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In the previous chapter, Violet returned to the tree house without Lorely.
Chapter 15
Visitor
Time went by, and seasons passed. A thick canopy of snow covered the forest.
Forest
The flock of harpies couldn’t rely on weak nocturnal prey to sustain themselves anymore.
Thus, the harpies zipped through the bright sky, searching for food. They followed the tracks left on the immaculate snow, which seemed to belong to a moose.
Finally seeing the target, they climbed into the sky in preparation for a swift dive and lunged at the defenseless creature with drool trickling from their lips.
But the snow exploded next to the moose, raising a cloud of snow and startling the harpies. Eventually, the snow cleared out, revealing a monster gobbling the moose.
The harpies shuddered, forgetting the frustration of losing the prey.
Dreadworm
Knight rank
All sorts of monsters prowled in Hekalys, from pawn-rank beasts that could be dispatched by a group of pawns, to sovereign-rank disasters that required the mobilization of an entire country.
This one worm could stand against a blessed hero, and possibly come out on top. Needless to say, the trueborn harpies didn’t consider such creatures as ‘prey’ and weren’t its match.
However, the harpies were hungry, and game in the winter forest was not abundant. If they could hunt the dread worm, they would have enough food to last for weeks.
Without a choice but to fight, Volitar challenged the beast. Armed with a spear and a shield, she brazenly poked it.
The world of Hekalys was unfair. At least, blessed heroes would grow stronger from such ordeals. But for anyone else, such struggle would only reward them with wounds and distasteful meat.
At least, Violet gave them artifacts to fight back.
The worm lunged at the harpy hag, closing its fangs at a lightning speed.
Volitar glided on the snow, gracefully flowing along the worm’s strikes to deflect the impacts. She kept taunting it with her spear, drawing its attention for the other harpies to familiarize with its attack pattern.
Her body was impervious to attacks, thanks to the warding aura that Violet’s shield provided. But that protection would soon run out as the magic stored in the shield dimmed.
The harpies dove onto the foul beast, swinging their talon towards its flesh. The sharp blades glanced along the worm’s warding aura, wearing down its protection.
But Volitar’s distraction had its limit.
The worm swung its tail, whipping its end on a diving harpy. The impact tore her in half, spraying a crimson sludge on the snow.
That horrific death spread a seed of doubt in the hunting party, making them re-evaluate the option to flee.
Drenched in sweat, Volitar ignored her fear and charged at the worm’s mouth, pressing her shield against its fangs.
The worm didn’t refuse Volitar’s offer to gnaw at something, and soon, its spiral of teeth grinded against her shield, spreading fractures in her warding aura and sinking into the metal.
Far up in the sky, Elpy dove with a huge greatsword in her hands. The deadly meteor ended its course in an explosion of flesh, shattering the worm’s protection.
Many harpies joined Elpy and dug into the worm’s head, widening the sword wound to reach its brain. Other harpies kept their hit-and-run strategy, stripping chunks of flesh from the worm’s back.
Sensing its peril, the worm struggled with all its might, thrashing about. It accidentally slammed two harpies. One slammed a tree and broke its wing, another tumbled on the snow.
The fatally wounded worm simply refused to die. It became a chaotic melee that lasted several hours.
Violet stared at the falling flakes from the comfort of the hut, thinking about Lorely.
Witch Hut
The harpy hag was still registered in Violet’s Blessing interface as her rook, which meant she was alive.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
‘Where are you Lorely? No, seriously I could get some help right now…’
She had aged a decade, but her reflection on the glass showed the wrinkled face of an elderly hag. Frustrated, she pulled her hood down.
Fledgeling
Nepheria
“Grandma, wake up. Why did you stop reading?” A harpy nestling squirmed in Violet’s lap.
The other children chirped, hungry for entertainment.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Give me a break. Why do I have to read stories? My throat is getting sore!” Violet ranted.
Somehow, she had turned into the flock’s nanny. The harpy parents spent more time outside the tree house, hunting and earning money. But for Violet, who was left alone, it was endless suffering. The kids were around ten years old, but the slow growth rate of harpies made them look like human 5 year old brats.
Fledgeling
Harpy
“That’s right, Nepheria dummy. You can’t read on your own? haha~” The nestlings picked on each other, driven by an innate rivalry.
In the wild, nestlings spent practically all their youth trying to kill each other by pushing their siblings out of the nest. Parents overlooked it, because they couldn’t bring enough food to carry all their babies to adulthood, and because they themselves survived thanks to siblicide.
