Arthur Leywin POV
"Ow!!" I yelled as the emitter pulled another needle out of my face.
The older female emitter dropped the needle into the pile of needles she already pulled out from me, which was sitting off to the side, "Please try to remain still, General Arthur."
I was currently in the infirmary in the floating castle. After my "meeting" with Mom and Gramps, Mom told me to go to the infirmary to have the needles taken out. Mom refused to do it since she was still mad. She also said that if I used my vivum rune to heal myself, Gramps would beat me senseless with the cactus again. Luckily, the emitter already removed the needles from the rest of my body and was now working on my face.
My eyes flicked to the door to the infirmary as Tess burst in, "Art!"
I looked Tess up and down, noticing she had changed out of her silver dress. She now wore black leather pants with black leather boots with a green long-sleeve shirt with black leather chest armor. Black leather gauntlets wrapped around her forearms, which were complimented by her black leather shoulder guards. My face felt slightly warm as my eyes looked her up and down, thinking how good she looked.
Tess' eyes fell on me, and she looked at me concerned, "Art! Are you ok?"
Tess quickly walked up and knelt beside me as I was sitting down on the bed, with the emitter in front of me. Tess gently placed her hand on my left arm, looking at me in concern.
"Ow!" I winced as the emitter pulled another needle out. I smiled at Tess, "Well, I'm not dead, so that's good."
"One of the guards told me you were in the infirmary. I got concerned, so I immediately came over here." Tess' eyes narrowed in confusion, "What happened? Are those needles?" Suddenly her eyes widened as a look of realization formed on her face. "D-did grandpa beat you with a cactus?"
I sighed, "Yep.." I winced slightly when the emitter pulled out another needle. "While in the second phase of his beast will too."
Tess stared at me wide-eyed before she gave an irritated sigh, "I can't believe he would actually do that."
"Wel- ow!" My eyes flicked to the emitter, who gave an apologetic smile. I looked back at Tess, "Well, he always said he would." My lips curved into a smirk, "But... it was worth it."
Tess' cheek's turned rosy red as a small giggle escaped her soft lips. I lifted my left hand and gently caressed her face. Tess nuzzled her face into my hand, placing her hand on top of mine. I looked at her affectionately, admiring her, when I winced as the emitter pulled out another needle from my face.
"Alright, General, that's the last of the needles." The emitter said as she dropped the needle into a circular tin bin full of the other needles.
I gave the emitter a sincere smile, "Thank you."
The emitter nodded before she stood up and grabbed the circular tin bin, and left the room. Tess and I stood up, and I walked over to a pile of white towels. I picked up a towel and used water magic to dampen it before I used it to wipe my face off.
"Looks like we're going to have to get you a new uniform," Tess said, gaining my attention.
I looked over to Tess, seeing her looking at my Lance uniform shirt I had laid out on the bed. My eyes flicked to the shirt, seeing the tears and blood stains it sustained during the cactus beating. The pants I was wearing were in no better shape, as Gramps didn't hold back.
I shrugged nonchalantly, "No, it's fine. I'll just fix it up really quick."
Tess looked at me, confused, "How are you going to fix it?"
I shot her a smirk and put down the towel, "Let me show you."
I walked over to the bed and put back on my Lance uniform shirt and cape while Tess watched me with a look of confusion and intrigue.
"Watch this," I said smugly as I activated my aevum rune.
Aether wrapped around my body and quickly began to repair my Lance uniform. The blood stains faded, and the tears repaired themselves. After a few seconds, my uniform looked as good as new.
I nodded with satisfaction and looked at Tess, who was looking at my uniform up and down with a look of surprise.
Tess raised a brow, "You can repair clothes now?" She asked amusingly.
I chuckled, "No, not exactly. Do you remember the runes you saw on my body?"
Tess blushed heavily, and the right corner of her soft lips rose slightly, and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Y-ya."
"Well, the runes on my back give me different abilities. One of the runes is called the aevum rune. It allows me to rewind time on inorganic objects. So I used the rune to repair the uniform." I said with a shrug.
Tess smiled, "Well, that certainly comes in handy. Plus, this way, Grandpa won't have to bother the maids to quickly make you another uniform."
"I knew he'd be able to fix it," A familiar voice said.
Tess and I looked toward the voice, seeing Gramps and Mom walk into the room.
