Chapter 80: 80. Picnic 2.

"It's simple. There are two sets of pieces, the defenders and attackers, with the king being in the square in the middle," Ariel arranged the game pieces for Orion and Mia to see. "Attackers start at the edge of the board and we take turns moving one piece at a time. A game piece can move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Any questions?"

"Yes, what's the goal of the attackers?" Orion asked.

"To capture the king."

"So, the game ends once one of the attackers captures the king?" Mia asked.

"Yes, but the game also ends when the king escapes the board."

Ariel explained a couple more things about the game and after a while, they began to play.

A few hours later, Ariel, Orion, and Mia decided to bring the game to a pause because all three of them had won three times.

They rested a bit before Evelyn made a suggestion.

"How about we have a swim?"

"Yes, let's go," Ariel swiftly sprung up from the blanket, before grabbing Orion's hand as she ran towards the nearby lake.

Orion quickly grabbed Mia's hand as well and the three of them giggled and ran towards the lake.

Evelyn, Elena, and Karen also ran behind them as well.

The moment the lake was within view, everyone stripped out of their clothes, leaving only their bra and panties on.

Of course, Orion was the only one not wearing a bra and pantie, but he still kept his briefs on and he leaped into the lake just like everyone else.

Ariel cast a spell on both Orion and Mia which prevented them from drowning, just to be safe.

The spell also allowed them to breathe and swim underwater, making it easier for them to see the goddess of the sea's glittering scales and tail.

Mia and Orion had fun swimming alongside a mermaid but they were both surprised to see Karen transforming into a huge Kraken.

Karen decided to show them what a Kraken actually looked like and they were awestruck by what they saw.

Never before had either of them seen a Kraken, but Karen's form was definitely the largest monster they had ever seen, both on land and in the sea.

Before today, Orion would never have imagined himself seeing a real-life Kraken.

He had heard a lot about them in fantasy games and novels, but seeing a Kraken in real life was far better than what he had seen in games.

A few hours later, everyone decided to rest not too far away from the lake.

They laughed and talked about a few things until everyone began to fall asleep one after the other.

However, Mia hadn't fallen asleep yet.

She was currently resting her head on Orion's chest as they lay down on the blanket.

She couldn't sleep, so she drew imaginary circles on Orion's chest. Mia wanted to know if Orion was still awake, so she called out to him.

"Master?"

Mia smiled and hugged him tightly. 'I like that.'

The two of them remained in the same position for a while, but after a few minutes, Mia rested her head on his chest again when Orion decided to lay down on the blanket.

"Are you two lovebirds done?" Evelyn asked with a smile on her face.

She's been watching and listening to what they were saying for a while now.

"You weren't asleep?" Orion asked.

"Nope, were you expecting me to be asleep?"

"I had a feeling you would be listening to us. So that means you heard everything," Orion wanted to know if Evelyn also heard about Orion's interest in registering in a guild.

"Of course. Mama wouldn't mind teaching you everything you need to know, but your training will be a bit more difficult than it used to be. Do you think you're ready to take the next step of your training?" Evelyn cautioned but Orion was ready for anything.

"I am,"

Evelyn smiled, seeing how confident her little baby was. "Okay sweetie, but as for the guild registration, you can register whenever you feel you're ready,"

"Okay, Mama. Thank you so much,"

"You're welcome sweetie, and as for alchemy, I think Ariel should be able to teach you as well," Evelyn turned towards Ariel and she nodded her head in response, indicating that she wouldn't mind teaching Orion.

Just like Evelyn, everyone else were awake as well.

"I guess your role as my underling will officially begin very soon," Ariel said and Orion nodded his head with a smile.

"Thanks goddess Ariel,"

"You're welcome," Ariel liked the idea of teaching Orion about alchemy.

Not only could she use it as an excuse to spend more time with Evelyn here in the elf kingdom, but her grandfather might also stop pestering her to get married.

Before he began to talk more about marriage, he always scolded Ariel about acting more respectfully and responsibly.

If he were to hear about Ariel having an apprentice, her grandfather would definitely be ecstatic and proud of his granddaughter, who had finally begun to act more like a responsible adult.

Everyone ate and played a bit more till sunset and once they were done, they returned back to the castle.

Mia also returned back to the spirit realm while Ariel and Karen were also prepared to return back to the mermaid kingdom. She had to go back home to get the things Orion would need to know more about potion brewing and alchemy.

"See you later, young prince,"

"Yeah and you too perverted old lady," Orion smiled back as he waved goodbye to Ariel and Karen, returning back to their Kingdom.

A magic circle appeared underneath Ariel and Karen's feet and the two were immediately teleported away.

Meanwhile, Orion, Evelyn and Elena returned back to Evelyn's bedroom.

They were all exhausted and so they all lay down on the bed, feeling sleepy.

Orion also felt sleepy as well. He was about to fall asleep as well when he noticed his system notification.