*VOL.5 CH.284 THE GRAND MASTER AND RYA’S NEW ARTIFACT.

(A hour hour ago in the Mage's Guild of Tairal.)

Grand Master Fennic, Head Mage of the Fiafyr Kingdom, was gathering his things before he made his way to the foyer of the Mage's Guild. He had wasn't pleased at the moment due to a few things. Firstly, he was having trouble finding new possible Mages to recruit into the Maldurian Magical Academy. And secondly, he was being summoned by everyone within the Royal Palace, which he swore never to return to after that young arrogant Crown Prince made a mockery out of him in front of the King, Queen, the Royal council and colleagues.

Quinus was only eight years old at the time and if the extraordinary birth of the Crown Prince, he believed that this boy would have had a Demi-God level Mana Vein and he thought this boy should have been born a mage. All he needed to do was see if young Quinus had a connection with one or more of the elements.

Fennic was so excited to test Quinus, at the time, that he brought over two of his most prestigious colleagues, Saffron L. Fairchild, Headmaster of the Arcane Institute of Magic in the city of Thornhold far in the north of the kingdom, who was a outstanding Earth Mage, and Archmage Hajdah, The Fire Mage of Ironside. Fennic was a rare multi-elemental mage. His affinities were with Wind and Water magic. But it wasn't easy to find candidates that had Mage Veins throughout the continent, let alone in the whole damn world.

The way a mage was found was by sheer luck. If a child or adult showed any signs of Mana Vein growth, then the Mage's Guild would swoop in to test them to see if they had an affinity with one of the main elements. They did this by having the candidate use their own Mana to interact with an established Mage's simple incantation. If the candidate's mana was able to manipulate and interact with the spell then they knew this person was born with the gift of set element. It was a crude method for sure, however, it was the only method they had to find new mages.

Fennic saw the Crown Prince acting like it wasn't a big deal that he didn't pass the test and he thought this young boy wasn't trying or maybe the rumors about the Crown Prince having a Demi-God level Mana Vein was false.

The young prince took offense to Fennic's accusations and showed the Master Mage that his mana vein wasn't to be trifold with when Quinus grabbed his hand and channeled his mana into Fennic's arm.

The Grand Master was struggling to push back the Prince's Mana and was in excruciating pain before Quinus let go of his hand, humiliating Fennic. Ever since that day he's refused to be in the same room as the Crown Prince, but now the King, the Queen, Baroness Ysandra, and Saffron L. Fairchild had ordered Fennic's attendance for with Princess Rya Vellanax. Even when he sent a Messenger bird to Hajdah the Head Mage and Archmage of the Ironside Mages Guild, he told his colleague that he needed to bury the wand and meet the Dark Elf.

Fennic couldn't believe how everyone was going against him, especially since Hajdah is the most powerful Fire Mage in the whole continent.

'Tsk!... I can't believe they are all vouching for this Dark Elf. But how can I trust her character if she's fallen for that arrogant Crown Prince. Haah... Well, if there's one thing that is peculiar about Dark Elves, that is that all the female are Mages and all the males are Majas. But I don't see the point in seeing her. She's already a Mage so why do I need to waste my time seeing her?'

Fennic was grumbling to himself as four of his most trusted members of the Guild came up to him.

"Grand Master... Is it wise to see a Dark Elf?... Work has it that she's bewitched the Crown Prince and half of the nobility," Ulysses the Water Mage questioned his Guild Master.

"So, you haven't read the history on the Sorellians?... Don't believe those old High Elven tales Ulysses. Female Dark Elves are powerful in the ways of the arcane, not curses like demons."

Ulysses didn't look too convinced about the Grand Master's answer, but he didn't say anything else.

"What do you think she wants?" Livia, the Fire Mage, asked Fennic.

"I have no idea. The Dark Elf's motives are unclear but she has to be a moron if she has fallen for the Prince—"

"Grand Master!? D-Don't say that out loud. The Dark Elf Princess has been given favor by the Goddess," Balthazar the Wind Mage warned Fennic.

"I've heard about the ritual with Mother Astra and her Priestesses. If Iyomelka is dumb enough to give favor to a girl who is dumb enough to fall for the Crown Prince... I pity her. Anyway, I'm not worried about the goddess. The Divine have their motives and I don't care what she or her two little adopted daughters do," Fennic stated coldly.

The four Guild members looked at their Grand Master as they felt the air around him grow colder than normal.

