A day had passed since the Heavenly Phenomenon had shocked the entire world.
When the cooldown of the Familiar summoning ended, William immediately summoned Elliot to ask him how he died. Celeste was also there because there was still half an hour before Chloee could be summoned as well.
Just like William, she also wanted to get to the bottom of things, and find out the reason behind why the two familiars died during their excursion.
Elliot scratched the back of his head as William and Celeste stared at him with serious expressions.
"This might be a bit embarrassing to say, but Chloee and I died when we ate a strange mushroom during our journey," Elliot replied in an awkward tone. "When we found out that it was poisonous, it was already too late. Since I am weaker than Chloee, I died first. She probably died some time later."
William and Celeste looked at Elliot with doubtful expressions on their faces. They couldn't believe that the two Familiars died just because they ate a mushroom.
"What does the mushroom look like?" William asked.
"A pure white mushroom," Elliot replied in a heartbeat. "It is as big as a man's head and looks very delicious. Chloee and I grilled a few and ate them. At first, we didn't feel anything. However, once we resumed our journey, we experienced extreme chest, and abdominal pains."
Celeste, who was listening in Elliot's description, frowned.
"You said it was pure white mushrooms, right?" Celeste inquired. "Do they have other noticeable features?"
Elliot shook his head. "They are just pure white mushrooms. They're just like those mushrooms being sold at the marketplace in the City of Orion. The only difference is that this one is bigger. Just as big as an adult human's head."
Celeste nodded her head.
"I guess they must have accidentally eaten the White Death Cap Mushroom," Celeste said as she glanced at William. "They share a lot of similarities with edible mushrooms. The only difference is that they are bigger. Although I know that Chloee would often pick up random things to eat during her travels, I didn't expect her to die eating a mushroom."
William crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the embarrassed looking familiar in front of him. Elliot had always had that confident look on his face, but now, the Familiar was blushing in shame and embarrassment.
"Kekeke! To think that you would die because of a mushroom. How funny!" Conan laughed out loud as he patted Elliot's shoulder.
Elliot scratched his head, "Yes. It was a very embarrassing way to die. It will not happen again."
After asking Elliot a few more questions, Celeste left and returned to her quarters. She wanted to interrogate Chloee and see if her statement would match Elliot's. That was the only way to confirm whether the Angelic Familiar was saying the truth or not.
Half an hour later, Chloee was summoned, and she said similar things to what Elliot had said. After this, William and Celeste warned both Familiars to not eat random things again when they go out on an excursion.
—–
A few hours later…
Elliot, and Chloee secretly met up in the City of Orion.
The Angelic Familiar asked about everything that happened after he died. Unfortunately, Chloee had been too busy fighting with Araznir that she didn't pay attention to the other battles around her.
"I guess since nothing has happened, they successfully eliminated all of the Giants," Elliot said while rubbing his chin.
"Will they be back?" Chloee asked. Although she liked fighting, this was one of the rare occasions when she hoped that she wouldn't have to fight a Giant Demigod again.
Elliot nodded his head with certainty, but he also told her that he didn't know when they would be back. All he could tell Chloee was that they would at least have a year or two of peace.
"I think we should tell Celeste about this," Chloee commented after a while. "She can warn the Headmaster about it, and that old Byron can make preparations for the giants' return."
Elliot smiled, "There's no need for you to do that. I'm sure that the Headmaster is also aware of the threat of invaders coming to our world. If he has the means to travel to the void, I'm sure that he might have also been there during the battle."
"Ah! That reminds me. How did you know about this? Also, why were we able to go to the void?"
"I have the power of clairvoyance. Also, not everyone can travel to the void. It requires a very powerful artifact or magical power to enter the Passage of the Worlds. The reason why You, I, and Meredith, were able to go there is because our bodies are made up of Magical Energies.
"With the right frequency, we can appear in the Void as long as we have an anchor supporting us in this world."
Elliot knew that Chloee needed an explanation, so he answered her to the best of his abilities.
"So, that girl, Rebecca, became our anchor point, correct?" Chloee inquired.
Elliot nodded his head. "She needed to keep the connection open so that, even if we died, our essences would return back here to Hestia. If there was no connection between this world and the void, our magical energies might have been stuck there and our Masters wouldn't be able to summon us again."
"I see! So, that's why. Now I understand!"
"Do you really understand?"
"No! But, it's fine!" Chloee replied with a smile. "Didn't we win? As long as we won, nothing else matters! Ah! I almost forgot! What was Will's grandfather doing there as well? I saw him back at the Misty Sect…"
Elliot scratched his head as he started to explain how James appeared in the Passage of the Worlds.
"Do you remember that rainbow-glowing bridge that you smashed in Asgard?" Elliot inquired.
Chloee tilted her head in confusion. "Um? Are you talking about that low-budgeted bridge that crumbled from a single punch?"
Elliot's face twitched because Chloee was the only one that would say that the Bifrost Bridge was a low-budgeted bridge. However, in order to not complicate things, he decided to ride along and nodded his head.
