CHAPTER 480: PLANNING A VACATION

Elizabeth dragged her wife away after her weird interaction with Sera. Valerie was famous for her charismatic yet strange personality, and it seemed the years spent in another Realm hadn’t done her any favors.

They sat on a couch farther from the group, where Elizabeth lectured Valerie about manners. Her words fell on deaf ears, as Valerie continued grinning at her.

With a sigh, Elizabeth gave up and leaned on her wife’s shoulder while hugging her left arm. They had been inseparable for the past four days, spending every waking and sleeping hour together.

Sera also sat down on a long sofa, with Bea on her right side. Nearby, little Nick slept peacefully, still clutching the also sleeping baby in his arms. Agnes sat by their side, with Damien watching over them with concerned yet soft eyes.

On Sera’s left sat Melinda, a wide smile brightening her face. Joan sat beside Melinda, her beautiful, tan face still frozen from her partner’s declaration.

Laughter and joy filled the large room. Everyone chatted with smiles on their faces.

Even after a third of Rome, millions of people lost their lives, they somehow didn’t consider this endeavor a failure. While many died, they managed to save a lot more people. They celebrated the living rather than mourned the dead.

However, through the joy, a question still hung above everyone’s necks, like a guillotine waiting to fall. Nobody wanted to ruin the mood, so they continued chatting about useless subjects, while ignoring the elephant in the room... The future...

While everybody talked, Sera silently glanced around with a small, satisfied smile. Bea noticed her expression and gently elbowed her side.

"What is it? Why’re you smirking so smugly?"

Sera just shrugged and leaned back on the sofa. She placed her hands behind her back and put her feet on the coffee table.

"Nothing. It’s just great to see everyone happy! I haven’t spent quality time with anyone other than Faith for the past year, and even I get bored with her devout personality... It was so exhausting to only have her as company!"

Suddenly, dark tendrils rose from Sera’s shadow. They grasped her legs and dragged them off the coffee table.

"It’s ill-mannered to have your feet on the table, Lady Seraphine. Also, you shouldn’t talk badly about the person living in your shadow."

A pair of dark eyes and lips grew from the shadows near Sera’s ear. Faith’s whispering voice sent a shiver down the Angel’s spine, and she quickly apologized. Both Bea and Melinda chuckled as the mouth and eyes dissolved into the darkness.

While laughing, Melinda’s eyes seemed to widen until, without a word, she jumped to her feet and ran off, leaving everyone confused.

A few minutes later she stepped back into the room with a wide grin, carrying a large covered tray. The air filled with an appetizing aroma, bringing most people’s attention to Melinda.

She placed the tray on the coffee table before Sera, then pulled off the cloth cover. Light tendrils of vapor rose into the air as she revealed a mountain of different sweet pastries.

The freshly cooked smell of food made everyone salivate, but when Kim reached forward to take a chocolate-filled donut, Melinda slapped it away with a reprimanding look.

"I specifically asked the cooks to bake this for Sera! You can only eat if she gives you any, you gluttonous snake!"

Everyone chuckled at the description, while Kim leaned back and pouted. However, when Sam began brushing her tail, her pout turned into a satisfied smile.

Sera barely recognized Melinda’s words as her eyes couldn’t seem to leave the giant tray of food. She needed to swallow back her saliva every few seconds. Her stomach got stuck in a continuous state of rumbling as hunger hit the Angel with full force.

With a trembling hand, Sera reached out and grabbed a glazed sweet roll with some fruity filling. She gradually moved the pastry to her lips and took a deep sniff of its magnificent aroma. Her eyes closed as her mouth opened and bit down on the sweet roll.

The fruity-sweet taste mixed with the sugary glazing, while the hot roll grounded both. The pastry tasted like heaven and prompted Sera to take a second bite, then another, and another.

When she reached the center, which held the most filling, a light moan escaped her closed lips. The already amazing taste increased tenfold, leaving her craving more.

While the Angel had a sexual-sounding interaction with the pastry, Melinda just smiled and chuckled at everyone’s curious faces. The pastries she brought were top-notch, but nothing as special as Sera made them look while eating.

Curiosity overwhelmed Bea, so she asked what everyone had on their mind... "Melinda. Why’s she reacting so strongly to the pastries? Did you drug her or something?"

Bea motioned at Sera’s expression while talking. Her eyes closed, face flushed, and seemingly consumed in great pleasure.

Melinda reached forward and patted Sera’s head. She didn’t show any reaction to her friend’s hand brushing against her hair.

"It’s just simple pastry. However, it’s Sera’s favorite food, and judging by her expression, she hasn’t had any in a very long time! I thought she would like to have some after awakening, but even I feel surprised by her strong reaction!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the Angel with a mix of joy and sadness. They hadn’t realized until now how awfully she had lived for the past four or so years.

