Several days had passed since the Floating Island had left the Dragon Kingdom of Karshvar Draconis.
Lux had spent a lot of time with Valerie and Aur, and the three of them were often seen chatting together, as well as dining together.
The Half-Elf noticed that even though Valerie and Aur talked to each other from time to time, there seemed to be some kind of distance between them.
He didn't know if he was just overthinking things, but whenever the plain-looking girl and the handsome Dragon Prince talked to each other, they used formal tones and words, unlike how they talked to him.
Even so, that didn't stop them from doing things together.
Even Kei, Valerie's baby Dragon Slime, would often accompany Eiko, Holly, and Glee, in their Blast Bomb making sessions, making Lux feel pity for the newly born baby.
(A/N: Holly is Leah's baby slime. She is Great General Garret's youngest daughter.)
Gaap, Lady Faustina, and Piccoro were almost always together discussing random things like the geopolitical states of the warring Kingdoms near the center of Elysium.
For Lux, these were carefree and relaxing days that allowed him to think more about the future of his guild. Back then, he just wanted to create a guild because he wanted to break free from the restrictions that would've been placed on him in Wildgarde Stronghold.
If Nero hadn't been part of the Storm Dragon's Guild, Lux would have joined in order to help the place that raised him collect resources in Elysium.
Sadly, it wasn't meant to be, so he decided to make another Guild just to stand on his own.
However, he never expected that the Guild he would create would transcend all the other Guilds in the world, classified as a Mythical Guild.
A Guild that was currently trying to escape those who wished to harm it before it could grow to its fullest potential.
Just as the Half-Elf thought that these carefree days would last until they arrived at the Crystal Palace, a nagging feeling started to stir at the back of his mind yesterday.
He didn't know what caused it.
The only thing he knew was that something was going to happen, and that something wouldn't be good.
"They say that Progenitors develop a very sensitive spiritual instinct when it comes to things that wish to harm them," Gaap said to Lux when the Half-Elf shared his concerns with his Master.
"Your spiritual self can probably sense that a danger that you can't handle on your own is on its way to you. Although I don't know what is causing it, I will order the Sky Turtle to increase its speed so that we can reach the Crystal Palace earlier."
True to his word, the floating island did increase its speed, but the anxiety that Lux felt only decreased by a bit.
Because of this, he was always on edge and regularly checked the map of his Soul Book, looking out for any possible red dots on the map that might be heading in his direction.
Currently, he couldn't see any red dots on the map. However, he saw countless yellow marks, which were considered "neutral" beings.
"Sir Lux, is something wrong?" Valerie asked. "You seemed to be on edge today. Is there something that is bothering you? Or the tea I made isn't good?"
"Your tea is delicious as always, Valerie," Lux replied as he placed his cup on top of the table. "I'm just thinking about a lot of things as of late, which makes me feel overwhelmed."
"Is that so?" Valerie looked at the Half-Elf with a worried gaze. "How about a massage? Ali and Ari always give me a massage whenever I feel stressed. They are very good at it, you know?"
"A massage?" Lux pondered for a bit. "That sounds like a good idea, but I don't want to impose on them that much."
"Don't worry!" Valerie patted her chest with confidence. "As long as I ask them, the two of them will not refuse! Am I right, Ali, Ari?"
"Yes, My Lady," Ali replied. "If that is your wish, we will give Sir Lux a massage."
"Sir Lux, what kind of massage do you want?" Ari asked. "Do you want the normal one, or the one with a happy ending?"
Lux blinked once then twice after hearing Ari's words. This was the first time he had heard of a massage with a happy ending, and he was wondering what kind of massage it was.
"Um, then can I get one with a happ-"
Lux was unable to finish what he was going to say, having suddenly received a notification sound inside his head.
Upon hearing the warning, his face immediately turned grim. He stood up from his chair and summoned his Soul Book.
At the edge of the map, he saw several blinking red dots that were headed in their direction.
The Half-Elf had placed a special setting on his Soul Book, which allowed him to gauge how strong the Monsters were in his surroundings.
This also applied to Humans and Demi-Humans. The bigger the red dot, the stronger that creature was.
And currently, in Lux's Soul Book, there were over a dozen big red dots, letting him know how powerful his incoming enemies were.
"Saints," Lux said through gritted teeth. "Master, we have company!"
Gaap, who was currently having his usual chat with Lady Augustina and Piccoro, paused and glanced to the West, where Lux had detected several strong enemies heading in their direction.
Noticing the changes in the Halfling's expression, Lady Faustina and Piccoro also gazed in the direction Gaap was looking.
A moment later, their expressions turned solemn, as they, too, sensed the presences that were slowly catching up to the Floating Island.
"It seems like we have company," Lady Faustina said before putting her tea cup on the table. "And there's a lot of them."
Piccoro nodded before standing up from his chair. "I've been thinking that things were proceeding too smoothly these past few days, which was too good to be true. I guess all of that was just a prelude for this moment."
The three most powerful beings in the Floating Island exchanged glances with each other before nodding their heads at the same time.
They had already discussed several countermeasures if such an event were to happen. Now, these countermeasures would be put to the test.
If their methods didn't work, then there was only one thing left to do, and that was to let Lux escape the Floating Island, while they handled his pursuers who were eager to nip his wings in the bud.
