Chapter 227 Returning To The Freya Forest

A few hours went by and Kiruya finally returned to pick the group up.

"That took way too long." Kiruya looked exhausted which was odd since all she needed to do was deliver a letter.

"Didn't you just have to drop off a letter?" Silver brought up this point confused as to why something like this would take so long.

"Well, let's just say when you start talking to Elanor's father, it just never ends." Kiruya had spent the last few hours talking about the contents of the letter and the situation with the demon lands.

"Ah, I see." Silver did notice that Raiu was rather eccentric, especially in his looks, so it wasn't a surprise he was quite the talker.

"Anyway, we need to move, Freja is expecting us soon." Kiruya didn't want to waste any more time and it was starting to get late.

Everyone nodded their head and got up from where they were sitting. They had been ready for a while now and were wondering if they would just stay the night.

"Have you finished your business here, Elanor?" Kiruya wasn't sure if she was staying with the group or not.

"Yes I have, although I would like to see my father and brother one more time, if we don't have time that's fine." Elanor had said everything she wanted, but it still would be nice to have a final goodbye before leaving for who knows how long. However, just then the door behind Kiruya slammed open, revealing Raiu with Ren following behind him shaking his head.

"Elanor! I've come to send you off!" After he heard Kiruya was going to leave, he realised that Elanor would also be going. So he grabbed Ren and dragged him to see Elanor for one last good-bye.

"Oh no." Kiruya felt like they would be here for another hour, so she quickly opened up the portable portal that Freja made. She then grabbed the girls and pushed them inside the portal to get out of the situation quickly.

"Oh Dad and Lil Bro! We are in a hurry, but I'm glad I get to see you." Elanor couldn't stop Kiruya so she quickly said her goodbyes.

"Take care sweetie! I will always be here to welcome you back. Don't forget to contact me through the communication stone every now and again!" Knowing Elanor needed to go, Raiu wished her the best and hoped to see her stronger the next time they met.

"Next time we meet sister I want a duel, so make sure you come back alive and well!" Ren was shyer and wished he could spend more time with Elanor, but it was her choice to keep travelling.

"Don't worry I will keep in touch Dad and Lil Bro I can't wait to kick your ass hehe~." Elanor waved as she entered the portal, happy that she got to see them before she left.

The portal vanished a moment after they all entered, marking the start of Elanor's journey outside of Elfheim.

"Do you think Big sis will be okay?" Ren was rather worried since she never got any training, yet all of a sudden she is now a tier 6 journeying into an unknown world. Although the same could be said for Ren when it came to experience, he had still received training all his life.

"I don't know what her friends did, but she is a very capable fighter now. What we need to do is simply believe in her." Raiu didn't think too much of it and was just happy Elanor was able to get strong on her own.

"Alright." Ren hoped his father was right and that Elanor would indeed be safe.

***

<Freja's throne room>

A portal opened in the middle and through it came the group. Unfortunately, there was a small fold in the rug and Shaman, who came out first, ended up tripping. This had a chain effect causing everyone to topple on top of each other.

Elysia and Clara landed on top of Shaman smothering her. Silver and Elanor tripped over the trio and crash-landed together with Silver landing on Elanor. Luckily, Silver's landing was... cushioned. Kiruya was quick to react and used her wind to catch herself, avoiding the pileup all-together.

"Pfft." Freja who was sitting in her chair chuckled seeing the human dominos fall to the ground.

"Damn it Freja!" Shaman instantly assumed Freja was responsible for their mishap as her laughter echoed out.

"Don't blame me, blame the rug." Freja shrugged as she genuinely didn't do anything.

*Sigh* Shaman didn't bother to argue as it will only end up worse for her.

All of them got off each other, but something caught Freja's eye and she couldn't help but comment.

"Did Silver get himself an Elf girlfriend while on mission?" Freja was well aware that it was Elanor, the exiled daughter, but Freja couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease.

"E-eh? N-no it isn't like that." Silver's face instantly turned red while Shaman shot daggers from her eyes. Elanor didn't say a word and fidgeted while looking away to hide her red face.

"No? Perhaps she is joining Shaman's little harem?" Switching the question, she was now met with glares from Elysia and Clara. However, at the mention of the harem Elanor's face became neutral with a bit of disgust. She wasn't against a harem, but it is something she doesn't see herself being a part of.

"Heh." Freja caught the change in expression giving her all the information she needed for more teasing later on.

"Oi! Nothing is happening with Elanor, plus we have more pressing matters don't we?" Shaman saw the trouble coming from a mile away. If anyone could make something happen it was Freja.

"Oh that's right, I'll have my fun later. Moving onto business, I need you girls and boy to head into the demon lands to get Himeko. The humans are making a move and I believe they are after an artifact." Over the last few days Freja was trying her best to figure out why the sudden movement and then it all clicked.

"Wait, the demons have an artifact?" This was the first time Clara heard of it and she knew what was in the treasury since she liked investigating all the different kinds of treasures in there.

"I'm not surprised you don't know, only the king or queen know where it is, but they do indeed hold the artifact of lust. Wish I had gotten it myself, but the demons have had it from before I even came to this world." Freja remembered that the pope took the artifact of control which was bad news.

"I-I don't know if that would be a good thing if you had it, but if the pope is aiming for it then that really is concerning." Shaman didn't want to think about the kind of things Freja would do, but it wouldn't be as bad as the pope having it.

Best

"But wait, isn't he tier 10? You are making it sound like we should fight him?" Elysia didn't like the sound of it as they were still tier 6.

"Oh no I don't want you to fight him, they are currently making their way slowly to the demon lands to avoid attention. What I want you to do is abuse Clara's status to beat him to it." A smirk appeared on Freja's face as she planned for them to steal it before the pope does.

"What?" Shaman felt like she didn't hear Freja correctly as it sounded like suicide.

"You heard me, you will go to the demon lands to pick up Himeko as well as steal the demon land's hidden artifact of lust." Freja enjoyed the looks of disbelief she was getting. Even Elanor who had the least amount of context could understand that it was a crazy request.

"Do not worry though, if you are unable to, please contact me right away. The only reason I'm sending you is that I don't want the demon lands to set me as their target. As quiet as they have been, the current queen is someone of unknown strength and I believe only Clara has any chance of actually talking to her without the rest of you being killed right away." Freja elaborated on the plan a bit more and it began to make sense.

"I see, well what about Himeko? Do we just rescue her or send her back here?" Shaman knew that saving Himeko alone will be a big task especially since the relationship between her and Clara are not the best.

"That is for you to decide but I feel like she will play a useful role in your group." Freja didn't care since she accounted for Himeko sticking with them for the mission. Either way, her choice wouldn't change the nature of their task.

"Alright, when do you want us to leave?" Shaman was fine with the mission. Looking back at the group, she saw there were no objections to be had.

"You will leave tomorrow and I will give you the emergency crystals needed if things go wrong. I will also give you all some new clothes to fit in." Freja would have sent them right away, but she still had things to prepare, plus they did just return from clearing a dungeon.

"You can take your usual rooms. Elanor, a maid will come to see you shortly and take some measurements." Freja clicked her fingers and disappeared from her throne. This gave the group some free time, but the only thing on their minds was getting a nice bath and then some sleep.