Alone Time (3)

The night was dark, the chilly winds below. I pushed open the glass door into the inn, the interior was like a cheap motel.

The waiter behind the counter took notice of the change but found it weird how no one came in.. I mean yeah, she obviously can't see me because I'm hidden behind magic.

Anyways, the map doesn't show detailed information about where The Goddess is so I'll have to do things the hard way. This was something that caused a lot of problems back in the other world.

No.. I'm not going to barge into people's rooms hoping to catch some couples doing 'the act'. I'll just zoom in on the map, toggle everyone's marker on, compare my position to my target marker, using landmarks seen from [God's Eyes] and using [Intuition] to help increase my chances of getting to the right person quicker.

The lobby looked very nice with a few tables to the side where one can enjoy a cup of tea and bread. Seriously, it feels like a weird mix of modern and fantasy. I went up the stairs.

There's no way to tell which floor they were on but based on the height out the window, I'm guessing around the 4th floor. Oh, she moved.. and went out to the corridor. Room number 302. My bad, 3rd floor.

I went up.. or did she anticipate me? She's waiting for me out in the corridor.

Where's that elf? She's near the stairs for some odd reason– hiding in the shadows. I didn't know you could bleed into the surroundings like that. Damn, that's amazing, she's grown a lot the past 7 centuries.

I'll prepare the strongest concealment and see which will win.

I reached the third floor– I walked passed the elf that kept waiting. Her long ears twitched.

"Something.. feels off," I heard her mutter to herself.

Ignoring her, I continued. The Goddess should be here somewhere.

When I finally turned into the corridor where she stood, Gaia-sama raised her head and looked at me.

"Quite the incredible trick you used on Teal-san you did there. Congratulations," she chuckled softly. She had quite the motherly voice.

She's a Goddess so go figure she'd find out about my location even with Liliath's strongest concealment barrier.

"Yeah. How did you know I was coming?"

"I heard the whispers of nature. I also heard Bleu-sama tell me that you weren't in her domain. I actually thought I would visit everyone there, but somehow, the most important child wasn't present."

"My bad," Looks like I missed something important.

"Is there anything you wish to consult with me about?"

"Actually.. is it alright if we talked somewhere else? I'm not sure if the corridor is a suitable place to hold a conversation."

The elf stood behind me silently. I felt her presence, though, normally her absolute silence would've scared the shit out of someone.

"Do you mind?"

"Maybe I don't have a choice," I sighed. It's not advised to enter a room for girls, more so an inn, but I don't care anymore.

"Teal-san, you'll scare the child at this rate."

"It's alright. I already know she's there," I entered the room.

Huh. So this is what an inn room looks like huh? It feels very different from what I expected. It's decent, cozy, lacks some amenities but livable. There's a window that overlooked the dimly lit streets below, the sky painted in a deep dark blue. Two moons shining in the sky, beyond that, the sights of the galaxy.

Well. I just realized that moon phases don't exist in this world.

"Take a seat. There are many things I'd like to discuss with you."

"Thanks."

There was this conveniently prepared table with empty cups and sugar.

"You're quite proficient in your infiltration," Teal, the elf said.

"No way. I'm just using magic. And it's not my magic either."

"Same thing. I felt that something was off but couldn't quite grasp what it was."

"Now now. That's something you should be proud of. Not many people in this world could trick the senses of Teal-san here you know?"

"I don't think it's something to boast.. So, maybe you want to start your questions first? I'll ask mine last," I pulled out snacks from the inventory. Potato chips, bread, chiffons, cookies. Just a few varieties.

"Oh my. Many thanks for the offer."

"These are from their world?"

"By that you mean? The heroes' world?"

Teal nodded.

"Something like that. I'm not from that same world but the things are similar."

"I've heard that from Gaia-sama."

So our conversation started slow with The Goddess of Nature asking me about Laura. She met with her for a bit just now in Bleu's domain but she wanted my opinion on it. For the most part.. I had no idea what her condition was with the Regressor so I could only tell her so.

Another question would be when I would finally come and visit the Yggdrasil– otherwise known as the World Tree. That's still under consideration.

Other questions include Moirae's situation, the national heroes' condition, or had I met with the past generation heroes.

"One is right here isn't she?"

"I'm I supposed to be surprised that you could see past my status fabrication?" Teal muttered dubiously.

"And.. you help fight the demon lord in this cycle too?"

"Obviously," this elf who had olive eyes, light blue hair, rolled her eyes.

"Do you know about there being a previous life where the demon lord won the war?"

"Huh? what do you mean?"

"Do you know the Regressor? Of one of this cycle's heroes, Jiwon. He apparently came back from the future."

"What do you mean.. previous life? Something like reawakening from a tutorial?"

"Tutorial.." yeah, in some novels the MC gets tossed into some sort of tutorial before having to experience the real thing.. even though the tutorial is like the real thing; so they have like an extra life and they keep their memories, "Something like that."

