Bab 173: Chapter 173: Bath Time
"Wait, so let me get this straight; shortly after you arrived in the Phoenix Clan's territory, Spica, a prominent Phoenix, assaulted you in the younger generation, who has used a forbidden technique that boosted her cultivation base by two major realms in hopes of killing you, and in the end, not only did you manage to repel her, you somehow coerced Patriarch Renata into giving you access to the Flames of Rebirth? Is that everything? I'm not leaving anything else out, am I?" Stated Marcus with an incredulous expression as he looked at Elif while Maria was displaying a livid expression.
"Yes, that's basically what happened, Father; there was also this anger-inducing alchemist, but he is irrelevant." Replied Elif with a nod as he fanned himself with his quạt tay while glancing between Marcus and Maria.
"Hmph, good, those Phoenixies better properly compensate Elif for their blunder; otherwise, I'd go there myself and force them to do so." Remarked Maria angrily while Marcus lightly shook his at her overprotective nature.
"Still, I'm very surprised they'd be willing to allow you to bathe within the Flame of Rebirth; I've heard no outsider has ever been given access since their Clan was established." Added Maria while her angry expression slowly faded away.
"I was also decently surprised, as I didn't expect they would grant me the privilege, but considering what had happened, I suppose it's not too far-fetched; I mean, what if I had somehow actually ended up dying?" Said Elif lightly, his words causing a dangerous smirk to adorn Maria's expression.
"If somehow you had actually been killed, Elif, we would've wiped the Divine Phoenix Clan off the map; the entire heritage that they've built upon eons of work would've been turned into ashes in one mere night." Stated Maria with a dangerous grin, her words prompting Illumia to smile while everyone else, including Elif, nervously gulped.
"But that didn't happen, not like it could with the protective artifact you had with you; very few people in the OverRealm would be capable of truly harming you with such an artifact." Added Maria as her expression returned to normal, prompting everyone to heave a sigh of relief.
With Mother mentioning the protective artifact, Branch of the Realm Tree, I summoned it from my dimension ring and handed it to her, since now that I was back home in my domain, not to mention in the safest place in the Elven Empire, I wasn't permitted to carry around a mid-Immortal tier artifact; it wasn't just me, neither were Mother and Father. They may be the Emperor and Empress, but that doesn't necessarily mean they hold all the authority; in reality, the Emperor and Empress is just the title of those managing the Empire.
For an Immortal artifact to be taken from the treasury, the Grand-Ancestors need to permit such actions, and the only time their permission isn't required is when the Prince or Princess leaves the safety of the Empire as I had just previously done. All in all, an Immortal artifact isn't something that can be used in any situation; using one could spark a war against other factions as they contain enough power to destroy entire regions in the OverRealm. Of course, this information is from what I've either read or have been told.
"Anyways, with all that out of the way, Mother and Father, I'd like to take a bath and relax." Said Elif lightly as he watched Maria store the Branch of the Realm Tree into her dimension ring.
"We had already anticipated that; I'm surprised you decided to visit us before you took a bath." Remarked Marcus with a smirk as he glanced at Elif, who was heading toward the throne room's entrance.
"I had thought about it, but If I had done that, I'm sure Mother would've gotten upset; after all, you know how she can be." Replied Elif with a grin, her words causing Marcus to laugh while Maria snorted in response but didn't his claim.
"Haha, I know just how she can be- ouch." Said Marcus, though his fun was interrupted as Maria slapped the back of his head and gave him a dangerous look, prompting him to quiet down.
Chuckling at Mother and Father's antics, Illumia and I headed toward the exit while I signaled toward Marley, Idonea, Mandy, and her guards. Just as I passed them, and right when I was about to exit the throne room, I stopped, suddenly remembering that I hadn't once encountered Elaine.
"Do you know where Elaine is? I'd Imagine she'd come and see me, but I haven't sensed her presence once since I arrived." Asked Elif as he stood before the double doors and turned around, eyeing Maria and Marcus in the distance.
