“What in the world is this? A new type of telepathic magic? You’re too cute; my heart can’t take it…”
This time it’s what he muttered that sends heat rushing to my cheeks. I mean, he keeps calling me cute!
“D-Don’t think you can easily repair my mood by calling me cute, buster!”
“I don’t. I was just speaking from the heart… But it will kill me inside if you hate me. Um, think of it like this: it’s also my first time emotionally, so there’s no issue for us.”
Hah? What kind of excuse is that? First time emotionally… Well, whatever. You can’t do anything about the past even if you try. Plus, he called me cute.
Learning about his previous relationships was a shock, but it’s ancient history. I just won’t let him get away with touching another woman now that he’s with me.
But…it’s still frustrating to think about. So it’s only fair if I get to tease him a bit.
“I haven’t started hating you because of it or anything, but I won’t hold your hand again for the rest of the day!”
“No matter what I do?!”
“No matter what!” I declare firmly. Sadness washes over Julius’s pretty face, and then he turns a peevish glare on Regulus.
“It’s your fault that Elle is in a bad mood, you old coot. Do something.”
“Julius, you should learn to respect your elders more.”
“He’s right. Are you sure you want to treat us this way? Don’t you want to be accepted as our son-in-law?” Sereniel chimes in, interrupting the banter between Julius and Regulus.
Hmm? What’s this about him being their son-in-law?
The same doubts crossing my mind flash across Julius’s face. But he immediately puts together the pieces I’m missing.
“It can’t be possible that the child between you and Regulus is…,” he says and looks at me. Sereniel and Regulus are looking at me, too.
Wait, what?
“Sure is! Why haven’t you noticed? Her unique flaming-red hair was inherited from Regulus. And her fiery spirit is similar to mine, right? For you see, Elle is my and Regulus’s baby girl. Kyaha! I said it! It was illegal in Analia to tell your child that you’re their parents, but the Demon Lord and his laws are dead!”
“Wha? Wha? WHAAAAAAAAAT?!”
My astonished voice rings throughout Analia’s capital after hearing the unbelievable truth about my birth parents.
As I’m trembling from the shocking truth that Sereniel and Regulus are my mama and papa, Sereniel cheerfully suggests, “We have a lot to talk about, so let’s go to our new living quarters instead of chatting in the streets!”
I’m too stunned to move, so Sereniel leads me by the hand all the way to the parlor in the new manor built where the Demon Lord’s castle used to be.
Three familiar faces already occupy the room.
“Aela? Guido and Golem, too! You three came as well?”
Of all things, Gaea’s saint party is already sitting in the parlor.
“Elle! I’ve missed you so much! I had hoped we could see each other soon!” Aela openly rejoices over my arrival. She runs over to me and takes my hands, and we jump up and down together, overjoyed to be reunited once again.
Meanwhile, Julius and the men casually greet each other with “Good to see you” and “You too.”
Men can be so dry.
“It feels so nostalgic to gather our old party together.”
“Certainly does.”
Sereniel and Regulus are watching our reunion like an old couple getting emotional over seeing their grandchildren get together.
“You guys invited Aela, too?” I ask Sereniel over my shoulder.
Prince Guido reacts to my question with a wry smile. “No, she didn’t invite us. We came seeking aid.”
Seeking aid? What for?
I look back at Aela. Sadness permeates her smile.
“Did something happen?”
“Yes. A lot of problems have arisen over the crown and who is next to be king of Gaea…,” Aela struggles to tell me.
Guido continues in her place. “I’ve decided to take part in the battle for the crown. I want to show off that I have a deep connection with the new Analian government to give myself an extra edge in the fight for the throne.”
Prince Guido looks like a man who has made up his mind.
But this news comes as a surprise because Prince Guido never seemed like the type who was interested in becoming king. He had no interest in the manga storyline, either.
“That’s unexpected. I didn’t think you a man obsessed with the crown,” Julius softly says, echoing my opinion.
Golem groans. “His Highness is doing it for Lady Aela. The other candidates for the throne fear Lady Aela’s influence as the one who brought the long war to an end. If another royal becomes king, they will likely smear Lady Aela as a witch, and if the worst of them rises to power, they may even have her executed as a heretic.”
Golem’s bombshell news makes my eyes spin.
Seriously? I mean, is this for real?!
I search Aela’s face. She sorrowfully lowers her gaze to our hands.
“What the hell is with these idiots?! Are they freaking kidding? How could they toss her aside after they’re done using her like some sorta wet rag?! I’ll trap them in hell’s inferno and burn them alive!”
“Don’t get so fired up, Elle. Besides, you can’t use the same kind of magic you could before,” Julius reminds me. I purse my lips.
He’s right.
When I amplified Aela’s spell with my magic, I drained myself dry. I always unconsciously increased my own magic supply with magic, but I was so concentrated on amplifying Aela’s at the time that I couldn’t spare a moment to do the same for myself.
Doing so made me hit the bottom of my magic fuel can, so to speak. And after hitting bottom once, I’ve lost the mysterious ability to endlessly increase magic. At least so far.
I can use magic better than the average sorcerer still, but I don’t have the same supply that made it possible to cast huge area of effect spells that I was so fond of. On the bright side, I’ve become a master of spells that require precision, which I epically sucked at before.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got plenty of magic left in me to fire off one or two explosions! …I think,” I say to stop Julius from worrying, but he shakes his head.
“There’s no reason for you to push yourself, Elle. My power is your power. My everything belongs to you. If you wish it, I will turn everyone who annoys you into popsicles… But this is their problem, not yours,” Julius says, directing his gaze to Prince Guido.
“Exactly. Your offer means a lot to us, Lady Elle, but this is a trial we must face. We will do something about it ourselves.”
Hearing Prince Guido put it like that helps cool off the fire burning in me. When I really think about it, this is Gaea’s—Prince Guido’s fight—so we shouldn’t butt in for the heck of it.
But…
“If you say so. But we’re pretty fond of you guys. Or more like, I’d be happy to appoint you the title of honorary residents of Elle Village… And I think of you as fellow companions who helped us take down the Demon Lord. So make sure you tell me when you are in real trouble, okay?”
Aela gifts me with an angelic smile. “We will! Thank you!”
Hehe. Aela’s smile is the cutest. I’m still her biggest fan!
“With that said, we’ll start with Regulus and me lending you our names as the representative leaders of New Analia. We’ve become allies now that the war is over, but I will gladly threaten the noble fools that we will come for Gaea if anything happens to you kids. Simply put, use us in the best way possible to effectively protect your princess,” Sereniel says, handing Prince Guido a slip of paper.
Prince Guido accepts it and bows before them. “You have my gratitude.”
It looks like Saint Aela’s party still has a long ways to go before their stormy and drama-filled story comes to a close.