"Wuwuwuwu!"
Eve clung to Matthew as she cried her heart out.
Ever since Mordred and Anna had turned into statues, it was Celine who personally took care of the youngest member of the Ainsworth Family.
The children and teenagers of Lont, who weren't affected by the Continental Spell, were currently in the underground shelter. It was a shelter that James and the other veterans of Lont had secretly built after the incident of the Beast Tide that happened many years ago.
In order to prevent the worst case scenario, they decided to make a safe place to hide the women, children, and the old people during emergencies.
Now that Vladimir had taken the role as Lont's protector, Celine, and Jekyll decided that it was safe for the children to return to their homes. This action turned the Ghost Town version of Lont into a lively one.
After assuring them that their parents were in no immediate danger, the children of Lont worked hand in hand with Matthew to make a detailed plan on how they would establish roles for each and every one of them
Living in the countryside, the children were very much self-sufficient because they would often go out to fish, hunt, and forage with their parents. The problem that Matthew currently faced was the other two towns that were part of their territory.
Fushia and Xinnar had long been added to their lands, and it was his duty as the temporary Viscount of the land to see that they were well taken care of.
This was a massive undertaking that Matthew had to face, but he was confident that he would be able to come up with something. After all, his wife, Leah, was by his side and she was very good at managing territories, just like him.
After Eve stopped crying, she then turned to William and asked to be carried on Ella's back. William happily agreed to the request of his cute niece and patrolled with her, while she rode on Ella's back.
After a short talk with Jekyll, He and William decided to leave Lont the next day in order to investigate the Southern Regions where the leader of Deus currently was.
After dinner, William and Ian went to Celine's house so that his Master could inspect the damage in his Spiritual World.
While this was happening, two figures appeared on the Eastern Side of Lont where a small grove was located.
"Who are you?" Vladimir asked. "I've lived on this continent for many years and, yet, I have never heard of someone like you. Did you perhaps come from the Central Continent?"
A fluffy white Angorian Goat looked at Vladimir with a calm expression.
"I was born here in Lont and raised by your best friend," Ella replied using telepathy. "It was only recently that I discovered that I was the incarnation of a Goddess."
Ella looked in the direction of the Ainsworth Residence as if reminiscing beautiful memories.
"However, my current vessel is not strong enough to house my true form. It's quite unfortunate that I don't remember any of the times I was able to transform into my deity form due to the limitations that bind me."
Vladimir rubbed his chin because this was the first time he had heard of such things. This was his first time seeing the incarnation of a Goddess in the thousands of years that he had lived.
"Then why don't you change your vessel?" Vladimir inquired. "If you like, I can help you snatch a vessel that would be strong enough to house your Divine Soul. Perhaps, one of the Holy Maidens in the Central Continent would be a perfect match for you."
Ella shook her head firmly. Although her current body had limitations, it wasn't to the extent that she found it uncomfortable. After all, if she hadn't met William in her current form, she might not have awakened her past memories due to David's intervention.
"Keep this a secret," Ella said. "I intend to stay by William's side for as long as possible."
Vladimir raised his brow as he asked another question. "What is that boy to you? What is your relationship to him?"
One of the Four Evils was curious about what kind of relationship Ella had with the Half-Elf, who was also the grandson of his best friend. He wanted to know why an entity such as Ella would choose to remain by his side.
"William is the most important person in this world to me," Ella gave Vladimir a side-long glance before walking away. "I hope that you and him will get along in the future."
The Angorian Goat increased her pace as she ran towards Celine's house. Vladimir looked at her retreating back while deep in thought. He had been sleeping for many years and was currently wondering what he would do now that he was awake.
For the time being, he decided that he would safeguard James' hometown. As to what he would do after this incident was over, this was something he could figure out while waiting for James' curse to be lifted.
-----
"How are you even still alive?" Celine asked after looking at William's broken spiritual world.
William smiled as he held the hand of the beautiful mermaid that was beside him. "It's because of Ashe. if not for her, I'd probably be dead by now, Master."
William took off his upper clothes and showed Celine the gem embedded in his chest. He knew that Celine only wanted the best for him, so he decided to tell her the truth. This was why Ashe was also present in his Spiritual World.
He wanted to formally introduce one of his future wives to his Master, Celine.
The Dark Sorceress curiously eyed the gem and even touched it using her finger. After seeing Ashe's true form, the elf managed to connect the dots and lightly pinched William's ears.
"Very good, little Disciple." Celine teased as she pulled on William's ears. "You snagged yourself a lover in your dying state. I'm quite impressed with how you managed to pull that off."
Celine shook her head as she let go of William's ears before inspecting the gem once again.
"If I'm not mistaken, the heart of a mermaid allows you to gather Spirit Power inside your body," Celine commented. "Do you have access to Spiritual Power now?"
William nodded his head in affirmation.
"Also, if I remember correctly, the act of giving a mermaid's heart to someone is akin to making that person their life partner," Celine said as she glanced at Ashe who stood beside William. "Does this mean that you chose him as your significant other?"
"Yes," Ashe replied. "He said that he's going to take responsibility."
Celine eyed the beautiful mermaid before shifting her attention back to William's collapsed spiritual world.
"How long will it take for him to fully recover?" Celine inquired.
Ashe lowered her head as she made an estimation. "According to my estimate, it would take at least four to five months for him to fully recover. Right now, he will be able to fight for an hour if he is alone and up to three hours when I merge with him. Fighting beyond that time limit would put a great strain on his Sea of Consciousness which might lead to its complete collapse."
Celine nodded. She had made the same assessment after checking her surroundings.
"Make sure that you keep a close eye on him," Celine said after a few minutes of silence. "My Disciple is dumb. He needs someone with a good head to take the reins."
"Not only is he dumb, he's also a womanizer." Ashe joined Celine in bad mouthing the boy by her side. "I'm worried about the future. The way things are going, he will be adding more girls into his harem."
William raised his head to look at the broken sky above him. He was curious if he could fly high enough to enter that giant gaping hole inside his Sea of Consciousness. Perhaps, by doing so, he would be saved from being forced to hear the discussion of the two beautiful ladies who were badmouthing him.
Deep inside he was very tempted to give both of them a good spanking.. Of course, he only thought of this in his head and didn't actually dare to spank the two ladies. He vowed that, when he became older, he would let them know who the boss was, and punish them severely when