When the sixth rainbow rain nourished the sorcerers, Sonia and Freya's Rainbow Holy Grails also finished coalescing. But compared to the two of them, who had just survived the ordeal, it was actually the Starry sorcerer legion that breathed a sigh of relief—the scattered rogue sorcerers had long since been routed, leaving only the Starry sorcerers under orders to clear the field, forced to hold their ground.
Fortunately, it had ended; otherwise, this small handful of Starry sorcerers would have been kicked back to reality by them as well.
They wouldn't even know how to write the report when they returned. If they stated that several hundred of them had been slaughtered through by seven beautiful young female sorcerers, would their superiors think they had been watching too much Daidalos?
Not only the Starry sorcerers, but every sorcerer who had entered this scene was utterly baffled—even if these seven female sorcerers knew one another, would they really trust one another? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like the Rainbow Holy Grail was exceedingly precious, something not even the Spectre Prophet's inheritance could necessarily rival. Even blood relatives could turn against each other over such a prize, so why were they able to stand in united solidarity?
What on earth was connecting them together?
Watching the sorcerers scatter like receding tides, the Veela collapsed directly onto the bluestone pavement, hugging the Sword Princess's thigh and whining, "I'm so tired—"
Sonia glanced at the open-air café nearby. "Let's go sit over there and divvy up the spoils while we're at it."
Freya spread her arms toward her and blinked. "I don't want to walk. Can you carry me over?"
Sonia paused briefly, then burst into a giggle. She crouched down and lifted Freya in a bridal carry. Wrapping her arms around the Sword Princess's neck, the Veela flashed a triumphant V-sign at her companions, her smile sweet as a little girl's.
Feili couldn't help glancing at Xifulin, who gave a faint nod. As her strength grew, the Veela's IQ seemed to decrease in proportion. Although her role was supposed to be the group's leader, she usually acted more like everyone's spoiled darling—incredibly clingy, fond of acting cute, and prone to attacking her companions with watery, wide-eyed gazes.
The healer and the Purple Moth had discussed this privately, concluding that the primary cause was the conflict between the Veela's ever-growing yearning desires and the reality of Yaxiu's absence. A Veela of her age was already in that burning phase of passion when desires ran wild, placing her in the high-risk category of people required to register their residence and travel routes with the Sin Hunting Hall. On top of that, she actually had someone she loved, turning what was already fuel on the flames into a full-blown volcanic eruption.
In a sense, they both felt Yaxiu had left just in the nick of time. Had he run any slower, the only trace left in Yaxiu's life trajectory might have been a news headline: *Outstanding Citizen Freya Heroically Slays Cult Leader*.
Yet under these circumstances, Freya chose abstinence. Even though she was adept at rewarding herself, anyone with half a brain knew such minor self-rewards could never satisfy a Veela. Over time, without an outlet for her emotional desires, a Veela would almost certainly become warped, reverting back into a normal Blood Moon citizen.
But she had met Xifulin, Annan, and Tamashi.
The reason the Veela acted so spoiled and cutesy with them was actually to seek emotional comfort to fill the void left by Yaxiu. Of course, that wasn't meant as an accusation; it was much like single young men and women in online chat groups who acted cute and played helpless, posting cat pictures and other adorable memes to glean some warmth and comfort.
Although Xifulin and the others didn't dislike a Veela like this, after she acquired the Heart-Beguiling Aura, her power had grown stronger and stronger, involuntarily radiating her pink emotions. Xifulin was a cold-blooded creature and could resist a bit, and Tamashi, as an ironclad straight woman, could endure it too, but a normal person like Annan was flirted with and charmed by the Veela to the point of near internal injury.
Ever since seeing in the diary copy that Yaxiu intended to return to the Gospel Realm, Annan had spread an inescapable dragnet across the country. Even if she had to commit treason against the throne, she was determined to take proper revenge on Yaxiu—not for anything else, but simply to punish him for producing such a deeply sinful Veela!
At the same time, they couldn't help praying for Yaxiu.
After all, Freya hadn't intentionally unleashed her Heart-Beguiling Aura on them, and its output wasn't even at one or two percent. If the Veela met Yaxiu later and went full blast with the Heart-Beguiling Aura, they didn't dare imagine what would happen—would Yaxiu be buried directly, bed and all?
Now, seeing the Veela act cute with the Sword Princess—and noticing the Sword Princess seemed faintly affected by the Heart-Beguiling Aura as well—Xifulin and Annan's expressions turned rather subtle.
*Usually, when you tease and provoke your sisters' passions, we have no choice but to bear with you. But the one you're teasing now happens to hold a hostage she can vent on...*
Naturally oblivious to her companions' complicated feelings, Freya was set down on a chair by the Sword Princess, chirped her thanks, and asked, "Sonia, I'd like everyone to drink from the holy grails together. Is that all right?"
"Not for me," Feili said hastily, while Niya walked straight away to make her stance clear.