"The Bifrost Bridge can allow someone to travel anywhere, as long as Grandpa James wills it," Elliot explained. "Just think of it as a teleportation Gate that he can use to travel the world, anytime, anywhere."
"What? That bridge is that good? I should have brought it back to the academy with me!"
"Remind me later to tell William to ban you from the Floor of Asgard. You should really curb that hobby of yours to smash things that catch your fancy."
While the two Familiars were having a casual talk, an Elven Ship docked at the port of the City of Orion.
"So, that is Hestia Academy," Princess Eowyn said as she gazed at the massive floating academy in the distance.
Pearl was already at the dock and had been waiting for an hour for the Princess to arrive. Her task was to become the Elven Princess' bodyguard while she studied in the academy to learn more about Human nature.
The last surviving Blademaster and several of the Princess' attendants, who protected her in the Southern Continent, had reported everything that had happened to their King.
After hearing their stories, the Elven King decided to let his daughter study at the prestigious Hestia Academy, in order to cure her naivety about how the Human world works. He hoped that after spending more time in the Human world, the Princess would be able to better understand the complex world of Humans.
—–
In an inn inside the City of Orion…
"Dear, you were amazing last night," a beautiful lady, with blonde hair and green eyes, said before she kissed Owen's cheek.
"I know," Owen replied as he returned his wife's kiss. "Aila must be in the academy by now. Should we return to Lont, or should we go to the Tower of Babylon?"
"Yes, Aila successfully enrolled at the academy yesterday. She has also moved into the girls' dormitory," the blonde beauty said as she looked at her husband with an affectionate gaze. "As for whether we should go back in Lont or go to the Tower of Babylon, any place is good, as long as you are there."
She had been captivated by Owen many years ago when he had saved her from bandits.
Her family had a special bloodline that was able to see past the appearances of people, so even though Owen looked old on the outside, she was able to see the handsome young man for who he truly was.
She had fallen in love at first sight with him, and decided to become his wife, which surprised all the old people of Lont, including James who was Owen's liege at that time.
The handsome young man with platinum blonde hair held his wife, Sarah, and pulled her close to him. Right after the battle ended, he returned to the Bifrost Bridge alone, in order to spend some time with his wife.
Every year, they would go on a honeymoon by traveling away from Lont for a month or two. This time, Owen decided to take his Disciple, Princess Aila—the Third Princess of the Zelan Dynasty—to the Central Continent with them to gain some experience.
Their first stop was the Tower of Babylon where William and James had journeyed earlier.
When Princess Aila's brother, Crown Prince Alaric, heard that his sister was going to the Central Continent, he immediately gave her a mission and that was to become one of William's lovers!
The angelic looking Princess almost died from embarrassment after reading her Big Brother's letter. However, Alaric had pointed out that William was their Dynasty's Savior and Benefactor, so it was only natural for one of the members of the Royal Family to form stronger ties through marriage.
Just like the Kraetor Empire, the Zelan Dynasty also had its own culture and traditions. The Princesses had been taught at an early age that their existence was to protect the interest of the Royal Family, so they were all prepared to be used as tools for marriage in order to expand the Zelan Dynasty's influence.
This was why Princess Aila had no choice when she was taken to the Kyrintor Mountains to be married off to the Tribe Chieftain's second son, Connal.
Although Princess Aila felt embarrassed by the mission given to her, she had a very good impression of William.
William had saved her once in the Kyrintor Mountains, and had also been there to help fight against the Elves during the war in the Southern Continent.
In Princess Aila's life, William was a hero. The red-headed teenager might not be a Prince, but he was the most sought after candidate by all the Princesses in the world of Hestia.
She would be lying if she said that she didn't have any feelings for the Half-Elf who had been a regular visitor to her sweetest dreams.
Princess Aila didn't hide anything from Owen and told him about the plans of the Zelan Royal Family.
Owen wasn't too surprised about the Royal Family's move because he was once a citizen of the Zelan Dynasty.
Although he didn't know if his shy disciple had a chance to worm her way to William's heart, as her Master, Owen decided to support her decision.
'I don't know if you are lucky or unlucky, Will,' Owen thought as he hugged his beloved wife. 'Being loved by many women is good, but I don't think your stamina will last. Fortunately, my Disciple is a powerful healer. Marrying her will certainly help you, and Little Will, reach your peak performance every night.'
Owen sighed as he held his wife in a protective embrace. 'I guess I should write a letter to Will and tell him to take good care of Aila. As for their matchmaking… I'll just go to the Tower of Babylon and let James handle the rest. Knowing him, I'm sure that he will be more than happy to accept another beautiful lady as his grandson's future wife in order to expand his lineage.'
He had no qualms about William's character. In fact, Owen would be hard pressed to find someone more worthy of his Disciple than William.. His only gripe was that the old coot, James, would certainly be roaring with laughter after he found out that Owen's precious Disciple had fallen into the Half-Elf's hands.
