Today is the 8th.

-

As we move to get up, Yunia takes out her brush and the drillifier magic tool. Alissa and Lina stop dressing and pull out their own brushes.

"Let us help," Alissa says, and the golden elf accepts. Together, they shine in the morning light as they work her long and precious hair. This scene feels like it could be found in a renaissance painting.

"I'm so envious of her hair!" Roxanne exclaims to us under her breath.

"Why are we, humans, so boring?" I ask in the same tone, and Hana snorts.

"We are perfect as we are," Ciel states, though she doesn't seem very confident about it.

We calmly eat our breakfast and I enjoy the view. The castle grounds outside are so silent that it even feels a little eerie until we get used to it. Not even in the wild were things so quiet since we could still hear the sounds of nature. Jungle-like areas are quite noisy, actually.

Yunia's choice for breakfast seems to be something close to muesli, a not-oat cereal with bits of unknown fruits mixed in. It piques Ciel's interest since it seems quite healthy and kind of tasty with all the fresh fruit that's in it.

"So, we have the morning free. What do you girls want to do?" I ask.

"I want to visit the library. Do they have one inside the castle?" Lina asks.

"They do. Though the knight academy's library should have less erotic literature and more history about the elven kings than the ones in the castle," Yunia says and sends a subtle teasing glance towards Lina.

"O-okay…" Lina says and pouts.

"I think I should take this opportunity to read up some more about [Alchemy]," Roxanne says and gently lands a hand on Lina's head.

"I could read more about [Air Magic], too," Ciel says and nods towards Lina.

"Ah, those books could help me fly. Read them to me!" Aoi asks.

"No, I'll teach you how to read them," Ciel responds and smiles at my little blue dragon.

"Muuh…" Aoi groans in frustration but nods begrudgingly.

"I'd like to see the bows they have in the armory," Alissa says, a little unsure of herself, and glances towards Lina.

"Oh! That's right. We can find some enchanted goodies there!" Hana exclaims.

"Bring me some good enchantments; I want to learn more. If you find any enchanted bows without [Loosen], then I'll just enchant them with it for you," Lina asks.

"Oh… Alright then!" Alissa cheers up, content that she didn't offend Lina.

"Can I spend some time walking around Escanso? I'll miss that town once we leave," Yunia asks.

"Do you want to go alone, or can I go with you?" I ask.

"It'd be lonely to walk alone," she answers and smiles, though her eyes look a little pained due to nostalgia.

I nod gently and smile warmly at her.

"Gih," Gify says. She wants to come, too.

We enter the [Eternal Gate] network, and the guards all immediately recognize Yunia. Nobody says anything to her, they only look down sadly in respect.

We exit into Escanso's castle. Yunia looks around nostalgically, and her face slowly saddens.

I match her pace and let her take in the sights before we move on. She doesn't linger for long though, only enough to refresh her memory of the area, then we move on.

We walk across the inner circle and enter the outer, which is where we fought two days ago. The destruction is still evident, and being this far from the castle allows us to notice how damaged it is.

Missing chunks, burnt walls, cracked and bent corridors. The golden castle looks like a sad, dying bush instead of a glorious symbol of elven culture.

The mansions around us are also badly damaged. The fighting was mostly contained within the eastern side of the outer ring, but there's still damage on the buildings to the west from stray spells and projectiles.

Both in the castle and in the mansion, many elves are working tirelessly to repair everything. The air is filled with Nature and Earth mana as they mostly use magic to repair the damage.

We decide to wrap a shawl around Yunia's head to contain her hair so that she isn't as instantly recognizable. Though if one stares at her for long enough, it's easy to realize how much more perfect she is than the average elf.

I get a few curious looks and decide to wrap a shawl around my head, too. My black hair stands out like a sore thumb among all the gold and silver hair around here.

Yunia observes the damage and suddenly asks, "You participated in the battle, too, right?"

"Yes. I summoned a Grim Giant to open a hole in the Shell."

"That makes you even more dangerous than Confiel…" She says absentmindedly.

"I also met your father on the battlefield… Do you hate me for conspiring against him?" I ask, feeling insecure.

"Do you hate a monster or animal for attacking you due to hunger?" She answers without thinking. I hesitate for a second, and she suddenly turns to me, her deep blue eyes staring intently, filled with guilt. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to imply that you're a monster or an animal."

