Chapter 24
After the meeting with the apostles, everyone left the room except Adam. Now alone, his gaze remained fixed on the hologram of the Blasphemy Slate.
"Now that everything is already in place, I won't have to move around as much to carry out my plans." His pure golden eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, remained motionless as he thought.
Silence filled the room. Not a single sound could be heard. Had anyone been present, they would have been surprised by Adam's expression at that moment.
His face carried an inexplicable coldness without his characteristic smile. The warmth and reassurance that usually shone in his eyes had vanished without leaving the slightest trace.
In a cold, emotionless voice, he muttered to himself,
"If the plan works, there's a chance the collateral damage will increase dramatically."
After a pause of about five seconds, he murmured again,
"But those will be necessary sacrifices."
His voice came out mechanically, as though he were a machine and human life held no value in his eyes.
His thoughts began wandering toward other plans concerning Solaria, Elara, Kafka, the Stellaron Hunters, and even the Astral Express.
Slowly, he stood up. His immaculate white robe swayed gently with his calm movement. Strangely enough, his face had already returned to normal, wearing its usual expression along with those warm eyes. He left the meeting room and returned to his apartment to finish his work.
As time quietly passed, Adam, sitting in his office, heard a knock on the door. There was only one person it could be.
After giving permission to enter, Elara walked in with her bright and innocent demeanor.
"Dad!"
Elara exclaimed as she stopped in front of Adam's desk, her hands behind her back as she leaned forward. Judging by her behavior, it seemed that her lessons with Stephanie were going much better than the first time.
"How are you?"
Adam gently asked as he looked at the little girl standing before him.
Instead of answering immediately, Elara walked around the desk and stopped beside her father.
With sparkling eyes, she excitedly explained,
"I followed your advice. I tried to be more careful with my words and with how she was feeling, but... do you know what happened?"
She asked the question while raising her chin proudly, as though she had accomplished something worthy of praise.
Adam raised his gloved right hand and gently patted his daughter's head.
"Oh? What happened?"
Feeling her father's hand on her head, Elara's face lit up even more.
With an excited and proud voice, she answered,
"During class, Miss Stephanie smiled at me... and she even complimented me!"
She blurted out the entire sentence in one breath before waiting eagerly for Adam's response.
Upon hearing her words, something unknown even to Adam changed. His expression became more genuine and warmer.
"I'm proud of you."
Those simple words, spoken in Adam's gentle voice, struck Elara straight in the heart. She lowered her head, her bangs hiding an expression that had become impossible to contain under the weight of her boundless happiness.
As Elara became even more excited from her joy, Adam hid his thoughts and gently asked,
"Tell me... you haven't used your powers recently, have you?"
Elara immediately stopped celebrating and nodded quickly.
She denied using her powers ever since her father had forbidden her from doing so.
Adam's unwavering gaze somehow made her feel nervous despite the truthfulness of her answer.
"She's telling the truth... but I should be more careful. For now, she's still a child who could easily lose control if she experiences emotions that are too intense or situations that are too extreme."
He thought as he looked away from the little girl and calmly returned to his work.
Seeing her father resume working, Elara opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something.
But after opening and closing it once, she simply lowered her head and ultimately decided to remain silent.
Her hands tightly gripped her dress. It seemed she was holding something back. After hesitating for about five to ten seconds, she simply said goodbye before quietly leaving the office.
Adam said nothing and let her leave without a word.
However, Elara's subtle behavior had not escaped his notice.
He rested his elbows on the desk, interlocked his fingers beneath his chin, and quietly reflected.
As silence continued to fill the room, illuminated by the sunlight streaming through the windows behind him, the scene blended perfectly with his immaculate white robe, as though it were a painting.
Time passed quietly as Adam continued working. Although it might seem that, as the "Saint," he had nothing to do, that couldn't have been further from the truth.
As he glanced over one of the documents, it became apparent that it was a draft law.
His real duty was to ensure that the politicians respected the laws he had established.
Even though he had never accepted the role of leader, he couldn't simply allow everyone to do whatever they wanted without guidance.
For that reason, he had established several laws that formed the planet's "Constitution," though many preferred to call them the "Commandments."
For example, the very first law guaranteed freedom for everyone.
After the Solaria War, many humans had wanted to enslave the non-humans, but Adam had rejected that proposal and ensured that everyone, human and non-human, would live freely.
After all, they were all Adam's anchors.
He could not afford to lose them. The more believers he possessed, the stronger his humanity would become.
"Solaria is only the beginning. From now on, the number of visitors will only continue to increase."
Adam quietly murmured to himself as he thought about Solaria's uncertain future... and about his plans.
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Hello or good evening everyone! How are you all doing? I'm doing well and I've written chapter 24 for you, sorry for the delay but I'm finally on vacation and I wanted to make the most of it — plus the laziness and the heat made it even harder to write, so sorry again. We're halfway through the Solaria arc and I have a few questions for you. First of all, do you want the next chapter to focus on the Stellaron hunters? Or more on Elara and Stephanie? I'm also planning to start a 1-year time skip within the next 2-3 chapters and I'd love your input on that. Also, what did you think of the chapter? Did you enjoy it? I hope so, because we'll be leaving the slice of life genre soon for more adventure, drama and action.