"Now that you mention it, Elif, where is that lass at? She should know you've arrived by now; don't tell me she's managed to get her hands on the Voids Cloak!?" Remarked Maria with a thoughtful expression before she angrily slammed her fist onto the throne's armrest, causing the entire palace to tremble.
"No, she doesn't have the Voids Cloak, Maria; she's most likely in the Royal library. For the past few weeks, she's been spending a lot of time in there." Said Marcus while lightly shaking his head, his words pacifying Maria.
Nodding at Father's words, I exited the throne room, allowing them to continue doing what they were previously doing while I and my group headed through the palace halls until I eventually arrived at my room, causing me to turn around and eye the rather large group following me.
"You're all dismissed; no need to continue following me; I don't intend on leaving the palace for a while." Ordered Elif as he dismissively waved his hand at them, prompting Mandy and her guards to bow slightly before leaving.
Watching Marley and her guards leave, I glanced at Marley and Idonea, having no clue what to do with Idonea.
"You two, I don't really care what you do; just don't destroy the palace while I'm bathing." Said Elif as he entered his room with Illumia, leaving Marley and Idonea to smile awkwardly.
"So, how about a rematch? I was still injured during the last spar." Asked Marley enthusiastically with a grin as she summoned her spear and eyed Idonea.
"If you wish to lose again, then fine by me." Replied Idonea with a slight smirk as she summoned her sword while they headed toward the training grounds.
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Stepping into my room, I flopped onto my comfortable bed while taking a deep breath, inhaling the familiar fragrance of my room, which hadn't changed, and while it might've been my misinterpretation, I could've sworn I smelled Elaine's scent on my sheets.
'I'm probably just imagining things from my desire to see Elaine again.' Mused Elif as he exited his bed, heading toward the bath and removing his clothes.
"Illumia, go and inform Elaine of my presence." Said Elif while glancing at Illumia, who nodded in response before entering the bath just as he took off his final clothing piece, leaving him in the stark nude.
Looking at the prepared bath filled with hot water, I smirked as I entered the bath, sitting down in my usual seat and relaxing, allowing the soothing water to caress my skin, washing away any exhaustion and irritation that had accumulated during my travels.
'Haa, this is what I'm talking about; now, if I could just get Elaine to feed my lightning cherries, then this would be the pinnacle of relaxing.' Thought Elif with a light smile while resting amidst the soothing water.
The next several minutes were spent with me just sitting and relaxing while basking in the water's soothing presence, and as I was doing so, I sensed Illumia, along with Elaine, enter my room, causing me to smile; not even a few seconds later, the door was opened and entering the bathe, was my little sister, Elaine.
"Brother!" Said Elaine happily as she ran toward Elif and lunged toward him, causing him to smirk as he willed his Qi to catch her just before she collided with each other.
"You're never going to learn, are you, Elaine?" Asked Elif softly while looking at the smiling Elaine floating just above the water.
"Hehe, I knew you were going to catch me, you always have; besides, even if you didn't, it's not like I could get hurt; I'm a Divine, and it will take much more than a simple fall to hurt me." Replied Elaine with a cheerful smile as she broke free from Elif's Qi and landed back on the ground just before the bath.
Slightly shaking my head at her response, I watched her land on the ground as she began taking off her clothes until she was in the nude, just like me before entering the bath, yet instead of sitting beside me so she could feed my lightning cherries like she usually does, she sat atop my lap, which caught me by surprise.
"Hmm? Why are you sitting on my lap, Elaine?" Asked Elif with a raised eyebrow, though other than that, he didn't seem opposed to the idea, which prompted Elaine to smile.
"No, reason, I just wanted to be closer to you since I hadn't seen you in for the past couple of weeks." Said Elaine with a seemingly harmless smile that she used to hide her true intentions as she leaned against Elif's chest.
"While you were gone, Brother, I used that time to learn more about our history within the Royal Library and found something very interesting." Added Elaine lightly, her words garnering Elif's interest.
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, [https://discord.gg/TGc9yymDJP]
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 188: The Crew Back Together) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 69: Kitchen In Shambles) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 113: Eternal Pose) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]
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