There was an extra chair in front of the desk.
The report papers were still there, but now there was one more person reading them.
“We’ve already been here for eight days? I didn’t even notice.”
A soft voice spoke.
A few words in the middle were a bit squeezed, making it sound even more ticklish.
“Yeah… During the first days of the war, the Elves were busy, and we had nothing to do, so time passed quickly.”
“I see.”
“By the way, Ayla, regarding the report, I didn’t write about you defeating the enemy commander. I was worried that someone above might see it as us overstepping our duties. Do you think I should include it?”
“I think your idea is right.”
The girl smiled sweetly.
“Celes, you’re really thoughtful.”
Her voice was soft and pleasant.
After closing the file, Ayla started talking about daily life.
“How does it feel living in the forest for so many days? I think it’s pretty nice. The air in the treehouse is good, and at night the glowing lights outside are beautiful. The food tastes okay, too. There aren’t many seasonings, but the natural flavor of the ingredients is great.”
“I’m fine too, just…”
“Hard to sleep at first?”
“Hehe, me too.”
Seeing Celes looking happier, Ayla snorted lightly in her heart.
That’s how you build relationships—just chat.
Talk about serious stuff first, then daily life, anything really.
If you run out of topics, talk about awkward things, and then both of you feel awkward, and the distance closes even more.
Chat every now and then, and by the time the allied army is formed, the favorability will be just right.
“You asked~”
“So, the things Vina usually says… they’re fake, right?”
Ayla’s body trembled.
She saw Celes staring at her, with nervousness, anxiety, and a hint of expectation.
“Of course they’re fake. Honestly, I sometimes don’t even understand what she’s talking about.”
No hesitation.
No way she’d admit to that. She still needed to build goodwill.
“Really?”
At the moment before she answered, Ayla felt a strange, inexplicable feeling—if she was exposed later, it could be bad.
“Really.”
She hesitated a little, but still answered firmly.
She couldn’t say those rumors were true and she was out fooling around every day.
Celes became happy again, and they chatted for a while longer.
They talked about the first night in the Elf Tribe, not being able to sleep, how she didn’t really like the taste of cold glowing grass because it lacked seasoning, and her shallow views on the war…
Half an hour later, Ayla finally found an opportunity, yawned dramatically, and said,
“I’m going back to sleep. Good night, Celes~”
“Good night!”
Back in her own treehouse, Ayla climbed onto the bed, pulled up her small blanket, and closed her eyes peacefully.
Next, as long as the matters with the Elves were settled, she could return to the Royal Capital, lay low for a while, then find an excuse to visit Harbor City and start planning to lead the army back to the Demon Race.
As long as the issues with the Elves were all resolved…
“Sigh!”
Ayla’s eyes opened again.
Indeed, if only the Elf matter were so easy to solve.
She lifted the small blanket, got out of bed, checked the door, locked it, then closed the window.
At this point, the only person who could sneak in was Zero, but Zero already knew too much, so it didn’t matter.
After finishing all the little checks, Ayla returned to the bed and took out her weapon.
White bones gleamed, with starlight flowing from the hilt, emitting an unsettling glow.
[Necrosword: Bone Summoner, Starlit Watcher]
The changes it brought, apart from lower delay and a sharper blade, sometimes included auto-attacks.
Aside from these, was there anything else?
As Ayla wondered, she suddenly felt something off and stood up, gently swinging the Necrosword in front of her.
A massive figure over two meters tall suddenly appeared.
“Aio!”
The Bloodslaughter King glared with bloodshot eyes.
“You are Demon King Aio!”
Whoa, this is haunted!
Ayla nearly jumped, but then noticed the Bloodslaughter King’s form was illusory, with no shadow, and his feet didn’t touch the ground.
Undead state?
After a moment, she understood.
The original power of the Necrosword was to summon souls from the River of the Underworld willing to serve her as Undead warriors.
But now, it had a new ability.
[Compulsory Summoning]
Anyone killed by the Necrosword, regardless of their soul’s will, would be enslaved by the sword for three days.
“You’re as evil as ever, not letting me go even after death,”
The Bloodslaughter King said angrily.
“Evil King Aio, I will never serve you…”
“Too noisy!”
Ayla swung the sword, actively released the summoning, and sent him back to the River of the Underworld.
She already had Zero in Undead form—why would she need this guy? He couldn’t even act on his own and was on a timer.
After completely banishing the Bloodslaughter King, Ayla sat back on the bed, looking at the Necrosword in her hand, feeling a bit complicated.
Though the new ability hadn’t been used yet, it was clearly powerful.
But there was a small problem—since she received so many enhancements, did it mean that the soon-to-awaken Xisha would be tough to defeat?
Hehe.
“Ugh.”
Only a soft laugh echoed in her mind, fleeting, leaving nothing behind.
She put away the Necrosword, lay down, and pulled up the small blanket.
No point overthinking it now.
Better to sleep and recover energy.
Zzzz
The victory celebration of the Elf Tribe lasted for three days.
Every day, people sang and danced, shared food, and praised the names of two heroes.
By the third day, even children in the forest knew about the Sky Knight Ayla—pink-haired, big-chested, and walking with powerful strides.
On the morning of the fourth day, an Elf came to the treehouse to find Ayla, saying that the Elder requested her presence.
When she arrived, Isadora turned to her, face serious.
“The sounds from the Sealed Land have changed again. Do you want to go take a look?”
“I do.”
Who wouldn’t?
If there was information, not listening would be sitting and waiting for death.
Ayla followed her back to the Sealed Land.
Compared to a few days ago, there were more than ten additional guards now, and the guarded area had expanded by hundreds of meters.
No one dared to stand near the center of the seal.
“Now, the shifts change every two hours.”
Isadora told her.
“Staying here too long makes your mental state unstable.”