Chapter 354: Second Name
"Hng, I thought about it, but is it possible those dwarves won't be arrogant if we suppress them with oppressive pressure? We just show up, deal with clashes, and talk, right, master?" Elysia got Vanessa's opinion and started thinking about it for a moment.
Vanessa said that those presumptuous dwarves were so arrogant because they thought they had a chance to defeat the divine being with their technology.
So, what might happen if those dwarves were oppressed with such oppressive pressure until they could do nothing but tremble and kneel?
This was different from the Human Race that already had Nell as the Human Goddess. Elves, fairies, and dwarves didn't have a single divine being to guide them for far too long.
"Hmm... I think Elysia's estimate is correct. Maybe you or Elena should test it another time. Humans will obviously respect you because they are accustomed to worshiping a divine existence that brings the light of blessing, namely me." Nell pointed to herself with a smile and a wink.
"Well..." Elena rolled her eyes, but she had a few other ideas in mind. After all, being kind sometimes wouldn't be appreciated by the other party.
"Ah, that sounds worth trying, but we can only rely on Master Elysia or Master Elena for that." Rhea dropped her fist to her open palm, but she suddenly thought of something. Thus, she glanced at Nell. "Hum, it reminds me. Little Nell, can you tell me why I found your divine mark in Master Elysia's upper dantian? Have you become a Master Elysia's disciple? That's the spirit connection between the master and the disciple, right?"
"Ah, ah... That, uhh..." Nell fiddled her fingers nervously. It was hard for her to speak the truth because it was a bit embarrassing!
"It's because this little Goddess tried to convert my Ely as her half-disciple even though she realized Ely is my disciple. I didn't allow that, and it ended the other way around. So, we get this little one as Ely's goddisciple." Elena spilled it all with an innocent expression, but she was literally happy about it.
"Ah, ah, Elena, you-" Nell stuttered with exasperation. She didn't want her big sister to think she did any meany thing to Elysia.
"Is there something wrong with what I just said?" Elena tilted her head with a smirk.
"Hmm..." Rhea didn't exactly know what to say, but it made Nell nervous. "All right, Little Nell, do you feel unhappy about becoming a disciple? Do you wish to remove your spirit bonding from Master Elysia?"
"No, it's okay, big sister. Elysia is nice." Nell waved her hand to decline.
"Is that so? Then, why do you call Master Elysia only by her name?" Rhea rested her cheek on her hand. She wasn't sure about Nell's response.
"That's, that's because... We got close enough and decided to get rid of the honorifics to refer to each other?" Nell tried to come up with a compelling reason. If she needed to tell the truth, she really didn't know what else to say.
"Hum, alright. I thought of something else, but it turned out to be just a conjecture. As long as you are good with it, then I'm happy too. Ah, don't we become the same master, Little Nell?" Rhea was a little relieved to hear the response. She didn't need to listen to any excuses. But, she only needed to know about Nell's feelings as Elysia's disciple.
"Yes, yes!" Nell was delighted to see her big sister smiling at her.
Elena and Elysia looked at each other, then watched Rhea and Nell chirped in small talk. Vanessa also looked at the two happy Goddesses.
After some time, Elysia needed to think of a way to disguise Rhea's six beautiful wings. However, she needed to ask first. "Uhm, Rhea, can you disguise your beautiful wings? These are real wings, right? Not magic wings like my master?"
"My wings?" Rhea flapped her six mint-white wings. Then, her wings dissipated into particles of light and gathered onto her back.
"How about this?" Rhea showed her back for Elysia to see.
Elena and Elysia could see a mint-white six-wings tattoo on Rhea's back. The wings spread and cover half of Rhea's upper back.
"Woah, you can do that. Can I touch your wings tattoo, Rhea?" Elysia moved and sat beside Rhea in awe.
"Sure." Rhea didn't have any objections. She kept holding her long hair for Elysia.
After getting permission, Elysia touched the fresh tattoo on Rhea's flawless white skin. Every detail of the wings was drawn there as if they were real wings.
Right after that, Elysia's attention was drawn to Rhea's pointy ears. "I became curious. Are you an elf, Rhea? Is there a variety of elves with wings?"
