"I wish I were there to see your father’s face, Zion." Erica giggled after Sherry told her about what happened during dinner.
The teenage boy, his lover, and his little sister, Rhia, were lying on the bed together.
"Indeed, you should have seen him," Thirteen replied. "He was so shocked after discovering that Aracelle is now my fiancee. He went even more bonkers after seeing Tiona’s human form."
Another giggle escaped Erica’s lips, finding the idea of that situation quite funny.
"Don’t worry, I’ll tell Aracelle all about it later," Erica said. "But you should give her and Shana a call after you’re done chatting with me. Both of them would love to hear from you."
"Okay." Thirteen nodded. He understood that although Shana and Princess Aracelle always showed a calm and dignified expression in public, both of them got lonely easily. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel~fire~net
This was especially true for Shana, who seemed to have become more clingy after he regained his consciousness.
It was as if she were Thirteen’s wife, who only spent a single night with him before he went away, never to return again.
Her clinginess unintentionally reminded Thirteen of the Saintess whom he had to leave behind in the past.
After seeing Kate’s memory to the very end, the memory of his marriage to Medea returned to him.
He felt conflicted about it, so he made sure to give Shana extra care and love, as if making up for the pitiful Saintess who loved him despite knowing he couldn’t stay by her side.
"Are you thinking of another girl again?" Erica asked, giving Thirteen the "you better not be cheating on us" gaze.
"You’re pretty sharp when it comes to things , Erica," Thirteen replied, not bothering to hide anything. "Yes. I was thinking of the girl I met in my dream."
"Who is it?" Erica asked with curiosity. "Do I know her?"
Even Sherry, who was hugging onto his arm, looked at him with curiosity.
"Her name is Medea," Thirteen answered. "A very pitiful girl who fell in love with someone she shouldn’t have."
Erica wanted to ask more, but Thirteen’s voice and expression looked a little sad, so she decided not to pry about it for the time being.
"So you’ll be staying there for one more day, huh?" Erica smiled. "I wish I had gone there with you. I’m not sure if Sherry will be enough to keep you company... if you know what I mean."
The Sorceress winked playfully, which made Sherry’s face redden.
Truth be told, she was very happy to spend some time with Zion without her sisters around.
That way, she could monopolize the teenage boy’s love and affection when they sleep together during the night.
"Don’t tease Sherry too much," Thirteen said. "Look how red her face is."
Sherry had already buried her head on the teenage boy’s chest, as if wanting to hide her embarrassment.
Erica smirked, wanting to say more, but since Rhia was around, she couldn’t mention anything inappropriate. One must not pollute a young one’s mind.
Thirteen’s little sister slept peacefully, her head resting on his shoulder. But Erica didn’t want to take any chances. For all she knew, the little girl might be listening to their conversation while pretending to be asleep.
"Tomorrow, I’ll go and say hi to your parents, Erica," Thirteen stated. "Do you want me to pass a message to them?"
"You don’t have to." Erica shook her head. "I talk to them every day. Well, then. Go and contact Shana and Aracelle before you sleep. Good night, Zion. I love you."
The Sorceress waved before ending the connection on her end.
With a few taps on his communicator, he initiated a call to Shana, who answered him right away.
The projection of the Saintess appeared, and as soon as she saw Zion, a beautiful smile bloomed on her face.
"Are you already in Antares?" Shana asked.
"No, we made a detour in Aldebaran and will stay here for two days," Thirteen answered. "How are you?"
"Missing you terribly," Shana answered without hesitation. "The Central Government is now busy collaborating with Douglas Griffin so some of the cities can be rebuilt as soon as possible.
"That way, the people who evacuated to Sirius and Aldebaran during the war can return home. It’s a lot of work, and it will take several years before every city can be restored."
"That project will indeed take a long time." Thirteen agreed. "How about the Jinns? Have they started building their territories?"
"Yes," Shana replied. "House Pavareth, the Azrakith Court, the Skavari, and the Kingdom of Valoria are building their cities near the center of the continent so they can interact with the cities where the Wanderers are going to rebuild.
"The Dragonkin is also building their city near them. Frankly, they’ll likely have the biggest territory among the Jinns here on the continent."
Thirteen wasn’t too surprised by this development, knowing how stubborn Prince Aurelion could be.
He understood that he had to deal with the Dragonkin Prince sooner or later so the cold war between them would finally be put to an end.
"Oh, Azoh’Dar and the named Azothralls have also started building their underground cities in the North," Shana reported. "Since the Artemian Army had already laid down their foundations there, the other Azothralls decided this would be their new home."
Without a leader, all the Azothralls decided to follow Azoh’Dar as their new representative.
The Artemians were still prisoners of war, so they couldn’t move freely even if they wanted to.
For the time being, they decided to cooperate with the Wanderers and introduce the technologies that were exclusive to them.
Of course, they weren’t aware that the researchers that Thirteen had tossed inside the Domain of the Apocalypse now had their own laboratory, performing experiments under the teenage boy’s orders.
They were experimenting with creating a more powerful version of the Azothralls with the body of Exodia, which the Ashford Clan had treated as their Secret Weapon.
Although Thirteen believed that Project "Exodia [EX]" wouldn’t be completed anytime soon, he hoped it would be done by the time he had conquered the world of Artem.
That way, he would be able to use the new and improved Exodia to help him deal with the new threats that were starting to make their move in the world of Solterra.