Elven Kingdom

|Arthur|

Tess couldn't meet Alistair's eyes for a while after he set her back down. Gramps promptly dismissed the guards and we made our way out of the manor. With the royal family's mansion in shambles, we had to settle for a nearby inn. As we sat down on a plush leather couch in the lounge of the Spiral Ivy Inn, Gramps let out a deep sigh.

"I should inform my son about what happened, just in case he and his wife cut their meeting short. They might assume the worst," he rubbed his temples wearily.

The scene inside the inn was a sight to behold. It was filled with indistinguishable chatter and the clatter of plates and utensils as patrons enjoyed their dinner. But as soon as they caught sight of us, it was as if someone had pressed the mute button. The inn workers and customers alike froze, their jaws dropping at the sight of the former king of the kingdom with his disheveled appearance carrying his granddaughter, the princess of their kingdom, accompanied by the prince of the kingdom and a mysterious human.

Fortunately, the inn manager quickly raced out, beating all of the nearby elves and merchants courageous enough to horde us, and escorted us to the VIP lounge.

"I must apologize for this, Elder Virion. We weren't expecting a visit from someone of your status or else we would've surely made accommodations." The manager's posture was deliberately lowered, one hand cupping the other. "Might I ask what brought you to our humble inn? Is there anything I can do for you to make your stay here more comfortable?" he continued on.

"The manor is a bit... messy at the moment. We're fine here for now; just have a room for us to stay and we'll be okay." Gramps waved the manager away after setting down Tess, who had fallen asleep on the way here. On the other hand, you can almost see the tail fiercely wagging from the ever-attentive manager as he nodded like a puppy that just got a treat from his master upon receiving Virion's directions.

I got myself settled on the couch facing Virion's as I set down Sylvie who was quietly snoring in my arms by the time we got here. "So what happened back there, Gramps?"

"You wouldn't believe this, brat. I examined her mana core the other day and guess what... her body was already fully integrated with the Earthern Shell's beast will!" Virion leaned in forward. The excitement in his sharp eyes contrasted how softly he spoke to not wake Tess up.

"You can't be serious... How can her body be fully integrated with an SS class beast—" I stop what I say as Windsom pops up in my mind. Were the orbs that he gave to Tess responsible for this unprecedented phenomena?

"What's wrong? Why did you stop talking all of a sudden?" Virion raised a brow.

"No, it's nothing. I was just thinking. Gramps, is that why Tess tried to release the first phase of her beast will?"

Virion let out a wry laugh at this while he scratched his cleanly-shaven chin. "We both got a little ahead of ourselves in thinking that Tess would be able to control her powers because her body was already integrated."

While the integration between the beast will and the host was essential in order for the body to fully adapt to a mana beast's will, especially for one that was at a higher stage than their own strength, it was also a training process of sorts. Through the integration process, you become accustomed to how the beast will might affect your body and how you can control its powers, even if it's a little bit.

Tessia was able to skip this long and arduous process, whether fortunately or not, preventing her from becoming exposed to what effect the beast will can have on her when released.

"It's fine now that everything is settled, but Tess needs to be more careful when using her beast will." Arthur sank back into his seat as he said this, taking a long look at her sleeping self.

"Mmm. I was thinking the same thing. Maybe getting a seal for her until she's able to better control her beast will. It's a shame that there's not specific seal for beast wills; I worry that she wouldn't be able to protect her while she had her seal on. Even if it was removable, she would be practically defenceless without mana protecting her," Virion let out a deep sigh.

"You could always give her some sort of protective artifact. If that's not enough to keep peace in your mind, I'll be there too, Gramps. I won't let anything happen to your precious granddaughter," I nodded.

We discussed a bit more about the potential powers that Tessia's beast will might have until the both of us were too tired to continue on. Tessia stirred awake every now and then while Sylvie was so deep asleep that the only indication that she was still alive was by the rhythmic expanding and contracting of her belly.

