After walking out of the cave-house, Eric was pleasantly surprised.
There was a white beach some dozens of meters away, and ocean waves were touching the shore gently.
Truly a beautiful sight.
Eric's eyes shone with delight.
He had guessed that he might be on some island, and it indeed turned out to be so!
He really wanted to charge straight into the ocean and play like a child, ahem, but there was no need to rush yet. First came the survey, and that itself was also no less exciting.
Eric turned around and saw the 'house' was built inside a hill, and there was another similar hill not too far away. There was a very small distance between them, and white sandy beach stretched between them with a few coconut trees and similar-looking ones spread across.
If his guess wasn't wrong, then the island was not too huge, and the hills were also not much taller either.
Eric estimated he could reach the top of the hill within half an hour. So, he decided to climb one to have a better view of the island.
While climbing, he noticed that the hills were filled with various types of trees, mainly tropical. He didn't see any sign of dangerous insects or wildlife—only squirrels, birds, and a few snakes, probably the non-poisonous ones.
Eric asked in his mind, "Riya, I just slept for two days, and after such injuries, why am I not hungry?" He felt full of energy, which was quite strange. He understood that he had been healed by some magical potions.
"They were feeding you some sort of pill or candy. As soon as it went inside your mouth, it melted and turned into energy that also took care of your hunger."
"I see. These kinds of pills are really great for adventuring."
"That's right. Lysandra had told Elara to only feed you one per day, but she fed you twice! Quite a 'love at first sight' you got there. Sadly, I couldn't share your experience due to Lysandra being around." Riya spoke with thick jealousy. She had previously been sitting with utmost alarm, knowing that the scary person was still around.
Eric laughed. Indeed, he had enjoyed it quite a bit, but he was also very rational.
Riya snorted, "What would Ly and Liv feel about this? It's like someone robbed your 'first time' while they weren't around! Though personally, I'm all up for new sisters."
Riya's tone changed to excitement at the end.
Eric rolled his eyes and replied with an uncaring tone, "All of them are just kids. Perhaps Ly and Liv are a bit too attached to me, but are they in love? They at most have a crush on me." He was aware of Elara's age through the memories Riya had passed to him earlier.
Riya rolled her eyes as well, "In what sense are you saying they're kids? Age? There's less than a year for all of you to turn 15, which is considered adulthood in Celestia. Oh, you must be talking about their heights, right? They're still too little for your taste?"
Eric slipped and fell off a tree branch.
How the hell is nearly seven feet considered 'little'?!
Eric landed on the ground and coughed violently for a while.
After calming down, he shrugged and nonchalantly answered, "No matter what, I don't want to go into any romantic relationship. I don't mind being single for life, and even if I do, it won't be for now, at least." He then continued his monkey climb toward the peak of the hill.
Eric had no interest in getting into such relationships, whether with his new cutie crush or with the 'L' family members.
They were welcome to be his friends; he might consider them more than just friends in his heart. Maybe a few years later, if they truly stuck with him, knew him better, and proved they wouldn't be a burden—among other criteria—only then would he consider it.
Yes. Eric believed himself to be the biggest hotshot in the universe.
Eric knew that girls usually came to a boy to reproduce, whether they understood this fact or not. They were just being good slaves of nature—that was all. He, being the evil villain, preferred if people made such choices without being influenced by such fickle feelings, which existed today like the brightest star and vanished the next day like black holes.
So, if any girls stick with him while understanding his evil nature, and also fulfill a few other criteria—such as being capable enough to protect themselves and not waiting for him to be the shining prince on a shining horse to come save them and then impregnate them for better future-generation genes—then maybe he himself will be drawn toward such girls.
So, both Lyria and Livy have to stick around with him for a while before he accepts them. Otherwise, he was completely fine being just friends for life.
Riya gave Eric a nasty glare and refused to speak further on this topic.
She highly doubted that he would face a similar situation to Earthly girls in this world, and at least both Lyria and Livy are very different.
The fire both Lyria and Livy had while training at such an extreme level and never giving up wasn't something girls who are driven by mere hormones and fickle feelings could accomplish!
Eric soon arrived at the top of the hill. He then climbed the sole tree at the summit to get a clearer view.
After finding a good branch, he sat on it and got the complete view of the island, and both he and Riya were mentally blown away by its beauty.
The island was fairly small and had a heart-shaped outline with white sandy beaches covering most of its shores on almost all sides. The surrounding water was vibrant turquoise, and a little farther out, it was deep blue. There were also shallow reefs near the shore. Overall, it was mesmerizing scenery.
