Chapter 737: Not So Shy Anymore

"..." Elysia couldn't help but sigh. She was aware that her accuracy wasn't that great, and her arrows could only hit three out of ten targets.

"Mm, three out of ten, not bad. You need a lot of improvement, Ely." Elena patted Elysia's back.

"Mm." Elysia simply replied with a subtle nod.

The girls then took turns to test their accuracy. After the bow, everyone tried with the guns and continued with the targets moving.

There was quite a bit of competition, but the girls also exchanged some tips and tricks regarding shooting techniques. Ninety minutes went by unnoticed, and the shooting practice session ended.

"Hm? You just did shooting practice?" Rhea came back with Lifa and Nell.

"Yeah, the girls just had their shooting practice. We'll use something more impressive, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow. They look exhausted." Elena answered while looking at the girls under a shady tree. They looked exhausted but still had time to swap stories with one another.

"My apologies because it took us a while to build the anti-curse mechanism vessels. Shall we postpone the accuracy drill to tomorrow?" Rhea looked at the girls and asked Elena.

"Yes, Ely and I still need to put the finishing touches on the anti-curse mechanisms, right? It's going to be too late for another practice. Let's use that time to recuperate and replenish our energy." Elena suggested an idea to hear Rhea's opinion.

"Mm, it's been decided. I'm also looking forward to that moment. A peaceful and comfortable time." Rhea glanced up slightly. Somehow, she could imagine a warm moment of recovery in a hot spring. She was there, sitting comfortably on Elysia's lap with them only wrapped in a towel.

"What are you imagining with that dreamy expression?" Lifa was amused to see her daughter as if expecting something.

"Eh, ah, no... It's nothing." Rhea immediately looked to the side.

"Fufu, the healing event, hmm... Should we use the natural hot springs in this realm or the outside world?" Lifa didn't press any further because she could already guess what Rhea was imagining.

"Let's see... We will stay at the Winged Tiger Palace. Let's use the hot springs that are there. We can also set up a special recovery formation for the three of us." Elena patted her chin for a moment and decided.

"Just the three of you? I thought we'd soak in the hot springs together and discuss interesting things as usual." Nell pouted. She didn't like it when she was excluded.

"What did you say, little one? The recovery formation in question will be held after the hot spring event with everyone." Elena looked at Elysia and the girls with a subtle smile. Elysia already has many trusted friends, and that was a good improvement.

"Ooh, I see..." Nell twiddled her fingers in embarrassment.

"Hmm, shall we leave now?" Lifa asked for confirmation, and Elena responded with a nod. "Then allow me to tell Gio about this. He will likely be around here for a few more hours."

"Good." Elena walked away to Elysia and the girls.

Meanwhile, Lifa went to a spot and knocked on the ground. Gio popped his head from the ground, and Lifa told him a few things.

Gio just nodded in understanding and returned to the ground. He still wanted to be underground to relax, and that would be fine since his master and the group would only go to the palace not far away.

"We'll pick you up this afternoon." Lifa patted Gio's tail before he re-entered the ground.

"Grawr." Gio responded curtly and went deep into the ground.

"All right, girls. I need to borrow Ely for a while. We need to give some finishing touches to the anti curse mechanisms. Afterward, we'll go to the Winged Tiger Palace to spend the night and soak in the hot springs." Elena's arrival instantly got the girls' attention.

"Woah, that's the palace you told me about, Vann! Hehe, we're going to pay a visit to your house." Sylvia was excited for the evening.

"Mm." Vanessa just nodded, but to her grandmaster, not to Sylvia.

"Then I need to excuse myself." Elysia stood up.

"We will be waiting for you here, master." Yuuki waved her hand with a smile.

"It won't take long." Elysia also waved her hand before leaving with Elena.

Rhea took out dozens of long metal rods and arranged them on the ground. All vessels were ready to be installed with anti-curse magic.

"Let's do this." Elysia took a deep breath before starting to give the finishing touches to the anti-curse mechanism one by one with Elena.

After Elysia and Elena were done with that, Rhea gave all the anti-curse mechanisms to Nell. Everyone then headed straight to Winged Tiger Palace.

'Is it okay to leave the realm's portal just like that for too long, Rhea?' Elysia suddenly remembered something.

'My mother just closed it to standby mode. You can open the realm's portal again. Your protective barrier out there is still taking effect, Master Elysia. I'm confident it will be fine.' Rhea reassured Elysia with complete confidence.

