Only one chapter of Science/Magic and Fourth Prince tonight. I have another chapter of S/M done and another three of FP done as well, but I need to wake up early tomorrow, so I can't post them tonight. I'll edit and post them tomorrow once I come back (Around 10:00 Am GMT -5).
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As soon as they arrived at the military base, Eve took Rana, Rhone, Aya, and the two unconscious elves with the healing mages to check out their injuries.
Fortunately, it seemed that Rana, Rhone, and Aya's injuries were not too serious. According to the healing mages, with the proper treatment, they would be alright after one or two weeks of rest.
Of course, it was in part because Moonlight Glow did not pull stops when it came to the resources necessary for their recovery.
Bloed thought they were rather lucky. Of the three teams that participated in the competition, their group was the one with the least casualties, the only one being the betrayer, Atai.
On the other hand, the Sun Kingdom's team was completely wiped out. According to Regina, when their demigods left, their expressions could not be uglier.
The elves were a bit better, with three members of the team, including Elwha, surviving. However, their expressions were not good either.
When their two unconscious members were checked up, it was shown that their souls were a bit mangled up. According to the person that checked them, they could need up to one year to wake up.
Bloed felt cold sweat on his back when he learned about that. He felt lucky that Liu Ying had managed to wake up quickly without suffering from any side-effects.
But the problems of the elves did not end there. After everything that happened during the competition, they couldn't continue hiding their secret anymore. Mainly because Bloed, Liu Ying, and Aya knew about the Heart of the Forest.
And even if Bloed and Liu Ying did not mind keeping silent about it (to avoid a war and all of that), Aya was the daughter of an important minister of The Great Savannah. She could not hide such information from the beastmen countries.
And it meant there was a chance of Moonlight Glow showing interest in the Heart of the Forest.
The Heart of the Forest was something that could extend the 'lifespan' of a god. It would be strange if the Moonlight Goddess, Evanesse, did not want it for herself.
In the worst of the cases, if the Moonlight Goddess decided she truly wanted it, perhaps the beastmen countries and the Boerner Elven Forest would go to war.
Bloed was a bit worried about that.
After the injured were taken to the healing mages, Eve approached Bloed and Liu Ying and asked them to tell her about what they experienced. The two of them looked at each other before recounting what happened after they fell inside the tunnels.
When they finished speaking, Eve stared at Bloed and Liu Ying expressionlessly and nodded.
"… I understand. Thank you for your help. You must be tired, so you should go to rest. Tomorrow morning I'll find you again to discuss some other things."
Bloed nodded, his fatigue visible in his face. "Thank you. Right, what will happen with the elves?"
"You must be curious about if we are going to war, right?"
Bloed kept silent but looked at Eve fixedly.
Eve curved her lips up. A small smile appeared on her face, briefly stunning Bloed who was used to seeing her expressionless face.
"You don't need to worry. Hearts of the Forest, as the elves call them, are certainly useful for gods, but they become less and less useful with each use. The goddess has already used them a few times before this, so she is not too interested in it. Instead, we will make use of this opportunity to extort some benefices from the elves.
"Moreover, as you have seen until now, our goddess together with the Goddess of Fate are advocates of peace. Plus, many elves believe in the Goddess, so the last thing the goddess wants is to start a war with them."
Bloed sighed in relief and smiled. He did not want to see was a war between the elves and the beastmen either.
With the current situation of the continent, a war between them could be the trigger necessary to throw everything into chaos. And with evil gods plotting behind scenes, xenophobic countries raising their banners about slaving other races, and the Devourer/Blight hidden in some place of the continent, Bloed did not want to imagine how bleak the future of the continent was going to be.
Fortunately, it seemed like the beastmen were not interested in a war right now.
"Then, I think we will be leaving. See you tomorrow." Bloed said after he finished hearing Eve.
"See you." Eve bowed slightly and bid farewell to the pair. When Eve left, Regina approached the pair with a smile.
"Master, Demon, should we eat something?"
"I'm tired. I think I want to take a bath first." Liu Ying stretched out her body with an exhausted expression. Bloed agreed with her, so he ended joining to the idea of a good bath after several days in the wild.
Just taking a bath made Bloed felt really refreshed. All the physical and mental fatigue accumulated during several days surged out at the same time, overwhelming Bloed with a strong bout of sleepiness.
But when he left the bath, he found that Regina had prepared a sumptuous dinner for them. Thus, he decided to wait for a bit before going to bed.
After waiting for Liu Ying to join them, the group of three enjoyed a lively dinner and recounted what each one lived during the past few days.
When Liu Ying heard about how Bloed entered inside her dream and saw the memory where he rescued her, she was so embarrassed that she wanted to die. At the same time, Regina did not miss the opportunity to make fun of her.
Bloed could not help but feel relaxed looking at this scene.
After several days of battle and after watching the memories of when he was abandoned by his family, Bloed once more confirmed something he had known for a while already.
This was his family.
His new family.
And at the same time, he confirmed something about his feelings.
He was truly in love with these two girls.