"You've already called me a monster before, so I wouldn't be offended by that," I say and chuckle.

"But I was joking before."

"I'm not that easily offended." I shrug.

"Okay…" She whispers, still with a tinge of guilt lingering in her voice, and turns forward again. "Hating monsters and animals, even when they kill those who we love, will only cause you to succumb to anger. That is not the path of the righteous."

"I feel like that's a teaching."

"Not his exact words, but it's from the God of War."

Really? Kratos certainly wouldn't say anything like that.

Gih.

I chuckle internally.

"What makes someone 'righteous'?" I ask.

"I…" -she turns to me and hesitates, then smiles- "well, I think that Ciel would be able to give you a more complete answer."

I smirk. "Well, what if I want your answer to that, even if it's 'incomplete'?"

"Hmph." She turns her head away snobbishly. "'Righteous' means someone who doesn't fight only for themselves. Someone who doesn't take death lightly. Someone who strives for what's best for civilization."

I tap my cheek in thought. "That's quite vague. You could justify the mass murder of humanoids with that. If you start a revolution to create a 'perfect' nation, you could 'righteously' kill anyone that even slightly opposes you if you follow that definition."

"You can trust that the God of Existence wouldn't let such crimes happen."

"Hm…"

"The Gods are there for anything too complicated for us to solve."

"Wouldn't that just limit us? If we aren't forced to face these problems and find our own solutions to them, wouldn't we be forever dependent on the Gods?"

She stares at me in confusion. "They are the only things allowed to be immortal precisely so that they'll always be there for us. This way, we can be forever dependent on them and improve civilization beyond what we could do with just ourselves."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Hm…" I tap my cheek again.

She chuckles softly. "The way you think is interesting. You seem curious about everything."

"I'm a scholar, after all."

She nods. "Yes, that you are."

"But we've drifted from what I actually wanted to talk about. I…" I look down at my own hands, and I can't stop myself from feeling guilty for having helped kill Mavel and his wives. I don't even know the names of Yunia's mothers."

The mood instantly changes as she realizes what I'm feeling.

She glares at me, and I feel a hint of the anger that she expressed to Confiel. "What? Out with it. Say it! Say what's making you look so weak right now!" She presses me to confess.

I grit my teeth and let it out, "I helped kill your parents, and I personally wounded your mother."

Her voice wavers, but she remains resolute. "Even if you killed him yourself, I would still be here."

I don't understand her.

I stare into her eyes and ask, "Why? You said that you hate Confiel."

She sighs. "I don't hate him as much as you think."

"Why? How?"

She cringes and looks away. "Can we not talk about this anymore?"

I frown and press on, "But we need to. Yunia, we need to talk through our problems if we hope to remain together for the rest of our lives."

I know this could be pushing her too much, too soon, but I can't stop myself now.

"I… I know!" She frowns at me, exasperated, then her face scrunches up in anger and frustration. "I just… I forgive you!" -she suddenly grabs my shoulders and looks into my eyes, and I feel her ironclad resolve, then she starts spilling a torrent of words- "I don't care about what you did, I forgive you. Because even I didn't believe he could survive defying the Council; even I preferred to take Confiel's warning seriously instead of hoping that my parents would survive; even, I, didn't support my parents as much as I could've. I preferred to stay with my siblings rather than getting involved with my Father's projects. For me, they didn't die the day that Confiel killed them, they've been slowly dying ever since I lost faith in them!"

She pours her heart out all in one go, then she catches her breath, and we remain still, staring at one another for a few long seconds.

I smile gently and cup her cheek, then I say, "Okay. I'll accept your forgiveness. I won't feel guilty about this anymore."

She cups my cheek, too, and touches her forehead against mine. Her sharp blue eyes draw mine in and keep them from looking away. "And I don't want you to pity me anymore. If you want to be my… husband, you'll have to match my determination."

I smirk and look at her like a maniac as I let the hatchling within me spew fire. "Fine, I'll stop being gentle and show you how a dragon treats their mates."

She knits her eyebrow, and her face turns smug. "A dragon? You're still a human, are you not?"

I grab her face and kiss her lips. I invade her mouth and pull her body closer to me. I - hold her head to keep it glued to mine. Then I spread my spirit over her skin, and she starts to respond.

