"Ehh? Eh? What did you just say, old cougar? Eric killed a Dark Elf Mage?" Elara recalled what her naked monster mother had just said.
She turned to stare at Eric with wide eyes filled with disbelief.
Eric blushed and shyly replied, "It was just a sneak attack. Nothing amazing, don't mind." Since he had already blushed, he decided he might as well continue with it.
Elara's chest rose with pride, which she didn't notice. She shook her head and genuinely praised, "Even so, the Dark Elves are already very good with sneak attacks. So, killing them in their way while just being Mortal is absolutely amazing!"
"Is that so..." Eric was amazed internally, as he hadn't known Dark Elves were skilled with sneak attacks.
Bella Noll hadn't informed them of many things she knew. She said it was better for them to learn by themselves.
Eric understood Bella Noll's perspective, as he himself also disliked theoretical knowledge. He believed learning should be experiential—and he'd just experienced firsthand how capable Dark Elves were at sneak attacks.
Well, even prior knowledge wouldn't have changed the outcome, as he hadn't expected Dark Elves to be in that forest.
Those two Dark Elf couples were just a dozen or so meters behind him, and he only noticed when the fireball was already darting toward him. This shows how good they were at sneaking.
He wasn't adept at detecting sneak attacks from Mana Wielders, but nonetheless, it had been a learning experience.
He also realized that in this world, he might need to gather knowledge to understand certain things. He would have to reduce his laid-back attitude a little. But he was also not too worried, as he would just dump these things on his advanced, pretty A.I. queen.
Riya rolled her pretty eyes again, but she also had a light blush over her cheeks.
Lysandra nodded at Elara and spoke in a serious tone, "That's right, Elara—you haven't even killed a person to date, much less a Mana Wielder. It's time you got your hands dirty."
Lysandra had thought it through and decided that Elara no longer needed to be kept protected; it was time for her to begin, too.
After they both returned to the Elvin continent, Lysandra planned to remove the knots she had planted over Elara's Mana Veins and allow her to become a Mana Wielder.
Elara's expression also turned serious. She nodded with full determination. She didn't know where she was finding her strength and determination from, but she felt she was ready to fight the world for Eric.
Lysandra noticed clearly the glow in Elara's spirit and felt her mouth twitch. This was another serious matter of concern, but the good thing was that this had fallen on Eric's head, and he was probably the best person for it, too.
"Anyway, since Eric killed the tribal chief's only 'lovely' daughter, the chief and the entire tribe are currently boiling with hatred and plan to kill everyone in Ringwood Town the day after tomorrow."
Eric was shocked.
So that black rose was the chief's daughter! No wonder she was so spoiled and pretty at the same time.
Now came the time to see which option he could take—would Lysandra be willing to help him without asking too much, or would he have to leave immediately for the town to discard others, including Bella Noll, and rescue whom he could? Although he hated to take this option, he also wouldn't hold any grudges against these fair elves. They had already rescued and healed him; that was enough for him to owe them a debt.
Now the only worry was whether Lysandra would be willing to give him a quick ride back to town—at least. Otherwise, he didn't even know how to reach Ringwood Town from this island, not to mention returning within just two days with his mortal legs was impossible.
Elara recalled the current disastrous situation of Eric's town and tried to speak, but before Eric could stop her, Lysandra did.
Lysandra raised one hand to stop Elara and then turned toward Eric with a smile, "Don't be so tense. I'll help you this time, Eric."
Eric and Elara were stunned.
Elara immediately turned vigilant and moved backward a little to guard her Eric from this vile woman. Who knew why she was helping him for no reason?
She must be planning something wicked!
Eric wasn't bothered by Elara, who stood like a barricade in front of him, because he was taller than her—and Lysandra, who was even taller—so he had no trouble looking at Lysandra.
He was unsure why Lysandra was willing to help him but still thanked her, "Thank you, but I don't have anything to give in return..."
Lysandra waved it off, "Not a problem. You don't need to give me anything. Just remember that I helped you when you were in trouble—that's enough."
