When we arrived at our floating island, I first noticed that the residence had been reconstructed, which meant I could now take a relaxing bath, hopefully without any interruptions this time.
"I'm going to take a bath; I need some time to relax; today has been pretty annoying." Remarked Elif as he entered his residence while Illumia stood just outside the entryway, guarding it.
Making my way toward the bathroom, I took off all of my clothes until I was completely nude, and once I arrived in front of the bath, I activated the heating formation before stepping into the large bath. Once I settled into a comfortable position, I just laid there while letting the hot water caress my skin, washing away most, if not all, of the mental fatigue and exhaustion that I'd accumulated from today's events, significantly alleviating my mind.
'Haa, the only thing that could make this better, would be if someone was feeding my lightning cherries; I'd summon Marley or Idonea, though I'm still irritated at them for interrupting my bath in the morning. Sadly Elaine isn't present; if she were here, I wouldn't even need her to feed me lightning cherries; just her presence alone would've been more than enough to ease my frustration.' Thought Elif with a frown before a small smile adorned his face from merely thinking about Elaine.
While I was enjoying relaxing in the bath, I sensed several people arrive at my residence, which elicited slight annoyance as I still wished to stay in the bath; although I sincerely hoped the people who came weren't looking for me, I knew they were. A few minutes after they arrived, I could sense Illumia heading toward the bathroom door, causing my heart to sink, and the moment she knocked on the door, all of my hope vanished.
"Haa, what is it Illumia?" Asked Elif, full of annoyance, and although he knew what she would say, he just wished to prolong his stay in the bath.
"Prince Goliath, Prince Birger, Miss Shelia, Miss Echo, Miss Eyvor, and Matriarch Aasveig have arrived at your residence and await your presence, your Highness." Stated Illumia from behind the door, her words causing Eli to groan in annoyance while he palmed his face.
"Ugh, why did they have to come right now!? It has barely been thirty minutes since I've stepped foot in this bath! Haa, inform them I'll be down in ten minutes." Replied Elif, causing the frustration that the bath had washed away to return.
"I understand, your Highness; I'll inform them." Said Illumia as she slightly bowed before leaving the room and returning to the group.
Once Illumia exited the room, I just faced the ceiling while releasing a sigh of irritation and frustration, and although I should probably exit the bath and prepare myself for the guests, I decided against it and stayed in the bath for roughly the next eight or so minutes; only getting out at the last possible second.
"Haa, once this is over and they leave, I'm going to rest; no cultivating tonight." Muttered Elif as he exited the bath and wore his clothes again before heading toward the guests, not bothering to dry his body.
Arriving on the first floor, I followed the sound of talking and approached the back courtyard, where I found everyone conversing; however, the moment I exited the door, everyone stopped and looked at me, though I noticed the women seemed to be giving me different stares than the men.
"Ms. Illumia had informed us you were resting, and I apologize that we interrupted you, Prince Elif, though I figured we should speak about it sooner rather than later. However, it seems like your form of relaxation is bathing?" Declared Birger as he and everyone else eyed Elif's wet body glistening under the moonlight, resulting in the women present slightly blushing, except Matriarch; however, even she couldn't stop glancing at Elif's perfect physique.
"Yes, I was resting, and for your information, bathing is one of my favorite things; however, It has been interrupted twice in one day." Remarked Elif with a frown while sitting in an open seat, which just happened to be between Eyvor and Shelia, both of who would constantly glance at Elif with slight blushes.
"Anyways, what did you wish to talk about, Birger? It must be something important if even Matriarch is present." Added Elif as he glanced at Matriarch, though he already had an inkling of what Birger wished to speak about.
"Yes, about that; I'd like to talk about what happened during the banquet." Said Birger, his words causing everyone to feel awkward, even Elif, considering he messed up during both banquets, not to mention he was technically the most to blame for both times.
"It's fine, everyone; I've already moved past it; besides, it's not like there were any harmful intentions." Said Eyvor with a slight smile, though Matriarch promptly silenced her.
