281 Warm Welcome

Another two or three chapters coming tonight... perhaps, I'm not sure yet...

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Apso, capital of the Great Savannah.

It was not the first time Bloed was here. However, Bloed could not help but be surprised when he saw the city again.

Not just him. Rana, Rhone, Aya, and Liu Ying were just as surprised as him.

It was because the city was filled with an atmosphere of joy and celebration.

People were crowding the streets, raising shouts of celebration, and throwing flowers around the city.

And when their airship entered the city, the people on the streets started to shout even louder.

Shouts of congratulation, of pride, and of celebration.

"This is…"

"A welcome. Do you like it?" Aya's father said with a small smile. "The news of your victory against the other two countries have already spread through the nation, and also the news that the Sun Kingdom's team was wiped out. Thus, the people of the country are very excited. And when they learned that the five of you would be returning today, this happened."

The group looked at each other in surprise and excitement. Even Bloed and Aya, the two most reserved members of the team, were unable to hide the smile that appeared on their faces.

After all, anyone would be excited if they receive this kind of welcome.

They had earned it, though. Not only they defeated the teams of the other two nations, but they also frustrated a plan of the Church of Slaughter.

Thanks to that, The Great Savannah and the beastmen countries got the rights to mine the deposits of mana ores and also got several advantages during their negotiations with the elves.

Bloed did not know exactly what the elves offered in exchange for the Heart of the Forest, but according to Aya's father, they were bled dry.

The airship soon landed on the capital and the group got ready to leave it. They followed Eve, Regina, and Aya's father to leave the airship.

But as soon as they stepped out of the airship, they realized they had underestimated the enthusiasm of the citizens of Apso.

Thousands and thousands of beastmen had surrounded the airship, shouting cheers and whistling loudly to welcome the heroes.

A group of soldiers was waiting for them outside the airship to stop the crowd from overwhelming Bloed and the others, but even that failed to deter the masses.

A great number of beastmen surged towards them, throwing flowers and feathers to welcome them and trying to touch, hug, and even kiss them.

It was so much that the group quickly turned embarrassed. After all, having thousands of people looking at you with such excitement was a first for most of them.

Fortunately, the soldiers managed to do their work and stopped the excited beastmen before leading the group towards a carriage that would take them to their residences.

But due to the crowd, they needed almost half an hour to board it.

"Sigh… That was exhausting." Liu Ying said with an exhausted look when she entered the carriage.

Rana nodded in agreement. "Who would have thought we would be received like that? I even thought they were going to eat us!"

"Hahaha, you are exaggerating." Said Aya's father with a chuckle. "It's normal. For these people, the five of you are the pride of this country. Heroes that showed the world the strength of the beastmen."

"Yeah, but I'm not used to so much attention," Bloed said with a wry smile. At some point, he had almost asked Regina to grab him a fly away from the group of overexcited people.

"Well, that is true." After chuckling again, Aya's father told the group about something important. "By the way, you have to attend a banquet tonight. It's in the palace and the emperor will reward you during it. If any of you needs clothes or makeup, tell me now and I'll arrange it for you."

Bloed was a bit surprised when he heard about the banquet. He thought for a moment and decided to accept Aya's father's suggestion.

He already had clothes he could use for tonight's banquet, but he thought it would be nice to get something made by the beastmen.

Like him, the other four also asked for clothes.

Even Regina asked for a set of clothes, to which Aya's father agreed easily.

After that, they were taken to their respective residences to rest and prepare for tonight's banquet.

When Bloed, Liu Ying, and Regina arrived at their residence, three people were waiting for them there.

"So the heroes are finally here, huh. How does it feel to be welcomed like that?"

"Exhausting,"

"Tiring..."

Bloed and Liu Ying replied to their catkin friend with wry smiles. Bloed then looked at his three friends and greeted them.

"Javelin, Miss Illina, Prince Calisto. How are you?"

"Hahaha, not as well as you." Javelin chuckled. "I heard about what happened during the competition. I must say, I never thought you were so strong. I could not believe it when I heard you defeated more than ten A and B-Rank practitioners with just one attack. Hey Bloed, is that true?"

"… Yeah, I guess?"

"Mr. Bloed, you are amazing."

Calisto, the young lionkin prince, was staring at Bloed with sparkling eyes full of admiration. Bloed was not sure about how to face such a pure gaze, so he could only avoid his gaze and look at his catkin friend.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" He asked Javelin and the others.

"Of course, we came to congratulate you. At the same time, I wanted to thank you for something."

"Hmm?"

"My sister, I heard that you took care of her more than once. Thank you for that."

"It's nothing. She is your sister and also my teammate. That was what I should do."

Javelin nodded with a smile. But for some reason, Bloed felt that his smile seemed a bit strange.

And soon, he realized why.

"About my sister. Take care of her. She can be a bit inexperienced, but she is a good girl. I'm sure she will be a great wife."

Bloed's expression stiffened.

At the same time, he could feel Regina and Liu Ying's gazes piercing his back.

For an instant, Bloed wondered if he should consider finding better friends.

...

P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels