Chapter 373 The Strange Reinforcements
After the battle, shouts, cheers, and elven songs of joy and delight filled the outpost. Thanks to the Empress, who uses her charisma to keep her men from collapsing. Ciela and Asmodeus helped stop a catastrophe from happening.
The scent of sweet ale, honey mead and savoury herb-filled bread filled the halls, along with their jolly banter.
"To think that little princess is all grown up now~ how time flies."
"Stop speaking like a fool, Erunda..."
"Ah~ my muse, Arinea, don't be so angry; look, your forehead is wrinkled."
Erunda, a tall elf with a rare, stocky, muscular build, is one of the two main guardians of the Empress, the child of an elf and a beastkin. His physique allowed him to remain in the elven empire despite being so large.
Meanwhile, the slim and dainty Arinea was a spellcaster, someone who had supported Sarina since she became an adult. "This drunk idiot, Your Highness Ciela, please ignore him." She could only apologise to the princess sitting beside Asmodeus and their group.
"Don't worry, Aunt Arinea, I don't mind—please enjoy another cup." Ciela's eyes sparkled, meeting these elves. Her atmosphere transformed from the previous introverted and recluse style. Once she heard Orina left the outpost, it made her feel a little sad.
"Is that him, Princess?" Erunda flicked his chin towards Asmodeus, who sat beside Vinea, serving her another cup of the sweet elven mead. A fruity yet spiced taste that caused their lips to tingle before a warm, delicious flavour flowed down their throat like syrup.
"Him?"
"Your future spouse, your man?"
"Ah... he is." Ciela's cheeks turned pink when she remembered two nights ago when she and Asmodeus had confirmed their affection for each other. "Mm... he's my soulmate." However, her lovely voice became softer towards the end.
There was a depth of feelings which started taking root deep inside her, a blazing fire that started in her stomach, and now a gentle warmth spread throughout her body.
His smile, the flicker of his eyes in the candlelight... Ciela's green orbs lingered on Asmodeus for several moments, almost forgetting to breathe as her lips curled into a deep smile.
"Oh..." Erunda's mouth opened wide—he suddenly felt a second-hand embarrassment covering his mouth before tapping Arinea's shoulder. "Did you see it? Our cute princess has fallen in love with a demon!"
There wasn't any aggression or insult in his voice, rather the slight tinge of shock and sadness an Uncle might feel seeing his cute niece growing up.
"Don't cry, you big oaf. I've never seen her that happy before..."
Arinea and Erunda married over 100 years ago; however, because of their different races and the struggle elves had with conceiving, they still didn't have a child.
Thus, being close friends of the Empress, Ciela and Orina became like their daughters and nieces at the same time.
"You two..." The Empress finally spoke, her glass of mead empty, while her cheeks became rosy red. "I managed to get something that might help you." With those words, she took out a silver sphere with intricate silver flower patterns along its surface.
Sarina's fingers grasped both halves before squeezing the metal and twisting... a mechanical hiss faded before smoke and vapour poured from the egg.
Inside was a pair of small, rounded blue pills.
Suddenly, Arinea grasped a pill with wide eyes, and her lips trembled as if removing her drunken stupor and sobering up instantly. "Is this the pill of Erendar?"
Erendar is a pill created using the sap of the world tree. It is so rare that less than ten pills are created each year. "It's real. I have kept it safe for this moment." Sarina's lips curled upwards before nodding to the dazed Erunda.
"This pill... you don't understand, how could we repay you, My Empress?"
"Please, call me Sarina at times like this."
The processed pill made from the sap could improve elves' fertility by 30% for both males and females, meaning if both took a pill. The chance of conception increased to over 70%, and these pills lasted for an entire year.
"Please enjoy a wonderful family. That's all I wish."
"Thank you, Sarina!" Erunda, unable to hold back the tears, grabbed his wife's waist, pulling her in for a kiss, and the two embraced, not willing to separate even when the other elves looked at them while knocking their mugs together.
'I never expected elves to enjoy alcohol...' Asmodeus thought to himself while eating the snacks passed to him by the various women; some were elves, and others were half-elves., their skin as mysterious as the night sky with the moon and stars etched upon their bodies. 'The elves have a lot of variety...'
He was amazed that some were almost beastkin in appearance, yet others, like Arinea, looked the same as a stereotypical elf.
"Mother..." Ciela gazed at the various members of her mother's knights and realised something. The thought that her mother would reject her was ridiculous. "Mm... I can't believe there were dark elves amongst her knights, and I never knew.."
