"Haha, Mother's beauty is really something, wouldn't you agree, Hayat?" Remarked Elif with a chuckle as he gazed upon Hayat's shocked expression.
"Yes, although I can't really blame, Father; the Elven Empress is breathtakingly beautiful; however, such news is still slightly astonishing." Replied Hayat with a nod of understanding.
"Speaking of this Illumia, how many admirers were there of Mother?" Asked Elif while glancing at Illumia curiously.
"Too many to accurately say, your Highness; however, to give you an idea, she had her own army of loyal admirers that would willingly do her bidding." Said Illumia calmly while following Elif and Hayat, both surprised at the revelation.
"Heh, an entire army? Hmm, It'll take some time, but that's definitely doable." Muttered Elif with a slight smirk while imagining his army of admirers in the future.
"An army!? I've heard my Father talk about his experiences when he was younger, but I've never heard anything like this; I didn't even know something like this was feasible." Remarked Hayat, finding it hard to come to terms with such news.
"Anyways, enough about that topic; Hayat, do you have a cauldron I could borrow?" Asked Elif while the group aimlessly walked through the Phoenix manor.
"Hmm, Yes; we have plenty of cauldrons available for use, though most of them are stored in the Clans Alchemy hall." Replied Hayat with a nod as he began heading toward the Alchemy hall with the two in tow.
As we walked down the halls, navigating through the manor, we eventually exited the mansion and headed toward an eight-story pagoda-shaped building in the distance with a large sign that said 'Phoenix Alchemy Hall'.
Approaching the building, which had several scholar-like people constantly entering and exiting the place. Entering inside, we were met with a bustling lobby full of numerous alchemists, which you could tell were alchemists because of the pendant attached to their clothes, specifically in the chest region. Although the building was bustling, it was much calmer than one would expect, as the people here seemed to have proper etiquette, unlike a lot of people I've encountered, mainly those who were at Eyvor's celebration.
Walking through the crowd that made way for us, we approached the desk opposite the building that was being staffed by an Elder, who was unsurprisingly an Alchemist. However, unlike everyone else, he had three silver stars, who had merely one or two bronze-colored stars on their pendants.
"Young Master Hayat, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Asked the Elder respectfully as he eyed Hayat.
"Nothing much, Elder; I've just come here with Prince Elif as he required a cauldron, and I was hoping you could acquire one for him." Replied Hayat while pointing toward Elif, who was standing right beside him.
"Ah, my apologies for not noticing you, Prince Elif. Is there a specific cauldron you request, or will any do?" Asked the Elder as he slightly bowed to Elif.
"The cauldron needs to be a low-God rank and must be able to fit several people comfortably; other than that, everything else doesn't matter." Stated Elif calmly with a nod, though while his words did arouse slight interest in both Hayat and the Elder, they opted to stay quiet.
"I understand. Just give me a few moments, and I'll be right back with the appropriate cauldron, Prince Elif." Said the Elder with a slight bow as he swiftly left the area, heading toward the storage room.
While waiting for the Elder to return, Hayat and I casually chatted, which consisted of me mainly asking questions about the Phoenix clan; however, just as the Elder had said, it didn't take long for him to return; we merely waited for two minutes.
"Here we, Prince Elif, a massive low-God cauldron; hopefully, this will fulfill your needs." Stated the Elder as he returned to behind the desk while handing Elif a dimension ring.
Nodding toward the Elder, I grabbed the dimension ring out of his hand before storing it in my own dimension ring; now that we had acquired what I'd come here, we swiftly left the Alchemy Hall since we didn't have any other reason to stick around. However, even though I had the required tool for the punishment, cauldron burning, I didn't intend to return to my residence and start the punishment right this instance since a banquet would be commencing shortly; besides, the punishment would last for twenty-four hours, not to mention I still need a powerful alchemist to control the heat.
'Though, while I would normally need an alchemist, I'm sure a phoenix would work just as good if not better; I mean, wouldn't a Phoenix, a being born entirely of flames, be superior in manipulating fire than an alchemist?' Mused Elif thoughtfully while the trio silently headed toward the dining hall in preparation for the banquet.
