Seven Devils and a Rose

Book 2: Seven Devils and a Rose - Chapter 101

After my meeting with the lords, I felt drained and eagerly left the room, along with Aria, Leona, and Brenna, while the lords headed over to their boardroom up on the seventh floor of the administration building to discuss their plan with the ministers of the kingdom. Of course, I was relieved to also find out that the special unit squad had returned from their disaster beast investigations only this morning. The result was that the monsters had not risen from their centuries-old slumber due to the suddenly release of my pure qi, thank God! Which meant that the kingdom was safe and the red protective shields still erected around the city and palace could be disarmed, and civilians lives and businesses could proceed as normal.

Back at our quarters, I eagerly collapsed on the sofa once we got into the sitting room, a big sigh of relief escaping my lips as I did so.

Brenna came to sit beside me, her arms wrapped around me. She said, "I still can't get my head wrapped around the idea that you're from another world, Alfie."

I chuckled. "Well, I am. I'm an earthling, you know."

Sitting across the room on the other sofa, Leona said, "Your world looks beautiful, Alfie, with all that ocean."

I noticed once again that she sounded both awed and sad at the same time. Curiously, I asked, "Don't you have an ocean here, too?"

Beside Leona, Aria shook her head. "We used to have them, but after the Great Apocalypse... three-fourths of our world was annihilated two thousand years ago. Along with it were hundreds and thousands of lives and our oceans, with some very precious sea creature species and, of course, most of the lands and half of the wildlife. Luckily, we still have some left due to preservation. Most kingdoms have their own aquarium farm where they preserve sea creatures. We have one, too, in the northern territories of the land. That's where all our seafood comes from."

I felt my throat tighten at hearing of such a massive disaster. I couldn't help myself and asked, "How?"

Brenna said, "Qi overtaxation. It was bound to happen one day because some were too greedy. Qi must come from somewhere, in the form of the cycle of life, and at the time, we took more than we gave in return. The realm's qi core became unstable and collapsed, disconnecting many of the qi veins across the land. Then, during the peak of the Great Apocalypse, parts of the core exploded and..."

The girl couldn't go any further, as her voice broke.

My thoughts were still on that particular topic after Aria, Leona, and Brenna left the quarters to resume their much-neglected duties at their respective jobs—Aria at the Mage Academy, Leona at the Military Clinic, and Brenna at the Magic Research Department.

It was nearly evening, and I was about to head over to the kitchen to prepare the girls' dinner when Felix contacted me via the WIFI qi network.

"Hello, little elf," he said in greeting.

I grinned in pleasant surprise at hearing his voice. Oddly enough, I didn't mind him calling me little elf.

I replied, "Hello, my lord," just to tease him.

"Felix." He corrected.

I chuckled. "Yes, Felix?"

"I'm inviting you for dinner, darling. How does that sound?"

Dinner? I said, "It sounds good, Felix. Is it with everyone else? As in all the lords and the girls as well?"

"No," he said. "Not everyone else."

Then does that mean it's just him and me?

I asked, "Is this a date, Felix?"

He said, "Yes, it's a date, darling. Be ready by six. I'll pick you up then."