“Make sure to follow Maple, or you might get lost.”
“Please hold Cinnamon’s hand, I like to walk together.”
William, who had barely resolved the misunderstanding with the help of Erinys, Haleth, and Anh, held the hands of the two little girls as they walked towards the location of the crater, where K-City used to be.
He could faintly feel the connection that allowed the Bifrost Bridge to make a transfer to Earth, but it was still very unstable.
The Half-Elf was certain that he could only use it one last time before he had to wait for it to become stable enough for him to be able to use it again.
‘I think the Bifrost Bridge was able to make the connection to Earth because it was Cathy that initiated the transfer,’ William thought.
Maple and Cinnamon seemed to be in a very good mood after they woke up, so the two of them were quite lively as they dragged the Half-Elf towards their destination.
Earlier, when they left the hotel, the people they passed gave William looks of envy and jealousy. This was understandable because walking behind him were ten gorgeous ladies, who could easily become the cover of women’s fashion magazines.
William even heard some of the men wishing for him to get hit by truck-kun as he left the hotel for being a winner in life.
What they didn’t know was that he had already been hit by Truck-kun, after he died, sending him to Hestia, where he met the ladies that were currently walking behind him.
Pearl, whose face was still beet red, was at the very end of the line. After hearing William’s explanation, she remembered that it was Cathy that carried the sleeping Half-Elf back to the bed.
Afterwards, the Virtuous Lady of Hope slept beside him, and all of them, who were inside Cathy’s Sea of Consciousness, fell asleep as well.
William was clearly innocent, but Pearl still held a grudge.
Her reason was very simple. If she easily forgave the Half-Elf for what he had done to her sister, Charmaine, and also to her in the past, everything she worked hard for over the past few years would be in vain.
The Half-Elf was also guilty of brainwashing Charmaine at the beginning, so he didn’t ask for Pearl to forgive him. He only told her that if there is an opportunity for him to make up for what he had done, he would do his best, no matter what Pearl asked of him.
“Chocolate cake is good~ same with all the food~” Maple sang as she swung William’s right arm as they walked together.
“Vegetables are bad~ eating them makes me sad~” Cinnamon joined her sister as she swung William’s left hand, imitating her sister.
“I thought we already established that eating vegetables is good?” William asked with amusement.
“Cinnamon will eat vegetables, but it still makes me sad,” Cinnamon complained. “I just don’t want Mama to be sad, so I’ll eat it even if it’s bitter!”
“That’s right!” Maple nodded. “We will eat if it makes Mama happy.”
William only smiled before using his Wind Magic to make all of them float in the air. Looking at the clear-blue sky above his head, the Half-Elf locked onto the point in the sky where he could feel the strongest connection with the Bifrost Bridge.
“Let’s go,” William said in a voice that was loud enough for everyone to hear him. “It’s time to return to Hestia.”
—————-
A radiant light bathed everyone, making them momentarily close their eyes. When the light receded, they found themselves standing at the center of the Bifrost Bridge, with the Palace of Asgard right in front of them.
“All of you, wait for me in the Palace,” William said. “I am taking Maple, Cinnamon, and Celeste with me to visit a place here in the Tower.
Although Wendy, Estelle, and Belle were reluctant to leave him, they decided to obey his words. The Half-Elf already told them what he was planning to do after he returned to Hestia, and since they were unable to come with him, they had no choice but to wait for his return.
“At least take Chloee with you,” Wendy insisted. “In a way, she is also your Familiar, right? I don’t think the Gods of Familiar would mind seeing her.”
William pondered this for a moment before nodding his head.
“If it puts your mind at ease then I will take her with me,” William replied.
After waiting for half an hour, Chloee, Celeste, and Claire, arrived at the Bifrost Bridge with expectant gazes.
“Are you really going to meet the God of Familiars?” Celeste asked as soon as she saw William. “Is there a way to resurrect Elliot and Conan?”
Celeste was a Familiamancer. The very first of its kind in Hestia. When William also acquired the same profession, she was quite happy about it because it meant that she was no longer alone.
However, before their profession could even spread in the world, they were engulfed in a storm, which made it impossible for them to escape without others sacrificing themselves for their sake.
If possible, Celeste wanted William to help revive Elliot and Conan, so the missing half of his soul would finally be complete again.
“If there is a way for them to revive, I will do it,” William replied. “How many times have you met the God of Familiars?”
Celeste pondered for a bit as she tried to recall the number of times he had an audience with the God of Familiars, who resided at the very top of the Tower of Babylon, alongside two other Gods whom she hadn’t met.
“Five,” Celeste replied after a few minutes.
“What can you tell me about him?” William inquired.
Before Celeste could answer William’s question, Chloee interjected and answered the question herself.
“He acts mysterious when he’s just an old fart,” Chloee stated.
“That’s right,” Claire supported her sister’s statement. “He only contacts us when he needs a favor. It is really one-sided. Maybe it is time to settle the scores and use this as leverage against him.”
Celeste didn’t know if she should laugh or cry about her Familiars’ description of the God of Familiars, who had chosen her to become his representative in Hestia.
“Well, what Chloee and Claire have said is true.” Celeste admitted. “But, the God of Familiars never does things without a reason. When he asked me to make you a Familiamancer, I am sure that he had done it in good faith.”
William nodded his head in understanding. He couldn’t remember if he had met the God of Familiars in the past, because there were so many things happening around him, making him unable to recall if they had already had a meeting.
‘It doesn’t matter,” William thought. ‘I’ll be seeing him now anyway.’
The Half-Elf lightly squeezed the soft, and delicate hands of the two little girls who were licking the lollipops that he had created for them, while waiting for Celeste, Chloee, and Claire to arrive.
“Maple, Cinnamon, can you take me to the top of this tower?” William asked.
“Okay,” Maple replied.
“This is easy,” Cinnamon answered.
The two little girls reluctantly let go of William’s hands before pressing their hands together, intertwining with each other.
Maple and Cinnamon both closed their eyes, and a single glance was enough to tell them that they were concentrating on something.
Suddenly, a small spark appeared in front of them.
This spark moved in a circular motion until it grew bigger, and bigger, creating a portal.
Finally, the portal stabilized, showing the appearance of a place filled with stars.
“Let’s go in before the portal closes,” Maple said as she held onto William’s right hand, pulling him towards the portal.
“Hurry up, hurry up, hurry hurry up~” Cinnamon grabbed hold of the Half-Elf’s hand and pulled him as well.
Celeste was only two steps behind William, so as soon as the Half-Elf entered the portal, she was able to enter as well.
Chloee and Claire had taken their familiar forms, and sat on William’s and Celeste’s shoulders, just in case something unexpected happened.
“So, you’re finally here.”
An ancient voice echoed in the surroundings making William and Celeste look around them.
pan-d a-n0vel.com “Over here.”
The Half-Elf and the Elf looked in the direction where the voice was coming from and they saw an old man, wearing white robes, with both of his hands clasped behind his back.
“I welcome you to the Top Floor of the Tower of Babylon,” the old man gave a light bow. “Dark and difficult times lie ahead. So I won’t bore you with lengthy speeches. Tell me, Dark Prince, what is your reason for coming here?”
————–
