202 Return ; Oasis
Stepping out of the gate, I'm immediately met with the sight of all the elves from before standing at the end of the bridge. They all seem to have changed into fancier clothes and changes their hairstyle.
"The welcoming," Tiffania who is to my right says in a calm tone, "They are to be in the best shape when in the proximity of the Great Purpose."
Hearing this, I scoff and say, "Gaia, your followers sure are neat. They were even willing to sacrifice my dear cousin to meet you."
As a response to my remark, Gaia adopts a small smile before saying, "These children are just a little lost. They require some guidance, that's all."
Meanwhile, Tiffa has a stunned look on her face as she points at herself and says, "Sacrifice me?"
"Oh right," I say while furrowing my brows and pointing at the crowd of elves, "These guys would be trying to catch you and execute you in front of this tree to establish a connection with the 'Great Purpose' if it weren't for my intervention."
Naturally, this isn't small news, so Tiffa is more than shocked upon hearing my words. As for the crowd of elves, they're currently in a panic-stricken state from the moment I pointed at them.
"Father," Aruru says while walking to my side, "Should I go punish these sinners?"
Such a good girl. She always thinks of what's best for me and those I care about.
Patting her head, a smile forms on my lips as I say, "Ignore them. It's not worth the effort."
Enjoying my touch, Aruru closes her eyes before letting out a 'umn'.
"Father, what will we be doing now?" Gabriel composedly asks me from behind.
Right… What am I going to be doing now that I'm back in Halkeginia? I've already found the Core, so my main objective is completed. All that's left is to tie some loose ends within Albion as well as the Kingdom of Gallia.
Then, I'll see if it's possible to establish a 'friendly' relationship with Germania and Romalia. I reckon that this wouldn't be an arduous process due to the state of Albion at the moment. Not only did I conquer a kingdom with no more than three thousand soldiers from Albion, but there will be an infrangible alliance between Tristain, the kingdom of Gallia, and Albion.
Speaking of alliances, I've yet to strengthen the one between Albion and Tristain through the 'political marriage' proposed by Henrietta.
Despite having accepted it, there has yet to be any preparations made for the ceremony.
That's also beneficial in a way, as it would give us time to see if there are any more corrupt nobles by observing their actions during this period.
Setting that aside, there is still the matter with Jeanette and Sheffield, which I'm more than a little curious about.
Shaking my head, I firmly say, "I'll be taking care of some matters related to the kingdoms. Do you have anything to keep yourselves busy with during for the time?"
"I will aid Father," Gabriel directly says, as Aruru tugs on my clothes and excitedly exclaims, "Me too!"
Nodding my head, I turn to face Krul and Yuno.
"Of course, I will be helping you too," Yuno says while Krul just shrugs.
"What about you, Siesta?" I say while turning to face the taciturn girl.
"I will be taking care of the castle," she responds after a short pause.
Hah~ I expected as much. Now then, time to head to Luctiana's abode.
---
Before we left Iaron, the elves tried their best to make us stay in the oasis as 'exceptional guests' while some of the more 'braver' elves offered themselves to the Great Purpose.
As a response to this, Gaia kindly declined their offer by hurling them into the distance by plants. However, that wasn't the end of it... The elves who were thrown away rushed to the plants that threw them over before beginning to rub their bodies against said plants.
Disgusted by such behavior, I asked Gaia if she was capable of sensing their actions. Fortunately, she firmly denied the notion by explaining how she was only conscious of what she willed to be conscious of.
Curious about the way she said it, I asked her about the range of her powers and abilities, to which she claimed that it covered the whole planet, as long as there was life.
Shockingly, it turned out that her powers weren't restricted to plants, but all living organisms. Naturally, her control varied according to how willful a creature was. As such, humans are out of her range of control, forcing her to resort to more extreme means if a change was necessary.
"Are we there yet?" a loud sound resounds within my ears, interrupting my thoughts.
"I don't think so," I say while rubbing Tiamat's back and using Clairvoyance to check for anything familiar.
"So hot," Tiffa says while holding her arm up to block the scorching heat of the sun.
Being the only 'ordinary' being among us, Tiffa is the only one suffering from the heat.
As such, I use Elemental Magic to form some water and sprinkle it over her face while shifting my position so that she falls under my shadow.
"Thanks," she says in a refreshed tone, to which I wave my hand and say, "Don't mention it."
--
It took us some time, but we finally managed to locate the oasis. Tiamat took it upon herself to land near the house, breaking more than a few trees during the process.
Everyone apart from me jumps off her back, earning me a curious growl from the giant dragon.
"I just wanted to appreciate the feeling of your scales a little more," I say while using Elemental Magic to splash her scales with water.
"What a nice master," she responds in a frivolous manner.
Beaming a smile, I await for Tiamat to return to the familiar space before gradually floating to the ground.
"You sure took your time," Krul says while smirking.
"Whatever," I nonchalantly say before patting her head.
"Let's head inside," I say before something catches my attention.
Quite a distance away from us, the five elves that I had used indoctrination on are fighting against a certain android.
The fight is completely one-sided with the elves not being able to so much scratch Saturnus despite her allowing them to prepare any attack or spirit magic.
Knowing Saturnus, there is more to the matter than what it seems, so I'll have to ask her about it later. For now, I should head inside the house and see how Luctiana and Alais are doing.
--
"What is this?" Krul questions as we stand in front of Ari's body which is motionlessly lying on the ground.
He's alive. That, I can tell from his glare.
"Perhaps, she was punished?" Yuno thoughtfully says.
"Could be," I say while considering the possibility of that being the case.
A few seconds later, Luctiana and Alais both arrive in the living room, most likely having heard our voices.
"You're back," Luctiana cheerfully says before she sets her sight on Gaia, which results in her eyes to widen in shock.
What, how is she even able to tell that Gaia is their 'Great Purpose'? The same question appeared within my mind back when the elves offered themselves to her, but I didn't heed it much attention.
However, now that even she is reacting in such a manner, my interest has been piqued once more. Can they sense some kind of energy she's exuding or something? Hopefully, it's not something as simple as her appearance.
"Is that…" Alais says while inspecting Gaia from head to toe.
"Yes," I say, "This is Gaia, whom you elves refer to as the Great Purpose."
Before they can say anything else, I point at Ari and curiously ask, "What's with him?"
