*Evan POV*
I had to get a bunch of things ready on the spur of the moment. Once I let the Daisy trio inside, I made them wait at the Guest room on the first floor which I made haphazardly while building, but the house wasn’t finished so there were just a couple of chairs and tables in a large room,
I made a couple of extra chairs and put them in the room when the trio wasn’t looking but Honestly, I wanted to put some sofas, maybe some paintings here and there, some potted plants, and a fireplace but then again, I have to complete the whole house in the first place which I’ll be able to do after all this mess is up.
After putting the trio in the guest’s room, Mio Went to the kitchen to make something for them with all the groceries I bought so she was going to be busy, I told Luna to help her as well since there was going to be a lot of people here in a moment, 5 from our side, 3 from Tifa’s side, 3 from Daisy’s side and two disciples of mine. A total of 13 people and I can’t imagine a 15-year-old cook for all of them even if she’s a maid. Luna was a bit hesitant about it, but I somehow convinced her in the end. The only ones left were Lucy and Oswald, I just told them to follow me quietly for now.
My next step was to go upstairs and find Helputt and Nezha first. They used to be King and Queen so I wonder if they’ll be able to advise me on how to tackle this problem. They told me that the Silver Daemons tribe has always been neutral to all races so they might be able to help in the negotiations between the Humans and the Elves since they know them both. I had to go to the Elves next and they don’t like Humans so I made Lucy and Oswald wait here with Helputt and Nezha.
Lastly, I knocked on the door where the Elven trio was, They let me in and I was quite relieved to see that trio was okay now, they looked really close, Elizabeth was sitting on the ground like a momma bird with Tifa and Sarah leaning in on her like baby birds, actually, now that I look at them, aren’t they both sleeping? Also, I had forgotten about her but Tania was also there in the corner, staring at a wall.
“Evan. It’s really nice to see you again.” Elizabeth looked really happy, from the last time I saw her when she was bawling her eyes out. Noticing the momma bird talking, Tifa and Sarah both woke up and started wiping their eyes. They don’t seem like they wanna stand or move, it’s either because they're tired or feel too comfortable in each other’s arms.
I started scratching my head looking at them, “Okay, first of all, sorry for interrupting your family time.”
“Evan,” The queen said seriously, “What you’ve done for me, is more than what I could ever repay. Please do not feel sorry.”
“Oh, shit really?” I said as I stopped scratching my head and feeling guilty, “Okay, then don’t be mad about the second thing I was going to talk about.”
Elizabeth looked at me confused but I kept talking, “So, I need a favor, There’s a Queen from the Human Kingdom nearby waiting for me downstairs. She wants to unify or at least start having friendly relations with many other races and I told her I could help her a bit.”
“You mean…”
“Could you talk to her? Queen on Queen? I’m not asking you to get into a friendly relationship with her but at least have a chat with her or something?”
The Elves trio’s eyes were wide open, I don’t know if they felt disgusted or surprised but Elizabeth started talking. “Evan… are you doing this for Tifa and me?” Tifa started blushing and started avoiding my eye contact, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t doing it for her. The better relations with the human Kingdom do help me but that wasn’t the only reason I decided to do this.
“Hey Elizabeth, don’t mind me asking, but how were you going to convince the other elves that people like Tifa are not bad people?”
She looked at Sarah for a second and started explaining, apparently, her method was to first sever all ties with humans and then lay down several trusted spies to make sure there was no contact between Humans and Elves, after that she wanted to play the waiting game while slowly trying to steer the elves racism from worse to better.
“That is honestly the worst plan I’ve ever heard of,” I told her plainly with no hesitation. “How much time would that take? A couple of hundreds of years?”
Despite my harsh criticism she remained calm and started explaining, “That was my original prediction too. And it’s not that long of a time?”
Not that long of a time? Are you craz- oh wait no, she’s an Elf, isn’t their lifespan like a thousand years long or something?… But.
“Hey Elizabeth, you’re doing all that for your daughter right?”
Elizabeth made a resolute face. “Of course, without a doubt.”
“Then tell me something, she’s a half-breed between the elf and a human right?” She seemed a bit confused but nodded in the end.
“Then… doesn’t that mean her life span would only be half of an Elf? Since she’s a half-breed?” As soon as I said this, Elizabeth looked like her entire world shattered.
