Rio already knew just how much trouble this massive incident had caused; thus, he was not planning on telling anyone about what he knew and what Alverto’s actual plan was.
Not to mention Raji, Rio didn’t even tell the truth to Lia that Alverto was going to obliterate nearly 80 percent of the world, and they barely survived this disaster.
Everyone is already shaken due to Ashtel’s injuries, and even SS-rankers are in a state of alarm right now, as even they are cautious of whatever might have injured Ashtel Rex.
Rio does not want to add more chaos to this already chaotic situation by saying that they nearly got obliterated.
This will cause the entire global population to panic and will create chaos that will be difficult to control; even SS-rankers might get affected by this revelation.
’Moreover, this truth might start another war against the demon race that will escalate the situation and it will make things go haywire...’
The main reason why Rio has been able to maintain his advantageous situation of getting stronger and better for so long is because he knows the general flow of the world.
He knows what might happen and what he needs to do to deal with it.
If a war breaks out, the future of the world will change completely, and Rio will lose his advantage of knowing the future.
’That ’being’ is also about to descend in a year or two... the world must not fall into chaos as of yet...’
A massive war against the demons is inevitable, and once that powerful ’being’ appears, it will happen no matter how much Rio might try to stop it.
But Rio doesn’t want that war to break out just yet.
After all, several powerful people who will be a great asset in the war have yet to grow up, and even Rio himself hasn’t reached rank SS.
’I need to be at least a demi-god level awakener if I want to make some difference in that massive war...’
In that kind of massive war, there will be dozens of SS-rankers from the world alliance’s side and even more from the demon’s side.
In such a situation, it will be difficult for a single person to change the entire war and achieve victory with the strength of just one individual alone.
Rio knows that the world isn’t ready for such a situation yet, and that’s why he didn’t tell the truth and decided to bury it in his heart.
It’s not that he doesn’t trust Lia or Raji; it’s just that some ’truths’ are so impactful that you must not even tell your closest loved one about them.
Even a small mistake can cause tremendous disaster.
’Lia can definitely keep it secret if I ask her to... but telling her about this matter will only make her more worried; there’s no merit in it...’
Due to various reasons and possible consequences, Rio only told Raji and everyone vague things and didn’t explain anything properly in detail.
With his emotionless face and emotionless tone, it’s impossible for anyone to even notice that he’s lying.
Rio couldn’t help but feel complicated emotions.
’Is this one of the benefits of having no emotions... you can lie easily and no one will even sense it...’
While Rio was busy feeling awkwardness over his situation, Raji glanced at them all once and spoke in a calm voice.
"Well, all things aside, I am glad you all managed to come back alive at the very least..."
"The academy ended up declaring holiday for a few days due to this incident but it will open soon..."
Raji looked at Rio and said,
"You guys are already at the end of your final year... I will arrange it so that you can give your exams early and pass... that way you all can graduate before the rest of your classmates..."
"Rio has already reached rank S... the basic criteria to graduate is rank A but you all have long exceeded it and have even completed difficult missions so there’s no need to keep holding you all back..."
Raji glanced at Ashtel who was in a coma, and spoke in a serious tone.
"The empire is in need of powerful individuals right now; prepare yourself and train properly. by the end of this month I will have them conduct your final exams..."
Raji then looked Rio in the eye and said in a serious tone,
"As an S-ranker, you will have to shoulder certain responsibilities from now on; once you graduate, go to the awakener’s headquarters for a talk..."
"All S-rankers are qualified to join military as a general; if you want to do that, you can do that too..."
"If not, then you will still have some basic power to command small military forces as an S-rank pillar of the nation..."
Rio nodded his head at Raji’s words.
"That’s what I wanted to talk about too but it seems you have already decided it..."
"It seems many foreign S-rankers and many criminals are running free nowadays. I wanted to use them for training my skills and was about to ask for permission..."
"But it seems I didn’t need to..."
Raji smirked at Rio’s words.
"Such a coincidence... I ran a background check very early on you... apparently, your father also used to do the same work..."
"Dealing with criminals and terrorists... I guess it runs in the genes..."
Rio could only give a wry smile at those words and had no words to reply.
’I am even doing this because he forcefully taught me his skills and I have no choice but to polish them or I will lose them...’
Raji ignored the awkward look on Rio’s face and glanced at Link and the others before saying,
"You lot also need to train harder... No, in fact you need to train so hard as if your life depends on it; otherwise, you will be left behind by this kiddo who’s rising like a rocket..."
Link clenched his fists at those words, and Riya nodded her head. Lia, on the other hand, had a determined look on her face, as she was ready to jump into training right now.
Raji’s words made the others even more motivated to work hard and become stronger than before, and they were all ready to get to work.
"Talking about training... I wonder where that kid Liam is... Even Neo is missing. We don’t even have a clue or anything..."
Raji shook her head and glanced at Ashtel again ,
"Perhaps he might know something but even he has yet to wake up and I don’t even know when he will wake up..."
Saying those words, Raji got up from her seat and left the room.
She needed to hold a press conference and calm the public’s panic and fear.
Even though there’s no good news to be told, she has to do everything in her power to keep the nation stable.
...
Rio and Lia stayed in the Rex Mansion for the entire day and left very late.
They went back to the Silver Mansion, and this time Lia’s father came back with them, as he was done with his patrol duty for today.
"Good thing you woke up, kiddo. Lia was worried sick over you; she didn’t even sleep properly and was sitting beside you holding your hand all the time, you know..."
Lia blushed as James revealed her secret and glared at her father.
"Dad! You don’t have to tell him all that! Ugh, you are so annoying!"
A pout appeared on her face as she stared, ignoring both James and Rio due to those teasing words.
Rio shook his head and gave a wry smile.
’This old man is really good at making things difficult for me...’
"Well, her care helped me recover fast... I appreciate her efforts from the bottom of my heart..."
Lia kept pouting, but her face became a bit red as Rio showered her with praise to pacify the situation.
As he’s already spent years with Lia, he’s got enough experience on how to handle the mood swings of a tsundere by now.
"By the way... it won’t be appropriate to call you kiddo now though... You two will soon be 18 and will be adults!"
"Moreover, Rio, my amazing son-in-law, has already become an S-ranker!!"
James was laughing so loudly that even the car driver was feeling awkward listening to him.
He patted Rio’s back over and over in sheer joy.
"You have already reached the same realm as me! When I was your age, I was playing in mud all day! You have a really bright future ahead of you..."
He suddenly grabbed Rio’s hand and spoke in a serious tone.
"Yosh, I entrust my daughter to you. When is the wedding?"
Lia couldn’t hold her embarrassment any longer and punched James in the side lightly.
"Oh, shut up already! You are making him awkward! Y-you don’t have to be so h-hasty you know!"
"W-well... b-but if he confesses... I-I mean... I will have to... a-agree..."
By the time she finished speaking her sentence, her face was as red as a tomato and her voice was as quiet as a mosquito.
She looked so cute that Rio had the sudden urge to hug her tightly and never let her go, but as her father was also riding in the car along with them, he had to keep himself calm.
The three of them reached Silver Mansion while joking and laughing like that.
James’s happy mood helped Rio and Lia get out of the sad and depressed mood from the previous incident, and they finally managed to suppress the anxieties caused by Alverto in them.