The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 225 - Big Scoop! Our Cute & Sweet Medical Fairy’s Most Fervent Fan Is... Family?

Chapter 225: Chapter 225 - Big Scoop! Our Cute & Sweet Medical Fairy’s Most Fervent Fan Is... Family?

The brunette teenager turned on her heels and smoothed down her hair. Elua chose not to immediately jump into a chillier persona, but did make herself look a bit more serious with a stance just a little tighter and ’guarded’ than before.

"I’m afraid it would be quite inappropriate... depending on the reason. Could you clarify why you would ask me for this?"

"I- well..."

Talva’s military bearing wavered as she struggled to form words. Her spirit churned with a mix of admiration and mounting embarrassment from her request.

"Your work is poised to help so many people. The way you improved things here for everyone, not just the cultivators. I’ve been responsible for following your projects since you started with the Coiled Serpent and..."

She straightened suddenly, as if forcing herself back to proper form.

"I apologize. That all sounds rather obsessive when said aloud."

The Goltbred’s ’sweet’ smile remained fixed even as she sensed her fortress’s spiritual tendrils coiling *protectively* closer. She definitely noticed that her exact question had not been answered. Why would someone following her young career necessitate being hugged?

"Not at all. Though I am curious how you learned about my early work."

"The Army maintains records of promising cultivators. Especially those focused on practical support areas that could aid in the Descent. Outside of training time, I handle reviews of the reports on fresh, young talent."

The blonde’s voice steadied as she shifted to more professional territory. She welcomed the path of ’changing the subject’ without actually talking about something different.

"I understand. It was all a part of your own duties."

"Your developments in simplifying formations particularly caught my attention when..."

Talva trailed off once again, realizing she was slipping back into showing *much* enthusiasm. Actually meeting someone already kind of famous in her region when you were expecting she would surely be much more well known in the future... it was hard to contain herself! While the woman berated herself inside, a familiar tall figure emerged from behind one of the nearby support pillars.

"My wife’s work is quite impressive."

Talva’s spine went rigid as she turned to face the approaching Yecine heir. Her spirit flickered between that fan ’admiration’ toward Elua and some other ’uncertainty’ about Qatrand. The heiress had a feeling in what direction that hesitance lay.

"Your tower climb was equally impressive, I was told."

The words came out with care. Measured to be respectful without trying to get any closer. The illusionist let her mint eyes sparkle with poorly hidden amusement as her fortress wrapped possessively around her. Standing directly at her back, with hands clutching softly at her shoulders.

’Is this her way of saying to her relative that there are no hugs while she is around?’

The brunette leaned into the raven-haired Qat. Her ’sweet’ smile gained an edge of ’mischief’.

"I confess some bias in agreeing with that assessment. It was very impressive. After all, my husband was kind enough to mention me in their victory speech."

The blonde’s gaze darted between them, her spirit churning with complexity. The ancient cultivator could practically see her trying to reconcile her admiration for both of them while separating it from their obvious connections.

"The two of you look very good together. The way you had your bird escort him was very lovely! Don’t mind anyone who complains, it was very cute behavior."

Talva’s enthusiasm burst forth again. The tall woman pressed her lips together, clearly conflicted between maintaining decorum by keeping things impersonal and in sharing her honest observations.

Qat’s spiritual tendrils loosened slightly around her wife even as her hands tightened. She felt like she recognized that particular struggle in the woman. The way her blue gaze kept darting to Elua with barely contained appreciation for a certain quality was... oddly familiar.

’I should be more vigilant because she called her cute, why am I lowering my guard?’

"You seem quite knowledgeable about my El."

The low voice carried clear protectiveness and less clear curiosity. Small fingers found their way to pinch her fortress’s sleeve, tugging slightly with a ’coy’ expression.

"Oh? Have you been watching me talk to her for very long?"

Talva er Ryleon flushed at the direct question. Accusing someone of eavesdropping was rude... but the idea that her *request* had been heard and misunderstood by the young man was worse!

"I swear I only know about her public works! Lady Goltbred’s contributions to the community. Just things that were delivered in reports to my division. Like the way you arranged for that merchant stall in your training months to... better..."

The Continental Army member had never cut herself off so many times in so few minutes. Her shoulders began tensing as she took a careful step back, for some reason not wanting to inhabit the same space she had just been standing in. Like she could separate herself from ’that’ person this way.

"I sound like a stalker, don’t I?"

"A bit! It’s... rather endearing actually."

Elua’s ’sweet’ voice carried the harsh truth as she pressed further back into Qat. Her beloved smelled of sweat and exertion. The spicy scent of her musk was heady. If Talva wasn’t a potential ally for her precious gem, she probably would have stopped talking and just enjoyed the closeness.

"Qatrand tends to notice all sorts of little details about me too. Perhaps it is something that people with blue eyes and naturally blonde hair have in common?"

The swordswoman’s ears colored at the change in emotions to the bundle of ’urges’ now rubbing the back of her head on her suit. Meanwhile, the one called out with the clear hints of familial relation defended poorly.

