"So, Marley, can you tell me again why we are heading south instead of west?" Asked Idonea curiously as she flew beside Marley and Sarah, though with her presence, they were forced to move much slower than their normal speed.
"Hmm, no reason in general; I just figured heading west, where stronger beasts live, would be too dangerous with Sarah accompanying us, so I chose south since the beasts didn't seem to get any stronger over here." Replied Marley calmly as she and Idonea glanced at the exhausted Sarah, who was wearing different clothes as her previous clothes were destroyed during a battle with a beast.
"Haa, sorry; because of me, you two are forced to practically babysit me, depriving both of you of the chance to go and look for precious plants and other scarce resources." Said Sarah apologetically with a sigh while hanging her head as she slowed down.
"No need to be dejected, Sarah; I'd much rather spend time helping you improve than fight some stupid beasts while searching for heavenly plants, and if Idonea has a problem with it, I'll beat her up, okay?" Stated Marley with a smile as she embraced Sarah in a tight hug while protecting her with her Qi as she and Idonea swiftly increased their speed.
"Those are some bold words, Marley; however, I don't mind going at a snail's pace; we do not need to fight against beasts; if we desire a fight, we can always spar against each other, nor do we require precious plants, not when His Highness will occasionally give us cultivation resources." Remarked Idonea as she provocatively eyed Marley before glancing at Sarah, their words slightly uplifting her spirits.
"I appreciate it, Sister and Idonea; however, my fight against that snake from earlier was a rather shameful display. I was nearly beaten several times, not to mention it was two minor realms weaker than me; it truly can't get any more pathetic than that." Said Sarah with a slight smile as she looked at Marley, who was still embracing her, then at Idonea to Marley's right before becoming demoralized.
"It's fine; you're expecting too much; after all, wasn't that snake like the second time you've ever participated in an actual battle? Everyone starts from somewhere; neither Idonea nor I were fighting against people an entire major realm above us when he first engaged in battle; we first took baby steps, just like you're doing right now." Advised Marley with a smile as she attempted to raise her spirits, though whether it worked or not was up for debate.
"Haa, I guess so." Muttered Sarah dismissively with a sigh as she shook her head.
"Anyways, how about we change this conversation to something more interesting? I happened to overhear from His Highness that Prince Birger of the Divine Druid Kingdom is interested in you becoming his future Queen, Sarah." Remarked Idonea in intrigue as she glanced at Sarah, though while her words caused Marley to scowl, Sarah seemed rather indifferent.
"Hmph, why did you have to bring up such a stupid topic, Idonea!? I refuse to allow that tree to steal my precious Sister away from me!" Declared Marley angrily, glaring at Idonea as she embraced Sarah even tighter, nearly injuring her in the process.
"Tch, I wasn't asking you, was I, Marley? I wish to hear Sarah's response; she's the one who'll have the chance to become a Queen of a Divine Kingdom, not you." Stated Idonea with a frown as she ignored Marley and looked at Sarah, who was in the process of being constricted.
"S-Sister, i-it h-hurts!" Said Sarah with difficulty as she aggressively slapped Marley's back, which only felt like light taps from the difference in strength, though it was enough to shift her attention.
"Oops, sorry, hehe." Said Marley as she swiftly eased her hold on Sarah, allowing her spine, which was on the verge of snapping, freedom.
"T-To answer your question, Idonea, while I'm fond of Birger and view him as a good friend, I don't wish to become his Queen; there is nothing wrong with him for me to deny the opportunity; he's nice, sweet, charming, wealthy, powerful, and everything any women could ever want in a man. However, my heart has already been stolen by someone, and after the things I've been through when I was younger, I don't want to ever give up the chance to be with the one I love." Declared Sarah solemnly, though her expression morphed into that of a young woman in love towards the end, causing Marley to give her a knowing smirk.
"So then, my little sister, who is this supposed man who you love so much that not even someone like Prince Birger is able to shake your heart?" Asked Marley with a teasing smirk, while Sarah lightly blushed in embarrassment as she avoided the question.
"It's Prince Elif, isn't it." Said Idonea lightly with a faint smile.
"How'd you know!?" Exclaimed Sarah in surprise before closing her mouth while deeply blushing as she glanced between the smirking duo.
