
"Please, please!" Riya begged, making weeping noises.
'Fine!'
He could ask for some extra Tier 1 potions along with Mana Veins cures or elixirs. It shouldn't be too much.