“Ahh nuts, you didn’t consider that did ya.” Elizabeth looked depressed again and Tifa was holding onto her hand trying to calm her.
“Hey Elizabeth, Let’s do this my way now, can’t help to try at least right?” It took a little while to calm Elizabeth down since she seemed depressed. But she nodded in the end.
“Okay, get your game face- I mean, get your Queen face on and meet us downstairs. Talk to the Human Queen and decide what’s best for both of you. We’ll talk after that.” I was about to leave but Turned back into their room, “Also, Tania, your punishment is finished for now but that’s only because I need you downstairs with Elizabeth.”
She turned around and started jumping, “Yes! Master Evan thank you for your Gift!” She bowed down slightly trying to show me her cleavage wrapped in vines, “I’ll be sure to repay your kindness.”
I’m so putting her back into the corner after this is all over.
The stage was finally set, I had confirmation from all parties, and the last thing left to do was for them to come to the stage. I went downstairs and told Daisy that everyone would be coming soon enough so we had a little bit of time left. She started talking to Ruby and Trish about their strategies during the negotiations and I helped out wherever I could.
*Elizabeth's POV*
Tifa will live half the lifespan of other Elves.
It was something so obvious yet something my brain refused to accept. Evan’s statement was a bombshell to me and I couldn’t bear it. My hands were shaking and I couldn’t see correctly, I was feeling faint and If I lost focus even a bit, I would collapse right then and there.
A normal Elf has a life span of about a thousand years, A queen such as myself is blessed by dryads and live ten times the life span of a normal Elf. What this means is that, regardless of the circumstances, in a few hundred years, I’ll have to watch my daughter die.
I couldn’t bear the thought, I looked at Tifa who was right beside me and she saw the pain welling up in my eyes. “Mother?” She called out to me and her voice alone broke something inside me, I hugged her and tears started coming out on their own.
Both Tifa and Sarah called out to me worriedly but I couldn’t bear it. Tifa hugged back and I felt Sarah’s hand on my back, trying to calm me down.
“Mother?” Tifa called out to me again, but I didn’t want to let go of my child. I don’t want to lose my only family again.
“Geez, I did tell you a thousand years ago that you’d regret loving a human.” I heard Tania’s words and felt her hand on my head.
I slowly let go of Tifa and looked at Tania who was kneeling down and caressing my head. “Tania,” My voice was cracking up but I couldn’t do anything about it, “Help me.”
I remember Blaze and how traumatizing it was watching him die as our identity had to remain a secret or our daughter’s life was in danger.
She sighed, “Really, what am I going to do with you? You two, could you leave us alone for a moment?” Tifa and Sarah looked at each other before nodding and slowly walking towards the door. I looked at them and Tifa was looking at me.
“Please don’t worry about me,” Tifa said before closing the door.
Once they left Tania looked at me, “Life crystals and Life fruits. Heard about them?”
I shook my head as she started explaining, “They’re quite the rare stuff but, using those things increases one’s vitality. This obviously means their life span as well, the limit is about 3 times from Tifa’s original lifespan and by 4 times with the use of Life fruits as well, but let’s not forget that I’m also here, if things get bad I can give Tifa my blessing, but you of all people should know what that means.
A dryad’s blessing. That’s the requirement to become the King or Queen of all Elves, it increases one’s prowess in everything along with increasing their lifespan by ten times of their original life span but… If Tifa gets the blessing, I will no longer be a Queen. That’s the price for letting anyone else get a Dryad’s blessing.
The new elf getting it will have to become the King or Queen. The Dryad blessing is also seen easily by all Elves so it’s not something that can be hidden. If Tifa becomes the Queen… There will be no end to her troubles. Forget about people not listening to her, they may attack her or plot assassination as well if it’s not handled correctly.
I was falling into a depressing state again but Tania started talking again. “How about following the path Master Evan set out for you? It’s not a great start, but it’s definitely a start nonetheless.”
It’s not reliable, I have thought about his path before, but it’s not guaranteed, and neither is it effective, even if the peace talks work, the negativity in the hearts of all Elves is not something that can be cleared by a simple decree.
I was having doubts but Tania continued, “Well, I doubt you have any of the leisure to worry about it, just put on your Queen mask already and go check what Master Evan has in store for you, if there’s anyone who can change fates then it’s him.”
