Volume 6, Chapter 63 – A Lively Interlude

Just as she opened the door, Fia felt the gaze of everyone in the room upon her. The sensation of being in the spotlight gave her a little pressure, but she didn’t show it on her face. The banquet hosted by Tsukuyomi personally was quite luxurious. Rather than a single room, it was more like a spacious hall formed by removing all partitions on the entire floor.

As for the atmosphere, there was no distinction between upper and lower seats like in a noble dining room. Instead, it was closer to a noble gathering. In the middle of the hall, local nobles and wealthy merchants gathered in twos and threes with wine glasses in hand, chatting. Along the walls were either sofas for people to rest or tables filled with tableware and newly served dishes for people to take. Coupled with the snow-white curtains on the walls and the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, the dazzling atmosphere already had quite the style of a Silvar noble ball, filled with propriety everywhere.

Cold Night nobles admired the Silvar lifestyle, so it was reasonable for them to learn the Silvar style.

“Yo, our Princess is here, and two of them.”

As soon as Fia entered, Ying, sitting in a corner of the hall, immediately beckoned servants to guide Fia to her. Sofas formed a private space-like area here. The people sitting here were all people Fia knew. Apart from Fia’s companions, there were only Ying and Tsukuyomi.

That said, because there were quite a number of people on Fia’s side—counting Fia herself, plus Anastasia, Claire, Liti, Milu, Erin Slate, and Tilulu, seven people in total—it could be called exceptionally luxurious. Plus, everyone had their own beauty, naturally attracting the gazes of other nobles in the hall. Nobles frequently looked over, curious about Fia’s group.

Fia sat in the empty seat Liti and Milu made for her, smiling as she took Ying’s joke.

“I am a Princess, that’s true. Is Nola one too?”

“Showing no concern for the heroes who wiped out the Darkborn stronghold, sleeping until now, and only getting up when Her Highness the Princess called—if this isn’t a Princess, what is?”

Ying, sitting on a special seat, teased—Snake Folk coiling on a sofa would take up a lot of space, so they had their own special chairs to facilitate wrapping their tails around the chair legs.

“There are various reasons for this. Nola didn’t sleep until this hour on purpose either.”

While explaining, Fia quietly glanced at Nola behind her. She was worried Ying’s words would make Nola think Ying didn’t care about her. Fortunately, Nola wasn’t that pretentious. Not only did she not get angry, but she also looked away in embarrassment, her shoulders twitching shyly.

“I… I also have times when I’m in a bad mood occasionally.”

“You are our Clan Chief. Even if you’re in a bad mood, you should wait until the guests go home to show it. At that time, even if you treat me as your mother and hug me while crying, I will comfort you gently.”

“Who would treat you as a mother?”

Nola’s remark made everyone laugh. Because Fia and Nola arrived too late, everyone else had already eaten their fill, so now only the latecomers Fia and Nola were feasting on the dishes. The conversation also gradually returned from daily life to business, the content generally being the hostages and demon captives Fia and Claire brought back in the morning.

Those hostages weren’t mentally controlled by magic, but became numb to the outside world after suffering inhuman torture and great stimulation for a long time. As for the demons’ goal, just as Galil told Nola, it was to experiment on how to merge Chaos with these hostages, making them a brand-new life form unafraid of Chaos. To achieve this goal, they needed a large number of lives of different races as samples, so the hostages Fia rescued were of all kinds, including every race.

It was worth mentioning that this intelligence wasn’t obtained by Ying from the hostages, but pried from the demon captives’ mouths under Erin Slate’s intervention, for which several demons died.

“I checked them one by one. Those hostages are completely ruined. Long-lived species like elves can take decades to slowly recover to normal, but the lifespans of humans, beastmen, and Sea Folk are much shorter. Leaving aside that supporting them is an expense, firstly, even with slow recuperation, it’s not certain they can return to normal life while they’re alive.”

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“It would be good if we could send them back to their families, but the executing Darkborn never thought these people could survive from the start, so they didn’t record these people’s names and addresses. Most of them still have slave brands on them. Probably the Darkborn were lazy and bought people of various races directly from slave traders. In this way, rather than investing manpower and financial resources to raise them slowly, giving them relief is good for everyone. We don’t have the spare energy to raise this group of people.”

By the end, Ying’s tone was full of helplessness. She carefully scanned the people present, afraid her indifferent words would cause aversion. But Ying’s words being unpleasant to hear was one thing; being reasonable in actual execution was another. This was Cold Night’s matter. Cold Night was poor and weak; even their own people relied on buying grain from neighboring countries for relief, let alone sparing energy to save other races, or even people who couldn’t be saved until death. With this leeway, better care more about her own subjects.

If one wanted to criticize Ying’s approach, one should pay and put in the effort to take all these hostages back. If one couldn’t do it, one couldn’t blame Ying. Precisely because of understanding this, everyone couldn’t accuse Ying of being cold-blooded.

Erin Slate, dressed in a black formal dress like a Demon King of the Night, with green hair tied in twin tails, sighed lightly.