'It would be great if we could bring the core in.' Elena commented as if she wished for it.

'We are literally entering the realm's core. It cannot enter into any state. The best thing we can do is temporarily close the portal.' Rhea shook her head.

'Wait, Ely is this realm's master, right? How could Lifa close the portal? Anyone can do that?' Elena just realized something surprising.

'My mother is the previous Nature Realm master. It's natural for her to have the privilege of closing the portal temporarily. However, she still needs Master Elysia's help to open the portal again.' Rhea explained carefully to avoid any misunderstanding. This Private Realm was given to Elysia, after all.

'Oh, I thought anyone could do that. You worried me for a moment, Rhea.' Elena grabbed Rhea's hand and swung it back and forth.

'Hehe~' Rhea chuckled, and her mouth curved into a sweet smile.

'...' Nell was still on her big sister's shoulder. She had no idea what Elena and her big sister were talking about, but it sure was something fun.

"Is it the Winged Tiger Palace, Vann? It's enormous! As I expected from the Beast's Palace." Lynn was amazed at a huge white palace waiting for them near the cliff.

"We're near the beach. Tomorrow will have a lot of fun, huehehe~" Sylvia rubbed her hands together while imagining tomorrow's event. She would propose the idea later.

She was aware of the story of that palace because Vanessa told it. It was her first visit to a palace that used to belong to the royal family before being brought here because it was initially owned by Vanessa's family.

"Hmm..." Vanessa just nodded in response. She tugged the hem of her master dress for attention. "Uncle Theo and Aunt Leila?"

"The Goddess of Blessings has contacted them, but they can only go to our hideout tomorrow morning, Vann." Elysia replied with a gentle smile and gave Vanessa's head a caress.

"Tomorrow morning? En, alright!" Vanessa was excited. After a few weeks of not seeing each other, she wanted to see her uncle and aunt soon.

She could only blame the 'Fairy Goddess' for sending her uncle and aunt on a mission, but there was nothing she could do. There were also no more complaints because she would meet them tomorrow morning!

Vanessa was cheerful again, and Elysia was relieved to see her. Everyone then entered the Winged Tiger Palace with Vanessa as a guide.

"Shall we go straight to the hot springs? Indoor or outdoor?" Vanessa stopped her steps near the intersection.

"Let's go to the outdoor hot spring this time. What do you think?" Elysia asked everyone's opinion, but her proposal won the vote.

"Outdoor, is it? Please follow me. This way." Vanessa walks to the right corridor, and everyone follows her.

Sometime later, a stunning sight of an artificial outdoor hot spring greeted everyone. There were nine jumbo-sized hot spring pools with stones and a few plants to decorate the place.

"Lynn, we don't bathe in hot springs naked. You must wash your body and wrap yourself in a towel before entering the pool." Yuuki reminded Lynn sternly.

"Beastkins usually bathe naked, soak, or just shower. Is that a new custom? Uh, well... Okay, I will wrap my body with a towel." Lynn immediately obeyed because Yuuki kept staring at her. This was not the first time for her, but she could finally guess the reason behind this custom.

"This is heaven! Everyone, what took you so long? Come and join me." Sylvia waved her hand from one of the hot springs. She leaned against one of the rocks and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sylvia, you... You just soaked right away? Why not wash your body first?" Vanessa widened her eyes as if she couldn't believe what she saw. Sylvia was already wrapped in a towel, but this devil girl went straight into the hot spring!

"That's a bit troublesome." Sylvia opened her eye lazily.

"???" Elysia didn't know why Vanessa and Yuuki were staring at her. She just shrugged her shoulders and went to wash her body first.

"Let me wash your back, master." Vanessa proposed an idea.

"..." Yuuki felt somewhat sorry for Sylvia. She knew that devil girl would soak up alone for breaking the custom.

"Uuu..." Elysia took off her clothes and put on a towel. She went to the corner to wash her body, but Vanessa always followed behind her, ready to do a service. "Please be gentle."

"Mm, leave it to me." Vanessa proceeded to gently rub her master's back. "You have fair and beautiful skin, master."

"Mm..." Elysia blushed a little, but she tried not to overthink. She just washed her body with water and was done with it. "I'm done. Now, I'll wash your back, Vann."

"Eh?" Vanessa couldn't believe that her master was already wearing a towel again. It was so fast, and she hadn't even done much.

"Fufu~" Elena covered her mouth at that pleasant sight. She was glad that Elysia wasn't so shy with girls anymore.

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