[Thanks to Ian <3 (1/6)]

El'Rion's brows furrowed, but Leonel looked back at him with quite an unreadable expression. It felt like what he had said was just natural.

By now, many people had already guessed that Leonel was a Wise Star Order. It could be said that the reason the ire of countless Gods hadn't descended on him yet was because the Life Tablet couldn't grant Lineage Factors. At best, many believed that it had just acknowledged his Wise Star Order status.

Of the Orders, Wise Star Order was the only one not tied to the Northern Star Lineage Factor by necessity. In fact, it could be said that the purpose of the Wise Star Order's existence to begin with was to restrain and maintain.

There was a reason why Leonel could suppress and overpower those with the Northern Star Lineage Factor, an ability he had gained the moment he awoke to his status as a Wise Star Order.

Naturally, for those that didn't want to see the rise of the Northern Star Lineage Factor again, Leonel's existence wasn't entirely a bad thing...

If he could be controlled, that is.

This matter, though, was quickly becoming a web of complexities. Setting aside the existence of Wicked, what it meant, and the members of the Cult that had been left behind, there were too many other things pulling Leonel in all directions. Right now, all he could do was take steps to fix that.

The first step was Aina. Aina's existence was crucial, not just because she had helped them to survive the culling, but because of what she represented.

She was a human, separate from the Northern Star Lineage Factor, who carried a great strength all to herself.

This seemed meaningless. Why would it be important for the humans to come off as strong, aside from surviving, that is?

Ironically, the humans were in a situation similar to the Owlan Race. They were tied to a version of themselves that many were wary of, and many more had a difficult time disassociating from their current selves.The longer humans spent in this well, the worse their situation would become. But that wasn't all.

If Leonel went to win the Gathering of Kingdoms, maybe he could have done it. Though, it would have been difficult for him to survive the same punishment Aina had at his current level.

lightsΝοvel But even if being a Wise Star Order didn't mean he had the Northern Star Lineage Factor, it was too close. Anyone could make the argument that it would be safer to get rid of him.

Now, however, there was a positive trend of humans with capabilities that trended away from the Northern Star Lineage Factor.

All this said, there were still several things that didn't add up.

The Fawkes family, for one, was an existence that was likewise separate from the Northern Star Lineage Factor. After the fall of the God Beasts and their Envoys, the Human had managed to bask in some glory of their own as well.magic

So, what was the point? Wouldn't they be hated one way or another?

But that was exactly the point in Leonel's eyes.

The Fawkes family fell due to a betrayal of their fellow humans. Other Races didn't actively attack them, at least not alone.lightsnovel

This was the status quo that Leonel wanted to return to, a careful balance where the Human Race might be hated, but there was also no one who could easily attack them without reason...

At least not without triggering the skepticism and scrutiny of the majority God faction... that being the neutral faction.

If Leonel wanted to return to that state, he had to thread a very thin line.

For one, he couldn't go around conquering, or else that would also disrupt the balance. If he expected others to leave him be, he couldn't antagonize them.

Second, he needed to show strength. He and Aina were two pillars of their Human Race's strength already, and soon, there would be many more, especially with the new cultivation method that Aina had unearthed.

Third, he needed to separate from the Northern Star Lineage Factor.

This third problem was multi-facets and multi-layered. Although Aina had won the Gathering of Kingdoms, that wasn't nearly enough.

Not only was she just one person, her feats were actually objectively less impressive than Leonel's own, and there was an argument to be made that she was only so powerful because of Leonel in the first place.

After all, it was a Wise Star Order's duty to guide and direct, as well as gathering information. There was a reason the help of the God Beasts hadn't just created the Envoys, but numerous powerful families like the Fawkes and the Constellation families.

This was where things became tricky. Because if Leonel was the one guiding everyone, then it might be impossible to ever completely separate from that level of scrutiny...

Unless he could display his abilities as a Wise Star Order on a much larger scale.

If he leaned into the role of a Wise Star Order, gathering knowledge and passing it on, even helping those of other Races, slowly but surely, the events of the past could be overwritten.

But if Leonel wanted to take even the first step toward that wider plan of his, he needed an anchor. That anchor couldn't come from himself, and it certainly couldn't come from the God Beasts of Creation either.

They needed to come from the most powerful God Race in existence.

The Plutos.

He didn't need them to be looking over his shoulder, nor did he need them to actively protect him either. He just needed a small path he could walk down.

As for the rest of it, he could handle himself.

If El'Rion had no ability to do this, he would have to use his Plan B. But honestly, he didn't really want to do that...

Because if he went down that route, a lot of people would die...

And he would make an enemy out of the whole of Existence.