When Fia and the others emerged from the half-ruined temple, the sun was already setting, painting the sky a deep orange.
Just as Fia had guessed, the Inquisitor and the Cardinal didn’t have the authority to decide on such a massive war indemnity.
Faced with Fia’s demands, the two of them mostly dodged the questions.
Because of this, most of their discussions ended up going nowhere.
In the end, since they couldn’t even get into the details, the conversation turned into the Cardinal giving Fia’s group a helpless smile and slowly explaining how the church ended up in its current state.
—They’d received the prophecy of apocalypse five years ago, so why hadn’t the church tried to communicate with the elves in advance, instead of launching a war? What had the church been doing during those three years?
After receiving the divine oracle five years ago, the first thing the church did was, of course, try to get more information from the Goddess of Life.
Like, when exactly would the apocalypse arrive, who would cause it, what would the world look like in the end, and how could they stop it.
Just the process of seeking answers took half a year.
Gods aren’t AIs; you can’t just call their name and get an instant reply.
Most of the time, the Pope’s requests went unanswered, and even when the Goddess did respond, she said very little.
Plus, the Pope’s prayer rituals took a ton of manpower and time to prepare—praying to communicate with a god is a high-level faith magic.
So even with the Pope going all out, it still took half a year just to get the incomplete oracle they have now.
At first, because of different views on the various demi-human races, the church split into two factions: the war hawks and the doves.
Both sides agreed on the basics, like human supremacy and building up strength before the apocalypse, but their methods and limited resources sent them down different paths.
With their history of conflict, the two sides were even more at odds.
The doves thought that since the Goddess hadn’t said when the apocalypse would come, it might still be decades away.
They figured they could take their time, quietly meddling in the politics of neighboring countries—like supporting a powerful faction to overthrow the ruling one.
Even if the coup failed, it would still cause internal problems, and they could always go to war later.
The war hawks, on the other hand, believed that working with lowly demi-humans went against the core teachings of the Yuna Church—that demi-humans were born to serve humans.
Achieving results by breaking doctrine would desecrate the clergy’s divinity.
They couldn’t accept such a slow, compromising approach.
Besides, by the time their chosen factions grew strong enough, it might be too late to unite against the apocalypse.
Better to prepare for war from the start, gather intel on neighboring countries, and strike while they’re unprepared.
Back then, the Pope stayed rational and sided with the doves, calming the war hawks while carrying out the doves’ plans.
They tried to stir up rebellion in the southern Beastman Alliance called Cold Moon, supporting the stronger wolf tribe to overthrow the ruling lion tribe.
After just two years, the plan was a huge success.
The more numerous but less powerful wolves grew increasingly dissatisfied with the privileged but fewer lions, and the friction between the two tribes escalated into outright racial hatred.
Unfortunately, just as the plan was about to succeed, the Pope died at the worst possible moment.
That was the turning point.
The weakened war hawks rose again, waving the Yuna Church’s doctrine and stirring up the faithful to stick to the original teachings and refuse to work with demi-humans.
The Inquisitor at the time took the initiative, seizing a huge chunk of Cold Moon’s territory, and the war hawks were suddenly on top.
The new Pope emerged from their ranks.
All the efforts of the previous Pope and the doves went down the drain.
After that, the church quickly changed course and set its sights on the eastern Elf Kingdom.
As long as they struck while the elves were sending troops south for the winter, they could break through the western defenses, capture the Elf King and the sacred tree the elves depended on, and force the elves to surrender.
And so began two years of war.
Looking back now, the church’s actions were unbelievably stupid.
But if the elf princess hadn’t noticed the church’s internal shifts and guessed that the war hawks would turn from the southern beastmen to the eastern elves, then advised the Elf King to send fewer troops south and reinforce the western front with two or three times the usual soldiers, who knows how things would have turned out.
Even with several times more troops than usual, the elves’ western front was still losing ground at the start of the war.
If not for the princess’s advice, the church’s plot might really have worked.
Of course, history ended up on the elves’ side.
With the war dragging on and no end in sight, the war hawks lost their edge and had to start talking about withdrawing and making peace (which they called a truce).
Looking up at the orange sun about to set in the distance, Fia finally relaxed, stretching and letting out a long breath.
“Haah, it’s finally over.”
“It’s a shame we couldn’t settle everything in one go, but at least we know where they stand.
Now that the doves are back in charge, negotiations should go much smoother from here on out.
And it’s all thanks to you, Your Highness.” Anastasia, standing beside Fia, gave a small bow, her face full of admiration and respect.
“If you hadn’t predicted the church’s attack on the western border, things would be a lot worse right now.”
“Eh, it’s not that big a deal.”
Fia answered with an embarrassed smile.
It wasn’t like she’d actually predicted anything.
From this angle, she was still a bit behind the elf princess.
Anastasia kept sighing.
“I don’t even know if you losing your memory is a good thing or a bad thing.
If it were the old days, the negotiations definitely wouldn’t have gone like this.