The weather at the moment was also great. The sky was slightly dark, with brooding clouds dominating much of the horizon. However, a few slivers of sunlight were breaching through the clouds in some places, creating rays of light that stretched across the ocean's surface, highlighting the scene's beauty.
Eric sat satisfied on the branch while experiencing the gentle, cool breeze washing over his entire body.
He had seen many such beautiful scenes in his past life, but he would never get tired of them. Also, due to Celestia having HDR settings always on, the entire visual was damn gorgeous.
Eric was very pleased.
This trip had already fulfilled him in more ways than he thought, and now he was completely content with Celestia's services—nine out of five stars in rating!
After being blessed for another half hour, Eric turned to observe the island, and soon he noticed a place not too far from the hill.
A green-haired angel with long ears was sitting on a rock beside a small oval-shaped pond with her knees submerged in water while playing with it.
Eric felt he should take the chance before the 9-foot lingerie auntie returned to go and chat with his new sweetie crush. He needed to understand why these naked Dark Elf tribes had appeared in this place out of nowhere and what their intentions were.
He jumped down and, from one branch to another, one rock to another, in huge leaps, started gliding down the hill. It was slightly risky but equally fun.
Soon, he arrived at the foothills. After taking a quick opportunity to molest the ocean water while no one was watching, he proceeded toward the tasty-looking long-eared girl.
Elara was completely lost in her thoughts and didn't hear Eric approaching.
"Hey," Eric called out to Elara with a greeting smile from behind her.
Elara's heart nearly leaped out of her throat due to the jump scare. She quickly leaped away from her position toward another rock beside the pond with a defensive posture.
She had been so submerged in her own fanciful daydreaming—so pleasant—that she didn't even notice someone's arrival behind her despite having good hearing capability.
After noticing it was her king—Eric, whom she had been daydreaming about—her always-naturally blushing face turned even redder, and her heart pounded heavily inside her bosom.
She wondered if Eric was about to push her down from behind, and so she turned even redder.
Elara stayed quiet while gazing at the rock beneath her foot like a newlywed, too shy to meet her husband's eyes.
Eric felt his mouth twitch.
'This is too much! How am I going to hold a conversation if she's floating in the sky with so much love? Even I'm starting to get influenced!'
He coughed and sat down in the place where Elara had been sitting previously and, like her, submerged his knees in the cold water.
Eric was very satisfied.
Before arriving there, he had taken advantage of the ocean water, and both Riya and he had noticed quite a few differences compared to Earth's ocean. For one, the water felt a lot thicker somehow, possibly due to Mana or whatever.
Long ago, Riya had once mentioned that the atmospheric pressure in the water was a lot higher compared to Earth's, but only now was she calculating it. While she was busy, Eric went to meet Elara.
He turned toward Elara to observe her, who seemed frozen in place.
Perhaps due to the pew-pew girl, he felt that Elara was the cutest and most gorgeous girl he had ever seen in both his lives. Of course, Lyria, Livy, and Riya were currently being forcefully forgotten thanks to the pew-pew girl.
Leaving aside the pew-pew girl's effect, he would still say that Elara was really pretty, and within a few more years, she could even challenge her shameless mother to become the prettiest, cutest, and hottest beauty of all Elves—though he hadn't seen more than four elves in his life.
Elara also seemed to exude a unique natural air compared to Lyria or Livy. It was like she stood high above in an untouchable place, almost like a queen or a princess. Or perhaps it was due to Elara being from a completely different race that Eric felt she was much more unique than any other living person he had met so far.
"Hello, sister Elara," Eric called out. "I hope you don't mind me sitting here."
He was just one step away from teasing and bullying Elara. After all, if cute people acted too cute, one definitely wanted to bully them—ahem, at least he wanted to!
Elara came back to her senses but was still submerged in her 'fluffy fluffy' feelings.
She nodded while avoiding Eric's gaze and whispered in a sweet voice, "Please, sit..."
Eric had already captured Elara's spot and was already seated. So, what she meant was that her brain was a few seconds slower than real time.
Eric nodded in understanding and tapped beside him. "You also come and sit."
When Elara heard Eric telling her to sit beside him, her heart nearly stopped pounding for a moment—then sped up like never before.
'S-s-sitting b-beside him? D-does h-he mean s-side by s-side? H-h-holding h-hands? I-I-I don't think I-I'm ready yet!'
Elara's head exploded with a red hue.
Eric felt numb internally.
Just how can love affect her so much that it feels like she'll die with her head exploding any moment now?