"Oh, my lovely daughter. Do you think I would be upset? Look at how beautiful you look. Skin like the night sky, eyes like the world tree... Nothing about you is bad. You are the perfect mixture of everything I love."
Though it was obvious that the Empress was drunk, her sloshed words and bright, cheesy grin her words soothed Ciela, who jumped at her mother and hugged her neck. "Mother!"
"Fufu~ it's been so long since you called me mother, always 'Your Majesty... Your Majesty.'" She pretended to cry. But the joy in her eyes revealed that her heart was overflowing with happiness. "I only ask that you be happy, Ciela."
Asmodeus watched this tender moment between mother and daughter, feeling the sticky gaze of the Empress as she winked at him, causing her drink to spill down her chest. "Ciela, he's a good man. Treat him well."
"Mm... of course, I will." Ciela nodded while her eyes sparkled, watching her mother happily. The night slowly faded, and the secondary troops guarded the walls. Asmodeus slept that night with a slightly tipsy head, only waking up to the sound of drums the next morning.
'What is that?' He wondered, his eyes narrowing as he heard the rumbling sounds of war drums, followed by the sounds of battle. He stood up in a panic, his head still aching from the drinking.
"Nn..." Several women, all of them naked and covered in his bite marks, groaned as they slowly woke up. 'Huh...?' His head ached, but it slowly became more clear.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Darling, the war drums... are they attacking again?" Vinea asked as she sat up and covered her chest. Her eyes narrowed, and a seductive smile appeared on her face. "Don't mind me. Go and defend the walls." She didn't move, only lay on her back while the sunlight covered her body, showing off her voluptuous breasts and curvy figure.
"Haha... tell the others when they wake. I don't think it's an enemy, so make sure you sleep well." Asmodeus leaned down, kissing the cheek of the Grigorian princess.
Then turned tail and headed out of the room wearing a simple shirt and pair of black pants. His bare feet tapped on the stone floor. However, his eyes widened. 'Why are there so many elven knights here?'
Dozens of elven knights marched in perfect order, their armour glimmering and their weapons pristine. Rather, he wondered how these elves could look so pristine and radiant after drinking all night. "Morning, Prince!"
'Hmmm?'
"Oh... His Highness!" Another elf gave the elvish salute to Asmodeus before whistling a cheerful tune. Their footsteps echoed through the stone corridors. "You should see the front gates. The humans looked to be in a real pinch..."
Asmodeus' eyes narrowed when he heard this. "What's going on? Humans...?"
The Empress mentioned accepting their marriage, but the speed with which it travelled made him amused. 'Where did the stern image of Elves vanish to...' He noticed a familiar crest, something nostalgic... an old enemy? "Oh? What's that flag doing here?"
"Hm?"
Because he noticed a familiar flag and heard about humans arriving at the fortress, he wanted to discover more. He walked towards the gates, but he could see at least a thousand humans in the distance with horses and banners. 'Is that... why does it look so familiar?'
"Oh? I wondered where those two idiots got to after we left the Inukami village..."
Standing with the knights and soldiers, both Paul and Simon stood in noble-looking outfits, their shoulders lined with medals, and they seemed in charge of the knights.
Asmodeus thought back to when they suddenly parted with him, after Paul received a message about his daughter, leaving with Simon for Grigor less just over a month ago. 'I would have loved their help fighting off the pope... but Paul's daughter seemed to be really sick.'
"Is she okay now?"
He grasped the stone wall, stepped onto it, stretched his back, and unfurled his wings while watching the humans interact with the elven knights. He flew down and landed beside Sarina, who seemed to be in a good mood.
"Ah, if it isn't Prince Asmodeus."
"Please, you can call me Asmodeus... Empress."
"Hmm... but you called me Mother last night~ fufu, did you take care of my drunk little girl?" Her soft voice sounded in his ears as she watched the humans and elves talking. "I wonder how long it will be before I become a grandmother, haha."
Asmodeus coughed, his mind racing back to what happened last night before they slept together. "Uh... I am not sure..."
She giggled, noticing his discomfort. "Don't worry. I have already accepted you—don't hold back; you saw Erunda and Arinea... it can take a LOT of work without outside help. So, enjoy it~ a young, innocent elf, fufu."
Suddenly, while the two were whispering to each other, an older male's voice echoed.
"How are you still alive?! Ryuji Vincenzo!"