Chapter 680: Private Business With Elu [Bonus Chapter]
The flat of Morwenna’s Tidebringer slammed squarely into Silas’s lower back.
"Ow—!" Silas grunted, arching forward with a grimace.
"Keep your damn ears shut, Captain!" Morwenna snarled, grabbing Silas by the back of his charcoal tunic and aggressively hauling him away from the altar like an unruly hound.
Her face was flushed a dark dangerous crimson with her teeth gritted as she shoved him down the stone steps.
"Don’t spend another second around this shameless hussy! She’s a degenerate who spends half her life seducing merchants and the other half sleeping off barrel-wine... If you let her poison your head, I’ll throw your dinner into the river!"
"Hey, I was just asking for historical context!" Silas laughed, raising his hands in mock surrender as she physically pushed him toward the gate.
"Historical context my ass!" Morwenna yelled, casting a panicked, mortified glare over her shoulder toward Elowynn. "Don’t you dare ruin my reputation in his head, you little vixen! If you breathe a single word about the kraken festival, I’ll feed you your own cutlasses!"
Standing by the perimeter, Eluned covered her mouth with a delicate silk sleeve, her emerald eyes dancing with pure delight.
"I shall return shortly, Aki dear," Eluned chimed gracefully, stepping down from the grass to join Silas’s side. "A devoted wife must see her Hubby safely off to the transit gates, lest stray women attempt to stow away in his coat pockets."
Aki nodded with a bright understanding smile.
"Of course, Lady Eluned! Take your time!"
Aeliana fell into step beside them, her regal blond composure intact, though her pointed ears twitched with quiet amusement as Silas continued to bicker with Morwenna all the way to the marble transit dais.
HUUUUUUUUUM!
The emerald and silver spatial runes on the platform flared with brilliant light.
The pillar of dimensional displacement roared upward, swallowing Silas, Eluned, Morwenna, and Aeliana in an eye-blink, leaving behind only the gentle rustle of starlight-lilies in the mountain breeze.
Aki stood in place, watching the fading particles of light with a soft affectionate warmth lingering in her chest.
BURRRRRRRRRP!
A thunderous earth-shaking belch tore through the quiet clearing, rattling the quartz balustrades.
Thor floated down from the boughs of a weeping willow, wiping a streak of boar grease from her chin with the back of her wrist.
She tossed her empty wooden flagon toward a patch of soft clover, rolling her broad, muscular shoulders with an eager grin.
"Well, Silas has gone to run his errands," Thor boomed, her golden hair catching the lavender twilight. "Come on, little rabbit. Let’s head inside that ridiculous pink barn of yours... It’s time I taught you how to properly circulate and hone that energy before you blow your other eyeball out of its socket."
Aki pouted, crossing her small arms defensively. "It isn’t a pink barn! It’s a palace meant for a Lord!"
Still, she didn’t argue.
Her right eye still carried a faint dull throb from the backlash of her earlier Destruction blast, and she knew the thunder goddess’s guidance was invaluable.
She turned back toward the quartz altar, waving her hand toward the two Heroes.
"Ther’Abella! Elowynn! Follow us inside, please. I’ll explain the territory and assign your quarters... but honestly, my legs are completely exhausted right now, so let’s take it slow."
Elowynn stood frozen in place on the altar, her hand still raised where Silas had shaken it.
The warmth of his calloused palm seemed to burn into her skin like a brand.
She slowly curled her fingers into a tight fist, pressing it against her heart with her breath catching in her throat as a dazzling unhinged grin spread across her lips.
"Yes, my Lord," Elowynn answered softly, her voice barely carrying over the wind.
Her mind was spinning, completely untethered from the lingering alcohol.
’I... I’ve fallen in love,’ she thought, a dizzying electric shudder running straight down her spine.
It was ridiculous and it was insane.
She had sailed the treacherous seas for five hundred years, dodging people and rejecting prince-consorts without batting an eyelash.
But that man... the quiet certainty in his eyes, the casual way he looked right through her practiced seduction, the unadorned strength humming in his bones... he was magnificent.
