Chapter 450: Meeting
Inside the living room of Elion’s Manor, a peculiar meeting was taking place, regarding the different events that had occurred within the past month or so.
"Tessa, Isla, Zenith," Elion said, looking between the three women. "I believe you three have become somewhat acquainted while we were away."
He gestured toward the two women beside him. "And so, Isla, Zenith, meet Aria and Mira. You could say these two are my very first partners. Mira, Aria, meet Zenith and Isla," Elion continued. "We met during the first trial."
By this time, it was already late into the night.
Elion had gone through a rather long and detailed explanation of the trials he had been sent to. After that came an even longer session of questions and answers, and by the end of it, Mira, Aria, and Tessa finally seemed somewhat satisfied by his explanation.
However, judging from the absentminded nods they gave in response to his introduction of Isla and Zenith, perhaps they were still digesting everything they had just been told, and honestly, Elion did not blame them: It was a lot for the average person to take in.
"Another world, huh?" Mira muttered absentmindedly, more to herself than anyone else. "One just like ours too..."
The notion itself was ridiculous, but the mysteries of the world were plenty.
The system Elion had received from the goddess was a similar comparison. Its very existence was an aberration in her opinion, so perhaps it would be foolish to dismiss anything outright anymore.
She still had a ton of questions for him, but she wasn’t sure if she could take any more information right now.
Mira shook her head and brought her mind back to the matter at hand. She gave Isla and Zenith a graceful, welcoming smile. "It is always a pleasure to have more sisters in Elion’s harem of beautiful flowers," she declared shamelessly.
Isla’s face immediately turned red; Zenith, on the other hand, smiled brightly, nodding in approval and looking as though she found Mira’s words rather pleasing.
Elion rubbed his forehead. ’How did she come up with such a ridiculous name?’
"Harem of beautiful flowers?" Aria repeated slowly.
Mira smiled, "Does it not sound elegant?"
"No."
"That is because you lack romance."
"What did you say!" Aria shouted annoyedly, giving Mira a displeased scowl.
Elion wisely chose not to comment, and he made no effort to stop their little quarrel, and as expected, it didn’t take long for them to put the matter aside.
Mira’s gaze moved toward Tessa, who was perhaps beginning to feel a little left out. "And you?"
Tessa looked at Mira with a look that seemed to say, ’And me? What did I do?’
Mira tilted her head with a playful smirk. "No offence, Tessa. At present, we can be considered relatively close as friends, but your presence here strikes me as a little odd."
Tessa’s eyes narrowed slightly. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Mira placed one hand lightly against her cheek. "Should I take this as your application to join our esteemed garden of flowers, or are you just here as a curious spectator?"
Every other person’s lips twitched at the continued mention of Mira’s self-proclaimed fancy name for Elion’s group of women.
Mira smirked, "Or has Elion already made things official? Knowing him, that would not be too far-fetched."
Tessa’s face warmed slightly as Mira continued, "So do tell, has he already stolen your first kiss, or maybe... Has he already popped your cherry?"
Tessa’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. "N-Not yet," she said quickly. "Unlike you, some of us are not so forward with these kinds of things."
Mira’s eyes gleamed, "Oh?"
Tessa immediately regretted speaking anything on the topic, but it was already too late to take her words back.
Mira leaned forward slightly, "So there is a ’not yet’? How far have you gone then?"
Tessa froze with her mouth hung open. She realised that she had been cornered, but she had already learnt her lesson. This time, she reserved her right to remain silent under Mira’s interrogatory questions.
Aria looked toward her, and Isla lowered her head while trying to pretend she was not listening.
"I-I did not mean it like that."
"Of course, Sister Tessa."
Tessa’s face turned red all over again. "I am not your sister yet!"
Mira placed one hand over her mouth and giggled softly. "Yet." Tessa let out an exasperated sigh and raised her hands in defeat. She looked as though she wanted to sink into the couch. Opening her mouth was really a big mistake.
Elion cleared his throat, "No fighting, girls." He warned them lightly, and the room gradually became silent.
"Right," he continued. "We have another matter to address. Or rather, something else to reveal." Elion looked toward Zenith. "Zenith, you can have the stage."
Zenith nodded, and then she undid her human form.
Her demonic form slowly unravelled. Her hair changed from a simple uniform black to its usual black-and-white mixture, and her blue demonic skin revealed itself. In that form, her beauty became even more striking, almost unreal, causing everyone present to stare in shock.
Zenith gave them all a calm smile.
"Zenith is a demon," Elion revealed casually.
Isla already knew this, of course, but the same could not be said for the others.
Tessa’s face paled when she ’connected the dots’, "Wait, so during the tournament..."
Elion shook his head. It was not hard to guess what conclusion she had come to.
Despite the fact that Elion had already said he met Zenith in the trials, and despite the fact that he had already explained what those trials entailed, Tessa must have been thinking that Zenith was the demon Elion had been accused of making a contract with.
Mira understood this as well. Elion had met Zenith after that incident, so the two events could not be connected. But even then, Tessa was clearly shocked that she had been sitting and talking with a demon woman this whole time.
Considering the prejudice they had all grown up being taught about demons, it would be odd for her to immediately trust Zenith, even if Elion vouched for her, so Elion decided to set things straight.
"I already said Dawncrest’s accusation was completely unfounded," Elion said calmly. "And while I understand some people’s fear of demons, because almost all demons are naturally bloodthirsty beings and creatures, that does not mean all of them are the same."
He glanced at Zenith. "I will admit that Zenith’s personality is somewhat troublesome."
Zenith pouted, but Elion ignored her and continued.
"But assuming she is just like every other demon is the same as assuming all Beastmen are brash and short-tempered, or that all humans are greedy and selfish. You can name all kinds of assumptions people make about every race we know."
The room remained quiet. "Zenith’s cluelessness is more a result of being raised among demons," Elion continued. "But I assure you, at the core of her heart, she is human, just like the rest of us."
He smiled, "Besides, I am not exactly completely human anymore myself." To prove his point, he let some of his draconic features show.