We found ourselves in a luxurious suite with more than enough bedrooms for each of us upon reaching the uppermost level of the inn. The rooms were lavishly decorated in ornaments and trinkets with the walls intricately laid out with vines, giving the place a very fairy-like ambience.

Virion set Tess down inside one of the rooms and came back out to the living room as he poured himself a concoction from a bottle that I assumed to be some sort of liquor.

After wishing him a good night, Alistair and I quickly fell asleep.

|Alistair|

Sylvie stirred awake to the lingering aroma of food, and without hesitation, she leached a few bites to eat from Tess, who didn't seem to mind. Once she finished her meal, the princess made her way over to the living room where I was training. Sylvie, however, settled herself comfortably on Tess's lap, who petted the formidable draconic Asura.

"Aw, how cute," Tessia cooed as she rubbed Sylvie's belly.

Curiously, Arthur turned to Tess and asked, "What was it like when you activated the first phase of your beast will?"

Tess paused for a moment, trying to recollect the experience. "It felt like a sudden surge of power spilled out and surrounded me," she explained, her eyes looking up and leftward. "It felt like I broke through many stages and reached a new level of power."

As Arthur nodded, I couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

Arthur knelt down in front of Tessia and instructed her, "I want you to rouse the Earthern Shell's beast will."

I couldn't help but interject, "What? Is that safe?"

"It should be," Arthur reassured me. "Tessia is not going to initiate the first phase. Just get a sense for the beast will inside of your mana core and let it stream out into the rest of your body. That way, I'll be able to sense more clearly what's going on." He motioned for me to come closer to Tessia and do the same.

"Alistair, use your eyes to examine her mana core and see the flow of mana through her body," Arthur instructed.

As Tessia began to meditate, I siphoned aether from the atmosphere and amplified my eyes using it. Soon enough, Tessia began to release the innate mana from the beast will, and a flood of emerald-green particles of mana overflowed over the golden-grey specks of wood and wind attribute mana that circulated inside her body.

Tessia had a strained look on her face as beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks. Small sparks of mana began to burst out of her body, but she seemed to be able to control the power well.

"Tessia, stop now," Arthur calmly said.

To my surprise, Tessia was able to recall the power of the Earthern Shell without much struggle at all, despite this being the beast will from an SS-class beast.

Later that evening, Grandpa Virion, along with Tessia's parents, Alduin and Merial Eralith, arrived at our inn suite. The former King and Queen of the elves were visibly relieved to see their daughter safe and sound.

We all settled on the couches with Sylvie curled up on my lap, fast asleep, and began discussing what was to come. We briefly touched upon the events at the castle, but when Tessia tried to chime in, Virion cut her off and spoke on her behalf. He downplayed the situation, admitting that he had played a part in the explosion while testing the limits of Tessia's beast will.

This revelation made sense, as the beast will should not have gone out of control until it was pushed to its limits.

As we discussed their temporary living arrangements, the name Rinia came up - an old elf with the gift of foresight.

"Arthur, Alistair, why don't we all pay a visit to Rinia's house before you depart for Xyrus?" Merial suggested, "The journey is a bit far since she moved, but I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you came by and said hello. She'll be surprised to see how much you've grown."

"That's a great idea," Arthur and I replied, feeling a rush of nostalgia at the thought of seeing the old elf.

"I'm excited to see Grandma Rinia again too!" Tessia chimed in, leaning forward with enthusiasm.

As we continued to discuss the idea of visiting Rinia, Virion seemed lost in thought, his gaze fixed on a random spot on the ground.

"Hmm, having her get a good read on you would be a wise decision," he finally spoke up.

Alduin nodded in agreement, adding, "Yes, I remember you telling me how Rinia was always curious about Arthur and Alistair's future."

With that settled, we decided to pay a visit to Grandma Rinia's cottage before departing for Xyrus later in the afternoon.

Staying at the elf inn was a unique experience for me, to say the least. I found myself sharing a bed with Grandpa Virion and Arthur, while Tess and her parents slept in the adjacent room. While I had grown accustomed to the customs of the elves, I could sense that Arthur was still getting used to them.