Chapter 21: Tigress from the Start

Right now Elysia is flying through the sky in invisible mode, more precisely sitting on the back of a Heavenly Winged Tiger named Vanessa.

Elena who was bored just returned to her beauty sleep and asked to be woken up when they arrived.

After cleansing the remaining blood and burn marks on Vanessa's white fur with magic, the two of them went to the land that Vanessa intended before.

On the way, Vanessa proposes to fly in the sky and ask Elysia to sit on his back while Elysia disguises their existence in an invisible mode with Elysia's magic so as not to be detected by anyone.

She had predicted that there would be a group of people who would investigate the previous incident. Because of that, the two of them immediately ran away from the 'crime scene' at full speed above the clouds.

"Vanessa." Elysia who sat on the back of the white tiger called his name after the trip which took place in silence and could only be heard the sound of the wind that she blocked with her magic.

"Yes, Master." Even though Elysia's voice was faint because of the wind, Vanessa could still hear clearly because of their spiritual connections.

"You can ask me anything, and I won't lie to you. Instead, I'll ask you back later, and don't try to lie to me."

Elysia revealed a worthwhile exchange. Their relationship came so fast and tied so deep, Elysia who was trapped could only try so that Vanessa and herself could trust each other with honest conversations about things that could be a wedge in the heart.

"..." Vanessa paused for a moment as if she understood what Elysia meant, Vanessa was indeed willing for this and was prepared, but Elysia who seemed to be far more ignorant trying to have good relations was greatly appreciated.

He felt like he had trapped Elysia with the Spirit Bonding Ritual he had done before because Elysia knew nothing about it at all.

He thought humans would be happy to get a servant from the Spirit Beast level who would serve his master for life, but Elysia who didn't know about it was actually unhappy and could only accept it because 'the rice had become porridge'.

The effort that Elysia is currently doing to start a good relationship is greatly appreciated by him. Previously, Vanessa was in a hurry to make a previous decision, but now it feels right in making that decision.

Right now he thinks things that might become demons in his heart in the future, they need to make things clear now.

"Can you tell me the true events of your meeting with my brother? I hope you tell me everything you know." Vanessa asked for a detailed explanation. Actually, he did not blame Elysia because he knew the actual events were more complicated, and Elysia only freed his brother from his suffering.

Elysia lightly told the truth with a third person's perspective without the slightest lie. But the narrative she utters is actually intentional so emotions are not expressed in her, even her circumstances and her reasons for planting a dagger into the heart of a black tiger are missed.

"So what are you thinking right now?" Elysia asked for her conclusions after recounting what had happened like the documentary.

"Um, I no longer blame you since I proposed to be your servant. Since I know the truth, I can only lament the fate of my brother who is gone. He is very stupid to come that far just to go on an adventure and leave our safe land. He met a group of humans numbering in the hundreds and foolishly fighting them to a critical state only to end up running away with a very severe wound. Until finally he met you..." The face of the winged white tiger looked forward full of emotions with teary eyes.

"You have checked the condition of your brother's body. However, I apologize for that in advance and I am sorry that I am part of the cause." Elysia expressed her apologies sincerely.

"En." Vanessa awaits her continuation.

"Actually the Komodo Dragon that you fought before was also killed because of the explosion I caused. After that, I found his energy core. To confirm my theory, I dissected your brother's body to prove it and found a similar energy core, but I still keep the energy core inside my [Space Storage]. "

Elysia recounts previous events regarding her theory. Since Vanessa asked for an exchange with his brother's body, then the energy core is included in it, right?

"Energy core?" Vanessa just didn't understand what Elysia meant.

Seeing the other party did not understand, Elysia took out the energy core in question and made it float right in front of Vanessa with her magic. "Like this. I call it an energy core."

"What !? This isn't an energy core! This is Mana Stone, extraction from the energy in his dead body." Vanessa exclaimed as if surprised. He thought his brother's Mana Stone was gone, but it was only kept separately.

"Nee... Calm yourself. I almost fell for freefall. So, what do you know about the energy core." Elysia positioned herself better on Vanessa's back before pulling the intended energy core back into her hands.

"Sorry... The energy core you are referring to is the extraction of energy from a dead body that formed naturally shortly after a living creature fetches death. The higher the rank of the creature, the higher the energy in its body along with its core energy after death." Vanessa returned to his original posture to fly stably and changed the naming of the object called Mana Stone into an energy core.

"Is that so? Then isn't this core really valuable? Can it be used to increase one's strength?" Elysia asked what made her curious.

"Yes, that could be. Part of the reason the conflict occurred was because of the energy core. The conflict got worse after it spread to conflict between races because they thought killing their own race was not the right thing to do." Vanessa spoke in a neutral tone as if it were no longer his business.

Hearing that, Elysia was astonished. "So, killing their own race is wrong, and killing other races is correct? And all that is just for this energy core?" She smiled wryly while feeling bitter while looking at the dark blue energy core in her hands with complex emotions.

A big conflict that has happened for a long time and makes the world tense just because of a small object similar to the one in her hand.

"Yes, unfortunately, the reality is like that. But that is only part of the reason there is conflict. So, don't assume that is the only contributing factor, Master." Vanessa repeated again for his conclusion.

"Hey, Vanessa... I'm still wondering about this before..." Elysia tried to ask but was confused about the right way to ask after a few moments has passed, she seemed to be trying to change their topic that became a bit heavy because the world's chaos was not their responsibility.

"What is it, Master? Don't be shy." Vanessa also tried to get along with Elysia.

"Your name is Vanessa, right? Are you a male tiger or female tiger?" Finally, Elysia found a rather appropriate word to ask.

"So rude! I was a tigress from the start!" Vanessa feels offended. It turns out that she has been considered a male tiger by her Master.

(AN: Oops! Vanessa is a tigress. So after this, the pronouns will be adjusted)

"Sorry..." While Elysia felt awkward because she mistook Vanessa's gender. She just doesn't know much about their difference if it comes to animals.

Their journey was quiet once again because of that. One feels awkward and the other just doesn't know what to ask.