Her tongue is dominated by mine since she can't find the energy to return my caresses. She lacks resolve, so her small tongue only weakly rubs against mine, like a child trying to pat an animal twice her size.

Her arms wrap around my neck and pull me into a tighter hug. -

Her fluffy hair escapes her shawl and falls over my face, caressing my skin. Its sweet smell is the perfect perfume to enhance the experience of our kiss.

Feeling like teasing her. I stop just as things are getting good and give her a shit-eating grin. "What are you looking so disappointed about? Do you want me to continue ravaging your mouth?" I ask.

She hurriedly readjusts her hair, and her sharp eyes become stern. She huffs like a snob and says, "Hmph. You have no shame, wanting to ravage me in public. It's quite likely that many people around here have already recognized me."

"Let them stare. Let them see how my woman is happy with me." I offer an elbow to her, and she takes it, hugging my arm and keeping it between -. "Also, I know that you elves like to show off. You wouldn't wear so little clothing if you were ashamed of your bodies."

She huffs again and makes a cute, snobbish pout, but I also see the small curve of a smile form in the corners of her mouth.

The thing that makes me the happiest, though, is that she's not using [Mask].

After giving the guards my ID, we are instantly allowed to cross through the gate. The old castle guards have been replaced by Confiel's people while Escanso lacks a Lord, so these guards would never try anything against us.

We exit into the Noble's Quarters, and Yunia starts to look around, savoring the sights. I let her guide me, and we take the scenic route, passing by the most beautiful mansions of the town and the expertly maintained public parks. I also spread some Hollys around us just in case.

I maintain a very subtle spirit touch on her arm. I just can't stop myself from wanting to make her feel good.

The elven equivalent of a mansion is to grow multiple of their tree-houses into one large complex. Some of them are even raised into the air, creating a whole floor at the ground level that's used in a variety of ways, like dancing halls, stables, covered pools, and shaded gardens.

"I spent my childhood walking down these streets. All of my friends live around here," Yunia comments.

"Do you want to visit them?" I ask.

"No!" She whisper-shouts. "It's already a bit of a risk just coming here. I don't want to make a scene!"

"Then we might want to walk faster since there's already someone looking at us."

She cringes and pulls me towards the exit of the Quarters.

We enter the common area and relax a little since the streets are bustling, and we can easily disappear into the crowds.

Every street, even the alleys, is filled with hundreds of flowers. They're in the crowns of the trees, mixed in with the leaves; randomly growing in the walls of the buildings; neatly arranged on the sidewalks and in the holes in the middle of the streets; and also on the clothes and in the hair of the people, including the beards.

While Goloria has a more chaotic urban plan and a more dignified style, partially due to how all the buildings are white, Escanso is a neatly arranged town with cute-looking buildings. It has plump tree-houses, an abundance of curved patterns, and a color palette that's pleasing to the eyes.

I kind of get why she wants to walk around the town. I miss Rabanara, and I miss Earth towns, too. It just feels nice to walk around a familiar environment where you have plenty of eye-candy to look at, and I'm not talking about the semi-nude elves everywhere.

"I actually hate crowds, let's go somewhere quieter," she says.

We start walking through dimly lit alleys. They aren't dirty or dangerous, they are just more difficult to walk through, so people avoid them most of the time.

Public cleanliness is generally higher here than on Earth due to everyone being able to cast [Clean] to instantly make most of the visible dirt vanish. Also, trash disposal is handled the same way as sewage: they make shit simply disappear.

We pass by a Snow Weave shop, and I strain my neck looking at the mannequins in front as we pass by.

"I have a lot of Snow Weave. You don't have to worry about that," Yunia comments.

"Hm… which chest are they in?" I ask.

"The ones labeled as 'nightwear,'" she responds and shyly looks away.

I open my "Items" and find five chests with that label.

"Oh boy," I whisper and start salivating.

Her breathing starts to speed up, and her pink skin becomes flushed. She squeezes my arm tighter -.

"Have you been using your special touch with me?" She suddenly asks.

"Yes, I have," I answer with a mischievous grin.

"Damn you… but dwarven beard… it's working," she whispers through gritted teeth.

"Want to stop somewhere?" I ask with complete innocence.

She looks around to orient herself, then turns in a specific direction and pulls me forward into a hurried pace.