Lysandra was far more mature than to ask for people's empty words or promises, or force him to make a Spiritual Oath or bind Eric with a scroll. As long as Eric remembered this event, he would at least not go all-out against her unless she stepped on everything he held dear—and she had no such intentions.
Eric nodded with gratitude. He would remember this favor, including the previous life-saving one.
Elara also let out a silent breath. At least there was no immediate danger, and she also needed to get stronger to protect Eric from her mother's cougar claws.
Eric then asked something he was confused about, "Why two days from now?"
"This is something these tribes do. They worship certain powerful beings and wait until a certain day to attack. Originally, they planned to attack your town after another half a month, but you sped this up," Lysandra explained.
Eric nodded and asked in a serious tone, "So, when are we leaving?"
Lysandra raised an eyebrow in surprise—though not too surprised.
She was already planning to bring both Eric and Elara, as this was also the perfect opportunity to train them and get them used to killing.
"That's right, both of you are also coming to 'kill'!"
The moment Lysandra uttered the word 'kill,' she intentionally released a tiny wisp of her killing intent.
Though it was only a fraction, to both Elara and Eric, it felt as if someone had clapped their ears with a cymbal, and both their brains shook. If not for their strong constitutions, they would have already fallen to the ground and even forgotten how to walk or stand for a long time.
Elara took some time to regain her balance and nodded at Lysandra.
She strangely felt that she could do anything for Eric, even kill an entire tribe by herself. Of course, she would definitely die, but—to her own amazement—she felt no panic. Instead, she boiled with inner strength.
She didn't find this odd, as she had truly fallen in love with Eric wholeheartedly.
Eric glanced at Elara strangely.
He didn't know why, but ever since he woke up and laid eyes upon Elara, he had been feeling something very odd about her—not just in her physical actions but in much deeper layers that were hard to speak about or make complete sense of logically.
He had attributed this to Elara being of a completely different race, but now he felt it was perhaps a little more than that.
They were going to a tribe to kill many people—perhaps even fight Mana Wielders—and among this, they could also die. So, no matter how much Elara had fallen for him, she should at least hesitate or feel scared, worried, or nervous. Yet all he felt was pure willingness, keenness, sacrifice, determination, and some unknown, unexplainable strength from her—almost as if she had done similar things countless times, which she clearly hadn't.
So, all this for him? Was he that handsome?
Riya rolled her eyes. She felt, at this rate, her eyes might just drop from so much rolling.
But she also felt very peculiar about Elara. Elara's determination was commendable—but why was there not the slightest hesitation, flinching, or fear? Truly odd...
Lysandra was the only one who could understand what was going on, so she felt like crying watching her sweetest daughter's full conviction.
'My cutest daughter is gone! Indeed, only a mother will know a mother's loneliness... Sniff.'
"They will perform their rituals the day after tomorrow in the afternoon, so we'll attack when they all gather together and wipe them clean! Haha."
"They perform their rituals during the afternoon? Shouldn't they do it at midnight or at night?" Eric asked in confusion. After all, such rituals were usually done at night, right? And then they'd attack the next morning after a good night's rest.
Lysandra waved her hand while chuckling, "No, they perform rituals during the afternoon, then they feast, open org—cough—and then rest. After that, both males and females—mortals included—attack at midnight with full force. Even mortals of Dark Elves have much better night vision than you humans."
"Okay, it's already night—let's have our dinner. Elara, cook some nice Elvin cuisine that will capture my son-in-law's heart."
Lysandra then turned around and started heading toward the cave, thinking that she needed to open quite a few new rooms tomorrow and also plant many new arrays. Lots of work for her.
Eric followed behind Lysandra, ignoring how she had suddenly turned into a willing mother-in-law, ahem.
While walking, he kept admiring the beautiful, colorful orbs floating around and lighting up the entire island.
It was truly a beautiful and unique sight. And with the hazy, dim light of the orbs, the entire atmosphere over the island had become very romantic and sweet—perfect for honeymoons and romantic dates.
Eric and Riya both felt deeply touched by the unique and mesmerizing sight, and once again realized that they truly were no longer on Earth.