Originally, Vyea had planned to rely on her short little legs and the Slime-girl’s sturdy, tireless body to run all the way to Fengxiang Town along the Moon River.
However, Hua Shiyu said the reinforcements from the Capital would soon arrive at the docks of Antler City, and she could hitch a ride on their ship—and recover some stamina on board.
Precious stamina shouldn’t be wasted on rushing down the road.
At the docks, Vyea found a reclining chair and sat down, holding her boat ticket in one hand and a wine gourd in the other—she’d already spent her last few copper coins.
She kept the White Tiger Authority, which balanced the two powers inside her, active the whole time.
Among the many monster girls, a Slime-girl’s physical constitution was already considered remarkably durable, but if pushed too hard, even her body would protest, and the moment there was a chance, it would ignore her will and fall asleep anywhere.
Think about it—about as if an ordinary human had stayed awake for three days straight, and the instant their head touched a pillow, they would instantly fall into a deep sleep.
“Sigh… To raise a glass to chase away sorrow only brings more sorrow～”
Vyea leaned back in her chair, raised the wine gourd, and took a deep swig. A faint, intoxicating blush bloomed on her fair cheeks.
“Whoa! Whose kid is drinking at the docks? Where are your parents? Where are the adults?”
Suddenly!
The startled voice from behind gave the completely relaxed, off-guard Vyea a solid fright.
If she hadn’t known full well this was the dock’s safe zone, she would’ve already spun around and slammed down a Dragon Explosion!
“I…?” Just about to curse, Vyea froze. The mouth of her wine gourd suddenly sprouted, twisting into a branch of apples beaded with morning dew; a tart fruit fragrance swept away the scent of alcohol.
This is…
Elf Magic!
Vyea’s breath caught; the haze of drunkenness was instantly swept away, her mind razor sharp.
The bustling dock fell suddenly silent. The unique melody of a harp rose and fell like the tide, mingled with the delicate accents of a flute.
A pointed-eared figure in Bard’s attire strummed the Cloud Pattern Harp slung over her back and approached Vyea.
As the music faded, applause rippled across the dock.
“Little Adventurer, what you’re drinking is actually the Dwarf’s Special Polymorph Potion.” The Elf Girl lightly tapped the wine gourd Vyea was clutching like a treasure and smiled, “Last month a little rascal stole a sip, and the next day she grew a pig’s tail!”
Are you taking me for a child?! This is clearly just cheap, ordinary barley wine! What Polymorph Potion, what little Adventurer, you think I’m easy to fool?
She cast a sideways glance at the Elf Girl. Since she was an elf, Vyea couldn’t be bothered to argue about the wine becoming an apple. She silently turned her gaze to the distant waters—by her reckoning, the ship should be arriving soon.
Even so, the Elf Girl was patient.
In her homeland, children who ran away after quarreling with their families often became prime targets for child traffickers.
Especially at a bustling dock like this, all it took was a single careless moment and you could be drugged and stuffed into a sack, never to see your family again.
Suddenly, like a magician, the Elf Girl shook a glowing dandelion from her sleeve, looking at Vyea with a mysterious expression,
“How about we trade? This can produce real Aurora Bubbles at night.”
Her voice dropped low as she pressed the hilt of her sword against the wrist of a drunkard trying to sneak her coin pouch, smiling at Vyea, “Or, would you rather hear the tale of the Blood Wolf King getting its tail yanked by a three-year-old Elf Child?”
Vyea finally moved her gaze from the distant water and focused on the Elf Girl before her.
However.
She wasn’t interested in hearing a story or teaching the pickpocket a lesson; she simply stared in a daze at the glowing dandelion in the Elf Girl’s sleeve.
In the emerald depths of Vyea’s eyes was a quiet stillness, as if through those softly glowing dandelions she was recalling some long-buried memory.
“What’s your name?” Vyea asked.
“Before you ask someone else’s name, you should give your own first, little one. That’s common courtesy among humans and elves alike.”
The Elf Girl crouched to meet Vyea’s gaze, one knee touching the ground. The Elf Fine Sword at her waist clinked against the Dragon Bone Flute, producing a clear sound like wind chimes. She let her pointed ears droop on purpose—an ancient sign of goodwill among Wood Elves.
“Vyea.”
This kid isn’t much of a talker.
The Elf Girl thought to herself, but she believed that, as someone who’d once been the elf children’s ringleader, she could surely befriend this child.
“My name is Aiselyn Irwida Moon. You’d best remember it well.”
Aiselyn smiled brightly, “Though you can also call me Dandelion Sister; all the children I’ve met before liked to call me that.”
“Aiselyn.”
She’s calling me by name on our very first meeting! Aiselyn’s ears twitched as she laughed:
“You have to call me Sister～”
Vyea was silent for a moment, then said, “I’m not a child.”
“I know you’re an adult. But you still have to call me Sister～”
Aiselyn nodded vigorously at Vyea. As a former children’s ringleader, she knew every kid liked to say they were an adult; otherwise, she wouldn’t have heard sons telling fathers, “You’ll understand when you’re my age,” in those funny stories.
Heh.
Vyea heard the coaxing tone and stopped replying.
As a Bard, Aiselyn would never let the atmosphere grow cold—livening things up was her specialty!
“Vyea, little one, where are you headed? Where are your parents?”
Aiselyn sat down next to Vyea, her Traveler’s Cloak Embroidered with World Tree Leaf spread across the long bench. She leaned in, gazing at Vyea:
“Did you have a fight at home? Are you planning to board a ship and head to another city alone? Wow, how clever—you used an adult’s ID to get your ticket, didn’t you?”
“So do you know why there’s no children’s ticket at the docks?”
Suddenly, Aiselyn drew her fine sword and hooked a lock of the girl’s white hair, and the blade instantly bloomed with Blue Roses:
“A hundred years ago, a Smith’s Daughter stowed away, and her courage awakened the Ancient Ship Spirit—now the entire Coral Sea is her domain, but the price was…”
The Blue Roses on the sword suddenly turned into Honey Sticks, and Aiselyn handed one to Vyea, sighing:
“But the Smith’s Daughter would never again taste her mother’s Hazelnut Cake.”
“Thank you for the story and… the food. I like it.”
Vyea took the Honey Stick and ate it bite by bite. It was very sweet. Aiselyn was a good elf, trying to help her find her mother—but the one she was searching for wasn’t a mother, but a daughter…
She’s really unyielding!
Aiselyn swore—swore to the great World Tree—she’d never met such a tough nut to crack!
Suddenly!
The Elf Girl’s gaze landed on the boat ticket Vyea had set on the bench while eating her Honey Stick, and her pupils shrank… Starlight Lily of the Valley!
“Oh? You know this ship, too?” Vyea asked, licking her Honey Stick.
Aiselyn hesitated, “…You’re boarding this ship?”
“Yes. To find my family.” Vyea replied coolly, still focused on finishing her Honey Stick.
“I see!”
Aiselyn’s eyes lit up with sudden realization, enlightenment, and inspiration!
As Vyea finally sucked on the last of her Honey Stick, Aiselyn suddenly took off the Light-Returning Stone Headband from her silver hair, grabbed Vyea’s chubby little hand, and tied it firmly to her wrist.
Seeing Vyea’s confused look, Aiselyn flashed her own Starlight Lily of the Valley ticket and declared righteously:
“You’re my temporary travel companion now—at least until we find your guardian who’s so careless she deserves to be snatched by Goblins!”