Chương 175: Chapter 158. Green and Gold Owl's Homecoming

Eve Minerva's Point Of View. We've finally arrived back home. Alfheim never changes from how I remember it. It tends to bring me comfort when I'm gone for long periods of time. Us Elves view Tradition quite seriously. Because of this, we're quite resistant to change. I at times, however, find this stillness of scenery quite suffocating. Perhaps that's why I found the chaos of battle so alluring from such a young age?

All the hours of training, then all the hours of fighting in the bloodied mud of many battles, they forced me to come full circle and make me wish to view this scenery again. I thought about such useless thoughts while I finally could bathe again for the first time in weeks." Princess Eve! You must dry your hair correctly! Otherwise, you'll damage it!" I even missed the sound of Daisy's voice nagging me. Truly, the road to and from home causes such strange wants in me.

I smile regardless as I continue to dry my body from my bath." Long time no see, Daisy. Did you miss me?"" I didn't miss having to dry my Princess's hair every day." pat... pat... pat... Regardless of her words, she proceeds to grab a towel and she begins to gently pat my hair dry. I sit for a moment and enjoy the familiar sense of having Daisy near me." I missed you, Daisy." I speak my thoughts as we continue to dry my body and hair off." Of course, I missed you too, Eve."

She whispers quietly to me, so the chances of other Servants overhearing are lowered. I smile as I close my eyes as Daisy finished drying my hair. Time passed, before long, the sun had begun to set. I was summoned to my Father's office. No doubt he's upset with my blunder in the field. I can't believe I made such a mistake, but that man... He distracted me during our battle. That man... Matthew Drake, I'll make sure I'll pay him back when the opportunity arrives.

Regardless, I made my way to my Father's office and entered to a surprise." Uncle Cain!" I was happy to see such a familiar face." Eve! Long time no see! It's been what? 6 years? Times are so busy for this old man. Just piles and piles of paperwork for the Army from this guy." Uncle Cain pointed to my Father, who was currently sitting in his chair with a stoic expression on his face." Eve! Uncle's here!?" Brother Shane, my partner during this assignment, also arrived at my Father's office, behind me.

He must've heard me call to Uncle." Ah! Little Shane! you've grown! Come over here, let me get a look at my Niece and Nephew!" My Uncle called for Shane and me, he pointed with his hand as he stood up from the chair he was sitting in. My Uncle had the good looks common of the Royal Family of Alfheim. His golden-colored hair was much more sun-kissed than my pure-blonde hair. His green eyes were as dark as a forest as he used them to look down on us, as he was still the tallest member of the Family.

Shane however, was nearly reaching his neck in terms of height, perhaps he will be the one to look eye to eye with my Uncle?" Hmm, you've both grown well. Shane, you're close to my height! It's so nice to have someone I don't have to look completely down at to talk with! And these muscles! My Brother has been raising you well. And those good looks! Why... You look like the self-portraits my Father, your Grandfather, had done when he was young! You'll have women fighting to the death for you in time! Hahaha!"

Uncle shared a hearty laugh with us as he joked with Shane. Eventually, his old green eyes looked at me." Eve... You look more and more like a younger version of Ava every time I see you. Soon you'll be seen as the most beautiful woman on the continent." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. My Uncle was full of smiles before he changed to a serious expression." If you ever have a problem with a man, let Uncle know immediately!

I'll make him change or disappear! No questions asked!"" Uncle, when the strongest man in Alfheim says those kinds of things, it's hard to tell you're joking around!"" Joking?" Uncle was confused by my advice to him. I wanted to ask him about why he was confused, but I was interrupted." Enough now. We have matters to discuss." Our Father called for us and Uncle Cain made a funny face as he began to walk back to his chair. Shane and I joined him on either side as we all sat down to face my Father.

