"Fine," Lux stated. "We will leave tomorrow. For now, recover as much as you can."
The Half-Elf then glanced in the direction of his Baby Slime and telepathically ordered Eiko to summon Whitey (Angel Slime), and Mara (Water Slime), to help heal Cethus' injuries.
Unknown to them, the Old Lady, who had seen her grandson's pitiful state, looked at the Half-Elf with a grateful expression. Although she was a little angry about how the Half-Elf had tormented the grandson she had looked after since he was a child, she understood that Cethus needed a setback in order to realign him to the right path.
"Arrogance without strength is not arrogance, but stupidity," the Old Lady muttered. "All of you remember this. Before you act high and mighty, make sure that you have the strength to back it up, or else you will just look like a fool. Do I make myself clear?"
"""Yes Commander!"""
The Old Lady briefly nodded to acknowledge her subordinates' reply. She had cast a wide-area stealth, and sound-proofing spell, which prevented anyone from detecting their presence.
Because of this, she wasn't worried that they would be seen or heard by anyone on the island.
Only those that had become High-Rankers would be able to see past the illusion that she created.
'Lux Von Kaizer,' the Old Lady mused. 'Why did Keoza bestow his token upon you? Is it because you are a Necromancer? No. I believe there is a deeper meaning in this. That child would not randomly choose a Half-Elf on a whim.''
The Old Lady pondered, but she couldn't come up with a good answer to explain the Crystal Dragon's decision to allow Lux to come to Karhsvar Draconis, and build his Guild Headquarters in the Dragon Kingdom.
'Well, whatever reason that is, I will set it aside for now,' the Old Lady thought. 'I just hope that my stupid grandson will be able to learn something by accompanying you to whatever place you want to go.'
For her, letting Cethus leave Karshvar Draconis to explore the world was a good thing. She believed that it would allow her Grandson to see many places, meet many people, and experience many different things, which would ultimately allow him to grow, not only in strength, but in character as well.
For now, she prayed that Cethus losing to Lux would become a turning point, and allow the Dragon Born to realize that there would always be someone stronger than him in the world.
That night, Lux sat on the roof of his castle, looking at the starry sky above his head. His original plan was to leave during the day. But, since Cethus had managed to convince him to bring him along, he decided to let the Dragon Born recuperate for a night before they went to the Kingdom of Gweliven.
"Pa!" Eiko said when she saw a shooting star trail across the horizon.
"Make a wish, Eiko." Lux lightly patted the Baby Slime's head. "Whenever you see a shooting star, you should make a wish. Who knows? The God of Games might just hear you and grant it."
"Okay!" Eiko replied before closing her eyes to make a wish.
Lux didn't know what the Baby Slime wished for, and simply waited for her to finish.
It was at this moment when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"I wish that I can sneak away next time as well! I also wish to have an obedient and cute Baby Slime, just like Eiko!"
Valerie said her wishes with her hands clasped together in prayer.
Lux couldn't help but smile after seeing the plain-looking girl pray enthusiastically with her eyes closed.
'I guess I'll pick a couple of eggs from the nursery in the Leaf Village and bring them here,' Lux thought.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew past them.
With a cry of shock, Valerie lost her balance and slid down the roof due to how strong the wind was.
Just as she was about to fall over to the edge, a hand reached out to grab her hand and pulled her back to safety.
When Valerie came to her senses, she found herself being held by the red-headed teenager who had prevented her fall.
"It's fine, you're safe now," Lux said as he tried to reassure the plain-looking girl that had almost fallen off from the highest point of his Guild Headquarters.
"T-Thank you," Valerie said. "You saved me."
"You're welcome," Lux replied.
Suddenly Valerie's body stiffened when she finally regained her composure.
"H-hand!" Valerie nearly shouted when she saw that her hand was still locked in Lux's own hand.
"Oh, did I grab you too tightly?" Lux asked as he slowly let go of Valerie's hand.
As soon as her hand was free, Valerie felt relief, as well as a small amount of loss that she couldn't understand. However, she hastily put these thoughts aside as she hurriedly left the scene to return to the guest room.
Lux didn't understand why Valerie ran away, but he thought that it was just due to the fright she received from almost falling down from such a height.
Of course, Valerie's body wasn't as fragile as it looked. Even if she fell from such a height, the most she would get is a light injury, which would easily be healed by a spell or two.
—------
Inside the Guestroom of Lux's Guild Headquarters…
"Ali, Ari, we have to leave now!" Valerie shouted as soon as she pushed the door open. "Hurry, we need to leave before it's too late!"
Ali and Ari, who were busy preparing a bath for their mistress, looked at her with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
"Leave?" Ali asked back. "I thought you said that we will leave tomorrow when Lux and the others also left this place?"
"No! We need to leave now!" Valerie stated firmly. "If you don't want to go, I'll leave by myself!"
As if to prove that she was serious, the plain-looking girl turned around to run away, leaving Ali and Ari looking at each other in confusion.
"Let's go," Ali said as she stopped what she was doing. "We can't let the princess leave by herself. I'll follow her first, and you go to find Lux and tell him of our departure. Although it was short, he was a good host, so we can't just leave without saying our goodbyes."
Ari nodded her head in understanding and went to find the Half-Elf, who was still on the roof of the castle and watching the stars in the sky with Eiko.
The two handmaidens didn't know what happened for their Mistress to be this adamant about leaving the Outer Reaches during the night.
They would only find out what truly happened a day later, when the extremely beautiful, and extremely gullible, Princess of Karshvar Draconis, returned to the Capital City of the Dragon Race.
