Chapter 695: Three and three

“That’s indeed true,” Isolde replied. “But we still have a few items made from its remains. A number of influential elven families have such things in their possession.”

Mira raised a brow. “Is that so? Who are you really, then? Someone important?” she asked with a smirk.

Isolde’s pointed ears turned pink. “Um… not really.”

Mira kept smiling. “You’re going to have to tell us eventually, but I suppose you want to tell him first.”

Isolde’s blush spread to her cheeks, though she eventually nodded. Mira didn’t press her further, finding her reaction rather amusing.

Whenever Mira had little to do, and often before she went to bed, she would spend some time sorting through the memories Elion had shared with her through the Harem Seal.

It was difficult to remember so much information received in a fleeting moment, but bits and pieces still came to her in fragments. One of those fragments had revealed that Isolde wasn’t an ordinary elf, but a High Elf.

Isolde had also long since revealed her two elements to Mira and Tessa, though she had only used water magic throughout their time here.

Apparently, she didn’t want the second-years or William to know about her dual affinities. It was curious, but Mira didn’t pry. Isolde never spoke about something when she didn’t want to, anyway.

“Hey, I’m sure you guys have noticed, but those first-years are kind of hot, aren’t they?” a broad-shouldered, brown-haired young man said.

The other guys nodded—all except one, who worked quietly with a distant expression on his face.

“Of course we’ve noticed,” another replied. “The redhead’s a bit of a brute, but damn, she’s hot too.”

He ran his tongue over his lips and teeth, glancing towards Tessa. “Especially with that skimpy tank top hugging her chest like that. Her figure is fit and perfect, her face is top-notch too.”

The guys cast predatory glances towards the three ladies as they worked on the messy corpses, their hands gradually becoming stained with blood.

“The only problem is that they keep giving us the cold shoulder,” one complained. “You’d think they would have warmed up to us after two weeks, especially since we’ve been doing all the dirty work like gentlemen.”

He clicked his tongue, looking back towards them. “Must be because of that Elion guy they keep talking about.”

Another clicked his tongue as well. “Greedy bastard. Do they seriously think one man can keep them all happy? I don’t believe it.”

The three kept their voices as low as possible. They had all seen how unbelievably strong these first-years were, and Rina was a woman herself. She would undoubtedly take the girls’ side if a disagreement broke out, despite being a second-year like them.

“Hey, Makho,” one said, looking towards the red-haired young man who had been working quietly beside them. “Want to take a chance with the first-years alongside us?”

“No, thanks,” Makho replied immediately. “You guys knock yourselves out.”

“Tch. You’re no fun.”

“Go ahead if you have a death wish,” Makho said, continuing his work.

“What do you mean?” another asked.

“Haven’t you heard what happened to that guy’s father after he crossed Elion?” Makho looked towards William, who had been working on a single corpse from a distance for quite some time. “Why do you think he’s so jumpy? He probably knows that guy is coming for him too, especially after what happened to his father. A duke, no less.”

The guys stared at Makho with deadpan expressions before breaking into laughter. One slung an arm over his shoulder, shaking his head in amusement.

“You’re very funny. Do you actually believe that bullshit? It’s only a rumour. People come up with all sorts of explanations when something they can’t explain happens.”

“I heard he got betrothed to The Ice Queen,” another said, an envious expression appearing on his face. “At least we know that much is true, since it was actually announced.”

“But it makes sense,” he continued. “You guys saw how good he was at the tournament. Of course the vampires would want to get him on their side.”

“And since he was having trouble with a duke from our kingdom at the time, they probably used the opportunity to tie him down in exchange for their support,” he added. “That’s likely the only reason things ended in his favour, even after the matter reached the Royal Court.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” another agreed. “I wonder what happened to Liora, though.”

Makho flinched, his blade pausing against the corpse he was working on. The movement went unnoticed as the others continued talking.

“The professors said she wouldn’t be returning because she was expelled, so she probably went back to her family,” one replied. “If she and Celeste were still here, we probably wouldn’t have had the luxury of earning places on this expedition.”

“You might not have,” another said, puffing out his chest. “And Makho over there, since you two are the weakest. But I know I would have made it.”

His remark earned a chorus of laughter, though Makho merely lowered his gaze and resumed his work.

“Anyway, back to our mission,” one of the three said. “That Elion guy is strong and handsome, sure, but he’s already betrothed to that cold bitc—”

He cleared his throat. “Ahem. I mean, the Ice Queen. There’s no way the vampires would let him have other women besides her.”

“Yeah, now that I think about it, you’re right. So we have a chance?”

“Makho said he’s out, and there are three of us and three of them.”

The three smirked among themselves, looking towards the women, who were giggling over something between them.

“I call dibs on the elf,” the strongest of the three declared.

“Shit! I didn’t think of that. We’re picking already?” another exclaimed. “Fine, I’ll take the black-haired one!”

“Ah, shit! Now I have to settle for the brute!” the last guy complained, holding his head in dismay.

He gave Tessa another look, his expression gradually becoming more thoughtful. “Actually, she isn’t half bad,” he muttered, trying to convince himself.

The other two laughed at his sudden change of heart. “Just be careful she doesn’t knock your lights out! Hahahahaha!”

Apologies for the late chapters, an inconvenient power outage happened in my area all day. All good now, though. More incoming!

Enjoy!