"Oh no, what should I do? Ely is mad at me. Naughty mouth, why do you sometimes blurt out many things out of control?" Evelyn was pacing back and forth inside her tent with some anxiety. She patted her mouth as if she blamed her naughty mouth.
"Are we going to make up tomorrow? Ely can't be mad for too long, can she?" Evelyn muttered with some expectation in her eyes.
"Princess Evelyn, there is someone who wants to meet you. She is Willie, an Intermediate Mage. She said that she wanted to apologize to you." Freya came over to inform.
"Willie? All right, let her in." Evelyn frowned at it and nodded in response.
"Affirmative." Freya put her hand to her chest and bowed slightly. She then went out of the tent.
A moment later, a girl in a bluish mage robe walked in, following Freya.
"Princess Evelyn, I beg your pardon after I said a while ago. I didn't mean to offend you at all. It's just that I'm just engulfed by grief and emotional turmoil." Willie immediately bowed to apologize.
"Raise your head. I understand your situation, Willie. No one is offended. I am sorry for the deaths of your brother and the other heroes. We will have an honorary funeral when we arrive in the capital city." Evelyn grasped her hand in front and replied in a calm tone.
"Thank you very much." Willie raised her head.
"Good, but please remember what Freya warned you all about. You could offend the Goddess of Light and her precious disciple. I'm sure you don't want to know what might happen if they decide action needs to be taken." Evelyn reminded Willie with a smile, but her tone sounded like a subtle threat.
"I understood." Willie gulped and nodded repeatedly. She did not know what possessed her until she dared to say such rude things to the Goddess's disciple.
"Hum-mm, now you can go. It's almost time for dinner, right? Today is a long day. Please eat well and have enough rest." Evelyn pointed her palm towards the exit.
Willie saluted once more before she left the tent. Evelyn then sighed and went outside as well. She stared at Elysia's tent.
The blue-haired man was sitting on guard there, and the tent was covered by a half-transparent golden dome barrier. Evelyn knew that she wouldn't have a chance to see Elysia today, but she would try her luck tomorrow.
"Princess Evelyn, would you like to have dinner with the knights and mages? Or, would you like to have dinner here?" Freya asked for concern. She knew something had happened between her princess and Elysia.
"I'm not feeling well. I'll have dinner here, Freya." Evelyn held her forehead and went back into the tent. Her tent was pretty big, but she would just spend the night with only Freya accompanying her.
The sun had set entirely, and the twinkling stars adorned the peaceful night sky. Elysia and Elena have just infused magic into the anti-curse mechanism's core.
"This is the hundredth. Phew, this is all going faster than I thought." Elysia wiped her nonexistent sweat.
"Yay! Let's call it a day. One hundred is enough to support at least a dozen great battles with an over eighty percent win rate. It's been a tiring day for all of you. Thanks for the hard work." Nell clapped her hands enthusiastically.
"Phew, we stopped at a hundred? But we just made twenty more metal sticks. But, well, Ely needs a break too." Sylvia glanced at the stacked sticks and shrugged her shoulders. She then accidentally smelled his sweat. "I guess this whole thing is making me sweat. How about a shower, dinner, then a rest?"
"Do you mean 'soak' in a hot spring? We have an amazing one inside the Nature Palace. Or, there's also a big one in the Winged Tiger Palace." Rhea dropped her fist onto her open palm.
"Shall we go pay a visit to the Winged Tiger Palace? That palace is so big, but no one has inhabited it since it was placed in the Nature Realm. It must be quite lonely. The Tree of Life's leaves hasn't even been there." Elysia glanced at Vanessa and Lifa.
"Oh my, you know that? Well, the Nature Realm is an artificial world for flora, after all. There is very little fauna here. However, most of them are insects, like butterflies, bees, and a few others." Lifa covered her mouth.
"Most insects? Could it be that the birdsong I heard a while ago was actually from insects?" Sylvia tapped her chin and gazed at the beautiful forest at the outer part of the flower garden.
"Hmm, the world has a variety of strange plants and animals. I'm not surprised to hear a butterfly chirping like a bird. Let's go to the Winged Tiger Palace. Look, Vann was really anticipating us going there." Elena glanced at the excited winged tiger.
