I Was The Hero, But I Woke Up as a Phoenix Princess! – Chapter 812

On the journey to the Sacred Tree, chapter 52
Leaning into Ig’s embrace, with him combing her hair, Verafia tilted her little head, recalling the surprise in the Elven girl’s jade-like sparkling eyes when she heard her own voice agree.
“After all, Ig, you can feel it too, perhaps the Life Goddess’s power back then was truly because of me. And if not for her, we probably would have been captured by that guy Fatter… I am not someone who forgets kindness.”
Verafia swung her nimble little feet, kicked off her small leather shoes, and her delicate, soft fabric-wrapped feet, with their slightly arched, slender curves, reflected in the gentle lamplight.
She tilted her head, her big eyes gazing slightly, and her childish voice giggled again.
“I’m telling you, this Lorinta seems easy to talk to… but, as you said, Ig, this is one of their few hopes. If I refused, we wouldn’t be able to defeat a Saint.”
Ig lightly lowered his gaze to the girl’s bright, delicate little face, soft radiance embellishing her pale, snowy skin, and a pair of golden eyes curved into a soft, crescent moon. He could completely feel that this little girl was actually in quite good spirits, her previous words just a joke.
However, he gently clasped the girl’s small hand, “I will protect Veer.”
“Hm?”
Verafia abruptly raised her big eyes, Ig’s face appearing in her view.
Although it had only been less than a day, Verafia had gradually become accustomed to her current small childhood body and the shock of the physical differences between herself and Ig. After the initial discomfort, she actually felt a greater sense of security.
She shifted her body, settling into a comfortable position, and pouted her small, fragrant tongue playfully, “Ig, you don’t want me to go?”
Ig gazed at the girl’s profile, her beautiful skin white and luminous, lightly touched by the light filtering through the carriage window. The moonlight was dim, touching her skin, but it was like flawless silver.
Even the most obtuse person could clearly sense the precarious state of the Elven race. Whether it was the Dark Elves or the forces of the Abyssal Church, an invisible storm was shrouding the elves’ Sacred Tree.
Ig was not unwilling to aid the elves, nor did he begrudge his own life, but he hesitated to have Verafia accept Lorinta’s request at this time.
However, Verafia had already made the decision for the previous matter, and he could only show his concern here.
“Tsk, foolish Ig, worrying about me over such a thing… I’m not really a child.”
Verafia tilted her head playfully, her long eyelashes fluttering open, her big eyes filled with a lighthearted expression. “Hmph, this young lady was once a hero who saved the world, and even the Goddess of Flame. Even Lancaster was no match for me; it’s just a few Dark Elves, why should I be afraid?”
Ig’s fingers gently stroked her soft, golden hair.
This little girl’s deliberately cheerful words were just to make him worry less… However, Ig also knew that Verafia was not without consideration; she also understood the potential dangers involved.
Just as the girl said, she was not a mere little child being held in his arms like a doll, but a young lady with a truly legendary past.
“Compared to the legendary hero and goddess, it’s more adorable like this, like a little baby Veer,” Ig said with a smile, pinching her little cheek.
“Hmph, you’re teasing this young lady again!”
Verafia’s small face flushed with a shame and anger, and she angrily jumped up, her tiny body shaking off the young man’s hand. Her big eyes stared fiercely at Ig, who couldn’t help but curl his lips and smile.
However, Verafia also knew that this bad guy was deliberately teasing her to amuse himself, and the more she argued with him, the more it pleased him. So, she took a deep breath and tried to suppress the shame and anger in her eyes.
“Hmph, I won’t talk to you, you idiot…”
Verafia turned her head, emitting a childish voice as if sulking. She sat back on Ig’s lap, squeezed his hand hard, and then raised her little head again:
“Ah, returning to the question you interrupted. Cough cough… After all, that is the Elves’ Sacred Tree, and the homeland of the elves. Little Ain and Miss Irene must also really hope we can help them.”
Verafia, still completely like a child, did not hurt much even if she squeezed with all her might. Instead, the girl’s appearance, with her cheeks still flushed with shame and anger, and her attempt to change the subject seriously, was rather endearing.
Ig couldn’t help but reach out and rub her little head. As for the girl’s angry glare with her golden eyes, her displeased protest, Ig naturally ignored it.
After leaving Floradora Town, the two Elven girls, Ain and Irene, were also accompanying them, but not in the same carriage as him and Verafia. Like Ophi, they were in different carriages.
As the girl said, Ain herself was an ancient wood elf, and the Sacred Tree was her hometown. As for Irene, a Silver Moon Elf, although she didn’t say much, Ig could clearly feel that she also yearned for her nation of elves to return to peace.
His fingers brushed through the girl’s smooth, silken, fair golden hair. Suddenly, the girl gently tilted her little face, her eyelashes fluttering open, her gorgeous golden eyes like a beautiful golden moon, falling on his line of sight.