’And Morwenna wants him too,’ she realized, her grin widening into something fiercely competitive. ’Her face was practically on fire when she shoved him away... She likes him... She’s terrified of him finding out about her past because she wants him to look at her as a woman.’
A low purring chuckle rumbled in Elowynn’s throat.
’Well then, old friend... it looks like we’re back in the ring. If there’s one battlefield where I know I won’t lose to a rough-edged pirate queen, it’s this body.’
Her hands brushed down her narrow waist, tracing the dangerous heavy curves of her hips.
Her body, her fox-like smile, her effortless allure... Those were the weapons that had brought whole taverns of cutthroats to their knees.
Yet... as the thought formed, a tiny shadow of doubt flickered behind her purple eyes.
’Wait...’
Silas hadn’t even looked down at her chest.
When she had pressed her bust forward, he had simply looked straight into her eyes, asked her to protect Aki, and shook her hand like a trusted soldier.
’If he doesn’t care about curves... what else do I even have?’ she thought, her brow furrowing in genuine panic. ’He didn’t flinch! What kind of weird, terrifying man is he?!’
SHREEEEEK!
A blinding high-frequency lance of crystallized starlight tore through the air, aimed directly at her temple.
Elowynn’s combat instincts, honed over centuries of naval slaughter, flared instantly.
Her body moved on pure muscle memory as she snapped her head back by three inches, feeling the superheated starlight singe the loose hairs of her bangs with her right arm whipping out to parry the shaft with the heavy brass plate of her remaining vambrace.
CLANG!
The deflection threw off the trajectory with the starlight spear burying itself into the quartz terrace and detonating into a shower of white sparks.
Elowynn spun, baring her teeth.
"What the hell was that for?!"
Standing five paces away was Ther’Abella.
The tall silver-armored elf stood in a razor-sharp vanguard stance, her silver hair whipping in the wind, her cold blue eyes burning with pure disgusted hatred.
"Not only do you reek of foul degenerate spirits," Ther’Abella hissed, her voice shaking with righteous fury, "but your eyes are already glazed with lust for that usurper! That profane web of his is already tightening around you! As Lady Aki’s faithful soldier, I will knock his charm out of that rotten skull before you drag this territory into his gutter!"
Elowynn blinked, her jaw slacking in pure bewilderment.
"Huh...?"
Before she could process the accusation, Ther’Abella moved.
She didn’t bother with spells or another spear.
Her footwork was blindingly fast... It was a displacement of speed that bypassed Elowynn’s depleted Level 1 perception completely!
’She’s fast...!’ Elowynn thought with her stomach dropping.
WHAM!
An armored steel sabaton drove directly into the center of Elowynn’s cheekbone.
BAM! CRUNCH!
The velocity of the kick smashed Elowynn’s face flat against the quartz flagstones for the third time that afternoon, leaving her sprawling in the dirt with stars exploding behind her eyes as she groaned into the gravel.
"Why... does everyone... keep hitting... my face...?"
Ther’Abella lowered her leg, brushing a speck of dust from her greave.
"Clear yet, wretch? Or shall I kick it out of you again?"
Elowynn stared up at the blurry ceiling of sky as the honeyed fog of lust in her head had scattered like startled gulls.
’Okay...’ she thought groggily. ’That actually worked. I hate it.’
...
FLASH!
The spatial pillar collapsed with a gentle hum, depositing Silas, Eluned, Morwenna, and Aeliana back onto the grand terrace of Blessed Land.
The difference in atmosphere was immediate.
Where Vineworld was bathed in a whimsical lavender starlight, Blessed Land possessed an suffocating grandeur.
"Ah..." Silas sighed, rolling his shoulders and taking a deep lungful of the pristine air. "Nothing beats home."
Footsteps clicked against the flagstones nearby.
A young spearwoman clad in Blessed Land’s dark steel plate passed by the perimeter balustrade, conducting her scheduled patrol.
The moment she spotted Silas, her back straightened into a rigid, textbook salute, her spear butt striking the stone with a crisp clack.