I looked at Tania and we both stared at each other for a moment until I nodded.
“At the very least, I’ll hear them out. But I won’t do it if it will bring harm to my people.”
*Evan POV*
The Daisy trio, the Silver Daemon trio, and the two disciples of mine were here, Luna and Mia were cooking so there was only me, Helputt and Nezha in the Team Silver Daemon. I don’t think Lucy and Oswald care much about this so I’m putting them on the Neutral team.
In the middle of the room, there were two large wooden tables placed next to each other in such a way that the long side of both tables was connected to other, making a large square instead of a really long rectangle when looked at from above. There were three chairs on all sides of the table. I sitting in the middle surrounded by Helputt and Nezha, this is what I like to call Team Silver daemon!
To our right, was Team Human! Daisy sitting in the middle, surrounded by Trish and Ruby. To my Left were the empty seats of Team Elves! And in front of me were Lucy and Oswald with the middle seat Empty for Tania in Team neutral!
I looked over to Daisy and while she was sitting dignifiedly, her hands were tightened, so I knew she was nervous, there was a waft of delicious food being cooked in the air which was being made by Luna and Mia. Only a few minutes had passed but it felt like an eternity since we stopped talking about strategies together. I wasn’t even in on the strategies I would just say stuff that Elizabeth might like or not, I don’t really know her that much.
After another minute or two, Team Elves were finally here! Looks like Tania brought them here since they don’t know the layout of my home but it doesn’t matter. Everyone stood up the moment they came here as a show of respect. But Team Human did not expect a mental attack from Team neutral! They all took 10 points of mental damage by looking at the seductive costume of Tania the Dryad!
I really should stop thinking of this like a game battle but I’m really bored so I’m not gonna stop.
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I thought the Elven trio would look tired, horrible, or exhausted, but no, they all appeared dignified, especially Elizabeth who had an aura of Elegance around her.
We all exchanged our greetings and everyone introduced themselves once more before we all sat down again. Team Elves sat on their assigned seats and Tania just… sat down opposite of me.
Hrrrngh. Looks like my opponent is you, Tania, I’m not gonna show mercy! The place is set! All the Teams were here! LOOKS LIKE IT’S FINALLY TIME FOR A TEAM BATTLEEEEE!
There was a moment of silence between everyone so I decided to start the fight, “Now that everyone knows each other, Let’s talk about why we’re all here.” I paused for a second and all the Team leaders (aka Elizabeth, Daisy, and Tania) nodded. “Daisy, you wanted to get friendly relations with all races possible, which includes the Elven race as well, right?”
I started the topic, the rest would be up to Team Human and Team Elves to duke it out. Daisy starts talking first, “The reason I want to start a friendly relation is for the ability to help each other out while making sure there’s no bad blood between us.”
Okay looks like Team Humans have started their attack, let’s see how team Elves handle this.
Elizabeth didn’t say anything, she just stared at daisy with a cold yet dignified look. It was Sarah, the twin-tailed-looking brat who made the first move, “No bad blood? Your kind has tortured us for the last many decades. I’ve seen a number of my friends lose their children and many kids lose their parents, All of us have suffered so much because of you people, Why should we get a friendly relationship with your kingdom?
HOLY SHIT, A MEAN LEFT HOOK AT THE START OF THE MATCH FROM TEAM ELVES THEMSELVES! TEAM HUMAN ISN’T GONNA RECOVER EASILY FROM THIS ONE FOLKS!
Daisy was a bit taken aback, but she had prepared for the negotiations, which included the part about humans doing Elf slavery, “I understand about all the things the Humans have done to you, But I promise you that my Kingdom has taken part in no such thing. I have proof of it, and I’m willing to work together with you to find illegal slavery being done in the dark”
Looks like the Human team took it like a champ, But the Elven tea- Yea I should probably stop doing this weird team bit and start taking this seriously.
Daisy’s words didn’t affect Sarah at all as she continued “And that’s supposed to remove our hatred? Is telling our people that catching the perpetrators is enough to quench our anger with your kind?”
Daisy couldn’t respond and looked downcast and depressed, I don’t blame her, Sarah’s words were really sharp, but it’s strange to see Elizabeth not making saying anything and watching. She had a cold gaze toward Daisy too. But if things go like this, then Daisy won’t be able to do much else here. Looks like I’ll have to give her a helping hand at the very least.