"Enough, Dear, even if that is true; what we did was very shameful and inconsiderate, not to mention it was on your special day. I deeply apologize for my lack of thoughtfulness; my pride got the best of me, and I hope you can forgive me, Eyvor." Stated Matriarch with an apologetic and sincere expression as she stared at Eyvor.
"Of course, I forgive you, Mother; everyone makes mistakes; I've made my fair share of mistakes as well. However, I won't lie; I did feel very irritated and angry; in fact, I still feel somewhat angry and irritated." Said Eyvor with a slight smile, the first half of her speech causing Matriarch to smile, while the second half caused everyone to feel worse.
"I'd also like to apologize, Eyvor; we've been friends for some time, and you know I enjoy gambling, though what I did was very self-centered." Said Birger with an apologetic smile while awkwardly rubbing his hair made out of vines.
"I also would like to apologize; what I did was very unprofessional, not to mention my every action will reflect the image of the Divine Half-sect. I don't want people to start thinking disciples of the Half-sect are rude; we already have a hard enough image to uphold." Stated Shelia with a solemn and apologetic expression that she portrayed through her frown.
"I don't have anything fancy to say other than I'm truly sorry for how I acted; my parents had informed me many times to behave when at the Fairy Clan, yet I've screwed up. I'm definitely going to get punished when I return." Said Goliath, still in his small form, with the same apologetic and sincere expression as the previous people, though that didn't mean his words held any less significance.
"Me two." Commented Birger with a sigh.
"Tch, make that three." Added Elif while clicking his tongue in annoyance; their words caused the atmosphere to lighten slightly.
"My greed got the best of me, Miss Eyvor; nothing I can say will justify my actions; I do apologize. And if you so wish, I'll even return all of the spirit stones; I had won." Said Echo as she handed Eyvor the dimension ring, which was full of the spirit stones she won from the bet.
"I appreciate each one of your apologies, and while I was upset, I know none of you had any harmful intentions, so I will not think of you as less than for your actions, and you can keep the spirit stones Echo. Besides, I wouldn't want the reason we never became friends to be because of a dumb mistake; you must do something much worse for me to hate you." Declared Eyvor with a light smile, her words causing everyone to sigh in relief before they looked at the last person.
Seeing them all look at me, I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I folded my arms and began thinking of what I should say, though before I could say anything, I sensed Eyvor place something on the table in front of me.
"I deeply appreciate this gift, Prince Elif; however, It is simply too precious for me to accept as a birthday present; an Immortal tier gift is just too much." Said Eyvor while everyone eyed the small golden chest, which was in Elif's hand, with slight desire.
"Listen, Eyvor, I won't apologize for what I did the other day, though I do apologize for how insensitive I acted during today's banquet. Although you won't accept this as just a birthday gift, you should at least be able to accept this if it is an apology gift as well." Stated Elif with a frown as he handed the golden chest to Eyvor, who accepted it after some hesitation.
"Thank you, Prince Elif." Said Eyvor with a light smile as she stored the chest in her dimension ring.
"So, since everyone has finished apologizing to Miss Eyvor, can someone explain what happened during the first banquet? Whenever I asked one of your clansmen about it, they would refuse to speak about it." Asked Echo curiously, though her words caused Elif, Matriarch, and Eyvor to show ugly expressions.
"I'm also curious; I've noticed that any Fairy that approaches Prince Elif will be overwhelmed with fear!" Stated Goliath with a large smile, though his words resulted in both Matriarch and Eyvor showing an even uglier expression.
"I do not care if you all wish to know about it; however, we will not be speaking about it in my presence; It may not seem like it, but I am still very much angry." Remarked Elif with a frown, his words carrying authority, causing everyone to realize the severity of the topic.
___
Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, it also works this time; I've reset it again, https://discord.gg/gyR4yJcU
___
___
Elven Legacy (Chapter 152: Elaine's Ultimate Decision!) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 32: Talis Enters a Dungeon) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 48: Frenzy Photo) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]