“Leave the elf hostages to me to take back. Although I don’t know if these people can recover, there is a need to try.”

“So nice. If only we were as wealthy as you Silvar people. Without Miss Erin Slate who knows Demon language helping during the day, I definitely wouldn’t know what happened to those hostages until now.”

Ying’s greenish snake eyes revealed something like envy.

Claire beside her leaned forward slightly, suggesting softly.

“Cold Night’s various races live in their own racial clusters. In that case, writing letters to the tribes the hostages belong to, like Leopard-folk and Rat-folk, might get someone to claim them? As for humans, send them to the Holy Kingdom of Milcandis, which is an enemy of Darkborn. Those believers might take these people in for the sake of them being compatriots harmed by Darkborn.”

“True. Better ask once before processing. That way, if there are prominent figures among them, there will be an explanation if disputes arise in the future. Thank you for the reminder, Miss Claire.”

“I’m just doing what I can as much as possible.”

“Speaking of which, Chaos should live below the World Tree Continent. Where did these Darkborn get so much Chaos? Did they go down? Previously in Aurora City and Miss Estelle’s Oro Territory, Her Highness and I both encountered Chaos. It feels like Chaos is already everywhere.”

Anastasia’s expression carried a trace of solemnity. As early as the first day she returned to Blossom, she reported the news that Darkborn might be colluding with Chaos to the military. However, the news didn’t attract the military’s attention. Everyone felt Darkborn and Chaos were quite far from themselves and didn’t need to care.

“Just go to their base camp and ask. Claire has been there; maybe she can guide the way? Asking the Knowledge-Seeking Demon General or the Watcher would also work.”

Fia, holding a seaweed rice ball in her hand, asked casually.

In an instant, a strange silence drifted across the dining table. Except for Claire smiling bitterly and Erin Slate’s eyes flashing with inspiration, everyone looked at Fia with weird eyes.

“That’s seeking death, right… Her Highness the Princess is strong, true, but there are hundreds of thousands of demons in the Darkborn’s base camp. Maybe there are many seventh and eighth-rank high-rank demons, plus things like Absolute Evil that even gods fear. Saying it’s suicidal due to depression wouldn’t be wrong either…”

“Shouldn’t the point be that Miss Claire went to the Darkborn’s base camp before? When Miss Claire came back in the morning, there were horns like a demon on her head. I thought they were decorations at the time; didn’t expect them to be real…”

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Following Ying’s words, Tsukuyomi opened her mouth wide with an exaggerated expression. There was even a trace of fear in her eyes looking at Claire.

“Claire just looks like a demon, not a real demon,” Fia explained for Claire. “Claire went to the Darkborn’s base camp before, but the demons there didn’t find the race Claire belongs to.”

Actually, explaining that Claire was a person from another world would suffice, but considering the gods of this world hated people from another world, speaking it out casually would not only bring trouble to Claire but also invite fatal disaster to the listeners. Therefore, better be restrained.

“Is that so…”

Sniff sniff.

While Tsukuyomi was speaking, Fia heard the sound of Milu sniffing beside her. Not only that, but Milu was also crossing the line more and more. At first, she just turned to Fia and twitched her nose. Now she was half-kneeling on the sofa, pressing her hands on Fia’s shoulders, sniffing at Fia’s neck with her nose tip.

Although Milu was a child and doing some intimate acts was nothing, Liti on the other side was emitting a “grumble” sound of dissatisfaction. If she didn’t stop Milu, these two would definitely start arguing.

Fia tilted her head slightly, looking curious.

“Is there a weird smell on me?”

“Yes.”

Milu answered without hesitation, with an expression as if a wife detecting her husband’s affair, making Fia feel guilty for no reason.

“I shouldn’t have touched anything with a smell…”

“Cat smell.”

“Huh?”

Milu’s answer made Fia’s expression stiffen. Nola, sitting opposite, almost spat out the soup she drank, coughing constantly under Ying’s patting.

The cat smell Milu mentioned must be the scent left on her when Nola hugged her tightly. Fia tensed her whole body for a moment.

“There is a cat smell on Lord Fia?” Milu’s voice attracted Tilulu’s attention. The latter stood up and went behind the sofa, carefully picking up Fia’s jet-black hair. Although Fia tried hard to lean forward at an angle that wouldn’t be suspected, she still couldn’t escape the fate of being sniffed out by Tilulu. “Hmm, there is indeed the smell of another woman’s perfume, and a familiar feeling. But why cat—”

Before her voice fell, Tilulu saw Nola sitting opposite Fia. Immediately, she froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, the corner of her mouth twitching stiffly.

“Without intimate contact, the smell on the body wouldn’t be stained so strongly. Lord Fia and Miss Nola came so late, could it be… could it be… I see, Miss Nola is a mature woman, that’s why…”

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Tilulu’s gaze lowered, seeming to feel melancholy and lost. Fia hurriedly turned her head.

“No, no, not what you think, Tilulu. It was this guy suddenly acting suicidal. To make her pull herself together, I used special means, which is to say, beat her up.”

