Raja’s trunk coiled around Shana’s arm as it followed the Saintess toward the lake, where she would get a bucket of water. The White-Furred Elephant hurried to the young lady’s side every time the Bad Human, Zion, made his appearance. The ladies couldn’t help but feel overprotective of the cute baby Elephant, who followed Shana around like its life depended on it. Thirteen watched this from a distance with a smirk before giving his Monster Army a thumbs up. O1, O2, the Trolls, Pica, and Pico winked back at their Master, all of them glad with how everything went according to plan. While they felt a bit bad about tricking a baby White Elephant, they still believe that letting Raja stay with Shana would be beneficial to its growth. Also, forming a Spirit Beast Contract would have many benefits, so this was also their way of hitting two birds with one stone. Erica, who seemed to have realized what the teenage boy was doing, couldn’t help but be impressed by his strategy. Good Cop and Bad Cop plays were very common, and in this situation, Zion played the Bad Cop, tormenting Raja to make it feel fearful. On the other hand, Shana didn’t even know that she was playing the role of the Good Cop and that the White Elephant felt secure whenever she was around. "Hey, can you also find me a White Elephant?" Erica asked as she pushed Thirteen’s wheelchair. "A white elephant wouldn’t suit you," Thirteen replied without hesitation. "But if I find something that will compliment your abilities, I’ll make sure to catch it for you." "Promise?" "Promise." The other members of the Hero Party were also observing the white baby Elephant and found its sudden change of attitude quite surprising. A glance was enough to tell them that Raja was doing its best to stay close to Shana, which would ultimately cause it to form a deeper bond with the Saintess. "Are you guys thinking what I’m thinking?" Mildred, who managed to connect the dots, asked. "What are you thinking?" Derek, who had no idea what was happening, asked. "Derek, all you know is fight and train," Mildred replied. "It’s already very obvious, and you still can’t tell what’s happening?" "Isn’t that why I’m asking you?" Derek frowned. "Come on. Spill the beans." Mildred clicked her tongue but still told the swordsman about her guess that Zion deliberately trained Raja to become Shana’s pet monster or something similar. "W-What?!" Derek, who finally understood what was happening, couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise. "This method actually work?!" "It only works because Zion is the one who did it," Diana commented. "If you tried it, you might lose your patience and kill the monster you’re training, hoping that you will get its avatar." "Well, you’re not wrong," Derek admitted. "But now I know how it’s done, I’ll try to do it with low-ranked Monsters." Diana nodded. "I guess that’s also a good alternative. Start with Rank 1 and Rank 2 Monsters before going for stronger ones." The next day… Shana hummed as she brushed Raja’s fur, while the White-Furred Elephant laid down beside her. The two had become a bit closer, and with the constant encouragement of the Monster Army, Raja decided to stick to Shana in order to leave the Mobile Fortress along with the Saintess not too far in the future. Also, the White-Furred Elephant sensed that its abilities were compatible with the Saintess, making it feel safe around her. That night, Shana visited Zion with the excuse to check on his condition. Erica, who knew that the Saintess only had two days left to spend time with the teenage boy, took the initiative to talk to Shana and tell her to spend the last few nights with him. "It’s best to not have any regrets in life," Erica had said to Shana earlier in the day. "You won’t be seeing him for a long time, so this is your only chance to be with him. Make it count." The Sorceress already knew how Shana felt about Zion, though the Saintess had yet to know about it, stuck in the stage of denial. Not wanting to become a third wheel, Erica took Sherry to the other room to sleep so that the young lady wouldn’t be lonely. When the two ladies were no longer inside the room, Shana sat on the bed and looked at Zion with a smile. "How are you feeling?" Shana asked before placing her hand on Thirteen’s chest and used her healing abilities on him. Your next journey awaits at freewebnovel "Better, thanks to you," Thirteen replied. "Do you plan to sleep here tonight?" The young man looked at the Saintess, who was wearing a one-piece nightgown with curiosity. "Yes," Shana replied. "I need to monitor your condition since you’re still in a weakened state." "I see." Thirteen nodded thinking that Shana might still be feeling guilty due to what happened to him. Because of this, he allowed her to take care of him, so she could go to the Temple with some peace of mind. After she finished using her healing magic, the Saintess laid down on the bed and pulled Zion close to her. She was very tempted to tell him that she didn’t have to go to the Temple of Zaphiel to train because she believed that Zion’s training was much more effective. However, she didn’t have the courage to say it. In the end, she only hugged the teenage boy, who was making her heart beat wildly inside her chest. ’Can he hear it?’ Shana thought, wondering if Zion could hear her heartbeat since his head was resting on her chest. What she didn’t know was that Thirteen could indeed feel her heartbeat, but the young man didn’t think much of it. After all, Erica’s and Sherry’s heartbeats would also beat fast whenever they held him close to them. A few hours later, when the two were finally asleep, the door of Zion’s room opened. Erica quietly snuck to the bed and looked at the Saintess, who was hugging her fiance. Both of them were sleeping peacefully, and from what Erica could tell, Zion treated Shana like Sherry whenever they slept together. He never did the things he did with Erica when they slept together, which made the Sorceress rub her chin. ’Should I do it?’ Erica thought. ’I feel like I’m playing matchmaker here.’ Erica had known Shana for a very long time and had always treated the Saintess as her love rival for Roland’s affection. But all of this was already in the past. Erica had already moved on from Roland and chose Zion as her significant other, calling dibs on him before anyone else. And yet, wanting Shana to also find happiness in life, Erica decided that it would be best if the one who would take care of the innocent young lady would be the teenage boy, whom she had chosen as her fiance. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶 ’Well, I don’t mind if it’s Shana,’ Erica thought. ’Zion is a better option than Roland anyway.’ After making up her mind, Erica pulled the shoulder strap on Shana’s nightgown before leaving the room quietly. She didn’t know if something would change tonight. But at least, she did her best by "pulling" the strings from behind. Thirteen, who was sleeping peacefully, suddenly sensed something soft and warm pressing on his face. Because of this, he dug his head deeper towards that warmth, subconsciously thinking that the one holding him was Erica. "Uhn…" A soft mumbling sound escaped Shana’s lips before her breathing returned to normal. She then subconsciously hugged Zion tighter, as if she didn’t want to let him go. A few hours later, Shana opened her eyes, feeling warm and very comfortable, as she continued to hug Zion. Just as she was about to kiss his forehead, she noticed something that made all the sleep in her eyes disappear. At first, she thought that she was still dreaming, but a pinch in her own arm proved that what she was seeing was real. A blush crept up on her face as she momentarily pondered on what to do with her current situation. She didn’t dare to move because she might wake up Zion. A few minutes later, she finally regained her calm and slowly pulled her body back. She then gently helped the teenage boy lie down, his head facing the ceiling. After that, she hurriedly tied the strings of her nightgown before leaving the bed and returning back to her room. Tiona, who saw all this, looked at Shana’s retreating back as she quietly shut the door. The black snake then looked at her Master before shaking her head helplessly. Since it was still too early to get up, Tiona didn’t wake her Master and just watched over him as he slept. Meanwhile, Shana, who had managed to return safely to her own room, looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was beet red after recalling the scene she woke up to a few minutes ago. She could feel her cheeks burning, unsure of what to do with this feeling that was rising up in her chest. "I thought it wouldn’t happen to me because nothing happened when I was taking care of him a week ago," Shana muttered, her face turning a shade redder as the scene she saw earlier replayed inside her head over and over. In the end, the Saintess laid down on her bed, and hid herself under the blankets, thinking that she would never be able to look Zion at the face properly after what happened between the two of them, which only she knew about.