“Hey Sarah, don’t mind me asking but when was the last time you guys lost an Elf to the Humans?”
Sarah looked at me annoyed but still answered, “About 60 to 70 years ago, why do you ask? Are you going to tell us to leave it since it was a long time ago?”
“Nah, Nah, you’re taking this the wrong way, any way, Daisy, how old are you?”
She looked a bit confused but answered regardless “I’m 20?”
I couldn’t help but look at her, she did not look 20 at all, she looked similar to Luna in age, and Luna’s 16 I think? Regardless, It’s enough of a point, “That means that since her birth she hasn’t don’t anything to warrant your, or the other Elves hate.”
Daisy quickly continued, “S-Slavery is also illegal in my Kingdom!”
And then Trish backed Daisy up, “We also frequently check all Noble’s household and every black-market present in her Highness Kingdom to make sure they aren’t breaking any rule, I assure you that no wrong dealings happen in the Kingdom.”
Sarah stared at them for a few moments before she attacked us with words again. “Then what about outside your Kingdom? Are you saying as long as your Kingdom is clean we should help you out when you’re in trouble?”
Daisy was quiet again as she thought about how to respond correctly but even I was getting annoyed now so I backed her up, “Hey Sarah, Cut them some slack already.”
“Excuse me?” Sarah narrowed her eyes at me.
“Why do you think the Unity between Humans and the Elves is happening in the first place? If you’re willing to work with them, that means they’re willing to work with you. I doubt any more Elves will get kidnapped or captured for slavery, but with a whole Human kingdom backing you up, it will be easier to not only find the perpetrator but also to rescue the Elves.”
She stared at me for a moment or two before looking away. “I understand… But that’s not enough to rid the hate of people who lost their parents and children.”
Everyone became quiet again, thinking of their next move, and while Helputt, Nezha, and Tania didn’t have anything to do with this exchange, they were looking at me endearingly… All beside Tania, whom I’m pretty sure she’s looking at me lustfully.
Elizabeth hadn’t said anything and kept staring at Daisy, but I guess it’s better to say that her gaze was far away, I don’t know if she was thinking hard or if her mind is just some place else.
“Elizabeth,” I decided to break her silence, “You good? You seem out of it?”
She took in a deep breath, “I… I don’t know if this is the right move.”
Oh, so she’s just having doubts?
“Hey Elizabeth, just remember why you’re doing this.” I tried reminding her why she was doing this.
She looked at Tifa with a Mother’s gaze and Tifa started talking, “Whatever you choose, I’ll be happy with your decision.”
Elizabeth finally smiled, losing the icy glare she had before, “Then I will be frank your majesty, I’m neither sure nor do I think it’s a good thing to join hands, While I have some personal reasons to do this, I don’t think the pain my people has gone through is worth it for it in the end.”
Daisy looked down, depressed, “So, it’s impossible in the end?”
“Not necessarily.” Elizabeth’s words shocked everyone in the room, “I will be honest, I do want to go back to the time when the Humans and the Elves were friends. But That isn’t possible until we’ve solved the problems present in my community.”
Oh, are we finally making some progress? …Wait, did she just say that both the races used to be friends?
“Daisy made a determined look, “Are you saying that, as long as we solve your problem, you're willing to join hands with us?”
Elizabeth nodded, “I promise.”
Daisy finally started smiling since the time she’s been here, noticing her excitement, Sarah said annoyed, “You’re looking quite happy for facing a near impossible task.”
But it didn’t bring Daisy down even a bit, “As long as there’s a chance for unity, I’m happy.”
Looks like the only problem they’re facing is the inherent racism present Within the Elves community. Now, I have no clue how Daisy’s going to solve this one but that’s none of my problems… Wait. Isn’t solving that problem actually quite easy and will also solve a lot of my problems at the same time as well?
Holy shit, it is, isn’t it?
“Hey guys, Isn’t the solution to this problem quite easy?” The moment I said these words, all eyes were on me.
“What do you mean by easy?” Elizabeth asked me first, so I explained.