"A-ah. Maybe."

"About that hug..."

Elua’s ’sweet’ voice drew both women’s attention. Her mint eyes were still staring up lovingly at her Qat as she spoke the words. She shifted slightly in the taller girl’s hold, maintaining her ’innocent’ facade. Playing with being too careful was just getting in the way of private time!

"I apologize if this seems old-fashioned, but I only really embrace family members. My parents raised me to be quite proper about showing physical affection."

Qat almost made a face at the ’truth mixed with lies’ and the ancient cultivator responsible for it watched carefully. Talva’s spirit expressed several complex emotions as she expected. There was ’disappointment’, ’understanding’, and a flutter of ’nerves’ that suggested the words had struck something deeper than intended.

"I- that is..."

The blonde seemed about to say something significant. Her blues darted briefly to the Yecine heir before she caught herself. Her fists clenched as she closed her eyes and her tone evened out drastically. Very obvious!

"I was raised similarly. The request I made was inappropriate and so was thinking of a fellow cultivator as cute."

’Oh, she admitted to it.’

The illusionist was a little surprised. Tendrils tightened briefly around her, showing that Qatrand understood what the girl was doing. Tempting a revelation of their familial tie by ’using her body’ as a trade? Her husband-wife was a little ’displeased’.

’Even if she doesn’t intend to do anything of the sort, the fact that she might hug someone else if I requested it bothers me. Just that alone.’

She wanted to think her El would value herself and that there were probably lines. But they clearly retreated farther back in many cases than was acceptable to others, if she could excuse it as being helpful.

"Then perhaps we could settle for a handshake? Since you’ve been such an attentive observer of my work. It has actually been lovely to interact with such an ardent fan."

After speaking her understanding of the army woman’s intent behind asking, Elua stepped forward from her fortress’s embrace. She extended her hand and didn’t wait long before Talva accepted it. The two tall, muscular individuals were caught off guard when the brunette used the point of contact to draw closer.

"After all, connections with people are worth acknowledging properly."

By turning the formal gesture into a brief half-embrace on the third place tower winner’s arm, she *suggested* something. The pointed comment then hung in the air as she withdrew, her mint eyes carrying a knowing and confident gleam that made Talva’s spirit flutter with ’uncertainty’ atop the moment of instinctive ’elation’.

’Does she already know? Does Qatrand?’

The swordswoman fought an urge to pull her wife back immediately. Not fully from jealousy this time, but from concern about her pushing this too far too fast. The older woman had gone completely still, her stance almost rigid. The ’uncertainty’ in her spirit when glancing toward Qat shifted rapidly between ’hope’ and ’caution’.

But the caution won out.

"I... should return to my rest. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Lady Goltbred."

Her voice remained even toned, but her eyes lingered on Elua’s face as if searching for confirmation of her suspicion. The cute girl was the one who had spoken and performed the clues.

"Of course! Perhaps we’ll have more chances to discuss your... observations of my work. You can also tell us more about yourself at that time."

The brunette’s ’sweet’ smile hid that edge in her spirit that suggested plotting. She turned back into her fortress’s embrace, face first this time, but fingers finding Qat’s sleeve again. Her voice was slightly muffled as she continued calling out her dismissal.

"Until then, you should focus on your duels. I look forward to seeing how you handle yourself."

’Let’s see how you process this before our next encounter.’

Talva gave a formal bow to the girl not paying attention any more and the unspoken relative. Her emotions about what just happened needed to cool down. She got an unexpected hug from a cute small ’child’! They were always too scared to approach her...

Only once she was out of sight did Qat choose to speak. Her low voice carried the classic mix of ’exasperation’ and ’fondness’ as she stroked the back of her head.

"You couldn’t resist, could you?"

"She’s quite adorable, isn’t she? Reminds me of someone."

Elua’s facade dropped as she turned in her fortress’s hold, wrapping her arms around the tall girl’s waist and looking upward. Her mostly empty expression curved slightly, suggesting deep amusement.

"El..."

"I know, I know. I shouldn’t tease you or the potential family members. But did you see how happy she was as she left?"

There had been a clear skip in the blonde’s step. It was hard to watch. Not only because it came from what it did, but because she could relate to being happy about it. She could also sense that there was nothing more than that to the request her relative made.

"I did see. Don’t hug someone that thinks you are cute for my sake."

The small girl climbed up her blazer and nuzzled her neck. Qat was just a little put off by the form of clinginess in public, but simply secured her body as her wife took out her frustrations over the imposed distance. The Goltbred was clearly using her Astralism so that they ’looked normal’, or so the signal suggested.

"Even if I would have, it would have been done with an illusion, my love. My full, real hugs are yours."

To her monotone, a soft agreement hummed from the Yecine that held the giant mint-drop in her arms. The ease with which she had just been coaxed made her earlier displeasure feel as cheap as the candy she chose to name her little darling after.