“Moreover, as Lorinta said, the Life Goddess’s great movement would not go unnoticed. It’s not just her or the envoys of the Elven Queen; those Dark Elves would naturally notice too.”
The girl’s tender, childlike voice murmured like soft, delicate silk. Ig lowered his head, saw her serious golden eyes, and held her small hand.
With the girl restarting the Life Goddess’s melody, and with the “ancient moonlight” of the Silver Moon Goddess on himself, how could it not attract the coveting of the Dark Elves?
“Is that so… is that why Veer agreed?”
“More or less. Of course, there’s also the fact that Ig said Miss Lorinta promised to lend me the Elven Sacred Spring?”
Verafia tilted her head, her delicate face shimmering with a soft, bright glow. Her gorgeously exquisite face, like a work of art, became even more moving. Her big eyes sparkled with excitement.
“By borrowing the energy of the Elven Sacred Spring, I can grow up and won’t have to be a child anymore! Hmph hmph, by then, neither Ig nor troublesome guys like Fatter can bully me anymore!”
She proudly tilted her delicate face, her two small hands picking up the End from Ig’s embrace, and gazed at the sword flowing with delicate light. Her gorgeous golden eyes blinked lightly. “Mm, little Rufina, don’t you think so?”
Well, she couldn’t possibly tell this guy that to escape that perverted old Fatter, she planned to hide within the Sacred Tree, right?
The long sword, which had been quiet all along, gave a soft hum, and a faint luster shimmered on its slender blade, as if the sword spirit maiden was hesitating whether she should agree with her sister and oppose her master.
“Is that so?”
Ig looked at the tiny girl who was forcefully hugging the heavy End, which was more than half her body, and chuckled, then shook his head with a hint of regret.
He teased, “I really do like little Veer like this. How about I bully Veer more while she’s still small?”
…
The tranquil night was filled with the sounds of the Elven Knights and the revolving carriages. The dark night filled the earth, and as time passed, it quietly turned into the soft golden light of dawn.
“Miss Verafia, look, that is the Sacred Tree of Life, and legend has it, the place where the Goddess’s sacred spirit resides. We should be arriving soon!”
Ain’s crisp voice reached her ears. She looked at Verafia, held in Ophi’s arms, and Niya, perched on her shoulder, also flapped her wings, with a “gu gu” sound. Ain then gently raised her face to look at the scenery outside the window, a trace of reminiscence appearing in her emerald beautiful eyes.
“Is that the Sacred Tree?”
Verafia also tried her best to peer out from Ophi’s embrace, her little head sticking out the window. In the distance, the towering Life Giant Tree was clearly visible, as well as the numerous fortresses, cities, and the Elven Sky City, Anorsil, on the Sacred Tree.
The Sacred Tree of Life… it was where the Life Goddess sowed the seeds, and the birthplace of the Wood Elf civilization.
After the Golden Era ended and the World Tree declined, the core city of the entire Elven Empire did not choose the Moon Well in the Sacred Spirit Mountain Range, but still chose to establish its capital on the Sacred Tree of Life.
Actually, she had seen the Sacred Tree before. But just like Ain, who was reminiscing about her hometown, it had been over a hundred years since she last saw this Sacred Tree.
Resting her cheek on her hand, Verafia gazed, a trace of reminiscence appearing in her gorgeous golden eyes.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, she let out an uncomfortable cry.
Verafia felt her small body being picked up, and the icy, slender magic claw forcefully rubbed her face. She angrily turned her head, the Ice Dragon Girl placing her on her legs, her sparkling big eyes like frost-blue amethysts, filled with joy.
“When Veer was zoning out just now, you were so cute!”
Ophi picked her up, like a cute, exquisite doll, rubbing her face, her long lashes fluttering, her eyes curving into crescent moons of joy.
“Damn you, you idiotic ice dragon… let me down!”
Verafia was furious and struggled desperately, but her short little hands and feet couldn’t reach the Ice Dragon Girl who was mischievously lifting her up. Seeing the triumphant expression on the Ice Dragon Girl’s little face, she became even more enraged.
She suddenly chanted a spell, and a ball of flame erupted from her body. Ophi was caught off guard, and her palm was burned.
Then, the blazing flame subsided, and Verafia took the opportunity to transform into a small phoenix, flapping her wings and landing on the Dragon Clan girl’s head.
“Take that, you little Fei! I told you, I am not your toy!”
Transforming back into a child, Verafia grabbed the Dragon Horn tightly with both hands, barely managing to steady herself, and shouted angrily.
Ain watched the two girls who had suddenly started to play in the small carriage space with some astonishment.
Niya on her shoulder transformed back into a red-haired loli and landed in her arms. Ain gently touched her little head and then slowly raised her gaze, blinking her long eyelashes on her emerald green eyes.
“It feels like Miss Verafia and Ophi have a very good relationship… Miss Verafia, who was so powerful before, is like a child right now.”
Her lips touched, and the Wood Elf’s gentle, soft voice slowly spoke.
Niya, sitting in her arms, nodded her little head in agreement.