“Just make a common enemy that you both hate? The Cultists have been ravaging everyone lately so just put all the blame on them? Once everyone’s hatred is on them, they will all band together to defeat the Cultists so that they’ll forget any grievances of each other.” I gave off my honest thoughts about the situation. Banding together to rid of a common enemy is not something unheard of back in my world.
Daisy and Elizabeth were deep in thought but both Sarah and Trish said in unison, “This can work.” They both looked at each other and smiled as if they both acknowledged each other.
Daisy quickly asked Trish, “What do you mean Trish?”
“Banding together to beat a common enemy… It’s not something that works most of the time, but the Cultists have already been ravaging both our Kingdoms for quite a long time, from the reports I’ve read so far, The cultists almost destroyed the Elven Kingdom just recently.”
Ruby added to Trish’s words, “The cultists have also been attacking various villages, travelers, and other Kingdoms besides ours. The humans really hate them.”
I couldn’t get any word in as Sarah continued, “The hate for Cultists is already high amongst our people, if we can convince our people that even the Humans have lost their families because of them… then it could work.”
Poor Cultists though, first they get all their plans about Cthulhu and stuff wiped off by me, and now I’m joining two whole Kingdoms together to beat their ass more. Talk about kicking them while they're down… Was that how the idiom went? I don’t remember.
Elizabeth looked completely bewildered which was quite the contrast to Daisy who was smiling ear to ear.
“Will… Will it really work?” Elizabeth asks Sarah who was smiling,
“Yes your highness, we can even use Evan’s name to completely convince our people to side with Daisy’s people since Evan is still their hero.”
Elizabeth looked at me like she couldn’t believe everything that was happening, so I spoke in her stead, “Well, looks like this strategy will solve most of your problems, which means that a friendly relationship is entirely possible. The elves will slowly get better with humans as they both slowly rid of the Cultists. Everyone wins. The only thing left is both the Queens' confirmation.”
Daisy and Elizabeth both stared at each other for a moment before nodding.
“It will be an honor for us to fight and live beside the Elves,” Daisy said happily as Elizabeth quickly matched her excitement,
“So will it be for us as well?” Elizabeth stood up and everyone followed her movement. She walked up to Daisy as she stood there stiff.
“I hope from now on you treat us with kindness.” Elizabeth held her hand out.
“S-Same for us!” Daisy was a bit nervous, but she still shook Elizabeth’s hand.
Tania suddenly started talking, “Then, as the protector of the forest, I shall act as the witness and remember this exchange, once Elizabeth has convinced her people, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Daisy will join hands to work together and create a friendly environment for each other’s kingdom and help each other in their time of need.”
They both nodded and I couldn’t help but clap. Following my example, everyone started clapping and Daisy started blushing.
“Well,” I started talking, “Since everything’s done, why not stay over for some food? Sadly, we’ll all have to eat here since the house is still under construction… and I need to get a couple of extra chairs.”
Everyone nodded, and a friendly environment was created. Everyone started making plans and discussing what should be done in the future but I didn’t really care about that, I just crafted another table and some extra chairs just in case when no one was looking.
Everyone was happy and talking with each other, while I was waiting for the food, I have to say the smell was really enticing as well. I was gonna read some books in my archive to pass the time, but Tania just walked up to me, I thought she might start making some kind of trouble but she had a serious face on.
“Master Evan,” She said quietly, so the other didn’t notice much, “Do you know of that woman with Purple hair and dark red eyes?”
I raised an eyebrow, “Ruby? What’s wrong with her?”
“There’s nothing wrong with her but… She’s a dragon-kin. Please be wary around her.”
A dragon-kin? So something similar to a dragon? I did know that she wasn’t Human since her red eyes have a vertical slit in the middle like a cat’s eye, and she wears a black shirt and pants which completely hides her body, so I couldn’t tell much else aside from her eyes, But…
“Why should I be wary around her? She’s not my enemy?”
Tania narrowed her eyes at me, “A dragon-kins main source of energy is through eating mana, just like me. You may notice your mana drain down a bit for no reason when you near her, it’s because she’ll try to absorb a bit of your mana whenever you’re not looking.”
Now that she mentions it, I do notice my mana refilling to the max for no reason sometimes, and it’s usually when I’m near Ruby.
“Your mana is too pure, I bet she looks for opportunities to steal some whenever you are nearby, trust me, I think of the same thing.”