Since someone's birthday wasn't in just a few days, the banquet would only consist of the upper echelons of the Phoenix Clan, so when we arrived at the dining hall, I wasn't surprised when I noticed how much fewer tables there were than when I visited the Fairy Clan.
Shortly after I entered the dining hall, I saw Zanga head straight toward me with an apologetic expression.
"Prince Elif, I'd like to apologize for my lack of foresight. I knew you and Spica had a troublesome past; I just didn't expect she would do something so crazy as attempting to kill you." Declared Zanga as she bowed before Elif, her actions causing them to become the center of focus among the spectators.
"It's fine; Patriarch Renata has already apologized, so there is no need to fuss about it anymore." Replied Elif lightly as he dismissively waved his hand, causing Zanga to stop bowing, though she still held an apologetic expression.
"Good; now then, let's enjoy the banquet. It's been a few days since I've eaten anything, so a nice meal won't be bad." Remarked Elif with a slight smile as he approached the tables in the distance along with Hayat, Zanga, and Illumia, though all he intended to eat was lightning cherries.
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'Well, I can't say it compared to my previous two banquets, but it was adequate.' Thought Elif while exiting the dining hall, the banquet having just finished.
Unfortunately, there were no lightning cherries, at least not a lot of them; they only had a small bowl, so when I consumed them all, I was forced to use my own stash of lightning cherries. Since the Patriarch was speaking with his ancestors still, he didn't attend the party, meaning the one who led the banquet was the Matriarch; though it's not like his lack of presence amounted to much, the banquet wouldn't have been much different whether he was present or not.
Hayat apparently had some things to do, so I was currently alone, well besides Illumia, while aimlessly walking through the halls, though it was beginning to get boring, so I'll be returning to my residence reasonably soon.
"Illumia, they won't die from the cauldron burning, will they?" Asked Elif worriedly; although he had a good guess, he wasn't entirely sure.
"It's possible for one to die while undergoing cauldron burning; however, only those who can't withstand the pain of being burned will die. After all, once you lose your will to live, you'll stop protecting yourself with your Qi, allowing the flames to truly begin to burn you, quickly turning you into ash." Stated Illumia blandly, though her words elicited Elif's curiosity.
"Hmm, have you ever experienced cauldron burning, Illumia?" Asked Elif as he turned around and eyed Illumia while still walking.
"No, I haven't; however, I've experienced being corroded by death Qi, which is just as bad if not worse than cauldron burning." Replied Illumia with a bitter-sweet smile as she reminisced about her younger days while serving Maria, something Elif noticed but didn't mention.
"That's good to know since I doubt Marley, Idonea, or Mandy will ever lose their will to live, not when they have the blessed opportunity to serve someone as heavenly as me." Stated Elif with a narcissistic smirk, causing Illumia to stare blankly at him.
With a chuckle, I turned back around while approaching a nearby courtyard; once outside, Illumia and I flew into the sky as we began heading toward my residence in the distance, and although there was still plenty of time left in the day, after everything that happened I just wanted some tranquillity.
Arriving at my residence, I landed in the courtyard where Zulo and Zala were currently resting; entering my lodging, I headed towards the back since that is where Idonea and Marley were sparring, and considering I had nothing I wanted to do, I decided to watch their little spar. Stepping onto the patio, Illumia closed the sliding door behind me as I sat in a comfortable chair while eating some lightning cherries, enjoying the sight of the battle before me.
'Heh, they really can't decide on a guaranteed winner, can they?' Thought Elif amusedly as he watched the battle, which was currently playing out in Marley's favor.
From when I arrived to now, the battle lasted only a few minutes before eventually ending in Marley's favor as she managed to defeat Idonea by corning her between her attacks.
"Their new record is now three-three-three; wonder if there will ever be a winner." Remarked Elif with a smirk as Marley and Idonea lay on the while resting beside one another.
A few minutes later, the two finished their little rest break and finally noticed me; they then approached me with their injured-clad bodies while leaning against each other for support.
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, [https://discord.gg/TGc9yymDJP]
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 245: Gracious Prince Elif) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 127: Finally, Sex!) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 219: Icy Egg)|| Marvel's Black Steel (Chapter 184: Jean's Confession) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]