"G-Grand Master, are you not scared of the Divine?" Hanna, the Earth Mage, asked nervously.

"I have no reason to be as long as I stay out of their way. Come! Let's go to the palace and get this over with."

Fennic, Livia, Balthazar, Ulysses, and Hanna headed out towards the Maldura Royal Palace.

***

At the palace, Rya and her entourage were in her lab as she as finishing up a new artifact that could create tampons when it was fed cotton. And she found a book on creating organic absorbent compounds that she could put on the end of the tampon to help with menstrual cramps.

"Alright, now I need to channel my mana into the salt pentagram and?"

The pentagram lit up before it pulled all the other ingredients into the center of the pentagram. Soon the iron and copper alloy started taking shape as the pentagram started to shrink. Within seconds and shoe box sized object took form. It had a funnel opening on the top and a small shoot coming from one of the sides that wasn't any bigger than a quarter.

'It's working!? It's really working.'

Soon the pentagram faded away and Rya walked up to the artifact to examine it.

"So, do you think this one will work, sis?" Nieren asked as she looked at Rya's fifth artifact that was supposed to create these weird tampon things.

"Oh! Oh! I betting that this one is a dud too!" Dalia said eagerly.

"Oh, shut up, Dalia... You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs," Rya replied.

"A what now?" Dalia asked in confusion.

"Nevermind, here goes nothing," Rya said as she used her mana to activate the artifact and put a good amount of cotton into the opening on the top of it.

The artifact's funnel opened and a cotton slowly slid into the box. It took a 15 seconds before something popped out from the shoot and dropped onto the table. It looked like a regular tampon with a string attached to the end of it.

"Yay! My invention finally worked!" Rya yelled as she fisted pumped the air.

Nieren and Dalia looked at the object on the table and they didn't look impressed.

"What the hell is that?" Dalia asked as she poked the thing with her claw.

"I guess this is what sis was talking about?... But I don't see what the big deal is? It's just a cotton cylinder with a string, and there's some blue stuff on the end of it," Nieren added as she picked up the second tampon that came out of the artifact.

"Those are my absorbent compounds, and they'll help with your cramps and heavy flow," Rya replied as she walked over and took the tampon out of Nieren's hand. "Hey, Anna! How are you feeling?"

Miss Anna was sitting on the other side of the room. She was having a rougher with her monthlies than past ones and it was her fourth day with her period.

"I think the worst of it will pass by today, my lady. Thank you for asking," Miss Anna said politely while showing some signs of discomfort.

"Well? I finally got my artifact to work and I'll let you have the honor to test out the first ever Tertius Tampon!... Just make sure to put the blue end in and the string side out, okay," Rya said as she outstretched her hand toward Anna.

The maid looked at the strange object and then up at her mistress.

"Um... Thank you, my lady. But I think I can handle my monthly without using such a strange thing," Miss Anna replied with an awkward smile.

"How many napkins have you gone through?"

"W-Well?—"

"Trust me, Anna. This will work much better than those napkins. This thing will keep you dry and the cramps will lessen a lot," Rya replied with a smile.

Miss Anna caved in when she felt another cramp get her. She grabbed the tampon from Rya's hand.

"...Okay, I will try it... So, I'm supposed to shove this thing inside me?..."

"Yes. That string is there so it is easier to pull out. But remember, you'll have to change it every few hours," Rya replied.

Anna nodded and stood up from the couch and made her way over to the bathroom.

Nieren and Dalia walked up next to Rya with curious looks on their faces.

"So, this tampon thing... Will it really help her?"

"Yeah. I did a lot of experimenting with the absorbent material, and the cotton tube will hold everything inside and will reduce the amount of blood coming out of her. I still can't believe that no one has invested something similar for female hygiene... You would think some Alchemist would have came up with something that was easily accessible for all women," Rya said and shook her head.

"Well, we elves don't have to worry about such things as much as humans do... I can't imagine having to go through a period every month. It gives me the chills," Nieren shuddered.

"I think you would get used to it after—Wait a minute... Nieren, have you gone through a period before?..."

"Huh!? Um... I mean... Of course not! I still have twenty years or more before I become an adult... Hmph!" Nieren pouted as her cheeks became rosy red.

"Really? Wow... How do you know when you've become an adult?..." Rya asked curiously.

"Well?... I guess it's different for Dark Elves but a when a female Wood Elf reaches the age of 65 is when we begin to mature into adults," Nieren answered.