Tess narrowed her eyes at Gramps. "Grandpa," Tess said, not hiding the irritation in her voice.
"Oh, don't look at me like that little one. I always said I would beat him with a cactus. I am just a man of my word." Gramps said with a smug grin and a nonchalant shrug.
"How did you know I'd be able to fix the uniform?" I asked curiously.
"I told him," Mom said flatly, eyeing me with a scolding gaze.
"Oh, that makes sense," I said, avoiding eye contact.
"Look at me, you two," Mom said sternly.
I slowly looked at Mom as she looked at Tessia and me with crossed arms. Mom sighed as she grabbed the bridge of her nose.
Mom looked back at us with a softer gaze, "Look, I'm not going to scold either of you. You're engaged to each other and have known each other your entire lives. Plus, I know how much you love each other. I just wish you would've waited until you were older."
"Or at least married," Gramps cut in. "That being said, if we weren't at war right now, I'd be getting your wedding ready as we speak. However, that'll just have to wait."
Tess and I shared a glance and smiled as our eyes locked. Blissful thoughts of her walking down the aisle in a wedding dress flooded my mind.
"Arthur, Tessia," Gramps said, getting our attention. "Are you both ready to go to the wall?"
I nodded, "Yes, Gramps, I have everything I need."
"I'm good to go, Grandpa," Tess said.
"Good, but first, there's one more thing," Gramps said as he looked at Mom. "Alice, would you please," Gramps said.
Mom nodded as she looked at Tess with a smile. "Ok, Tessia, I'm just going to check something really quick."
Tess tilted her head slightly, looking at Mom curiously, "What are you checking?"
Mom didn't answer as she walked up to Tess. Mom gave her a warm smile before she gently placed her hand on Tess' pelvic area and closed her eyes. Tess flinched a little and looked at me. We shared a look of confusion, wondering what was happening.
Mom whispered a chant before a green glow emanated from her hand. Tess and I grew wide-eyed in realization as we registered what was happening. I could feel my face become warm, and Tess blushed heavily.
Mom stayed there for a few seconds until the glow subsided. Mom slowly opened her eyes and looked at Tess and me. Mom took her hand away, stepped back, and looked at Gramps.
"Is she?" Gramps asked in all seriousness.
Mom shook her head, "No. She's not pregnant."
Gramps let out a sigh, "No great-grandchildren yet, I suppose."
I raised a brow, "You almost say that like you're disappointed."
Gramps looked at me and shrugged, "Although I wish you two would've waited, I wouldn't have been mad if she was pregnant. I would've been overjoyed at being a great-grandfather." Gramps said with a warm smile as he looked at Tess and me.
"Plus, I'm sure your children would look adorable," Mom said with a small smile.
Tess and I looked at each other and blushed heavily. Images of Tess and I having children one day came to mind, and I smiled at the thought.
Gramps looked at us sternly, "That being said, don't be rushing to get her pregnant either."
Tess and I quickly composed ourselves and nodded.
"Alright, I believe everyone is already waiting for you at the teleport gate. I'll walk you over there." Gramps said.
Tess and I nodded, and we followed Gramps and Mom out of the room and we made our way through the castle. We soon arrived at the teleport gate, where I saw Regis, Sylvie, Ellie, Boo, and Dad waiting for us.
Ellie looked at us as we approached, "About time you showed up. We've been waiting forever."
"Sorry, we were a little busy," Tess said with a smile.
Ellie raised a brow, "Busy with what?"
Tess looked at me and gave a sympathetic smile. As Tess looked at me, I felt as someone was looking through my mind.
Regis burst into laughter, "Bahahahahaha!!! No way!!! You actually got beat by a cactus! Fuck! Why do I always miss the good shit!"
Ellie and Dad looked at me, surprised as I physically facepalmed. Sylvie just sighed as she walked up to Regis, who was too busy laughing to notice her. Sylvie raised her hand into the air before she smacked Regis in the back of his head. Regis' head slammed to the floor, silencing him instantly.
Regis quickly looked up and gave Syvlie a narrowed gaze, "Oi! What was that for!"
"To remind you to behave yourself," Sylvie said matter-of-factly as she crossed her arms and looked up proudly.
"Stupid g-"
Sylvie eyes shot to Regis with a murderous glare. Regis stopped what he was saying and flinched slightly. Regis didn't say another word and looked down.