"What about this mess? Shall we tidy this up first?" Yuuki pointed her palm to where they were forging the anti-curse mechanisms. Chunks of crystals, metal and various other materials were scattered everywhere.
"I can take care of that later if needed. Moreover, we might forge some other anti-curse mechanism at a later time. For now, let's pay a visit to the Winged Tiger Palace. I actually sent a few little ones to tidy up the place a few days ago. Nobody likes a messy place, right?" Lifa beckoned everyone to leave.
"Thank you very much." Vanessa expressed her appreciation.
Lifa only gave Vanessa a head pat. Then, everyone boarded the Gravy Ark and headed towards a white palace in the distance. Their destination wasn't the grand palace near the Hill of Prosperity but one on a vacant lot near the edge of the mainland.
The Winged Tiger Palace still stood firmly in the middle of a green meadow with no other vegetation around. It was looking good without any damage. If there was any, it was already fixed by Lifa's minions.
"Woah, this palace is three times as big as Nature Palace. The residences of the Beast Race are actually extra-large. Look at that huge entrance. Hmm, we might feel like dwarves there." Sylvia was quite amazed when they arrived in front of the enormous palace.
"Why dwarves?" Yuuki tilted her head in wonder.
"Because they're short and quite small, but they like big and spacious places. I guess you've never been to the Dwarven Continent, have you? You'll see lots of huge castles, palaces, and forts inhabited by dwarves." Sylvia shared her knowledge as if she knew a lot about it.
"I see..." Yuuki just nodded in understanding.
"Hmm?" Sylvia found it a bit strange. Usually, Yuuki would say more to counter her words. However, after becoming Elysia's pet, this snow fox became much calmer and docile.
Vanessa unknowingly walked to the front. She looked left and right with a feeling of nostalgia. It was as if it had been a long time since she had returned home. The place where she was born into the world and raised into a big winged tiger.
"Can you feel the soothing yet nostalgic-like feeling, Vann? Yep, that's what everyone feels when they return home. Would you like to visit a certain place? We'll accompany you if you want." Elysia quickened her pace and stroked her big white tiger's head from the side.
"No need, master. I can do some house exploration at another time. Allow me to guide you to the feline hot spring." Vanessa shook her head and guided everyone to a vast hot spring.
It was located in the center of the palace on the third floor. There are dozens of hot springs arranged as if they were made for an outdoor public event.
"Wow, there are so many hot springs. Can one of them only fit two Vann-sized beasts?" Sylvia spread her arms and dashed into the hot spring territory. The atmosphere and aroma of the place were thick with natural splendors, even though it was clearly artificial.
"Three actually, but if it's my late father, it's only one. He is the biggest winged tiger that has ever existed." Vanessa transformed into a cat and jumped into her master's arms. She wanted to soak with her beloved master, and her winged tiger form was definitely not the best choice.
After the chit-chat, everyone soaked in the hot spring. However, all the girls were forced by Elysia to be wrapped in towels while bathing. No one was allowed to bathe naked, except for the white cat and the snow fox.
Nell submerged a small wooden bucket until it was half submerged. She then soaked there so that she did not drown. "Fufu, look at those little ones. They're swimming here and there excitedly."
Vanessa and Yuuki were swimming to and fro as if they were trying to figure out who was the best at swimming with beast techniques.
"Hey, isn't this hot spring too deep to soak? We can only stand. Vann, is there a way to reduce the depth of the water?" Sylvia checked into the surroundings. This hot spring was the shallowest, but it was still too deep for them.
"Okay, let me." Vanessa throws a ball of air against a lever in the wall.
The depth of the hot water gradually receded, and Vanessa threw another ball of wind at the lever when the depth was proper for her master to sit down and soak in the hot spring.
"My spot is secured." Rhea proceeded into the hot spring and sat on Elysia's lap.
"Would you like to recuperate? I can help you now." Elysia smiled in amusement at Rhea's behavior. It was as if she was taking care of her lovely daughter.
"Yes, please!" Rhea looked into Elysia's face and leaned in Elysia's arms.
"Hmm..." Sylvia looked at Elysia and the Goddess of Nature with several thoughts. She was sure Elysia was a Goddes Tamer, which was again evident by the current atmosphere. Yet, a sudden thought crossed her mind. "Ely, also a Beast Tamer. Eh, am I already included there? Ely is a Devil Tamer too?"