It seemed like a waste to Violet, so she made the harpies hunt more food. In return, Violet was stuck with all the kids, regretting her life choices.
Fledgeling
Harpy
“Grandma, teach us magic again~”
“I want to go play in the snow.”
Barrage of demands kept going toward Violet’s way, while she considered cooking roasted harpies or starting some magical experiments.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Let’s finish this chapter.” Violet carried on her reading session.
A little accident occurred before she could finish.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“-with the princess in its crutch- Oh my god, what is this?” A warm sensation plopped down Violet’s thigh. She put Nepheria down.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Did you just poop on me?!” A slightly crushed shiny fecal sac happily sat on her lap.
For the scale of little birds, fecal sacs were tough, but in the case of harpies, they were big time bombs that could break at any time.
Violet opened the window and chucked it in a panic.
Fledgeling
Harpy
“Haha! What a moron!” The kids swooped on the slightest opportunity to make fun of others like vultures spotting a carrion. Which was consistent, considering that harpies were half-human, half-vultures.
Fledgeling
Nepheria
“Uwaaaaah! I’m sowwy!” Nepheria broke into tears, crying like a waterfall.
She held it in really hard, as she didn’t want to leave her seat before the chapter’s end. Also, another nestling would claim Violet’s lap every time she would leave.
It was indeed a limitation of the harpies. They often relieved themselves to stay as light as possible for flight, making it hard to sit still.
Violet sighed, lucky that the sac didn’t break because the kid tried to hold it in. She should have learnt by now. She couldn’t overlook the needs of the nestlings.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Alright, alright, let’s put the bookmark here and clean up…” She needed to wash her hands at the very least.
Her experience of raising kids was engraved in a corner of her memory, so that one day she would find a way to deal with it for Lorely’s future kids. Maybe by making some toilet slime or something.
Fledgeling
Harpy
“Hey look! Mommy came back!” The nestlings gathered at the windows, witnessing the return of the hunt party.
The door of the tree-house opened, and the battered huntress trudged in. Volitar, carrying Violet’s armor and shield, looked especially bad.
Elpy followed, carrying Violet’s ‘Hell Devourer’ on her shoulder. Indeed, she had become a harpy hag over the past years, gaining useable hands.
Violet nodded, always proud to see her creations being useful.
Harpy Hag
Elpy
“There were a couple of fatalities, but we got a dread worm.” Elpy announced.
Her stern face rarely smiled ever since their trip to the Underground, and she acted wary of everyone.
It looked like Violet’s items managed to keep the community together, but the cost of production burned her savings, sacrificing her last opportunity to buy healing potion.
Jealousy also spread in the flock, and any passing rooks could harm Volitar and Elpy to loot the items. In the end, this fragile peace burdened the individuals who kept the irreplaceable artifacts.
Fledgeling
Harpy
“Mommy, you’re the beeeeest!” The kids ran into Elpy’s arms.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Still no news of Lorely?”
Elpy shook her head.
Fledgeling
Nepheria
“Lorely is your rook, right?” Nepheria asked Violet.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Uuh- yes?” Violet nodded hesitantly.
Moments ago, Violet told the kids a tale about a love triangle between a hero knight, a hero rook, and a sovereign’s daughter. It indirectly taught them the hierarchy of these titles.
Fledgeling
Harpy
“Are you a sovereign then?” The children’s eyes sparkled.
Fledgeling
Harpy
“If you’re a sovereign, can you make a town to protect us? Or even turn us into knights?”
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“I can’t. I didn’t take good care of my previous towns.” Violet’s face darkened.
Fledgeling
Harpy
“But I want to be a hero!!”
The fledgelings ignored Violet’s retorts, clinging onto their wild hope and dreaming of the Blessing, like everyone who lived in Hekalys.
Elpy and Volitar fidgeted. They secretly wanted Violet to make use of her powers as sovereigns. In fact, all harpies did too, but they couldn’t win again her stubborness.
Harpy Hag
Elpy
“Your greed bothers Violet. What will you do if she leaves you?” Elpy pinched Nepheria’s cheek.
Fledgeling
Nepheria
“Noooo! Grandma, don’t leave meeeee!” Nepheria clung to Violet.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Haha…” Violet stroked Nepheria’s head.
A harpy barged in the tree house, surprising everyone. “Violet, you have a visitor!”
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Huh? Is it Lorely?!”
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Alright, what did you come for?” Visibly unhappy about her surprise visitor.
Violet fidgeted, while Umbrine elegantly sipped her tea across the table.
