The road makes things much easier and the mountain ahead grows bigger by the minute. Before long I spot a dot in the distance flying towards us, so I step off to the side and wait. A couple of minutes later I am hit by a missile that instantly wraps around me.

Kechara has gotten stronger, I doubt that I can break her hold without hurting her. She squeezes me just hard enough to keep my arms pinned and proceeds to lick my face. The other kids come rushing over, but they just watch and laugh at me.

Kechara licks my face for a couple of minutes before she has had enough. She finally lets me go, but then she shrinks down and wraps herself around my neck like a scarf. Now that I can move, I reach up to pet Kechara with one hand and wipe my face with the other.

"Hello, Kechara. I have missed you!"

Kechara says "I missed you too, dad!"

"I can tell by how you tried to drown me!"

Kechara just giggles and hugs my neck tighter, but it isn't like I mind it. The other kids, seeing their chance, start begging for their share of affection. It takes me several minutes to satisfy them and get them to settle down.

When I move to take my place at the head of the column again, the kids move with me. Kechara stays wrapped around my neck as she chats with the other kids. Chatting with the kids makes the time pass faster and before I know it it is lunchtime.

Since Kechara hasn't had it yet, I decide that we are having pizza for lunch. While I am at it, I also decide to provide pizzas for all of the elves, which is a lot of pizzas. However, it is a good chance to introduce Kechara to the elves and save the elves some work.

Thanks to them not having to cook, the elves manage to eat and get moving faster. Thanks to Lizzy, the road cuts straight through the foothills and is perfectly flat. When it reaches the mountain, it turns into a long ramp leading up to a large cave entrance.

The ramp is long enough to keep the grade gentle and easy to climb, even for the wagons. Not that the golems would have any trouble, but even so it is quite impressive. At the rate we are going, we should enter the mountain before the sun sets.

"Kechara, any ideas on how we are going to get everyone through the barrier?"

Kechara says "There is no need. The barrier now only extends beneath the city. This road will lead straight to the city. There is another road on the opposite side that leads straight to the new city you are having built."

"So we can walk straight in? That's great!"

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Kechara says "It was Core's idea. As soon as she knew that you were bringing back elves, she started working on preparing the city. Well, as much as she could anyway."

"Good. That means it will be easy to settle them down once we arrive. That will save me quite a bit of work."

Kechara says "There are still some things that you will need to do since Core can't leave her room and you have the crown. Core will tell you more once we arrive."

"Alright. Sounds good. I have a few things that I need to accomplish as well."

A few hours later I finally step out of the tunnel and see the cavern where the city is. At first I think that nothing has changed, but then I spot several farms on the plain. The road also continues on and leads to one of the bridges leading to the city.

Surprisingly, the four bridges have been repaired, but I don't remember ordering the golems to do that. Maybe the beasts managed to repair them, but I didn't think they had that level of magic. When we cross the bridge, there are crowds of beasts waiting to welcome us.

Although, from the cheers about the creators, it would seem they are not here to welcome me. Even though I told the elves about them, they still seem surprised by the warm welcome. Housing has already been prepared, so the elves are settled fairly quickly.

Once that is done, I gather Stillwater, Silverstream, Silverleaf, Sheraf, and Brightfire. With them, and the kids, I head up the column to Core's room. As soon as I set foot into the room, Core runs over and hugs me as hard as she can and I hug her back.

"Hi, Core!"

Core says "Ash, welcome back! Thank you for rescuing me people!"

"You know, you are probably the only one who is glad I went on my little side adventure. Well, other than those I met while I was gone."

Core says "I don't care about that. All I know is that thanks to you, I am no longer alone!"

"Well, speaking of that. Let me introduce you to everyone. These are the leaders of the elves, you can meet the rest later."

With Core still hugging me, I introduce the group to her along with a description of their abilities. That way she will know who to talk to depending on what she needs. When the introductions are finally done, Core lets go of me and invites everyone to sit down.

"Alright. Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about what else we need to do. The elves are already assigned housing, but we should probably talk about what happens next."

Core says "Food isn't a problem, we already increased production to account for the additional population. What I am worried about is how the elves are going to interact with the beasts."

Stillwater says "Ash told us about their origin. We have already discussed it with our people and they have agreed that we will treat them as equals."

Core says "I am really glad to hear that!"

"Since that is taken care of, you should probably invite the elders to join us. Um, you will need to make the introductions, I can't guarantee that I will remember which is which."

Core laughs and says "I can do that."

"Oh, can Yui come down here? Or is she still restricted to the tower?"

Core says "She can communicate through the mirror, but she can't leave the tower."

"Alright, I will go up to see her once we are done."

While we are waiting for the elders to arrive, I take out the castle and set it up outside. I place it so that the gate is even with the platform outside Core's room. Then I ask Jarvis to notify Lin and Bella that they should come outside and meet everyone.

When they come out, Lizzy and Windy come with them, but I was expecting that. The four of them follow me into the room and I introduce them to Core. Core seems really interested in speaking with Lin and it makes me wonder what she has heard.