"But how do you mature into an adult?" Rya asked again.

Nieren cheeks blushed a deep red and she avoided eye contact.

"Um... We will begin to grow heir... D-Down their," Nieren answered by awkwardly pointing towards her crotch.

"Aw! Woody is going to grow a brush!" Dalia teased and began laughing.

"S-Shut up, Dog! We don't have fur down there like you beastkins!" Nieren yelled back and glared at Dalia.

Rya ignored the two's bickering as she recalled the times when she shared a bath with Yuliana and the others. She recalled that the older wood elf had a very small patch of green hair near her nether region, which looked like it was a Brazilian wax job.

'Wait!? So that's all elves grow down there!? It's nothing like a human's bush... Huh, so I won't have to shave my pubes then?' Rya thought with a smile on her face.

Rya's attention went back to the Wolfkin and the wood elf bickering and decided to speak up.

"So, you haven't grown pubes yet, right?"

"Rya!? Don't say it like that! It's too crude!" Nieren replied with a blushing red face.

"Hmm... You're not even an adult yet, right?" Rya asked, ignoring Nieren's previous statement.

"N-No, not until I turn 65 to 75... It's usually around the 70s or 80s that part begins to grow."

"Interesting?—" *Groan!*

Rya's stomach grumbled as her cheeks began to blush. Her belly was still bloated after a few days of trying to diet and it seemed to be getting bigger by the week. Anna measured her waist last week and it was a quarter inch bigger today.

'Damn it... I need a bigger dress if I can't slow down my eating... I swear that my appetite has gotten worse every since we arrived in the palace. Maybe it's my human side that isn't used to being an elf?... I mean, even their pickles taste divine and I used to hate pickles back on earth...'

"Are you okay?" Nieren asked, breaking Rya out of her thoughts.

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just a little hungry is all. I haven't eaten anything after breakfast... Or brunch... Or tea time."

"Rya, tea time was only a half hour ago. You can't possibly be hungry again."

"I know. I think it's just a habit that I've developed since I've been living here in the palace. It's an annoying phase that I'm trying to break," Rya replied while rubbing her belly and sighing.

"It's not annoying, Alpha. You can eat if you're hungry like I do," Dalia commented while eating another piece of meat off the bone. Her pregnant belly was getting bigger as her chest had started to develop into a small DD cup.

"Yeah, but you are carrying Percy's pups. While I'm going through something weird. But it's fine. It'll pass," Rya said before grabbing the nearest piece of bread on the table and biting into it.

'Mmm... this bread tastes so good!' Rya closed her eyes and happily hummed in satisfaction as the taste of the warm fluffy bread melted in her mouth.

The door to the Lab opened and Miss Anna walked in with a surprised look on her face. She was swaying her hips and pacing around the room as she was testing out the tampon.

"This is the strangest thing... I almost feel normal after putting it in. And my blood hasn't leaked out at all..."

Rya chuckled. "Told you that it would work... Oh!? Take as many as you want. Depending on of much is flowing you'll have to change them a few times a day."

"Really!?... Thank you, my Lady. This will help me a lot."

"It's nothing... I plan on selling these things to earn some cash on the side. And if any other maids are having issues with their monthly flow... Send them my way. I'll give everyone a sample to see if it works."

"Of course, my Lady. Thank you."

"What can I say. I like helping people," Rya said with a smile.

"It seems for a price," Dalia whispered to Nieren, which made her smirk.

"Damn straight. This material cost money. I need a return on my investment if I'm going to continue selling them."

"I'm sure the other women will buy them—"

*Knock! Knock!*

The four women looked over at the door.

"Yes, Quin!?" Rya said.

The door opened to Quinus, Percy, Sir George, and a valet.

"Good morning... We have a visitor coming."

"A visitor? Who is it?"

"Grand Master, Fennic..." Quinus said with a grimace.

"Oh?... So, he final answered. Are you going to survive apologizing to him? Or are you going to put him in his place again?" Rya said, smirking.

Quinus sighed. "I hope the former... But the man holds a grudge... Anyway, I'll do what I can so you can get access to the Mage's Guild's library. His carriage was spotted."

'Dammit! I wanted to eat something first... Why does the world hate me?'

"Well, we should go greet the Grand Master," Rya said before putting away her artifact and walked over to Quinus.

Everyone followed Rya out of the room, and they made their way to the throne room.