"Hehe, I was a pure-blooded elf. But that was only for two years. No, elves don't have wings, Master Elysia." Rhea giggled, but her voice sounded like a sigh.
"Only for two years? Did something happen, and you evolved?" Elysia tried to guess because she remembered Beast Race's evolution ability.
"I was the only experimental test subject that survived. My six wings grew from the results of that experiment." Rhea responded in a flat tone as if it had nothing to do with her.
Elysia was taken aback, her hands petrified in the air due to her shock. Elena, Nell, and Vanessa were also surprised. However, Nell became the most shocked one because she just found out about it. Her good big sister had a dark past?
"Forgive me. I didn't mean to." Elysia apologized immediately. She couldn't and didn't dare to imagine what an innocent two-year-old elf had gone through.
"That's fine, Master Elysia. It was a long time ago, and I can't remember it very well. However, I do remember that I destroyed the place of those crazy researchers." Rhea let her long hair loose. She turned around and gave Elysia a gentle smile.
"Mm, you'll be fine." Elysia stretched out her arms and hugged Rhea gently. Somehow, she felt sad just to hear that.
Nell also came along, and Elena hugged Rhea from behind. Meanwhile, Vanessa just stroked Rhea's feet with her body. Elysia and the others delivered a few gentle words to Rhea.
"Thank you." Rhea could only feel grateful. She couldn't feel anything other than appreciation, even though she didn't feel anything about her distant past.
After a few moments passed, Elysia and the others let Rhea go.
When things got back to peace and tranquility, Elena brought up a topic that she thought needed to be resolved immediately. "Hmm... I remembered that the real names of divine beings in this world need to be kept secret from outsiders for some reason. However, that does not apply to Ely and me. It would be difficult for us if we want to call you in every situation, Rhea. What if we give you a pseudonym?"
"Pseudonym? What will be given?" Rhea had no idea what kind of thing would be given to her.
"Umm, please just consider it as a second name. The name we will use to replace your real name, the name change. It would be difficult to call you by your title in every situation." Elysia helped to explain.
"O-oh, sure. All right, please give me a second name." Rhea dropped her fist to her open palm upon the realization.
"Elena, why do you call my big sister by her name, but it's different to me? I also want to have a second name! You also need to call me by a proper name." Nell got into the conversation with a complaint.
"Hmm? Didn't I already refer to you by a second name? Sometimes I call you little one or little Goddess." Elena blinked a few times and nodded with a smile on her face.
"That's not a proper name! Hum-hum." Nell threw tantrums like a child, then she flew to Elysia for a wish. "Elysia, please do something. Your master is hard to compromise and stubborn."
"Well, let's think of a second name for Rhea first, then for you. For my master, I can't help you. I'm sorry. You need to ask her directly, Nell." Elysia decided not to interfere.
"No way..." Nell looked at Elysia in disbelief, then she looked at Elena. Elysia refused for sure because of Elena's interference.
To respond to that, Elena gave Nell a triumphant smirk and clapped her hands once for attention. "All right, Ely, please think of a pseudonym for Rhea."
"Hmm, please wait a moment." Elysia tapped her chin to look up the names from her random name dictionary. "Rhea, Hera, Aher, Hear, Arhea, Aria... What about Aria?"
"I think it is a name that fits beautifully for me, Master Elysia. Then, from now onwards in a state beyond private time, my name will be Aria." Rhea nodded several times while smiling to appreciate her second name.
"Now it's my turn! I also want a pseudonym when I don't appear as Goddess of Blessings." Nell raised her hand high.
"Okay, I've thought about it. What about Nela?" Elysia immediately responded without delay.
"It's still similar to my real name." Nell made a large cross with her arms.
"Then, Lena?" Elysia tried other names. Well, she was playing around to see Nell's cute expression.
"It's similar to Elena! I don't want a name similar to her." Nell refused instantly.
"Ara, are you saying my name is bad, little one? You're pretty bold, hmm?" Elena narrowed her eyes and gave a sinister smile.
"Oh, no-no, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry!" Nell immediately fled and hid behind Elysia's head.
Elysia and Rhea only smiled with amusement to see Nell's behavior. After that, Elysia tried to come up with several other names. In the end, Nell was satisfied with her second name as Helen.