I could never have pulled it off alone.”
Anastasia was probably talking about how the old elf princess didn’t like to talk.
If Fia hadn’t played along with Anastasia’s act just now, they wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much out of it.
With the double threat of losing the war and Claire’s forbidden magic, the Inquisitor and Cardinal had already promised to have the Pope send an envoy with reparations to the Elf King within a month.
At the same time, Fia also got half the Aurora City temple’s treasure as an advance payment.
Her storage item had upgraded from a space backpack that could only hold a few cubic meters to a storage chest the size of a living room.
That said, since the space backpack was a gift from Claire and was easy to carry, Fia didn’t plan to stop using it.
“Seeing how reluctant they were, I finally got to feel what it’s like to beat your enemy psychologically.
Especially after destroying the Unsinkable Moon—when we get home, even your uncle won’t be able to covet your throne anymore.
Now you just have to watch out for petty tricks and poison in the dark.”
“When Father abdicates, Big Sis will be the next Elf Queen.
If we tell Brother, he’ll be so happy!” Liti looked up with her rose-colored eyes, celebrating with innocent excitement.
“Taking stuff from the church fair and square—this has never happened before!”
“Ah, Liti, you worked hard today too.”
Fia gave a wry smile and patted Liti’s head.
Liti, like a contented cat, rubbed her head against Fia’s waist.
Liti looked like a sweet, innocent little girl, but in today’s negotiations, she’d shown a clever side.
She was still far from the elf princess, but she’d definitely impressed Fia.
No one could dislike a cute, capable, and polite little sister.
But now that the negotiations were over, it meant something else was about to begin.
Fia couldn’t help but look back at Claire, who was following close behind.
At Fia’s request, the Cardinal of Aurora City had prepared a carriage and horses for the three of them to return, but Claire, who couldn’t travel with them, would use the advanced magic “High-Speed Flight” to head south to the Dragonfall and reclaim her property.
The so-called Dragonfall was a small landmass separate from the World Tree continent.
Since dragons often showed up there, and old dragons rarely left once they entered—like a dragon graveyard—people on the continent called it “Dragonfall.” It was said to be a wild, chaotic island with no concept of nations.
Fia wasn’t worried about Claire’s safety.
Even after using eighth-tier magic, Claire’s stamina was still on par with Fia’s.
Even if dozens of moon dragons like last night showed up, they wouldn’t be enough for Claire to beat up.
What Fia cared about was the coming separation.
Reading Fia’s thoughts in her eyes, Claire smiled gently and deliberately changed the subject, glancing at the square not far away.
A huge pot in the center was already simmering with meat stew.
The rich aroma of direwolf meat and spices made the air itself smell delicious.
Ragged slaves and refugees sat on the ground, gnawing on chunks of meat with expressions that were both happy and struggling.
“Hungry? After talking with the church people for so long, you must be.
Those folks over there look like they’re really enjoying it.
We could ask the church for some too.
Direwolf meat is tough, but the stew is tastier than most other monster meats of the same level.”
“Mmm…” Fia grunted.
No matter how tasty it was, she wasn’t about to fight refugees and slaves for food.
Besides, nothing is more important than the time we’ll have alone together next.
Fia smiled softly.
“I’d rather eat something Claire made.”
“Then let’s go back, okay? We don’t have much time, but if we use fire magic, the meat will stew quickly.”
I don’t really care about the food.
I just want to be with Claire.
With that thought in her heart, Fia hesitated for a moment, but finally, under the watchful eyes of Anastasia and Liti, she reached out her hand to Claire.
Their hands joined together in the sunset.
Even though she saw Anastasia’s expression freeze for a moment and Liti’s mouth form an “O,” Fia didn’t pull her hand back.
Instead, she held on even tighter.
Just for now, my dear sister and little sister, please don’t make me waste time explaining.
Silently praying, Fia started walking back to the clinic.
◇
The next day came quickly.
On the lush green outskirts of Aurora City, three rows of Holy Knights stood with a carriage waiting by the roadside.
With such a display, no passerby could help but stare.
But when their curious eyes landed on the people standing in front of the Holy Knights, they all widened their eyes and hurried away, pretending they hadn’t seen anything.
Standing before the Holy Knights were three elves and a human.
If, a few days ago, the people of Aurora City didn’t know what the elven princess looked like, now her image was known to every household.
She could fight a moon dragon hand-to-hand, destroy the Unsinkable Moon with forbidden magic—her unimaginable power made the citizens both grateful and afraid.
They were glad the elven princess had saved them, but also scared she might become their enemy.
This feeling wasn’t limited to ordinary people; the Holy Knights felt the same.
But with their heads hidden under helmets, no one could see their complicated expressions.
Today was the day Fia and the others were leaving Aurora City.
The city’s Cardinal and Chief Inquisitor didn’t show up, using the excuse of drafting letters.
They just sent a Holy Knight Captain to see Fia and her group off.
Fia didn’t care.