So... What you're saying is that I need to watch out for both of you? I don’t mind my mana points being stolen since it just needs a couple of seconds to regenerate completely anyway and I doubt that she'll steal my max mana since I checked and it's the same as before… but. Mana, huh?
Wait. Isn’t the mana ball skill I learned earlier just a ball of 100% pure mana?… I have to test something out.
Mana ball… is a bit of a special ability. it has a n/a mana cost requirement, which means that I can put however much mana I want into it. From 1 Mp to however much Mp I want to put in the same mana ball provided I have that much mana. I decided to make a 20 Mp mana ball in my hand and Ruby just stopped talking to Daisy as she immediately turned her head to stare at the mana ball in my hand like a hawk.
Uhhh.
I looked towards Tania, and while she still had a serious look, she was drooling crazily.
UHHHH.
Watching them, I couldn't put the feeling I had into words. Was it discomfort? A sense of danger? or plain fear? "Evangeline?" Daisy tried to snap Ruby out of it but these two kept staring at the mana ball like a predator. I was starting to get some goosebumps and my guts was telling me to get rid of the Manaball in my hand before I found out what the gut feeling was, so I just threw the Mana ball at the wall next to me, and I'm glad I did since they both jumped towards the ball like a bunch of dogs who saw their favorite ball being thrown.
Everyone was stupefied by their behavior. The mana ball hit the wall and splattered everywhere, They were both on all fours and looked at the wall of wasted mana in sadness. Ruby still had enough self-respect to stop right then and there… But, Tania however, did not. She started acting like a wild animal in heat and started licking the wooden wall like crazy. Even I didn't think she'd do something like that, I turned around to look at the masses and everyone besides Elizabeth was mortified, Elizabeth was straight-up face palming almost as if she expected Tania to do such a thing but I had to do something before the situation worsened.
I conjured up two more mana balls in both of my hands with each having 20 Mp put in them. I did it so that Tania would stop licking the wall like a dog but this turned into another wrong move as they both looked back toward me like starving animals. I had to somehow make the situation better but Ruby, the person who was my type, and Tania, the one with the smoking hot body wearing vines as clothes, were both on all fours and crawling towards me… needless to say, I developed a new kink.
“Looks like you’re both interested in my balls.” That didn’t come out as I wanted but they were both slowly closing the distance between us. I didn't move, Like an apex predator looking over some submissive animal, I was towering over them as they slowly crawled up to me, drooling without care with their eyes locked onto my balls. Suddenly, they opened their mouths and their tongues hanged down, “Pleaze…” they both said seductively with their tongues still out, “Pleaze givez us your ballz.” I didn’t want to admit it but this was like the start to a really weird porno
… AND I WAS ALL UP FOR IT!
“Evan.” The voice of a familiar demon lord woke me up from my dreams as I noticed that everyone was staring at me, completely flabbergasted. I looked towards the voice and it was Luna holding onto a tray of food with her eyes, which were usually icy blue, turned blood red. She calmly placed the tray of food on the table and then conjured up a mallet made of ice.
I was promptly whooped in the ass like there was no tomorrow I will skip over the details as I just accepted her beating as both Ruby and Tania yoinked my balls from my hands before they deep-throated it down their throat.
Ruby’s whole face remained red for the whole time she was here, at least she knows what she did wrong, Tania however was a bit more shameless than Ruby and kept asking to eat more of my balls but I just made her stand in the corner again.
Needless to say, I was banned from eating any of delicious-looking food for that day. Everyone else had fun while I was also made to stand in the corner with Tania to reflect on what I did.
After some time had passed and everyone had eaten their fill, They all slowly left, all besides Team Elves. Elizabeth wanted to personally thank me for everything I did but it was quite awkward with me staring at a corner with Luna standing behind me like a guard with her Ice mallet in her hand but all's well that ends well.
Before she left, Elizabeth even gave me a necklace with a green leaf attached to it that was made out of some kind of metal. She said that as long as I wore it, All Elves would respect me as long as they see the necklace.
And just like that the day slowly came to an end, Me standing in one corner with Luna standing behind me with her Ice mallet just waiting for me to move so she could smack me. Tania was in a similar position but she was in the other corner and no one was supervising her.
And thus, the day came to an end, and all things went back to how they used to be.