Chapter 153: A Legendary Upgrade and a Captain's Strange Gaze

It’s here!

‘My friendship with the Queen is taking off like a rocket ship; can a divine equipment upgrade be far behind?!’

Celeste immediately diverted a sliver of her focus, opening the attribute panel for the accessory that had been silently glowing and working for her all this time.

[Embrace of Moonlight (Growth-type / Unique)]

[Quality: Legendary (Upgradeable)]

[Equipment Requirement: Celeste]

[Effect 1: Moonlight Affinity. The wearer recovers 2% of their HP, Stamina, and Mental Energy every minute.]

[Effect 2: Moonlight Resonance. The wearer’s overall attributes increase by 20%. The wearer’s highest current attribute receives an additional 20% boost.]

[Effect 3: Moonlight Prayer. Spreads the effect of ‘Moonlight Affinity’ to the entire party.]

“Holy crap!”

Celeste felt her heart skip a beat.

‘The recovery speed has doubled! Two percent per minute! From now on, I’m a walking super-battery! A perpetual motion machine!”And Effect 3… Moonlight Prayer! Isn’t this just a mobile fountain?! The whole team gets to share HP, mana, and stamina recovery!”In future raids, as long as I don’t go down, there’s no way my teammates will die!’

This wasn’t just some divine piece of equipment; this was the team’s lifeline!

Before, when she treated Elaniel to barbecue and just chatted to help her relax, their friendship level had increased from “Friendly” to “Trusting.”

Later, on the battlefield, she had transformed into an idol to hold a concert, summoned an Emperor to drop a meteor from the heavens, and even pulled off a princess carry to save the damsel in distress. Yet despite that massive spectacle, her friendship with the Queen hadn’t budged an inch.

But now, just by painting a picture of “I can teleport back to keep you company anytime,” her friendship level had gone completely berserk, skipping all the intermediate steps and soaring directly to “Inseparable.”

Celeste instantly understood.

This high-and-mighty Queen lacked nothing in terms of power, wealth, or prestige.

The only thing she truly lacked was companionship.

She yearned for a pure friendship that allowed her to drop all her defenses and her royal status, to be treated as an equal, to joke around freely, and even to act a little spoiled.

For her, compared to being held in the arms of a world-saving god, a “body pillow” friend who could drop by anytime to eat and sleep with her was far more important.

And Celeste, as it happened, was exactly the person who could give her all of that.

That promise—”I can come back anytime”—was more valuable to the Queen than any divine weapon or rare treasure.

‘Damn, it really is lonely at the top…’

Celeste sighed inwardly, a trace of unexpected heartache blooming for the curvaceous, trembling body pressed against hers.

However, now was not the time to get lost in thought!

“Elaniel… ugh… I… I can’t breathe…” Celeste struggled with all her might, her voice muffled as it squeezed out from that suffocating softness.

If this kept up, she would go down in history as the first distinguished guest of the Elf Race to be “smothered by the royal bosom.”

Elaniel finally snapped out of her immense ecstasy. She abruptly loosened her arms, but her hands immediately came to rest on Celeste’s shoulders, not allowing her to pull away even an inch.

Those wine-red eyes were now glistening with undried moisture.

“Sorry… I… I was just too excited.” The Queen tried hard to steady her breathing, but the trembling and choking in her voice betrayed her overwhelming emotions. She looked at Celeste as if gazing upon a lost treasure that had been miraculously recovered, a smile so brilliant it was blinding blooming on her face.

“Hurry! Celeste! Place that… that ‘time-mark anchor’ here, right now!” Her tone was as urgent as a child’s, terrified that Celeste might change her mind the very next second. “This is my bedchamber, the most secure and central place in the Royal Palace! If you set the anchor here, no one will ever discover it, and no one will be able to destroy it!”

“Alright, alright, don’t get so worked up.” Celeste couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation at her behavior.

She opened her grimoire, [as i have written], found the “Time-Marking” skill, and followed the instructions, gently pressing her palm onto a slab of Moonlight Stone on the garden floor.

Elaniel held her breath, staring intently at her hand.

On the grimoire’s page, a complex rune made of countless light particles lit up. Celeste tapped her fingertip lightly on the page.

Circles of soft golden light swirled out from her palm, like a pebble dropped into a still lake, sending ripples spreading outward. In the center of the halo, a palm-sized golden formation slowly emerged. It was woven from countless complex and mysterious runes, carrying an aura that did not belong to this world. The formation deeply branded itself onto the surface of the Moonlight Stone before immediately vanishing without a trace.

[Ding! “Time-Mark Anchor · No. 1” set successfully!]

[Current anchor name: Elven Royal Palace · Queen’s Bedchamber.]

Celeste put away her book, feeling deeply satisfied.

From now on, she possessed a “permanent ticket” that could take her to the Elven Royal City at any time.

“It’s done.”

Watching the anchor setting complete, Elaniel’s entire body seemed to relax, and that lazy, enchanting smile returned to her face. She walked forward, took Celeste’s arm with complete naturalness, and, like a little girl showing off a new toy, pulled her back to the table.

“Now, we can eat breakfast in peace.”

After breakfast, Celeste finally walked out of the backyard garden, which was still filled with a lingering, ambiguous atmosphere.

Behind her, Elaniel stood in place, watching her back disappear through the doorway.

After a long while, the Queen returned to the courtyard and slowly crouched down. She reached out with her fair fingers, gently stroking the Moonlight Stone where the “time-mark anchor” had been branded, over and over again. Her expression was as devout as if she were touching a sacred work of art.

Her lips remained curled in a satisfied and serene smile.

Celeste suppressed the upward curve of her own lips and returned to the luxurious guest room that had been arranged for her.

The moment she opened the door, three gazes shot over in a “whoosh.”