As the losers, it would be weird if those two came to see her off.
Sending Holy Knights out of the city was probably just to make sure the carriage didn’t get stolen and anger her, making them lose face.
As for the clinic, which had witnessed their love, Claire had just closed the door herself and sealed it with magic.
Now, no one could get in.
Even if the church wanted to vent their anger by destroying the clinic, they’d have to think twice about whether they could pay the price.
Fia had made it clear: the clinic belonged to her and Claire.
If it was destroyed, she’d let forbidden magic appear over Aurora City.
Even if the Cardinal had ten times the courage, he wouldn’t dare do something so pointless and troublesome.
Liti, under Anastasia’s arrangement, got into the carriage.
Anastasia herself was still checking if the carriage’s connections were secure.
Only Claire and Fia remained outside.
“Your Highness Dofilia, the carriage is ready.
Do you need one of us to drive? We can only escort you up to ten miles outside Aurora City at most.”
The Holy Knight’s manners were impeccable.
Fia, dressed in a black formal dress, waved her hand lightly.
“No need, you can go back.”
“Then, we’ll return to the city.
There’s a token signed by the Cardinal in the carriage.
With it, you can travel freely in the eastern part of the Holy Nation.”
“Okay.”
As the Holy Knights left, Fia naturally turned her gaze to Claire beside her.
Unlike her usual dark dress, Claire had been wearing a spotless white gown since the night before last, with a blue four-pointed hair ornament in her hair, making her look even more ethereal.
Claire reached out and touched Fia’s cheek, her pure green eyes full of a wry smile.
“Alright, let’s get back to the carriage.
Anastasia has probably already figured out our relationship.
If we keep this up, it’ll never end, you know? The sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll meet again in the Elven Kingdom.”
“Yeah, but even though Claire gave me a gift, I never managed to give her anything in the end…” Fia took out the deep red pendant hanging from her neck, her right hand covering Claire’s hand on her cheek, her expression full of regret.
Claire’s lips curled into a small smile.
“Didn’t Fia already give herself to me? That’s a one-of-a-kind gift in the world.
Though, to be fair, we both gave ourselves to each other, but Fia gave me a little more.”
As she spoke, Claire made a “just a little” gesture with her thumb and forefinger.
To distract Fia, Claire let out a heavy sigh on purpose.
“It’s a shame it was only two nights, and the clinic’s soundproofing was so bad.
Otherwise, I’d have made sure little Fia was too worn out to be so reluctant to part.”
“If I got serious, the one who’d be worn out would be you, Claire.”
Fia retorted, refusing to back down.
Claire widened her eyes.
“Oh? Then when we meet again, I’ll have to test that out.
Little Fia hasn’t learned enough magic yet—she’s no match for me.” Half-joking, Claire put both hands on Fia’s shoulders.
“Alright, time to go.
When you miss me, try channeling magic into the pendant—not to activate the defensive spell inside, but something else.”
“And I hope that when we meet again in the Elven Kingdom, Fia will have learned how to wear underwear.
All my treasures are in Dragonfall, so I don’t have anything to give you now, but next time, I’ll definitely have a surprise for you.”
“Me too.
Ah—wait!” As if remembering something, Fia quickly took a silver dagger from her spatial bag, cut off a lock of her black hair, and tied it with a ribbon.
“…It’s not worth much, but it’s all I could think of.
When you miss me, Claire, just take it out and look at it.”
“Okay.” Without any fuss, Claire took Fia’s hair and put it away as carefully as if it were a treasure.
Then she stepped forward, pressing her chest against Fia’s body, and in a near-whisper asked, “Is there anything else you want? It has to be something simple.”
The scent of herbs filled Fia’s nose, mixed with the faint fragrance she’d grown used to every night.
Her cheeks flushed pink as she quietly looked up into Claire’s eyes and asked in a small voice,
“A…a goodbye kiss?”
“I got it.”
With a helpless smile, Claire stepped back, then, ignoring everyone else, wrapped one arm around Fia’s back and the other behind her head.
Before Fia could react, Claire’s warm lips pressed against hers.
Like a bird skimming the water, it was over in an instant, without a trace of indecency.
What we’ve already done is more than enough—a ceremonial kiss is all it takes.
Claire knows that if she goes any further, Fia will only find it harder to let go.
So even though she wants to take things to the next level, she has to hold back—after all, she’s supposed to be the mature one here.
While Fia is still dazed, Claire steps back and says seriously,
“I’ll reach the Elf Kingdom in a month at the earliest.
Let’s meet again then, Fia.”
“Ah…” Fia snaps out of it, her fingers brushing her lips.
“I’ll make sure to take care of anything that could stop you from investigating the curse before you get there—Claire, don’t regret being with me after a month.”
“Of course I won’t regret it.”
Claire’s emerald eyes are full of laughter.
She leans down, whispering in Fia’s ear.
With warm breath brushing her earlobe, Claire shyly murmurs,
“Because… I already belong to you.”