Sylvie smiled, "Good wolf."
Ellie looked at me curiously, "Who beat you with a cactus? And why?"
"Don't worry about it. Are we all ready to go?" I asked, changing the subject.
Dad nodded, "Yep, we should be good to go."
"Very good, then from here, I will wish you goodbye," Gramps looked at Tess and me. "Arthur, Tessia, please be careful and take care of each other."
"Oh, I'm sure they will," Dad whispered to himself, but we still heard him. Regis broke out into laughter as Mom slapped Dad on his shoulder, and Sylvie smacked Regis behind the head again.
I sighed, before giving Gramps a smile, "We'll be safe, Gramps."
"We will, Grandpa," Tess said.
Tess and I gave Gramps one last hug before he walked off. I looked at Regis and instructed him to go back into my core. Regis nodded and jumped into my body. I walked over to Sylvie and picked her up, earning a small laugh. I placed her on top of my shoulder as I felt her happiness through our bond.
"Ready to go see the wall Sylv?" I asked.
"I'm ready, papa. Maybe me, you, and Mama can walk around while we're there," Sylvie said.
I smiled as I looked at Tess. Tess was smiling brightly at Sylvie and nodded, "That would be nice. We can definitely do that."
I looked at Mom and Dad, who were giving us warm smiles. Ellie was just standing behind them, waiting to go, with Boo sitting beside her.
"Ah-em, we're ready," I said.
Mom and Dad nodded, and they turned to the guard. "The wall, please," Dad said.
The guard nodded, activated the teleportation gate, and set our destination. The portal began to glow as our destination appeared on the other side. One by one, we walked through the portal and arrived at the wall.
I looked around curiously and noticed hundreds of people were walking around. Vendors lined the streets, selling everything from food, armor, weapons, and jewelry. Soldiers marched up and down the streets in formation. I looked up to the sky and saw several guards flying around on mana beasts. I turned around and grew wide-eyed as I looked up at the wall that toward over everything.
The wall was formed between the mountains separating the Beast Glades and Sapin. It looked to be made from earth and metal mages. I noticed several guards walking around on top of the wall, with ballistae and catapults at the top.
"Woah," I said in amazement as I looked around.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Tess chuckled, seeing my reaction. "I was in awe when I came here for the first time. They made it self-sustainable, so you could basically live here."
"This is so cool! Can we go look around?" Ellie asked in excitement.
"We can look around afterward. First, your mother and I have to check in with the supply unit." Dad said.
"I can do that. Why don't you and Ellie go talk to the housing manager? This way, we can get a place to live and get settled." Mom suggested.
Dad smiled, "Alright, will do. I'll meet you at the supply unit once I'm done."
Mom nodded and gave Dad a quick kiss. Dad and Ellie gave me and Tess a quick hug, telling us to be careful, before they walked off, following the street signs to the living area.
"We should go check in with Helen. Let her know that we've arrived." Tess suggested.
I nodded and looked at Mom, "Alright, Mom, I'm sure I'll see you later."
Mom smiled as she took Tess and me into a hug, "Be careful, you too." We broke the hug, and Mom looked at me in all seriousness, "Arthur, you are strong with your new abilities. But that doesn't mean you're invincible. Be careful; there are still enemies stronger than you."
I nodded, giving Mom a serious expression, "I'll be careful, Mom, don't worry."
Tess and I told Mom goodbye one last time before we walked off. I followed Tess since she knew where the command area was. As we walked through the area, Sylvie would point out multiple vendors, saying she wanted to visit them. I laughed as I noticed most of the vendors she pointed out sold meat.
Tess and I made our way to one of the command buildings, and she knocked on the door.
"Come in," We heard a familiar voice say.
Tess and I entered the building, where we saw Helen sitting at her desk. Helen looked up as we entered and smiled when her eyes fell on us.
"Arthur! Tessia! You made it!" Helen said happily as she stood up from her desk. Her eyes drifted upward as she looked at Sylvie, confused.
"You brought a little girl with you?" Helen asked before looking back at me.
"Hey Helen, and not exactly. You remember Sylvie, right? Well, this is her in her human form." I said happily as Sylvie waved at Helen with both hands.
Helen just looked at us, confused, before she signed, "At this point, nothing can surprise me anymore."