Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 152: Return to Persona

"We’re back at last! We weren’t even in Sylph for a full week, but it sure as hell felt like a lot longer than that," Raven sighed in relief, stretching his arms up as he stepped out of the carriage.

"I have to agree, I felt as though our stay in Sylph shaved several years off my life," Responded Jules wearily.

"Hm...yeah, now that you mention it, you do look like you’ve got a few more wrinkles," Chimed in Aster, as he leaned in towards Jules and took a look at her face, catching her off-guard.

"Wha-...d-don’t get so close! And what do you mean, ’more’ wrinkles!?" She snapped indignantly.

"Heh, relax, I was just kidding. Are you feeling alright, though? Your face is a bit red, maybe all that stress gave you a fever," He suggested, reaching up to feel her forehead before she smacked his hand away as her face reddened further.

"Seems like something’s starting to develop between them...we definitely shouldn’t tell Ravella, though maybe we should urge her to step up her game and be more proactive," Muttered Celia quietly.

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing," Nodded Raven with a wry smile.

It was the 21st of May, 1919, two days had passed since the battle against Leptar. After the decision was made to imprison him, and the alliance between the two nations was finalized, the Elves held another lavish banquet the next day, to both celebrate the alliance and thank the humans for their help.

That was the previous day, and it was currently around 10 AM in the morning. After sleeping in a bit, the Knights left Sylph and teleported back to Persona, their eventful stay in the Elven nation finally coming to a close.

"I-I’m fine, so please back off!" Groaned Jules, placing her hands on Aster’s chest and pushing him away, her hands briefly lingering as the feel of his pectoral muscles distracted her, before she quickly pulled her hands back as she snapped out of it, clearing her throat to compose herself before addressing the others, "Alright, you’ve all been through a lot over this last week, so head back home and take a day off to rest up."

"Sounds good to me, thank you for your consideration, Commander," Smiled Wein gratefully.

"Yeah, I’m pretty spent mentally, so I’m definitely not going to say no to a day off," Added Hart.

"What about you, Commander? Don’t tell me that you’re going to work while the rest of us take a day off, that’s-...," Began Tilda with a frown.

"No, I’m taking a day off too, I’m quite worn out myself. I’ll let the Vice-Commander handle my duties for one more day," Replied Jules sheepishly.

"I bet Tacitus will be pretty annoyed that I have the day off while he’ll need to work," Chuckled Aster, strolling alongside the other Irregulars as the group began to disperse and head their separate ways.

"Yeah, I can definitely see that, the context won’t matter to him, all he’ll focus on is the fact that you’re getting a break while he doesn’t," Responded Raven wryly.

"Hm...hey, if I follow Lexia around all day and really rub it in her face that I have the day off, do you think she’ll get annoyed?" Inquired Colt with a gleam in his eyes.

"Oh, for the love of...," Muttered Celia in exasperation.

"Regardless of what we answer, you’re just going to do that anyway, aren’t you? So why even bother asking?" Added Raven in bemusement.

"Yeah, guess you’re right. I wonder if I can get her to slap me or something...ohh, the anticipation is killing me! Alright, I’m heading back, see you guys later!" Grinned Colt, a look of excitement on his face as he took a Teleport Spell out of his Storage Ring and activated it.

"Poor Lexia, she’s in for a rough day," Remarked Celia sympathetically.

"I’d say that’s putting it lightly. Anyway, I should head home too. Take care, you two, till next time," Smiled Aster, giving them a wave before teleporting away.

"So, what should we do today? Just laze about at home?" Suggested Raven, taking out a Teleport Spell as Celia took hold of his hand.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me. We’ll let Ravella know that we’re back, and then go home," She nodded in response.

"Sure, there’s still a couple of hours before her patrol shift, so she should be at the outpost," He replied as he checked the time, before activating the Spell.

The two of them reappeared outside the Opal Town Knight outpost, before heading inside. The other Knights in the building greeted and welcomed them back as they strolled in, the familiarity of their surroundings giving the pair a sense of relief, after the less-than-pleasant experiences they had in Sylph.

"Hm? Oh, you’re finally back!" Ravella greeted as she noticed them, standing up and approaching them with a smile before adding as she hugged them, "How did it go? What was the nation of Sylph like?"

"Well, uh...," Trailed off Raven, exchanging a glance with Celia, before telling his sister everything that had happened during their stay in Sylph.