Freya looked at Sonia. After a moment's thought, Sonia said, "You helped us in the fight. By all rights and reason, we ought to share some with you."
"Niya and I are a bit unique; drinking it won't do much for us anyway," Feili shook her head. "Although I accidentally drank a little earlier, that was only so that... Sir could drink it. If he could have drunk it directly, I wouldn't have needed a single drop. Don't worry about us; drink it yourselves."
They had drunk holy grail nectar before, but aside from an improvement in physical fitness, it brought almost no other changes. Even Niya had lost interest in fighting over this kind of resource.
"Not doing much means it still does something," Freya said stubbornly. "This is the fruit of our shared effort. Some can drink more and some less, but if you don't take a single drop, I'll feel like I'm bullying you."
At this, Sonia arched an eyebrow. "Feili, Niya, are you willing to yield your shares of the holy grail nectar to me?"
Feili said, "I am."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony, since you said you have no use for it." Sonia lifted her Rainbow Holy Grail. "However, it seems there's one more thing you have no use for, and surely you won't mind yielding that to me too—"
Niya shot forward almost in a flash, snatched Sonia's grail, took a small sip, and put it back. Feili bit her lower lip, but still came over, picked up the holy grail, and took a delicate sip.
Next came the division among the other five female sorcerers. Knowing they hadn't contributed as much, Xifulin and Annan only took two sips from the Veela's grail. Tamashi took a large gulp, leaving half of it for the Veela.
Yet Freya looked greedily at Sonia. "Could you let me have a sip of yours? I want to see if the flavor is different. Of course, you can have a sip of mine too!"
Sonia didn't refuse. The two exchanged cups for a sip, then gulped down the rest of their own, unconsciously licking their lips as they set the grails down, exchanging a smile.
The Paw-Reaching Sword Saint was quite fond of this Veela she had just met. When Freya suggested sharing earlier, she had consulted Sonia first rather than acting unilaterally to win people over. A kindhearted, grateful, tactful, and delightfully clingy little sister—who wouldn't love that?
"Let's give this holy grail to Feili," Freya said, passing it over. "Sonia's lover was teleported away by the holy grail, so you must be very anxious to find him."
Just as Feili reached out, Niya rushed over, snatched the grail, clutched it tightly to her chest, and glared straight at Feili. The little lamb hesitated for a moment, then gave up competing with Niya.
But Freya couldn't help standing up for Feili. "Niya, you want to chase after Sonia's lover too? Do you even qualify?"
"Qualify how?"
"Feili just shared a full-on fluid-exchanging wet kiss with him, and during that wet kiss he was holding Sonia's hand tightly, thinking of Sonia in his heart." Freya loudly listed Feili's and Sonia's achievements. "What kind of credentials do you have with Sonia's lover?"
Niya's eyes widened as she stared at Feili in disbelief, looking as if she had been utterly betrayed. Feili averted her gaze, covering her mouth with her hand.
"I..." Niya bit her lower lip, and in a reckless burst of impulse, she threw caution to the wind. "He touched me all over my body!"
The moment she blurted it out, overwhelming embarrassment washed over her, and she scurried off to the side, clutching the holy grail.
This time, not only did Feili freeze, but even Sonia's pupils contracted sharply. Only Freya nodded calmly, pondering aloud, "The wet kiss just now was more or less out of necessity, but touching an entire body can't have been forced, right? That must have been out of strong personal desire. In that sense, Niya really does qualify to go after him."
"Speaking of which, Sonia, you and Niya look so much alike. Are you twins?" The Veela tilted her head. "And both of you like the same person... Your relationship is so fascinating."
"I wouldn't know~" Sonia's voice took on a sharp lilt, a dangerous smile spreading across her face. "It seems he's keeping quite a lot of things from me. Still, going only by what I do know, the number of women he has ambiguous entanglements with exceeds the fingers on one hand."
"I see." Freya nodded, not showing much surprise; after all, messy relationships like this were exceedingly common in the Blood Moon Country. "So do you accept him as he is?"
"Huh?"
"If he is simply someone who loves many women, would you accept him?" the Veela asked earnestly. "Take myself as an example: the man I love is also very promiscuous. During the time he's been away from me, he has forged deep bonds of life-and-death attachment with many other women. Even though I have confidence in myself, he certainly loves those women more than me right now.
"Yet I love him, including that little flaw of being promiscuous. Even if he loves other people, I will accept it," Freya said. "It was with that very resolve that I made up my mind to love him.
"You're different from me, Sonia. I feel that you haven't fully accepted your lover. You suffer because of his shortcomings, and you feel sorrow because of his actions. Back where I come from, there are three common sayings. Although I no longer follow them, they do hold truth:
"'Any relationship that makes you worry will taint you.'
"'Any relationship that makes you feel wronged will harm you.'
"'Any relationship that changes you will dominate you.'"
Freya took Sonia's hand and said with genuine care, "If your lover causes you pain, I hope you will take a hard look at this relationship and see whether it's truly worth your continued devotion."
Chapter 925