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Chapter 1003: Joy
Loraine knew what research spirits were. This spirit called Jean, from her understanding must be the second spirit here.
She was a bit uncertain, though, “Jean, you are a spirit?”
Jean’s voice came over again, “Yes, my name is Jean, the battle fort spirit.”
“A battle fort?” Lorraine turned to Abel.
Abel smiled and replied, “It’s an ancient war machine. It can fly to high altitude and hide itself in camouflage. We’ll be safe enough under its protection. If you are in any sort of danger, just seek out Jean.”
As someone who often did explorations inside the dark world, Abel knew that he couldn’t stay inside the residential areas. He needed an extra guarantee to know that Loraine was safe even if she was inside the temple. As far as he was concerned, this battle fort was the safest protection he could provide. He didn’t think that anyone could really break through a barrier backed up with several thousand magic stones, and even if there were, someone would still have to bypass an outside defensive layer that consisted of special metals.
With all that in mind, the battle fort itself didn’t actually possess any sort of aggressive capabilities. It was meant to excel at hiding itself in midair. Lorraine was a Sainte now, and it should be enough to make sure she wasn’t threatened by anything. Abel needed it to stay that way. He must make sure he was doing everything he could to protect his only relative on the central continent.
Lorraine seemed kind of bewildered, “I didn’t know this castle could fly!”
“Invisibility mode when you go up, Jean,” Abel ordered, then turned to smile at Loraine, “I’ll bring you to platform upstairs. The view is great there.”
After saying that, he wrapped his power of the Will around Loraine. Now that he was here, he didn’t need to hide his identity any further. He was free to use his “instantaneous movement’ however he wished, so he immediately put Loraine and himself away from the hallroom and reappeared at a balcony at the steel fort. They were leaving White Cloud alone, and even though it was chirping anxiously, they decided that the view was more important.
They were on the platform. As seldom as people came to visit here, there weren’t any chairs or desks placed to be used. It was just a platform with gates to surround itself. They could see the views around quite smoothly. Yes, especially when the battle fort was slowly rising over Bay Law City and the outskirts. That, and the forest that was further away.
Lorraine was very enthusiastic, “It really flew, Abel!”
It was truly a happy thing to be here like this. Being a Sainte meant that she had to suppress her playful nature a lot of the time. Now that she was with Abel, she became much more relaxed than she’d normally be. That being said, she definitely felt a lot happier now that she saw the view like this.
Abel smiled and explained, “This fort isn’t actually flying, let me tell you. It’s really just floating around the air.”
Lorraine quickly turned her head around, “Call we call White Cloud here? I’m starting to miss her.”
Abel nodded, “Sure. You can both play around here.”
After saying that, he connected his power of the Will to White Cloud through the soul chain. White Cloud came in just a minute. One large shadow passed through the barrier and dropped on the platform.
Lorraine came forward and spoke to White Cloud, “Have you missed me, White Cloud?”
White Cloud responded by nudging its head against her. It was free to fly around without being attacked by the security system, but it wanted to stay here right now. It might go around if it got bored, but it would always come back fairly quickly with the “instantaneous movement” ability.
Lorraine caressed White Cloud’s head and said, “Can I take White Cloud for a flight, Abel?”
The last time she took a flight on White Cloud with Abel, it was with the other big druids at the temple. She was also feeling fatigued at the time, so she didn’t really make the most out of the experience.
Abel smiled and replied, “Sure!”
Lorraine requested as she tapped Abel’s body with her finger, “And return to your original form! I don’t like the way you appear now! I want to see the real you!”
In half a second, Abel changed himself into his human form. His elven clothing couldn’t fit his muscular human body, so there was a split moment where he was naked before getting into a new outfit. Loraine saw it, and her hands covered her eyes very quickly, but she saw everything already. Abel didn’t think that this was going to happen. This was the first time he had to worry about showing himself during transformation.
“Um, let’s go. White Cloud’s still waiting.”
While dragging Loraine as she was still blushing, they appeared outside at the same position at Bangkong City. It was the same position and the same two people. When White Cloud rushed towards the sky, Lorraine let out an excited cry that made her forget about how embarrassed she was. To be honest, White Snow might be available at all times, but riding on White Cloud for the flight was just so much more comfortable and fun. Also, with Abel protecting her at all times, she could now really enjoy what flying in midair was like.
Druid Lucia watched them, by the way. She looked towards the sky and saw immediately the two people that were there.
She spoke in a somewhat envious manner, “Seems like Lady Sainte’s really enjoying her company.”
