Chapter 2157: What's Next?

"Hahaha, he's really amazing. He even got a big personality. I'd love to see what's inside of him," said Felicia with a mischievous sneer.

"Geh..." Ignis muttered under his breath. "Such a disgusting woman..."

"Enough," Ruby said firmly. "Ignis, don't be rude to master... And anyway, with him as my third Familiar, it seems like my Cultivation Foundation has grown strong enough for me to advance to a higher Tier. I am still stuck at Tier 7 though, but maybe soon I can reach Tier 8!"

"Tier 7 is already pretty high!" I said with genuine surprise. "I remember you were only around Tier 3 before! And is it aligned, or just one of the two?"

"It's my Magic Circle," Ruby explained. "My body is still not that strong... it's only at Tier 5. I don't really like exercising too much outside of what I already do while working on my forge and my projects."

"That's plenty of exercise already," Ignis pointed out. "You probably work your muscles more than most people who train every single day when you're hammering away in the forge, you know that, master? Your muscles have gotten tougher, right? Bigger and—"

"No! I don't want to get muscular though!" Ruby cried out in protest. "I want to stay small and cute like Sylphy..."

"Eh? But I've got plenty of muscle and I work out a lot!" I said with a small laugh. "It's just that... it doesn't show somehow. It stays lean... I guess that's just my bloodline."

"Ugh, I wish I had a bit of elf blood in me," Ruby sighed deeply. "But really, Oni and Dwarves are probably the most naturally muscular races out there. A fusion of both means... I cannot run away from eventually becoming a burly giant... and all my femininity will fade away with that..."

"Ah..." I sighed softly. "You've seen dwarven women and oni women before, right? Despite being big and strong, they're still very beautiful and feminine! A-And the amazonian types too! Look at Aquarina right here. She's big and strong and muscular, but she's still a total cutie!"

"Heheh, thanks," Aquarina giggled and leaned over to kiss my cheek.

"And... her mom too! She's also very feminine!" I continued, pointing toward my mother-in-law, who was sitting nearby and enjoying a hot chocolate with her husband.

"Huh?" Nepheline tilted her head. "Did she just say I'm hot?"

"And there's auntie Ninhursag!" I quickly dragged her over as well. "Look at this super muscular, chiseled body! And yet she still retains all of her femininity! She's a very beautiful woman!"

"S-Sylphy..." Ninhursag blushed deeply. "Geez, you shouldn't be flirting with a woman my age..."

Aquarina crossed her arms and let out a long sigh. She was already used to my well-known obsession with muscular beauties. "Please forgive her. She isn't a freak... she's... uh, just honest."

"Okay, okay, Sylphy, I get it!" Ruby cried, her face turning red. "S-Stop it... you're being loud and people are watching us."

"Ah... s-sorry," I muttered, feeling a little embarrassed myself. "Anyway, let's forget about this and just eat! Nice cauldrons, everyone! About mine... uh, I don't know if I can summon it right now."

"Why not?" Aquarina asked curiously.

"It might be too bright or something... too strong," I admitted. "I worry it could destroy the surroundings if I'm not careful... maybe later. You'll see what I mean when the time comes."

"Okay," she shrugged and accepted my explanation without pressing further.

After that, we finally moved on to have a proper meal together.

We ordered whatever the place sold, and it turned out they had quite a decent selection. The pastries here were especially delicious, so we ordered several of those along with tea and hot chocolate.

Due to the sudden changes in temperature, the weather in these mountains had shifted and it was no longer snowing, though the snow might return at any moment.

Nonetheless, it was still pretty cold outside, so a hot beverage and something sweet worked wonders in weather like this.

However, I didn't want to eat too much. I felt pretty bad doing so.

Why? Well, to put it into proper words... I felt guilty.

With so many people around here still suffering and without homes after the recent battle, it made me feel terrible that I was sitting here enjoying my life like nothing serious had happened.

I kind of wanted to help them rebuild. I was sure that with my magic, especially my Nature Magic, I could build a solid house in an instant.

However, the dwarves were way too proud, weren't they? They would never accept the help of a little girl like me, and would probably criticize my homes and their architecture or something like that...

So yeah... maybe not.

With my friends here, I was kept busy enough that I didn't fall too deeply into negative thoughts, and I was happy just to be able to speak with them freely again without any problems.

But being with them like this, just like back in the old days, really made me glad to be alive. I still couldn't believe I had accepted my own death so easily back then.

Maybe it was because I had been really tired at the time...?

Well, it didn't matter anymore.

"Now I wonder what we should do next... the battle has ended, and it seems like the only thing left to do is to rebuild this place. But after that?" I wondered aloud. "Where should we go?"

"The Academy's new year isn't starting any time soon," my mother said. "Likely not until next year, so you'll have plenty of time to rest. I would say we should just travel for a while, right? First we'll move back to Agartha to meet old friends and rest properly. Once you've recovered better, we can move elsewhere."

"Really?" I asked. "You don't really need to come with me... I mean, you don't need to rearrange your lives just for me. I'm already grown up and I don't want to force you guys..."

"Sylphy, nobody is forcing us..." my father said gently.

"I mean, um, what about Zephyrus? What do you want?" I asked, turning toward my little brother.

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