Endless Evolution: Last Star - Chapter 642

Chapter 642: The Debt (Part 2)

For several hours Silvana felt more like a guest than a waiter. She sat next to Ceska and Evor, listening intently to his story, however… her mind was occupied with entirely different thoughts.

‘I don’t have much time left? Isn’t the earliest time to enroll in institutes is 16?’ Silvana internally muttered, the anxiety within her gradually increasing.

From outside came Evor’s satisfied voice ready to finish her story:

“Then, realizing that there was no way I could pull my hand out of its jaws, I simply pushed my hand deeper down its throat and used my ability. As a result, I exploded the head of that monster and we were finally done with this long mission.”

Today, there was no longer a dejected expression on Evor’s face. This wasn’t his first difficult mission, so a few days was enough for him to come to his senses.

“I see… Thanks for telling me.” Silvana muttered before continuing her usual waiter job.

Evor and Ceska were slightly surprised but didn’t focus on it.

Step. Step. Step.

Late in the evening, having finished her shift, Silvana hurried home. Gradually, her step became faster, and Adam, who followed her, had to keep up the pace.

“Hmm….”

Adam hummed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

‘I know the Academies are long since Trici will be able to enter the Academy very soon, she’s eight years old and of an appropriate age.’

At the same moment, Adam’s eyes widened, realizing that September was only a few weeks away.

‘Damn… how quickly time has flown by. Well, that’s not what I should be thinking about right now. Academies… even though even kids can get into them and the education lasts for many years, but… you can’t spend ten years learning just how to be an Operator, Blacksmith, or a military man, right?’

That was for both him and Silvana to figure out from the past.

As Adam expected, for the next few days, Silvana immersed herself in researching all available information about Operators and their Academies. The information was open and available on any government website.

From time to time, Adam read the articles along with Silvana, standing behind her like a ghost.

Crackle.

Silvana clenched her fists tightly and bit her lip.

“The latest is 14 years old since by the age of 18 Operators should be ready to work for the military to then be addressed to the chosen Phantom…”

Even though Silvana was already 14 years old, the school year hadn’t started yet, so she could enroll right now.

However, to do that, besides preparing for the entrance exams, she also needed to arrange a considerable amount of money to pay for the first year of education, for starters.

For many people, this would be a barrier, but Silvana realized that her parents had enough money. They weren’t the richest, but their businesses were successful and their family didn’t waste money on useless things.

‘Right… I can’t know for sure, but my family must have quite a bit of savings, especially my father.’ Silvana thought, beginning to chew on her nails.

Adam raised an eyebrow, noticing that Silvana was doing this for the first time in all her memories.

‘Oh, she does it all the time now. Bad habits can last for years and start from childhood, right?’

…

After a few days, realizing that there was no more time to waste, Silvana looked intently at Aton and Matra.

“Mother, Father, I have something to announce to you, and I also have a serious request.”

Aton and Matra looked at each other baffled. Their daughter always started such important conversations by saying everything straightforward, but now they felt it was something special.

“Khm.” Aton coughed, adjusted his shirt, and folded his hands together, “Sure, Mom and I are listening to you carefully. Speak up, don’t be shy.”

Silvana gulped. In fact, even then she wasn’t completely sure of her decision, only 90%, but the feeling only grew stronger with each passing day.

“I have decided that I want to become an Operator. I need your approval and financial help to pay for at least the first year of education. I’m already 14 years old, so this is my last chance.”

Matra’s eyes went wide, she was shocked since up to this point Silvana had never given any reason that she wanted to be an Operator, she hadn’t even shown her interest in Dead Lands.

However, for Aton this news was reflected in another emotion – his face turned pale as if his biggest nightmare had come to life.

Silence fell for a few minutes at the dinner table. Silvana didn’t hurry, she realized that Aton and Matra needed time.

Then, Aton clenched his fist tightly and let out a low wheeze:

“No… That’s out of the question.”

Matra and Silvana gave him a hard stare at the same time. They could see that Aton wasn’t joking, his face was deadly serious.

“Darling… Maybe you should think things through properly first before jumping into such important decisions?”

Trying to soften the situation, Matra gently placed her hands on Aton’s shoulders.

“Don’t touch me! Not now!” Aton abruptly threw her hands away with an irritated shout.

Matra froze in place as if petrified. She couldn’t remember the last time Aton had been nervous enough to allow himself to do that…

Realizing that her mother wouldn’t be able to influence the situation, at least not now, Silvana decided to take matters into her own hands.

“Father… Why?” Silvana’s voice turned cold, “Most people consider the job of Operator to be prestigious. I don’t understand your resentment and your reason for refusing…”

Aton sighed heavily, slowly raising his head.

“Silvana, I want you to be the heir to our family, not some man’s secretary for life! Your mom and I have worked our whole lives not for you to blow it all off and devote yourself to another man! What’s more, this is Dead Lands! There’s danger everywhere!”

Then, Silvana fell silent. She could see that there was an impenetrable wall between her and Aton, that their views on the role of Operator differed too much.

But… she wasn’t going to give up. Without her father’s help, she definitely wouldn’t have enough money.

‘Shit… Looks like it’s going to be a rough evening…’ Silvana muttered internally getting ready to move on to the tough debate.