We continue at this pace for a few minutes before we stop in front of a secluded and comfy inn.

"How did you know about this place?" I ask.

She smiles nostalgically, and her gaze softens a little. "Well… I never needed to sleep in an inn, but my friends did when they were going on 'escapadas' in secret from their parents."

Huh, I recognized that she used the Ingua word "escapadas," which means "escapades."

"You can't really stop young people from loving," I say and chuckle.

She stares at me, looking a little curious. "You don't mind that your future daughter might lose her virginity to a common boy?"

"She'll be allowed to make mistakes. I'd prefer that she be very careful with who she lays with, but I don't plan on stopping her, except in extreme situations, like if she falls in love with a heretic or something."

"Hm… You also don't mind that I wasn't a virgin before you?"

I shake my head. "It feels nice being the first, but even if I can't be, why should I care?" I shrug.

"It seems like you Earthlings have some interesting ideals."

"I wouldn't say I'm a 'normal' Earthling."

She smiles wryly. "Oh, bother. Then it's good that the better Earthling was sent here."

Alright, Pooh.

"I guess…" I scratch my head awkwardly.

"Let's go," she says in a sultry tone -.

We enter the inn and see a modest but pleasant dark blue interior with comfy furniture laid out. A mature elven woman stands behind a counter reading a book and smoking from a long and thin pipe. I sense a faint smell of chocolate that slowly morphs into honey.

"Is that high-grade Eia?" I whisper to Yunia.

"Too faint. It's at most medium-grade," She answers.

The innkeeper notices us, and Yunia asks for a room for only half a day. The innkeeper raises an eyebrow as she notices the mismatch in our pairing, but stays silent as I pay up the required silver.

The inn has a few people walking about, and they seem kind of well-dressed. If I had to make a guess, they are probably middle-class.

"The food here is pretty good, too, or so I've heard," Yunia comments, and I glance towards the restaurant and confirm that there's a significant number of people there.

We enter the room, and I see a simple, blue double bed. The blanket is made of brown Miasmatic Gambo fur, the pillows are filled with high-quality harpy feathers, and the mattress feels like high-quality not-cotton. All in all, it's quite a comfy place, and it might just be on the level of "acceptable" for a snobbish but horny teenager.

"The rooms here are soundproof," she comments and turns around to look at me with an expectant smile.

I close the door behind me and pull her into a firm hug. I turn up my spirit touch and kiss her, letting my hunger drive my actions.

Gify jumps off of my shoulder and goes to the corner of the bed to take a nap. We can be as loud as we want since she only wakes up when she wants to.

-

With a Holly, I see Silvane coming towards the inn. She's carrying a white rabbit while two fully armored bodyguards flank the silver elf girl. Even though her shawl makes it more difficult to recognize her, there's no way that I'd ever forget a face as beautiful as Silvane's.

Oh, wow! Silvane and Nononya! What a coincidence!

-

Silvane enters the inn and marches up the stairs. Her face is severe, matching that of her bodyguards.

Wait…

- At the same time, Silvane stops in front of our room, and one of her bodyguards kicks the door open.

FUCK!

I pull my real sword out of its scabbard and into my hand with [Telekinesis] while I summon two spooky skeleton-like earth elementals behind us.

Yunia's face goes from bliss as she yells profanities to panic as she leaps towards her longsword.

I turn around, -, and face the intruders with a glare of pure anger.

One of Silvane's bodyguards comes in, sword and shield at the ready, then Silvane comes in behind him, wand in one hand and Nononya in the other.

I cast [Lightning Bolt] and hit the first bodyguard, making them freeze and stumble. Then Silvane sees me and pales. She freezes on the spot, and the bodyguard coming in behind bumps into her.

"NOO~! BACK!" Silvane shrieks and jumps back, pushing the second bodyguard out of the room and tripping over him.

"Kick him out!" I yell and point to the stunned bodyguard. The elementals leap forward and literally kick him out of the room.

Oops, that was too much.

The bodyguard flies away as a kick to the chest and another to his head cracks his wooden armor.

"Close the door!" I yell, and the elementals obey.

I finally stop -, and an awkward silence falls over us.

"Wolfy, what just happened?" Yunia asks. She's in a combat stance -.

"I'm… not sure," I answer.