The party was more enjoyable than one might think at first glance. After all, Sol knew very well that not all of them liked each other. Furthermore, with Isis added, there was bound to be some problem.
At least this was what he thought.
“Hehehe. You should have seen him. He *whoosh* *Whoosh* *Bam* and he was like *Ahem* Do not worry. I have never felt better. Kyaah~ It was so dreamy!!”
A bubbly…Too bubbly voice filled the banquet as all the women listened with smiles on their lips but rapt attention.
Sheherazade was awake. Her awakening was as sudden as her slumber. There were no special effects or special phenomena. But what he did know was that she was now a Duke.
A tiny Duke.
As he anticipated, the feast had been a little calm at first. But the moment Sheherazade appeared, everything changed.
The little fairy was joy itself. Furthermore, they knew that she posed no threats to them so they were all the more willing to listen to her.
“So you are telling us, that on their first meeting, she acted like she was someone else without knowing that Sol already noticed her true identity.”
“Hehehe~! You should have seen her face! She went like *I am not Sheherazade* and Sol was like *I know* Hahaha!”
“Pfft!”
“Sheherazade!”
“What! I am not lying!”
Sol chuckled while the others were barely restraining their laughter.
“You were indeed pretty cute back then.”
“Et tu, Sol!?”
The comical expression of betrayal on her face was the last straw for some. At the very least, Theresa did not hide her mirth as she laughed openly.
“Your adventure in the Astral realm seems to have been very interesting.”
“They were.”
He looked down at his cup which was filled with red wine.
Currently, Camelia was sitting on his left, while Lilith was on his right. Milia and Setsuna were standing behind him, having absolutely refused to sit down. Next, after Camelia was Chloe and on Lilith was Lilin.
All the witches except Ambrosia were present and Clara was also participating.
It was a gathering that warmed his heart. Not everyone here was necessarily his lover. But they were one way or another very close to him and seeing all of them together made this a very precious moment that he would not forget.
After Sheherazade calmed down, Sol began to give his side of the story. He could have talked about his few dangerous moments. But he was tired of dealing with serious bullshit every time.
For once, he simply wanted to have fun.
So he spoke about the more jovial aspect of his journey.
The wondrous sight he witnessed. A world with more than one sun and moon, a world where Islands were floating in the sky. Endless desert or sea, attraction park.
The wonderful people he meet and had the joy to befriend or become even closer to. The gentle Gabriel, the prideful Tiamat, the calm Kiyohime, the sad Nent, the unlucky Fafnir and so many more.
Sol talked and talked as everyone listened in rapture, trying to imagine the scene he was describing. After all, even witches could not randomly visit a divine beast's territory.
It was even more so for Gabriel’s world since the phoenix was very isolationist.
None of them were stupid. They knew that Sol must have gone through his fair share of hardship.
They could feel how he had changed. The confidence he exuded. The way he spoke, even the way he moved.
With Sol's talent, becoming a Duke was nothing impressive. Even a King was just a matter of time and once this happened, he would become a demigod.
Unlike anyone else, his path to success was already assured from the very moment he was born.
But the aura of the strong could not be acquired simply because one had a high level. It was an aura that was slowly cultivated through bloody fights.
Furthermore, Sol had amassed enough killing intent that he could have condensed it in a zone if he wished. This was something they could not miss.
Still, they did not interrupt him. Matters of death and blood was all too common for them and this was why, like him, they were cherishing this rare moment of simple joy.
They did not think about Lilith's health problem. Did not talk about the impending war with Wratharis or the Wings of Freedom.
Observing them all this, Hathor would have usually thought that those people were acting like ostriches, hiding their head in the sand and thinking that it was enough to chase away all problems.
But clearly, this was not the case. She did not feel any hidden sense of despondency.
Even when she explained to Sol how hard saving his aunt would be, all he had shown was mere annoyance. Clearly more pissed about the additional steps necessary than scared about a potential failure.
'This place is interesting.'
One day here had been more fun and interesting than the last thousand years back in the Astral realm.
Hathor was an adventurer at heart. She loved traveling but she had already traveled through most of the Astral realm and she wasn't arrogant enough to enter the Abyss.
Right now, her tired heart was stirring. She could almost smell it. By staying here…No. By staying close to Sol, she was sure to live through a few great adventures.
She smirked as she tasted the drink on the table. They were nowhere the level of what she usually created but they were still pretty good.
The mana in the Mortal realm was thin and murky but it was enough for her since she did not plan to fight.
'Let's have some fun before leaving.'
Divine Beasts as old has her generally ended up killing themselves because of the weight of the years or simply choose to fall asleep for long period of times. Even if they managed to keep their sanity, boredom was like a poison that would slowly corrupt them.
There was no way she would let go of such an occasion to satisfy her craving. Perhaps she would even witness the birth of another mortal demigod.
It would without a doubt be a worthy event.
—-
The discussion and the fun lasted for hours and hours on.
They did not do much all things considered. They simply talked, joked, had fun and relaxed. Musicians would play to animate the room and the food was delicious and he w
It was not some grand party with nobles. Though he would certainly have to made one in the coming days. It was simply a time with his family.
Sol could feel himself relax considerably now that he was back home. He just had a party with his second half of his family not long ago and now was doing the same with the first half.
Time like this was cherished. Sadly, nothing could last forever and the same went for this party.
The first one to get up and leave was Lilith. She was pretty tired and needed to rest a little. It was humiliating for her in a way but she knew she had no choice. Inwardly, she saw this as a wall she had to overcome.
She had meditated quite a bit over the meaning of life and death now that she was at death's door and found herself becoming calmer as time went on.
She was followed by Lilin who wanted to take care of her and then Theresa who simply wanted to go home since she had work to do. She wanted to talk to Sol alone about the industrial discovery he might have made and what his future goal would be.
She already started a discussion in private with the Dwarf’s King. Even though Greed Dike had to impose sanctions on Lustburg because of the damage the three witches, Medea; Freya; Kali, caused when they fought near the border.
Theresa had great influence and was perhaps the richest woman alive in the mortal realm. Her influence was no joke and she would not hesitate to use it to have more control over her country.
She just wanted to know what Sol would choose to do.
Once three lefts, the others slowly did as well and Milia began carrying the dirty dish away.
The reunion had been simple and joyful and even if it was finished, it would not change anything in their situation.
Sol meanwhile began to seriously consider his next set of actions. After all, he had many diplomatic visits he had to make to assure that everything was alright.
Envia of the demon and Souther Pride of the elves, as well as Salem of the witches.
He needed to take care of Lilith’s health, find a book of research and references to reconstruct her body, convince the witches to help him, and convince the goddess to not intervene.
He had to fight a war against a bloodthirsty maniac and might become a bloodthirst maniac himself. Perhaps he already was?
Sol swore that one day he would take a month-long vacation and simply pray that the world wouldn’t vanish without his presence.
‘When everyone left, as if by some kind of tacit understanding, the only present Medea.’
Even Isis had left alongside Setsuna.
“Sol, we need to talk.”
Sol kissed her, interrupting her in the way. They could talk later.
