"Woo woo woo... Your Majesty... you're still alive... this is really wonderful... really wonderful..."
After repeatedly confirming that everything before her eyes wasn't a dream, Cecilia's first reaction wasn't embarrassment about Elashia hearing what she'd just said.
Instead, she felt... this was really wonderful!
What she wanted to protect was still here!
Nothing was more painful than discovering how important something was to you only after losing it!
But nothing was more joyful than regaining something important after losing it!
Your Majesty Elashia... wasn't dead!
This was more exciting than any news!
The joy of getting back what was lost immediately swept away all other emotions in Cecilia's heart!
So, under Your Majesty Elashia's gentle smile, Cecilia completely cast aside her restraints as a knight and actively embraced Elashia tightly!
However... this was hard on Elashia.
She had just woken up not long ago and heard Cecilia talking to herself.
Knowing that Cecilia was a rather shy girl, she had very tactfully pretended to still be asleep based on the system's option prompts just now.
Not only did her mage level increase by one, but she even got to see Cecilia in a way completely different from usual.
This indeed made Elashia very happy.
However... Cecilia's reaction after knowing she was alright was making Elashia rather uncomfortable.
Why are you hugging so tightly! Are you a bear?
Being hugged painfully all over by Cecilia, Elashia quickly patted Cecilia's back and called out loudly:
"Lighter... or I'll be hugged to death by you..."
Only then did Cecilia, who was still immersed in the news that Elashia hadn't died, finally react: she was too excited!
Your Majesty Elashia's figure was so petite, how could she withstand her strength in excitement!
Cecilia quickly released Elashia.
"Uh... Your Majesty, I'm truly sorry..."
Elashia smiled wryly at Cecilia:
"Your hugs... is really quite powerful..."
Actually, logically speaking, Cecilia's strength shouldn't have been able to hurt her.
After all, Elashia's warrior level was already at 15 now, so her body shouldn't fear Cecilia's embrace anymore.
Thinking of this, and considering that they were both in a military tent, Elashia suddenly understood something.
"Minister Cecilia... did you... awaken?"
This should be the only possibility...
Otherwise, Cecilia should have already left Elasia with the army under her orders by now...
Cecilia nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I finally understand..."
"What I want to protect is the original intention I had when I first came to the imperial capital..."
"And protecting you is protecting my original intention!"
Elashia wasn't surprised to hear this.
She smiled with relief.
Wonderful...
Now Cecilia had finally figured out what she wanted to protect, and Elasia had certainly survived the Beast Tide incident...
So Elashia immediately used Appraisal on Cecilia.
She was now very curious about Cecilia's stats...
However, the system suddenly responded:
[The gap between the host and the skill target is too large, and the skill target has now transcended human limits]
[Appraisal cannot take effect]
Ah?
Why can't I see it anymore!
Now Elashia felt her curiosity made her feel like ants were crawling all over her body...
However, at this moment, Cecilia seemed to suddenly remember something!
She suddenly shot up with a "whoosh"!
Oh no! She had completely forgotten about the war!
However, the renewed noise outside calmed her down again.
Although the soldiers' voices were very noisy, they all seemed extremely calm.
This... should mean there was nothing wrong now...
Seeing Cecilia suddenly stand up, Elashia also immediately snapped out of her curiosity!
It seemed the Beast Tide incident wasn't over yet!
However, just as they were preparing to rush out of the military tent to find Dorothy, Dorothy came in first.
She looked extremely cheerful.
Although her face still carried deep fatigue, it was already obvious that she was in a very good mood!
"Oh? You're already awake?"
Seeing that both Cecilia and Elashia had already stood up, Dorothy looked very pleased.
Cecilia quickly asked:
"Hasn't the Beast Tide arrived yet?"
Dorothy smiled.
"Don't worry, the battle is already over!"
Ah?
Already over?
Elashia and Cecilia looked at each other in confusion.
Wasn't there still one more wave?
Compared to Cecilia, Elashia was even more shocked.
Without her and Cecilia, how did Elasia's army survive the final Beast Tide wave?
Not to mention anything else, just that one Natural Disaster-level beast wasn't something they could handle!
Could it be...
Elashia looked excitedly at Dorothy!
Although Dorothy wasn't a Human Hero in the game, she could display human hero power at the end!
Could this mean... that Dorothy had also awakened!
"Sister Dorothy! Did you defeat that Natural Disaster-level beast?"
"Uh..."
Looking at Elashia whose eyes were already sparkling, Dorothy scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly.
She actually hadn't done much of anything.
She had even planned to run away with Elashia and Cecilia at the end...
Dorothy answered somewhat awkwardly:
"Well... I didn't really do anything."
"Although I did learn from Cecilia and do some commanding at the end, it didn't really serve much purpose."
Dorothy's words left both Elashia and Cecilia stunned.
Then who dealt with that Natural Disaster-level beast?
Could it be the Iron Empire?
It couldn't be that the demons retreated at light speed just over a month after launching their attack, could it?
Seeing the two confused girls, Dorothy smiled and told them the truth.
"Actually, reinforcements from the Iron Empire came."
Ah?
Mother came to save her?
This... how was that possible?
Now the person suspecting she was dreaming changed from Cecilia to Elashia.
No way?
The demons really retreated within a month?
What kind of joke was this?
Even if the Iron Empire really had a powerful advantage, how could Karen possibly retreat so easily?
That was Karen with the Holy Sword given by the goddess!
Although it wasn't as powerful as Mother, it was definitely one of the strongest beings on this continent!
Moreover, it could achieve absolute command over the demons, completely mobilizing the demons' power!
In the game, although the unprecedentedly powerful demons under Karen's leadership indeed couldn't defeat the Iron Empire, they at least fought with the Iron Empire for nearly half a year!
How could the battle end at this time?
However, not long after, a black shadow that suddenly appeared in the military tent made Elashia truly believe Dorothy's words.
Seeing the black shoulder insignia on his shoulder, Elashia knew what kind of person this was.
This was the Iron Empire's strongest unit: Iron Emperor Inner Guard.
These people were responsible for combat as well as some reconnaissance and intelligence work.
That Iron Emperor Inner Guard who teleported in bowed to Elashia, then said to her without any concealment:
"Princess, Your Majesty the Iron Emperor invites you to spend the night on her Mobile Fortress tonight."
Then, that figure just vanished into thin air again...