"Greetings, Lord Silas! Welcome back to the Keep!"
Silas smiled warmly, stepping off the dais and walking over to the young guard.
He reached out with an easy casual gesture, patting the top of her leather-trimmed helmet twice.
"Good work on the rounds," Silas said gently.
The spearwoman’s breath caught in her throat.
Her eyes fluttered, her shoulders melting under his touch as a soft helpless purr escaped the back of her throat with her cheeks turning a bright radiant scarlet beneath her visor.
Silas chuckled at her reaction, tilting his head slightly. "Hey, have you seen Aurelia around today?"
A brief pang of quiet guilt stirred in his chest.
’I really haven’t been focusing on her much lately...’ Silas thought, his gaze drifting toward the training grounds in the distance. ’Between the tournament, the World Council negotiations, and managing the vassal territories, I’ve barely spent a new hour with her... Lupina and Morrighan too. Sure, they’re living luxurious peaceful lives in Blessed Land now, but they’re still my Heroes. I need to do better about checking in on them... though for this trip to Central City, I can only bring a very limited team.’
The spearwoman quickly recovered her composure, her eyes shining with eager pride as she delivered her report.
"Aurelia departed two hours ago with the third auxiliary squad, my Lord! They went down into the western thickets for a wild hunt! She seemed extraordinarily happy, laughing and practicing her blade arts before they crossed the perimeter!"
"Hunting, huh? Good. She gets restless when she stays indoors too long from what I know." Silas smiled.
He leaned in slightly, brushing his lips softly against the pale expanse of the girl’s forehead in a gentle affectionate kiss.
"Thanks for the update," Silas said, stepping back with a warm wink and the guard froze completely.
Her pupils dilated to the size of saucers.
Her hands began to tremble around the shaft of her spear, a deep incandescent crimson rushing across her face all the way to her collarbones.
"I... I am never washing this forehead again," the girl whispered in a dazed religious trance, clutching her brow with trembling fingers. "Never... For the rest of my natural life."
Silas burst out laughing.
"Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll smell terrible. Besides, if you ever want more forehead kisses, my mouth isn’t going anywhere... Keep up the good work on patrol."
The spearwoman let out a high-pitched, mortified squeak, turned on her heels, and practically sprinted down the flagstone avenue as fast as her armored boots could carry her, leaving behind a faint trail of dust.
Standing behind Silas, the temperature abruptly dropped twenty degrees.
Morwenna’s stormy gray eyes were narrowed into razor-thin slits of unbridled fury.
Eluned’s sweet ethereal smile had locked into an icy terrifying mask, her emerald eyes pulsing with wood-mana that caused the weeds between the stone slabs to twist into thorny barbs.
Both women were glaring at his lower back with an intense synchronized urge to plant their steel-capped boots squarely into his rear end and launch him outside the walls.
"You really can’t help yourself, can you?" Morwenna growled, her knuckles whitening around Tidebringer’s hilt. "Flirting with the perimeter guards in broad daylight? Do you have no shame whatsoever, Captain?!"
Silas turned around, completely unfazed by their homicidal glares, holding his hands up with an innocent unbothered grin.
"Alright, that’s enough standing around," Silas said, seamlessly steering the conversation.
He looked at Morwenna and Aeliana. "Morwenna, Aeli, go down to the Foundry and finalize your gear preparations... Pack light and ensure you have enough things... We leave for Central City shortly."
Morwenna crossed her arms, her jaw setting with sharp suspicion. "And what are you doing?"
"I have some private business to handle with Eluned first," Silas replied smoothly. "We’ll meet you at the central transit node in an hour."
Morwenna shot Eluned a sharp jealous glare with her lips pressing into a thin line.
She clearly wanted to object, but Silas’s tone had shifted into his commanding one.
With a frustrated huff, she turned on her heel and stomped toward the Warlord Foundry, Aeliana offering a graceful bow before gliding after her.
Once they were out of earshot, Silas turned back toward the Keep’s grand mahogany doors, gesturing for Eluned to follow.