Worry, curiosity, and the raging fire of gossip almost set her ablaze on the spot.

Selene, Su Wan, and Xia Lian were sitting bolt upright. The breakfast on the table was still steaming, but no one had touched it.

Selene was the first to spring up, rushing to Celeste in a flash. Her gaze scanned her from head to toe, as if afraid she might be missing a single hair.

“You’re finally back! You didn’t come back all night! Where did you go? What did Her Majesty the Queen want with you? She didn’t do anything weird to you, did she?!”

The barrage of questions left Celeste dizzy.

“Stop, stop, stop!” Celeste raised a hand, pressing it against her sister’s rapidly approaching face. “What could possibly happen to me? I was just chatting with Her Majesty. We talked too late, so I just slept there.”

“Slept there?!” Selene’s voice shot up an octave.

Su Wan’s eyes widened abruptly, her usually dignified face a mask of shock.

Xia Lian’s face turned an even deeper shade of red, the fork in her hand clattering onto her plate with a crisp sound.

In their minds, countless indescribable, yuri-tinged scenarios flashed by in an instant.

“What’s with those looks?” Celeste rolled her eyes, completely speechless. “It was pure! The ‘slept there’ where we just sleep under a blanket! Get it?!”

Selene drew out her tone, her face written with an expression that screamed, ‘I don’t believe a single word of that.’ “Pure? Under a blanket? Sleeping in the same bed?”

“Yeah.” Celeste nodded righteously. “Her bed is huge. You could fit two more people in it, no problem.”

Selene was momentarily choked by her sister’s shameless attitude. She circled Celeste twice, then brought her nose close and took a light sniff.

“That’s not right, Sis. This scent on you… it’s exactly the same as the fragrance on Her Majesty the Queen! Did you use her body wash?!”

“Cough, cough!”

‘Oh no! I forgot to use a Cleansing Spell before coming back.’

“That… it’s probably the incense in the room,” she bluffed without a change in expression.

“I don’t believe you!” Selene leaned in even closer, lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper only the two of them could hear, and asked with a mischievous grin. “Sis, be honest. What’s your relationship now? Did things progress that fast?”

Celeste looked at her sister’s face, which was practically screaming “Tell me the gossip,” and a flash of inspiration hit her. She answered with a perfectly straight face:

“We’re friends across generations.”

“Friends across generations?”

Selene chewed on the words, her expression shifting from confusion to realization, and finally into a strange look mixed with “So that’s how it is” and “You’re so slick.”

“Sis, I get it.” She patted Celeste’s shoulder heavily and said with a mournful face, “I didn’t expect you to have this kind of taste. You’re dating a cougar, aren’t you?!”

Celeste: “???”

“Get lost!” She aimed a kick at her sister’s shin.

‘What do you mean, dating a cougar?! If you calculate Elaniel’s age by the elven lifespan, she’s basically in her early twenties! She’s the same age as me!”No, wait, that’s not the point!’

“Can you please put something serious in that brain of yours!” Celeste was so angry she wanted to flick her forehead.

“I am being serious!” Selene dodged nimbly and retorted righteously. “I’m just concerned about your personal love life! Look, Su Wan and Xia Lian are very concerned too!”

Su Wan and Xia Lian, having been called out, reacted instantly. One silently turned her head, pretending to study the painting on the wall, while the other lowered her head with a flushed face, wishing she could crawl into a crack in the floor.

“Alright, stop messing around.” Celeste couldn’t be bothered to argue with her and pulled the topic back on track. “You all know about Her Majesty the Queen’s order, right?”

Selene blinked, her expression turning serious. “Captain Eldara just sent someone to notify us. The Human Kingdom’s delegation has arrived at Dawn Harbor. She wants us to prepare to go with her to handle the follow-up matters.”

“So fast?” Celeste was a bit surprised.

“You can say that again,” Su Wan chimed in from the side, her expression also a bit strange. “It’s said that the humans are scared out of their wits, terrified that if the Elf Race gets unhappy, they’ll just throw another meteor over and flatten their royal capital.”

“Pfft…” Celeste almost spat out her juice.

‘The humans have decent intelligence-gathering capabilities, but their imagination… is also quite rich!’

Just as she was thinking this, the door to the room was knocked on gently.

Outside the door, Eldara stood in her pitch-black heavy armor, as still and silent as the abyss. She didn’t come in, just stood at the threshold, her scarlet eyes fixed on Celeste for a full three seconds.

That look was very complex.

There was inquiry, scrutiny, and a kind of… dawning comprehension.

Celeste felt a little creeped out by her gaze.

‘No way? Does gossip travel this fast? Could this Captain already know that I slept in the Queen’s bed last night? According to Elaniel, the Captain is half her daughter, so wouldn’t that make my generational standing… completely messed up?’

Eldara didn’t say anything, just opened her mouth, her tone as icy and unchanging as ever: “Are you ready? It’s time to go.”

“Ready, ready!” Selene hurriedly responded.

The four of them immediately followed in Eldara’s footsteps, heading toward the teleportation array outside the Royal Palace. Along the way, Eldara didn’t say a word, walking at the very front. Her tall, straight silhouette carried an aura of power that kept strangers at bay.

Celeste couldn’t shake the feeling that the way the cold Captain looked at her was different from before.

If before it was the look one gives an “interesting ally,” then now, it was more like she was scrutinizing a… “scheming vixen who wants to abduct Her Majesty the Queen.”

‘An illusion. It must be an illusion.’

Celeste shook her head, tossing the messy thoughts to the back of her mind. The top priority now was to go see that Prince who had been cast with the “Sacred Blessing” by Eldara.

She had no idea what he had been “purified” into by now.

And she was very much looking forward to finding out.

[Elysian’s Note: Having a good time with the story? Every single bit helps immensely: