Chapter 481: Will We Make It In Time?
Brianna was currently having tea inside the Great Chieftain’s residence when the cup she was using emitted a loud crack. Before she could even react to the sound, the cup in her hand had broken into several pieces.
Fortunately, she had just finished drinking its contents, or else the tea would have splashed on her body.
“Big Sister…”
Ernest’s faint whisper reached her ears and it made her body shudder. A feeling of dread immediately enveloped the young lady’s heart as it beat wildly inside her chest.
“Ernest…,” Brianna muttered as she placed her hand over her chest. She didn’t know why but she was feeling anxious.
If possible, she wanted to see if the Young Prince was safe. However, the two had no way to communicate with each other over long distances.
“Ernest, please be safe,” Brianna pressed her palms together as he offered a silent prayer towards the Sovereign of the Kyrintor Mountains. She hoped that their God would hear her prayers and take notice of the Young Prince that played a very important role in her heart.
—–
William slowly opened his eyes. He was currently resting in a room that had been assigned to him in Spirehorn Haven. His goal to dispel the weakness that had plagued the Minotaur Race was halfway finished.
The Half-Elf didn’t expect that it would be a slow and exhausting process. Although there was a layline where he could harness magic power, and use it to activate the blessings of his Shepherd Job Class, the exhaustion that followed burdened him.
Because of this, he was only able to do the cleansing ceremony for three hours everyday. When those three hours were over, William would be like a dried up husk, deprived of the strength to even lift a finger.
The one who took care of him during this time of weakness was Ariadne. She would let him drink a rejuvenation potion, and lay him on the bed, so that he could rest properly.
This routine continued for a week, and it was now about time for William to head to the plaza to continue the cleansing ritual. He hoped that by the time the ritual was over, he would still be able to arrive in time to help Conner defend the City of Gladiolus.
“Good Morning, Lord William,” Ariadne said as she placed a rice porridge on a table beside the bed. “I have already prepared your bath for you, so feel free to take it easy after you finish your breakfast. We can go to the plaza two hours from now.”
William nodded. “Thank you, Ariadne.”
“No.” Ariadne shook her head. “It is we who should be thanking you, Lord William.”
A smile appeared on William’s lips as he walked towards the table to eat his breakfast. To this day, it had been a mystery to him why he couldn’t seem to grasp, or remember what Ariadne looked like even though she spent a lot of time with him.
Even the sound of her voice seemed to elude him. The only thing that he could remember was her long, dark brown hair that shimmered when light was reflected over it.
In the end, William decided to just go by the flow. It was no use trying to remember something that disappeared from his memories every five seconds.
“Lord William, all the women and children of the Minotaur Race have been healed thanks to you,” Ariadne said in a respectful tone. “Starting today, it will be the warriors’ turn.”
“Understood,” William replied. “How many warriors does the Minotaur Race have?”
“Around three million,” Ariadne replied.
William nodded and continued eating his breakfast. After spending a week inside Spirehorn Haven, the Half-Elf discovered an incredible secret.
The Labyrinth where the Minotaur Race resided wasn’t just an ordinary Domain, but a High-Ranked Domain that was as big as the Zelan Dynasty itself.
Here, the Minotaur Race thrived just like any other Kingdom on the continent. They had their own culture, and laws that they followed. Trade between the Minotaurs and the citizens of the Zelan Dynasty was quite normal.
One could even find shops, and stalls, in the various cities, where special products of the Minotaur Race were being sold. Naturally, the sellers were members of the Minotaur Race as well.
They were like members of the Beastkin, which was rarely seen in the Southern Continent.
“Thank you for the food,” William said as he placed his spoon down. He then glanced at the lady that was sitting not far away from the table. Although he couldn’t see her face, he was sure that Ariadne was looking at him.
“I’ll take a bath now. You don’t need to look for me later. I’ll just go to the plaza by myself.”
“Understood. I’ll see you there later, Lord William.”
Ariadne stood up from her seat and cleaned up the table. William made his way towards the bathroom and firmly locked the door once he was inside.
After making sure that the door was secured, he immediately entered his Thousand Beast Domain in order to take a bath. Even though he could take a bath in his temporary residence, he still preferred going to his own Villa to bathe because…
“Your shoulder is stiff again,” Ashe said as she massaged William’s shoulder while the boy was soaking in the large bathtub inside their Villa.
“This is the life,” William muttered as Wendy massaged his arm from the side.
Both girls were sharing the bath with him because this was the only time that they could spend some time together.
The reason?
William had still not shared the information about his Domain to King Minos. It was not that he didn’t trust the King of the Minotaurs, but he felt that it was still too early for them to know about some of his secrets.
He was waiting until he finished with the weakness clearing ritual before he talked to King Minos about his domain so they could use it in order to leave their Labyrinth which had been sealed from both inside and out.
After their massage session, William found himself being sandwiched between the two girls, as they performed the transfer of Spirit Power towards the gem embedded on William’s chest.
Thanks to Ashe’s constant care, the red-headed boy’s spiritual world was recovering at a rapid pace.
Although he still couldn’t fight for a long time, the danger of his Sea of Consciousness collapsing was no longer a problem. Still, Ashe repeatedly told him that he shouldn’t force himself to exceed his limit because it might still trigger a relapse.
“Will we make it in time?” Wendy asked as she rested her head on William’s shoulder. Her palm was pressed over the gem on William’s chest that was glowing with spirit power.
William kissed her forehead and assured her that it was going to be fine. The Half-Elf was also worried, but worrying wouldn’t solve anything. The only thing he could do was to continue what he was doing and travel back to the Hellan Kingdom as fast as he could.
Thanks to the Job Class, Prince of Thunder, William was able to travel as fast as a lightning bolt, but he could only do it twice a day.
Also, the Blood Eagle, Scadrez, and the small Wren, Aethon, were monitoring the situation as well.
The Blood Eagle was sent to the Kyrintor Mountain, because William needed to have a dialogue with Takam. Aethon was sent to the Hellan Capital to give him scheduled reports if the Elves had already arrived at the capital.
It would still take three days before Scadrez arrived at the Kyrintor Mountains. William had a lot of questions to ask Takam, and he would relay his words through the Blood Eagle. As a Demigod, Takam could easily understand the Blood Eagle’s shrieks and communicate with William properly.
“Ah! I almost forgot to tell you that the Young Master left a message for you,” Ashe said as she looked at William with a mischievous expression.
“Est did?” William smiled as his devilish hand groped something that he shouldn’t have groped. Ashe’s mischievous look had triggered him, so he decided to become mischievous as well!
Ashe immediately glared at him, but didn’t do anything to swat the mischievous hand that was busy groping her…
Wendy who saw this scene whispered “No favoritism” in William’s ears, which made the Half-Elf happily comply and give her the same treatment.
“Go on,” William said in encouragement as his two hands had their way with the two beauties in his embrace. “What did Est say?”
“Dia has woken up,” Ashe replied. “The Young Master had taken her to the Dungeon to play.”
William was pleasantly surprised by the news that Ashe told him. Dia had been sleeping for a long time, and he was worried about when she would wake up.
However, after the surprise passed, William suddenly remembered a very important thing.
‘Why is Dia with Est?’ William mused. ‘No matter, I’ll just look for them later.’
William smiled at the thought of Est and Dia playing together. He also understood that the passive, silver-haired lady whom he kissed in his spiritual world many times, was also secretly jealous of Wendy and Ashe because they had Thor and Ragnar.
It was not a secret that the three beasts were considered to be William’s own children. Because of this, Est had been waiting for Dia to wake up. That way, she could immediately secure one of William’s kids, and be on the same standing as William’s first and second wives.