“But Miss Nola doesn’t look like she’s been beaten. The look in her eyes when entering the door wasn’t looking at an enemy either…”

“Don’t worry. These two won’t get together no matter what. Even if Sister wants to mess around, it must be Sister Anna first. Tilulu can rest assured.”

Contrary to Fia’s expectations, Liti patted her chest confidently, looking as if she had a well-thought-out plan.

It was just that these words dragged Anastasia in as well. Anastasia blushed instantly, her back straightening up.

“Wh-What is Her Highness Liti saying!”

“Sister gave the only matching ring to Sister Anna. This is already a hint. Although it should have been given to me, I reluctantly accept it being given to Sister Anna. I must have the composure of a lady. Yes, composure.”

Don’t say this sentence with a gnashing-teeth expression.

“Oh? Her Highness the Princess’s charm is so great that she not only stole Claire from Nola but now even Nola has fallen? Then does Her Highness the Princess want to consider me too? I will cook three meals a day, fold quilts, and wash clothes for you. Just give me some pocket money and let me have the title of an Elf Queen Consort, and I’ll be satisfied. Ah, having another baby with Elf Royal blood wouldn’t be bad either? Just right to shut Father’s mouth. If he runs to the Fire Cat Tribe to make trouble, it’s hard for me to deal with.”

By the end, Ying had already rested her index finger on her chin and tilted her head up slightly, looking like she was thinking seriously.

If she didn’t know Ying was a thorough straight woman who liked to make unreliable jokes, she would definitely have taken it seriously. Fia put on a serious expression as much as possible, while carefully observing Claire—Claire remained unmoved, seeming not to hear everyone’s words. But in this environment, being unmoved was more problematic. Fia felt Claire was just deliberately not talking about her.

Fortunately, Nola had experience in facing danger fearlessly at critical moments. She put down her bowl and chopsticks, sat up straight, and explained righteously.

“The Little Princess is right; there is nothing between Fia and me. It was my gaffe during the day. Because of a momentary encounter, I ignored the feelings of people around me. When Fia took the initiative to find me, I almost attacked Fia. I am very sorry for making everyone, especially Fia and Claire, worry today. As the Clan Chief, I shouldn’t have made such a mistake.”

The exceptionally serious words made the happy atmosphere heavy. Everyone’s gaze wandered between Fia and Nola, wanting to say something to ease the atmosphere but finding it hard to speak due to not knowing the inside story.

Fia had to put down the dish.

“I didn’t feel it brought trouble. After all, anyone encountering that kind of thing would be sad…”

“Um, what exactly is the matter Her Highness the Princess and Nola are talking about? Nola’s state during the day wasn’t good; is there a deep reason in it?”

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“Haah.”

Nola exhaled a long breath, her eyes gradually becoming firm. This was the look of intending to reveal everything. She took down the Flame Greatsword carried on her back and leaned it against the table. Clearly just an ordinary action that couldn’t be more ordinary, it made people feel she seemed to be bidding farewell to this sword.

“This matter will be known sooner or later; I have no need to hide it. The appearance of Darkborn in the Weeping Mountains is not accidental. Actually, I am not the real—”

“Wait.”

Before Nola could say the key words, Fia straightened up and interrupted Nola’s speech. She knew Nola wanted to say “I am not the real Holy Son; the Goddess I have always believed in is a Darkborn, and this Darkborn deceived me.” However, currently, it couldn’t be confirmed that what Helian said was the truth. It could also be that Helian was deceiving Nola, and the real Goddess was someone else.

It was too early to speak in absolutes now. Possessing the identity of a Holy Son couldn’t bring visible benefits to Nola, but losing the identity of a Holy Son would definitely shake her prestige. Especially letting outsiders know a Darkborn disguised as her Goddess would make people fear Nola.

But Fia couldn’t explain to everyone straightforwardly like this. Leaving aside that there were nobles not far away, even if the tavern was noisy, they might hear it. First of all, whether some words should be said or not was a problem, even if the object was someone who would absolutely not leak secrets. The key lay in respect for people’s privacy, not secrecy.

“Your Highness, what you’re trying to say is…”

“Ugh…”

Seeing through why Fia hesitated, Nola shook her head.

“Fia, this is something I must be honest about. It’s either yes or no.”

“But it’s not certain yet.”

“Sister and Nola seem to be speaking in riddles…”

“I’ll leave for a while.”

“Ah, I’ll go with Miss Milu too.”

Milu left the sofa first. Tilulu followed Milu as if understanding the atmosphere. And the atmosphere that even Tilulu and Milu could see, Tsukuyomi, Erin Slate, and the others wouldn’t fail to understand. They soon found excuses to leave the sofa one by one. Finally, only Fia and Nola were left sitting opposite each other lonely again.

It had to be said that before leaving, to ease the atmosphere for the two, Tsukuyomi specially made a joke inviting Fia to her room at night, smiling and praising Fia’s energy as delicious. This made Nola across the table frown unhappily.