The three of them took a seat as Raven continued explaining, with a bit of input here and there from Celia as well, while a few of the other Knights came over curiously to listen in.

"And yeah, I think that just about covers everything," Concluded Raven with a sigh.

"Wow, that sounds like it must have been really rough. Not gonna lie, I was pretty jealous of you two, I wanted to go to Slyph too, and-...," Began Ravella.

"Yeah, we know," Replied Celia with a wry smile.

"You didn’t exactly make an effort to hide that," Smirked Raven teasingly.

"...right. But after hearing what you went through, I think I might’ve dodged a bullet by not going. I do enjoy a good fight, but an enemy even stronger than the Undead King isn’t one I’d want to go up against," She responded with a slight shudder.

"Yeah, he was pretty damn tough, we were lucky to get out of it alive. Well, anyway...the Commander gave us the day off, so the two of us are gonna head back home now. See you later, sis," Said Raven, as he and Celia stood back up.

"Oh, okay. Alright, then, I’ll take care of things here, you two go rest up," She nodded in response.

"Bye, we’ll see you later-...," Began Celia, before trailing off and adding, "Oh, uh...by the way, I think you should pursue Aster more aggressively, just FYI."

"Huh? Why, what happened? D-did he hit it off with a hot Elf lady or something!?"

"Uh, no, nothing like that. But, yeah, you should probably step up your efforts," Remarked Raven, as he and Celia swiftly made their way out of the building before Ravella could press them any further.

Meanwhile, in Amber Village...

"And you wouldn’t believe how much better their fruits are! So much juicier and sweeter than what we have here, it was so good! It’s too bad you missed out, I bet you would’ve loved it-...," Grinned Colt.

"For fuck’s sake, go home! If you’ve got the day off, you have no reason to follow me!" She snapped, doing her best to keep herself calm.

"Aw, but I missed you and wanted to hang out with you, is that so wrong?"

"H-huh? N-no, that’s-...I mean, yeah, it is! I’m on duty right now, and you’re distracting me! W-we can hang out later, after I’m done for the day." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

"Heh, you blushing?"

"No, I’m not! Fuck off!"

"Oh, they also had this super rich and smooth honey, which they used to glaze sliced pieces of fruit, it was unbelievably good! And you know me, I don’t exactly have the biggest sweet tooth, but even I couldn’t hold back from gorging myself on th-..."

"Grr, I’m begging you to go home," She growled as her mouth began watering, holding herself back from hitting him since she was well-aware of the fact that that’s exactly what he was after.

"But there’s still more I haven’t told you about. Like, they set out these freshly made jams, those were amazing too, especially spread across warm, soft bread, I-...," Smirked Colt.

"Stop it...you’re such a jerk, I hate you...," She muttered with a dejected look on her face, craving something sweet.

"Huh, that’s a new reaction, maybe I went too far. I just wanted to annoy her, but making her look sad makes me feel bad, and not in a good way," Colt thought to himself, before turning the dial on his Storage Ring and taking out a package, adding as he handed it to her, "Here, take this. It’s something of a sample of everything I told you about, there’s a couple of the fruits I mentioned, as well as jars of honey and jam."

Lexia perked up as she glanced at the package, taking it from him before cautiously opening it to make sure he was telling the truth, her eyes lighting up as she got a look at the contents.

"This is for me!? Seriously!? Thank you so much, Colt, I-...!" She began excitedly, before abruptly trailing off as she got a look at the bewildered look on his face, her face turning red with embarrassed before she averted her gaze and cleared her throat to compose herself, before adding quietly, "I-I mean...thanks, this is pretty cool, I guess."

Meanwhile, in Garnet City...

"Hey, I’m back, Tacitus! How were things over here, any issues? Just wanted to let you know that I got the day o-...," Began Aster, as he entered the Knight outpost and approached Tacitus with a grin, before trailing off as Tacitus lifted his gaze with an immensely annoyed look on his face.

"It’s about time! The work really piled up in your absence, damn it, I’m never doing paperwork again!"

"W-woah, relax, man. I didn’t-..."

"I’m taking two days off, I feel like my head will explode if I work for even a second longer," Huffed Tacitus, as he got onto his feet and stormed off before Aster could respond.

"B-but...today’s supposed to be my day off..."