"I've assisted heroes of such kind in the past. I know what to do, our victory is assured," she pumped her fist.

"Right.."

"Noel-sama, could you enlighten me with your concerns? I've asked my share of questions. I appreciate your honest answers.." the Goddess of Nature bit into the soft chiffon. She looked like she was enjoying every bite of it, a gorgeous pink flower bloomed in her hair— if you could believe me.

"Alright. I think it'll apply more to Teal-san than anyone though.."

"Sure. Give it."

"Do you remember me?"

"Hah?"

"I guess not.." It's been seven centuries.. can't be helped..

"No. I don't think we've met."

Or maybe that wasn't part of this dimension's history..

"Anyways, next question, how does a true demon lord sever his or her bond with another demon lord? After the Kiss of Blood ritual."

"Death, of course."

"Any other way besides that?" hell. This elf hero is being real curt with her answers.

She shook her head, "I have no idea. There's a possibility maybe the Philosopher's Stone can be extracted from a demon lord, maybe that'll reset it? It still involves death though. Why? Do you pity the queens?"

"No.. rather. Is it alright If I just told you the truth? Don't kill me here.."

As a precaution, I set my DEF stats to some crazy number, donned some barrier magic and..

A gust of wind blew, something cold touched my neck.

"Teal-san," Gaia called out.

"Ah.. my bad.. but WHO ARE YOU?! Why are you a demon lord?! Gaia-sama, explain?!"

"I too don't know much about the situation however, believe me that this child doesn't mean any harm."

Fast. Damn, so this is the skill of a level 900+ hero huh? I didn't even see her move and now I'm being pointed at with a mythril knife.

"Alright," Teal lowered the blade, but she was still skeptical.

"Thanks."

Speaking of which, maybe I should ask Laura next time about how the World Tree, where the elves live, became a territory captured by the demon lords. There's the Goddess of Nature and this OP elf… or did she die during the first life? Cuz like, Javiel's stats are something you shouldn't mess with.

"So there's no way to sever a bond once it's created?"

"No.. what? Do you intend to break away from your partner?"

"Something like that. Nevermind. It's more of a personal issue."

"Hm.." Teal fell into contemplation.

"That asides, Gaia-sama."

"Oh please, there's no need to refer to mine honorifics."

"Then, Gaia-san, I have a question.. or request."

So I negotiated.. rather than a negotiation, it's more like she was eager to support me on this project even if she got nothing in return.

I gave both Gaia-sama and Teal-san a system map and added them to the messaging system. I gave Teal's status a little boost. I didn't dare touch the stats, fearing that it may mess up some components– so what I did was change all her skills like [Absolute Aim (S)], [Free Aim (A)], [Wind's Guidance (S)] or any marksman related skills to (SS). She's the most OP hero out there now..

We went out to a field. I spent 300 points for the convenient use of the Teleportation Widget.

Gaia didn't even need two minutes to prepare everything. Which was.. well, just try to imagine a scene where an entire field of wildflowers bloomed across the meadows, imagine it happening in front of your eyes as if a time lapse– but it wasn't a time lapse.

By some spirit magic, Teal was able to harvest the flowers with wind slash magic. I almost died trying to store it all into the inventory.

When the entire field of flowers was destroyed.. well, I sold those flowers in the points exchange shop and.. the profit I made was..

7, 680 points.

Yeah.

I'm sure the caravans passing through the meadows didn't understand what happened.

There was this flower called 'Moonglow' that could be exchanged for 15 points. I harvested around 500 of these flowers.

"Thank you.."

"You're welcome," Gaia smiled.

This is absurd. Next time, I'll bring them a bunch more snacks.

Finally being able to meet me, Gaia plans to round up her journey and set forth back home. Wow, so she came to Erudite just to meet me. That's.. well. Thanks.

"We'll come visit if we have the chance."

"Please do."

"Gaia-sama, wasn't there that other thing Laura-san told you last time?" Teal asked.

"There was that too, wasn't there? That child. Hm.. how should I phrase this. Noel-sama, what do you think? About that demon lord that'll come and rule over my domain? It was a revelation from Laura-san. She had warned me not to agree to come under their ruling however.. I hadn't expected that you're a demon lord."

"About that. Um.. back in Laura-san's first time, I didn't exist. She's probably referring to the demon lord named Javiel."

"That one huh? He built a kingdom, the second time that has ever happened. But he's advocating for peace though?"

"He's dangerous… no, nevermind. I don't know enough about him to judge. Also, his stats are well above ten thousand."

"So it's similar to mine then."

Similar? There's a big difference between the two of you though? "Aren't your stats just above a thousand?"

"Says who? Look."

Teal pulled up her status window and.. huh?

"Why is it.. compare this to the one I have?"