In time, Father began to speak." Shane, Eve, you've failed. And quite terribly as well."" Yes, Father. I apologize. The man I fought, Matthew Drake. He was able to distract me long enough to land an attack. That's what blew my cover." As I began to explain my side, Uncle interjected." Really? A Demon landed a strike on you through deception? What an interesting Demon."" No, Matthew Drake isn't a Demon, he's a Human."" Ah! Is that the Paladin that cut down the Human's Hero?"" Yes Uncle." I answered Uncle's question.

After I did, Father continued to speak to us." Regardless, this caused us to have to speed up our plans. We'll be launching an attack next spring or summer, which ever brings better odds to Alfheim."" What, Max!?" Uncle Cain called Father by his name. It goes to show how shocked he was by his little brother's decision. I guess Father hadn't informed Uncle about his plans yet." Yes, Cain. You heard correctly. We'll be launching an invasion into Diablos next year."" Why? The Humans failed just recently!

What makes you think we can crack their defenses!? Do you have any idea the number of bodies we'd sacrifice just to make it through 1 Border!?"" It would be thousands... If I didn't have a trump card."" What could you possibly have!?" Uncle was shocked by my Father's words, it seemed he was even going to begin to argue with him, however his attitude changed at my Father's words." I have a gatekeeper in my pocket, Cain."" You have a double agent? Why am I hearing about this now?""

Because the groundwork needed to be laid. We needed information on a few unforeseen complications, we have that now."" Meaning you have it now, otherwise you wouldn't have called for me to hear about all of this. Correct?" My Father nodded his head to Uncle's words. Shane and I just sat and listened to the brothers speak." What were these "complications" that you were speaking of?"" 1 was the Paladin that the Demons now have, Matthew Drake.

The only true information we had on him was that he saved the Princess of Diablos, he beat the Human's Hero in one attack, and then he lost to some Magic Swordsman named Jessie."" Doesn't that just show the Human's Hero was a greenhorn?"" Or it could be that the Magic Swordsman swooped in and landed a cheap attack. You know how the Humans love to lie to people about military affairs.""

Ah, yes, like how that fool Roman fought me to a draw even though I told him explicitly I let him live because his son was watching the fight."" Exactly, you know how those fools value their pride and the way they save face." Uncle nodded to Father's words." That brings us to Eve's mistake a few weeks ago. She battled the Paladin... Well, why not hear it in her own words." My Father gestured to me, and I began to summarize my thoughts on Matthew Drake." So, you could've killed him whenever you wanted?"" Yes!

That man only survived because he caught me off-guard!" I'll never forgive him! Calling me "pretty" while fighting me! And staring at me in the way he did! He's a beast in Human skin! I can feel my cheeks heating up as I felt the embarrassment fill my mind again." That's 1 problem then. What about the others?"" I let feelers look around the other Countries, the Humans are more concerned with domestic issues than foreign, so the chances they screw up our plans are low. Kuga wants nothing to do with a war.

The Beastmen would like to fight, but we'll hit too fast and hard for them to actually join the fight for either side. The Dragonkin can't be found and the Spiritkin are neutral in the whole thing as expected."" What of the Dark Elves?"" Let the trash join together if they wish. One doesn't get too fickle when he begins to burn garbage anyways." Father and Uncle began to discuss different topics before eventually landing on something that Shane and I began to wonder."

Why are Eve and Shane here and not my other Niece and Nephews?" Shane and I leaned in as we both wanted to hear the reason for this." I want you to train them until the battles come. They're young, they need to grow."" Is this an order from the King?"" No, it's a request from your Brother." Uncle looked at Shane and I before smiling and giving an answer." You owe me for this. Do you know how many Soldiers want me to train them personally? And now I'm going to have 2 greenhorns with me."

With those words, the rest of the conversation didn't reach me, I mean, considering I've fought in quite a few battles already, so much so in fact that I have a nickname "The War Maiden", I couldn't help but start wondering what fun things we'll learn! My Uncle is the strongest man in the country! The ultimate War General! My thoughts drifted towards excited thoughts about Swordsmanship as my Uncle and Father discussed things.

Perhaps, if I had focused on them, I'd have noticed the malicious look in my Father's eyes during the conversation.