"It's pretty obvious, Sarah; after all, his Highness has stolen your older sister's heart as well." Remarked Idonea with a smirk, her words causing Marley to blush deeply in embarrassment and anger as she eyed Idonea.
"Tch, that's rich coming from you, Idonea; your feelings are no different than mine! You also yearn for His Highness just as much as me; don't lie to yourself!" Stated Marley with a deep shade of red while eyeing Idonea, this time causing Idonea to take on a heavy blush, and as if she was correct, Idonea didn't give a rebuttal.
After those little comments, the three of us, now full of embarrassment at our deepest secrets being exposed, stayed silent for quite a while as we casually flew over the endless expanse of forest, occasionally hearing the growl or roar of beasts.
"All in favor of pretending that conversation didn't happen?" Asked Idonea while still blushing as her question broke the awkward silence that enveloped the three.
"I agree. So do I." Said Marley and Sarah, respectively, while nodding their heads, both still blushing.
"So, umm, I know this is probably a weird time to bring it up, but have either of you noticed that there seems to be hardly any precious resources? I know it's possible we just haven't stumbled across any yet, but doesn't it seem a little weird we haven't even discovered a single clue about the possible location of a heavenly plant?" Asked Sarah as her embarrassed expression changed into more of a serious demeanor while her remark caused the others to furrow their brows.
"Hmm, I wasn't really paying attention since I didn't really care about them, but now that you mention it, Sarah, from the moment we stepped into the Treasure realm, which was roughly three weeks ago, we haven't spotted a single precious plant. What about you, Idonea? You're more perceptive than I am; maybe you spotted something?" Remarked Marley with furrowed brows and a thoughtful expression while frowning as she glanced at Idonea.
"No, I haven't discovered anything; is this really the Treasure realm?" Muttered Idonea while frowning as she recalled every event since they entered the realm.
"It must be, no? I mean, do you think His Majesty would make such a mistake?" Questioned Sarah while tilting her head as she glanced between Idonea and Marley.
"Haa, I don't know; let's ask His Highness. I'm sure he'll know more about this subject than the three of us." Said Marley with a shake of her head while summoning her crystal ball and injecting Qi into it as she attempted to speak to Elif.
While waiting for His Highness to respond, all of a sudden, the crystal ball suddenly exploded, catching not only me but Sarah and Idonea off guard. Furrowing my brows, I again summoned a crystal, which was my last one, though that's not including the few special ones that contain pictures of His Highness, but I wasn't going to use those. However, the moment I injected QI into it, the same thing happened; it exploded, I was ready for it, so I wasn't surprised, but I was still completely confused.
"You added the right amount of Qi necessary; were they possibly damaged beforehand, and you didn't know?" Asked Sarah skeptically, though the three knew it was highly unlikely.
"Let me try." Said Idonea with furrowed brows as she summoned a crystal, yet the instant she injected Qi into it, it exploded.
"Somethings wrong with this place; His Highness has mentioned a few things about the Treasure realm, but he never mentioned this, and I find it hard to believe he'd miss something so important." Added Idonea with a frown as she broke her second and last crystal ball before looking at the two to her left.
"Yeah, it's better to be safe than sorry; besides, none of us need resources anyways." Remarked Marley as she summoned her silver medallion that had a symbol of a tree, yet instead of pointing them toward the exit, it did nothing.
When the three of us saw my medallion gave no reaction, both Idonea and Sarah swiftly summoned their medallions as well, yet the same thing happened: nothing; they just hung there without moving.
"Ugh, this really isn't good; don't these medallions contain the Qi of His Majesty?" Muttered Marley with a frown as the three stopped flying and hovered in the air.
"So basically, we're stranded in the Treasure realm, filled with powerful beasts, and we have no way to contact anyone? Is that our current situation?" Questioned Sarah, though it was a rhetorical question as she mainly just stated the obvious.
"Yes; haa, this isn't good." Said Idonea with a sigh as the three began contemplating a way to escape or to contact someone.
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, [https://discord.gg/TGc9yymDJP]
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 196: Pride Or Elaine) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 77: Alexander & Lily Caught!?(R18)) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 128: I Have A Plan, Attack!) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]