By this point, everyone’s got an idea of how well Master Bennett was treating Loraine. It wasn’t just the food that was provided to her every day. She would also share the food with her servants and bodyguards, which made it an extremely honorable (and privileged) thing to serve beside her. The best part must be the “skin-washing water” and “conditioner” she was using. While the other elves would have to try to rush to the front of the line for them, Lorraine would always have a spare portion coming in before she finished using the original set. The elves did already devote themselves to serving the Moon Goddess, but they would always look at Loraine and admire how far Master Bennett was willing to go for her. It was the other way around, too. Lorraine went as far as to make a direct request from the Moon Goddess as soon as Abel was in trouble at the Valley of Tree of Life.
Druid Lucia sighed and smiled, “They are so perfect for each other, aren’t they?”
Abel was starting to relax more now. He was smiling with Loraine to enjoy the time they were having. He didn’t find any part of this flight surprising, but he did feel a strong connection that was growing stronger when he was laughing and enjoying the company of his beloved one. After about one hour, when Loraine got tired, they returned to the battle fort platform and went back to the inside of the battlefront.
Lorraine suddenly realized something when they returned, “Oh, wait! I’ve almost forgotten why I came here today!”
Abel kind of knew in the first place, but he just wanted Loraine to have fun for the day.
Abel smiled, “Nothing is secret between us, Lorraine. It’s okay if you have something you want to talk about.”
Lorraine said, “It’s about the elders. They wanted me to ask if you can help with promoting the big druids. There are a lot of them at the temple, and they really struggle with making progress.”
She then winked for a bit, “You don’t have to help if it’s much, of course.”
Abel couldn’t help but smile at that remark. He knew that there were big druids out there were who wanted to promote the tree of life. He didn’t know that the temple druids were the first ones, though, and it was actually quite surprising that they would seek Loraine first and not directly to him. It seemed like everyone on the central continent knew what was happening between them.
Abel smiled and said, “I can give two vacant spots for the temple. As for the other big druids, Lorraine, they’d have to wait until you become an official sainte.”
A safe move, given that Loraine had not received any real authority yet. It wasn’t wise to turn down the offer completely, but he didn’t think that they should exert too much influence over the elves, either. Not when Loraine’s status was not quite secured yet.
“Thank you, Abel!” Lorraine said, grateful, in spite of not having a clue of the complexity that Abel was thinking.
Abel then spoke to Joan, “Set a table and two chairs for us.”
Very quickly, three objects stretched up from the ground. The big one became a plain-looking table, while the two small ones looked like tall chairs that were lumping up. The designs were according to Abel’s imagination. Given how unique they looked, Lorraine became very curious to see what they were like.
Abel took out two crystal cups from Valaya’s ring. After pouring some juice in them, he began chatting with Loraine about what happened to her recently at the temple. Lorraine was very keen to talk. The smile she had on her face seemed like she wanted to tell him everything that had happened. Abel was very keen to listen, too. He liked listening to Loraine talk like this. Not the complicated things at the temple, though. He preferred Loraine to think about those after she reached adulthood.
Lorraine suddenly realized when it’s dawn, “It’s late! Oh, no! I didn’t notice the time! Druid Lucia must’ve been waiting for me!”
Abel smiled in response, “About that, I don’t think she’s going to be in a rush.”
The same cannot be said for the elders, but Druid Lucia knew how precious this time between them was. Whatever the case, there was probably going to be a lot of arguing about who was going to receive the two vacant spots for promotion. He wasn’t going to bother too much, though. As far as he was concerned, what he was offering to the temple was going to help Loraine live a more comfortable life inside the temple.
Lorraine seemed to want to stay, though, “But I have another lesson tonight! I need to get back before it’s dark!”
Abel nudged her hair for a bit with his fingers, “I guess, sure. Make sure you come here when you have the time. I’ll be available during daytime.”
“Oh, sure… Got it!” Lorraine nodded, her face blushing slightly. She was very satisfied with this dating spot of theirs. Abel could show himself in his human form, and it’s not like she had to think too much about her status as the Sainte. It was just like back on the Holy Continent. They were enjoying their time together to have fun. That was all there was to it.
As the saying went, happy times often fell short. Since he had to see Loraine off to Druid Lucia, Abel reverted back to his elven form and said goodbye to them at the large-sized teleportation circle.
Just as he was thinking that it was going to be a while before he could see Loraine again, in the morning of the very next day, the research spirit notified him that she and Druid Lucia were already waiting for him in the guest-meeting room.
He said to himself while teleporting there, “The temple elders are always in such a rush, aren’t they?”
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