Chapter 296 -: 295 Changes.[3]

"But you are happy, right? The old man was one of our biggest obstacles, but someone got rid of him for us. So it’s alright. Now all we need to do is prepare for the final match before the Grand Tournament." Kavin spoke casually as he came to a stop before a vegetable stall. The small wooden stand was piled high with freshly harvested produce, each vegetable carefully arranged into neat rows. Unlike the crops he had grown accustomed to back on Earth or even those cultivated across the Three Floating Continents, the vegetables of the Zlycon territories looked rather unusual. There were bundles of thin green plants resembling long blades of grass, tied together with rough string. Judging from the customers constantly buying them, they seemed to be an essential ingredient that accompanied almost every meat dish. Beside them rested a basket filled with pale golden roots that looked similar to sweet potatoes, although noticeably smaller and smoother. Almost every customer purchased a few of them without hesitation, making Kavin wonder whether they were some kind of staple food. Unfortunately, he had absolutely no idea how they were cooked. Rather than buying ingredients he might end up ruining, he simply selected several vegetables whose nutritional value he could roughly judge before adding them to the meat he had already purchased. Looking over the basket in his hands, he nodded in satisfaction. Tonight’s meal was shaping up rather well. "Hmm..." Jasmine merely hummed in response. Her eyes remained fixed on the road ahead, yet it was obvious her thoughts were elsewhere. Kavin didn’t need Future Sight to realize what occupied her mind. The death of Immortal Valentina was not something she could simply brush aside. Ever since he had learned about her past, he knew that every member of the Valentina Family had become one of the targets she intended to erase with her own hands. Yet now, the greatest among them had already died before she could even face him herself. "Here. Keep the change." Kavin casually handed several coins to the shopkeeper before taking the basket of vegetables. The merchant repeatedly thanked him with a wide smile as the two quietly continued through the bustling marketplace. "What are you thinking about, babe?" Jasmine followed beside him, though the complicated look in her eyes remained. "Don’t be so down. He died. Whether it was good for us or good for him... who knows? Either way, once we become strong enough and get what we came here for, there won’t be many people left in this world capable of stopping us. Not even your entire family. So... relax." Only then did Jasmine finally glance toward him. After remaining silent for several moments, she slowly nodded. "...You’re right." Truthfully, she had been disappointed. Not because she mourned the old monster’s death, but because she had wanted to be the one to end his life. Every member of the Valentina Family carried a debt stained with blood. She had imagined countless times how she would repay that debt herself. Yet reality had ignored her wishes entirely. Someone else had reached him first, ending the life of the man who had stood at the very peak of the family for centuries. No matter how frustrated she felt, nothing would change that fact. Releasing a quiet sigh, she finally accepted it. "Right?" Kavin grinned beneath the hood. "I’m always right." His expression gradually became brighter as his imagination wandered further and further ahead. "Just think about it. Once we return, the very first thing we’ll do is wage war against the Valentina Family. You’ll kill every single person you want to kill, and your father..." His grin widened. "...he’s the main course, so we’ll save him for last." A chilling glint slowly surfaced within his eyes. "And once we’re finished with the Valentinas, we’ll move on to the Thornes. They murdered your mother, didn’t they? Then every last one of them will pay. We won’t make it quick either. We’ll drag them into the city and make sure everyone watches them lose everything before they die." Although his tone remained oddly casual, an unmistakable madness quietly seeped into his voice. His eyes shone with a terrifying bloodlust, as though he were merely discussing tomorrow’s schedule rather than the destruction of two of the world’s greatest families. Jasmine simply listened without interrupting. She had long since realized that whenever the conversation turned toward revenge, Kavin’s imagination became frighteningly detailed. "And after that..." he continued, his excitement growing by the second, "you’ll take over the entire Valentina territory. But we can’t keep calling it the Valentina Family anymore." He rubbed his chin while pretending to think seriously. "Hmm..." Several moments passed before his eyes suddenly lit up. "I’ve got it! The Sylvie Family." He snapped his fingers. "That was your mother’s name, wasn’t it? Then from that day onward, you’ll become the head of the Sylvie Family. Sounds a lot better than Valentina if you ask me." He nodded repeatedly, looking rather pleased with himself. A few more steps later, he suddenly froze once again. "...Wait." His brows furrowed. "If we’re going to own the Hayes Family, the new Sylvie Family, and eventually the Thorne Family too..." He slowly turned toward Jasmine. "...That’s a lot of territory." His expression became unusually serious. "I mean... Mom and Dad are going to be overjoyed once we hand all that over to them, but I’m their only son." He coughed awkwardly before giving Jasmine an extremely suspicious sideways glance. "...Ahem." Clearing his throat, he raised a finger. "I’ve done the calculations." Another finger. "Twelve." He nodded confidently. "Twelve children should be enough." Without waiting for any response, he continued explaining his flawless logic. "Four can inherit the Hayes Family. Four can manage the Sylvie Family. The last four can take care of the Thornes. Perfectly balanced. See? I’ve already planned everything." Jasmine stared at him in complete silence. After listening to his endless stream of increasingly ridiculous plans, she slowly raised a hand and pressed it against her forehead. She genuinely couldn’t think of a single response. Yet... The heaviness that had weighed upon her heart ever since hearing of Immortal Valentina’s death had quietly disappeared somewhere along the way. Perhaps because of his absurd confidence. Or perhaps because listening to him dream so shamelessly about a future they had yet to reach made that future feel strangely real. A faint smile unknowingly appeared beneath her mask as she continued walking beside him, allowing his endless rambling to fill the silence between them.