'Oh my, sweet little angel, please wake up! So we can have a normal conversation.'
Eric felt at this rate, it would take hours to begin the conversation.
Riya rolled her eyes. "You keep forgetting that she's at your age and this is definitely her first time experiencing all this. Do you think everyone has a stupidly mature mind like yours? Give my new sister some time; she's enjoying life a lot more than you!"
"Hey, what do you mean, 'your sister'? I'm not taking her as my... forget that, such a flower isn't even suitable for being my companion," Eric spoke dismissively.
Riya gave Eric another ugly glare.
Elara was so sweet—how dare he refuse free treats!
'New sister, go for it! I'm in full support! But you should know there are others in line as well! Don't ever think of obtaining my Eric all by yourself!'
After a long time, Elara came to her senses and then stiffly moved—moved—and moved a little more—and then sat down far away.
She submerged her feet back in the cold water, and only then did she calm down, her temperature returning to normal.
Eric was speechless. They now had nearly a dozen meters of distance between them!
'Whatever.'
"How long have I been asleep? Can you tell me, sister Elara?" Eric already knew but logically shouldn't, so he asked.
Elara didn't even dare to glance at Eric and focused on her feet, answering in a whisper-like voice, "P-please don't call me s-sister... Just c-call me by my name, Elara..."
Although Elara's voice was low, thankfully Eric didn't have poor hearing ability, so he managed to hear her.
Eric waited for Elara to continue, but she went quiet as if lost in some la-la galaxy.
He sighed and asked the same question again.
Elara, still gazing downward, answered while blushing, "T-two days, B-brother Eric..."
Eric nodded. "Thank you, and don't call me brother, either." Since Elara didn't want him to call her sister, her calling him brother would feel too strange.
"My sisters Ly and Liv will cry if they hear this!" Riya immediately cried in protest for her sisters.
Eric ignored Riya.
It wasn't like he had forced Lyria and Livy to call him 'Brother'—it was their choice.
He continued asking, "Elara, can you tell me about these Dark Elf tribes? Why are they here? Do they attack nearby intelligent species settlements?"
Eric was quite serious about the Dark Elf issue. If those Dark Elves' strength was as he imagined, then even if Bella Noll were at her peak, she probably still wouldn't be able to protect the orphanage—or even herself.
Hearing Eric speak with such a serious tone, Elara suddenly felt heartbroken. But she quickly thought why and realized that since Eric lived nearby in a town called Ringwood Town, that place was indeed in immediate danger.
After thinking this, Elara panicked. She didn't want Eric to feel depressed because his town was killed.
So she quickly reassured Eric, "D-don't worry, E-Eric... I-I'll make sure nothing like that happens! I'll personally ask my mother to take action as soon as she returns! A-also, yes, they do kill nearby settlements, but they do that after a few days or weeks of observing and understanding the environment... Also, these Dark Elf tribes are different from those that exist on the Elvin continent. These tribes worship some gods or deity and do various vile things everywhere. They are wanted and hunted by all races, even by ours."
Eric nodded and went into deep thought.
He wondered what options he now had. One was to seek Lysandra's help, but this would increase his debt to them—though as long as she didn't ask too much, Eric was fine with it.
He also planned to ask for some elixirs or something to cure himself, Livy, Lyria, and Bella Noll. So if Lysandra helped him without asking too much, he would request more. There was no guarantee Lysandra had any cure or elixir, but she might suggest something—even a reference could be of great help.
His worry was: would Lysandra even help with killing the Dark Elves? Not to mention the difficulty, but to kill her fellow race members because a mortal of another race asked her to?
Although there was this 'criminal' tag, it was meaningless. Criminals were of great value to people with wealth and power. Lysandra was also not obliged to help him in such a scenario, where she would get nothing but more blood of her own race on her hands.
As for lovey-dovey Elara's assurance, perhaps it might work out, but Eric didn't want that. This would complicate things for him—not only would he owe her a life-saving grace, but this as well.
It wouldn't matter much if Elara didn't have such romantic feelings for him, but since she did, he didn't want to manipulate or take advantage of them if possible.
The final option was, if all else failed, to request these fair elves to help him return to Ringwood Town as quickly as possible. Then he would take as many people from the orphanage as possible and escape.
Bella Noll probably wouldn't be able to travel, so she would be left behind.
But if possible, he at least wanted to save Hannah, Wilburn, their children, Lyria, and Livy.
He had no obligation to save the entire town—he wasn't such an honorable man—but he would send word to Town Mayor Jarvis, and the rest would be up to them.