Chapter 144 - Like An Athlete

"Won't this glass break from all those rock-hard ice drops?" Gem asked while looking worriedly at the slightly abstract glass in front of them.

"Don't worry, it won't. It's made of glass, crystal, and recycled plastic," Venedette said and smiled at her before looking at the hail storm outside of the tall and wide windshield again.

Since they were flying just between the stratosphere and the troposphere or tropopause for short, the Levi-Yacht was actually sweeping premature ice bullets from the clouds instead of getting hit by it while passing by below the clouds where the temperature was lower than up there.

And although it might be better for the Levi-Yacht to go higher and fly on the stratosphere, Venedette thought risking her children's life and oxygen supply just to keep the Levi-yacht squeaky clean wouldn't be that worth it.

And so she just flew the Yacht on a moderate level, between the harshness of the hail storm and the thinness of oxygen up above.

"Mom, but I thought hail storms out here were supposed to be really violent and loud? Is this it?" Von asked while stepping closer to the glass and seeing drops of water that probably came from the snow that melted while making contact with the warm glass.

He realized that the glass was actually getting wet by rain and not by a storm of ice bullets that he was really looking forward to seeing for the first time.

"I'm afraid we can't go down and watch the hail storm like what you're saying, honey. We'll keep you safe first and then watch the storm when everything's better, okay?"

"Are we going to ruin this border's protection?" Von asked, misunderstanding what Venedette just said.

"No, of course not. You know we can't control the borders, right?" Venedette said while glancing at everybody for saying something controversial.

The royals were believed by the people to be the only ones capable of controlling the borders and expanding their territory but in reality, the Royals also have no clue on how to destroy or control the borders so they could gain more land and property just like what Hexilia was able to do now, after being awarded as the winner for the previous tournament.

"Is this border the same as the flame border on the other side?" Gem whispered to Fily while waving her feet under the chair.

"It's different," Fily answered and was about to stop talking until she saw Gem's curious face directed at her.

"W-What? What do you want to know?" she said with a nervous smile.

"Tell me more about it, why are there ice borders and a flame borders around the country, and what are their purposes?" Gem asked with anticipation.

"The flame borders were originally there to protect this country from the toxins outside,"

"Oh, so the border's the reason why Clandamascarene doesn't have dark days. Living here already made me forget about that time when I couldn't even differentiate between day and night because of the thick clouds that were blocking the sunlight in our place," Gem said while reminiscing the days where she still had to work hard in order to survive.

"Yes, and because the border is made of fire, the flame borders in the north were fighting with the weather, making this place a lot colder than it's supposed to be and making the real border weaker than the others."

"So this hail storm is actually designed to serve as the country's second protection?" Petunia asked to clarify her thoughts about the borders.

"Yes and no. Hailstorms occur naturally and the dying flame border in the north just helps maintain this storm in the same place every time, although we're not sure how long the flames could still keep up with the snow, the government decided to improve the occurrence of hailstorms in this area to keep those outsiders away if ever they managed to pass through the flaming border," Fily explained continuously.

"So that's why that old man from the mountains kept telling us to go on to the north, although we were already set on going through one of the well-known weaker spots, we were just too afraid and short of resources to reach the top of the ring alive," Gem muttered to herself which Fily quickly guessed as something related to the expedition that Gem joined before passing through the borders.

"You know how that necklace was actually the one that saved you from the fire, right?" Fily asked because she never heard of Gem mentioning anything about how she was able to survive through that flaming borders.

"I haven't really thought about that, but now that you mentioned it, I think you have a point! You're a genius, Fily!" Gem said enthusiastically and scooted closer to Fily for a hug.

"I know right," Fily laughed nervously after realizing something big that she wasn't still ready to tell anybody yet.

'So that was why Halma was good to her, huh? She had this plan all along…" Fily thought to herself before breaking the hug with Gem.

"Do you think my necklace has some connection to the b-"

"No, it's just there to save you, that's all." Fily cut off Gem's words and completely shut the topic down immediately before anybody could notice anything.

"To the what? Say it Gem," Von said while looking weirdly at Fily.

"Yeah, I don't think so either. That's too impossible," Gem said with a smile of relief before finally paying attention to Von who was now disappointed because she ignored him unintentionally, "What were you saying?"

"Nevermind," Von said, clearing his throat and standing up to leave the Navigation room.

"You're leaving already?" Lei asked while walking behind him.

"Yes, I'm really disappointed by that lame storm, I was really looking forward to seeing some action and noise irritating those girls but all I could see was a normal rainstorm from up above here…"

"That's because Venedette only wants the best for us," Lei tried to argue but Von wouldn't stop throwing negative comments immediately.

"Yeah, right. Is that also why we're here on a level 2 protected area, looking for a witch and extinct animals in a place where illegal immigrants were rumored to be staying most of their time inside this country?"

"Von that's not what I'm-"

"Of course it's not, I still don't understand why my mom is so obsessed with that tournament as if it could bring Demi back to life. It's not like having those Salamander gemstones would secure a win for us already. Look at Gem, she could only do her magic once and sleep for at least a whole day before being able to do it again. How is that going to help us win that tournament?"

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Lei said and looked away from Von's intensive gaze.

"If she really just wanted to have new kids to replace Demi, why would she even risk their lives by making them join this stupid tournament when they could've just lived comfortably in the comfort of our castle?" Von ranted while shaking his head.

"From what I've heard from the maids and the others, Venedette is seeking revenge for Demi, and if this is her way of coping from Demi's death then I see no wrong in doing so. And besides, it's not like your mom is the only one who wanted to do this tournament so bad. I heard about Queen Halma's involvement and how she talked to her about it, convincing her to form the most prepared team that Clandamascarene would ever have in this tournament. I mean look at this, if this place isn't the biggest proof of Halma and the other official's involvement with Venedette's decisions yet then I don't know anymore."

"She's creating the most prepared team that Clandamascarene would ever have in the tournament, which is us. But why? Why me? Why Petunia? Why Fily? Why Gem? Among the five of us, you're the only one qualified to join this tournament. Isn't she afraid of losing me too through this tournament?"

"As I've said, I believe Venedette has her own reasons for doing so, which is why I don't question her decisions much, and besides, aren't you the one having the most fun on this trip? You're not as gloomy as you once were and I think that's a really good thing considering we're all here, preparing to meet our deaths soon- I mean to win as a group against those other well-trained warriors the other countries were also sending outside."

"I'm just a cowardly loser, I don't know what mom and dad were thinking when they agreed to send me here," Von said with a pout.

"That's exactly the point, Von. Maybe they wanted you to step out of your comfort zone and fight for yourself for once," Lei said and patted Von's back.

"The tournament is scary, I totally get why no one was volunteering to go there, especially us, royals."

"Yes, but winning the tournament is a great honor and comes with the most benefits for our country. Just like my ancestors said, we're like athletes, but instead of doing sports, we race to the top of the scoreboard by defeating the most number of monsters we could find," Lei explained briefly, which gave Von a clearer idea of what the tournament was actually about. 

"Why does that sounds so easy when deep inside, I already know it's going to be torture?" Von said and shrugged with the negative thoughts still on his mind.