Slime Evolution

Chapter 425 - Finally

"I offer my most sincere apologies for my initial, aggressive approach, Mr. Halon." Siria declared, bowing her body in a formal military reverence that drew the curious attention of other Thalendor citizens walking along the plaza’s suspended walkways. "As the new leader of the heir princes’ personal guard, my absolute duty is to make sure no threat, whether from another world or from this very plane of Thalendor, comes close to putting their physical safety at risk. But knowing your true identity now, I feel ashamed of having shown such disrespect toward someone all of Thalendor owes such a great debt of gratitude to."

The little elf boy smiled proudly seeing his own guard recognize his hero, crossing his small arms over the dark rough fabric cape he wore.

"See, Siria?" the prince exclaimed with a cheerful, triumphant voice, pointing at the Slime. "I told you Mr. Halon was our great friend! He even knows how to wave cutely with that little blue hand of his! Lia told me ordinary slimes from the deep forest are stupid creatures who just think about eating leaves and wild grass all day, but our savior is as smart as any real citizen of Thalendor, please, don’t disrespect him again."

"And he’s way prettier and shinier than those dull, ugly blue slimes we’ve found in the forests before." the little elf girl added, moving closer to Lohan again with skipping steps and letting out a sweet little laugh that made her pointed ears tremble under her white hair. "He looks like a big emerald jewel that fell straight down from the starry sky onto Thalendor."

Saying that, she looked at Lohan with even more fascination, appreciating the cuteness of his appearance far more than the others did.

Lohan swayed his body rhythmically from side to side, using that simple bodily motion to express his amusement and fondness for the innocence and warmth of those two children, slightly surprised to learn from the guard that the children were actually princes of Thalendor, but not shocked, since that had already been a possibility he’d considered.

He found interacting with them incredibly fun and sweet, something much lighter than the exhausting bureaucratic guild meetings, the suspicious, tense interactions he had with other people in the real world, or the tense espionage mission under the Broken Suns’ shadows he’d been leading in Elysium over the past few days.

Being there, simply resting on the damp grass near the crystal fountain while being treated with such dignity by members of the High Elf royalty, brought a pleasant sense of belonging that fairly made up for all the mental exhaustion he’d built up.

"I’m deeply relieved to see that Mr. Halon understands our rules of etiquette and safety." Siria remarked, a faint, friendly smile forming on her beautiful elven face as she noticed the Slime’s gentleness.

After saying that, the elf knight quickly withdrew, going back to protecting the children from a distance without interfering in their social life, but still staying close enough to be able to step in should anything go wrong.

Suddenly the rhythmic rustle of leaves and the fast, elegant footsteps of a mid sized creature echoed through the vine covered corridor leading into the plaza’s residential district.

Lohan recognized that sound and immediately activated his 360 degree optical perception, seeing a white, extremely fast blur cut through the decorative vegetation with a natural grace, but clearly showing urgency.

It was Lisa.

The white fox with pure fur and two silky tails burst into the clearing with a precise, acrobatic leap, coming to an abrupt stop in front of the flower bed, her breathing slightly labored from the fast run she’d made from the spawn point where she’d logged into the game all the way here.

The fox’s golden eyes went wide with shock, and an expression of pure disbelief froze her face as she took in the bizarre scene unfolding at the central plaza. Before her, Lohan sat calmly surrounded by the two familiar elf children they’d rescued from the kidnappers’ cages in the swamp.

"What’s going on here, Halon?..." Lisa’s telepathic voice echoed directly in Lohan’s mind, her tone mixing shock with a subtle, amused irritation. "I run as fast as my agility allows to make sure you don’t do something monumentally stupid going to Yrneha’s tower alone, and when I finally get to the meeting point... I find you chatting with the two kids we rescued weeks ago?!"

Lohan vibrated his gelatin skin extremely gently, a broad mental smile forming in his consciousness as he shared with amusement what had just happened.

Hearing his explanation, especially with him even including the part about a knight showing up out of nowhere, Lisa found the whole situation even funnier.

And during Lohan and Lisa’s brief mental conversation, the children saw that beautiful white fox with two furry tails approaching and grew even more excited, immediately recognizing their other savior, and being surprised to see that on her back a new tail had now appeared!

"Lyraethas, look, both our saviors are here now!" Vaelthas, the little boy, said excitedly to his sister as he looked at the fox with shining eyes.

The scene of Lisa unleashing white flames and moving extremely fast in combat against the kidnappers had stayed etched in their minds, seeing that both she and Halon were there together brought great excitement to the two of them.

Fortunately Siria had just been reminded of Halon’s identity, so seeing that Spirit Fox approaching the princes at high speed she had no major reaction and stayed at a distance, not stepping in the way she had with Halon.

Having reunited with Lisa, Lohan finally didn’t need to hold back his excitement about seeing the Mana stone he’d receive from Yrneha any longer, and he finally said his goodbyes to the children, ready to collect their reward.

The children’s identity mattered a great deal to Thalendor, but they were still just children with no real major influence, unlike the influence his own power could earn him, so his priority still remained his personal growth.