She couldn’t enjoy the taste of food while not having emotions. However, when she reclaimed herself, she had to leave all her friends and family behind. She lived as a hermit, eating whatever she found or killed.

Sera took one last bite, and after swallowing, her eyes gradually opened. A wide smile grew on her face as she gazed up at Melinda. She jumped to her feet and pulled her best friend into a tight hug.

"Thank you so much, Mel! I ate only cooked or fresh monster meat for two years! This food is truly amazing, albeit anything is better than uncooked monster meat!"

Melinda’s smile waned upon hearing Sera’s pitiful words, but the Angel didn’t seem to notice as she spread her arms and declared... "Everyone! Eat up! Let’s have a feast!"

As Sera’s words echoed, like ravenous beasts, everyone shot forward and grabbed a pastry or two. There was even a dark tendril, which grasped a sweet roll and pulled it back into the shadows.

A few dozen remained even after everyone took one for themselves. Sera and Melinda sat back down, each nibbling on their own food.

After everyone ate their fill, the conversations died down, leaving nothing but silence behind. The tension rose as the same thought began bothering everybody... What next?

With a deep, tired sigh, the General stood up, bringing everyone’s attention to himself. He glanced around for a moment, then spoke, his voice echoing through the quiet.

"We’ve all had our fun, but I think it’s time we address the reason for this gathering. What are our future plans? How’ll we deal with these primordial beings and keep every continent safe?"

Most people in the room turned towards their leader, Sera, causing even the General to glance at her. However, the Angel just leaned back in her seat and yawned. Bea needed to elbow her side again to bring her attention to the subject at hand.

She blinked and gazed at the awaiting expressions with confusion...

"I’ve no clue. I don’t know why everybody’s staring at me!... But, I’l probably go on a vacation! I need to take some time off!"

Sera trailed off, while the disappointment, shock and general annoyance took hold of everyone’s faces. The General especially looked disappointed, since he heard Sera was a genius when it came to warfare.

However, while everybody stared at her with mixed emotions, Bea just chuckled and also leaned back in her seat.

"A vacation? That sounds amazing! Count me in! But where will we go?"

An exaggerated grin grew on Sera’s lips as she pretended to think about the answer...

"Hmm, good question. Not Antarctica, that’s too cold... Not South America, that’s full of goblins... Not North America, that’s full of monsters... We’re already in Europe, so nope... Africa doesn’t exist anymore... Asia hates us... That leaves, Australia!"

A few of the gathered already caught on, but anyone who lacked knowledge about Sera and Bea only stared ahead with dubious expressions.

"Australia it is! I can already imagine it! The beautiful beaches, perfect weather and unlimited potential for fun! It’s the best destination! I’m sure it’ll free our minds and lend us a hand in these troubling times!"

More people understood the meaning behind Bea’s words. Some even chuckled, which only caused General Bryce to get more annoyed.

"What are you talking about? We need everyone here to defend against any potential attacks. Four Gates opened in Europe and one in northeast Africa. We don’t know the enemy, or what their goal is! We’ve got to prepare for any scenario!"

Sera smiled and yawned again, causing the General’s eyes to widen at her rude behavior.

"Let’s be clear, General Bryce. You don’t know what their goal is, not ’we’! I know perfectly well what they want; a kind tree told me back in North America!"

Everyone awaited her next words, but before Sera could’ve said anything, the room’s door opened and a short, old man stepped inside. He had a very thin gray hairline and wrinkled greenish-brown eyes.

He adjusted a pair of reading glasses as he glanced around the lounge room. His face brightened as the old man’s wrinkled eyes landed on the Angel leaning back comfortably.

A small book, with pieces of paper sticking out between the pages, was clutched in his hand. He took a step forward, however, before he could’ve addressed anyone, Sera’s voice echoed in the room.

"Professor! I didn’t know you would attend this gathering! I would’ve saved some pastry from these hungry beasts!" She said while jumping to her feet and embracing the old man warmly.

Her back received many irritated glances, but she ignored everyone and stared down at Professor Collins.

"Nice to see you again, Lady Seraphine. I wish it were in better circumstances though..." He took a deep breath and remained silent for a moment out of respect for the dead.

"Anyway, in the past four days I made myself useful and spent some time researching! This is everything I could gather from these primordial invaders!"

He lifted the small book and opened it near the beginning, right at the picture of a light blue, female knight with white angelic wings, named Peace. A second later, he turned to the next page, which revealed a crimson knight with a greatsword, named War.

The book was full of similar pictures and descriptions. It was a treasure trove of information, written by the Professor!