Anahita was teary-eyed. To conserve Lance’s Mana reserves, she had shrunk down to the size of a palm and was currently perched on his shoulder, sobbing.
Tiny shards of ice fell continuously from her eyes.
They made a light clicking sound every time they hit Lance’s breastplate.
Lance felt helpless. No matter how he tried to strike up a conversation, this Element Lord he had just named refused to respond.
It seemed she had adopted a policy of non-violent non-cooperation.
Lance did not know how to comfort her. After all, he was technically the culprit who had caused this Element Lord to be enslaved.
However, the ice bird didn’t fly away or hurl insults; she simply stayed by his side obediently.
Feeling a bit more at ease, Lance slowly walked down the hill.
Anahita, still perched on Lance, covered her face with her wings and wiped away the small ice crystals from her eyes, feeling a wave of regret.
Chillingus had warned her long ago that there were many terrifying mages in the outside world who enslaved elemental beings.
This was the main reason why she had never dared to leave the Maze, even after growing to the level of a Lord.
Previously, she had thought Chillingus was just trying to scare her.
That was why she had been so friendly when she met Lance, an outsider she could communicate with.
Her goal had been to gather information about the world outside.
But Anahita never expected that her wish to see the world would be granted in such a brutal way!
The thought of being summoned as a servant filled Anahita with a million layers of reluctance.
However, the memory of that terrifying existence’s aura from earlier crushed even the slightest thought of resistance.
She tilted her head to look at Lance. Sensing his status as an Undead, she recalled the promise that terrifying existence had made:
‘I’ll let you go once my disciple dies of old age.’
Her heart grew even colder. ‘Can an undead even die of old age?’
Just as Anahita was lost in her chaotic thoughts, that terrifying and majestic voice surfaced again:
‘Hee-hee… Sorry about that. I forgot my disciple is an undead.’
‘How about this? Serve my disciple faithfully for 200 years, and I’ll let you go after that. What do you think?’
Anahita was both shocked and delighted. How could she possibly object?
She nodded her head rapidly, like a chick pecking at grain.
The way she looked at Lance became friendly once more.
An indefinite sentence had turned into a fixed term, and Anahita’s heart filled with joy.
For an elemental being that grew as slowly as she did, 200 years was incredibly short!
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a mere blink of an eye!
After all, the lifespan of an elemental being was nearly infinite!
‘I’ll just treat it as going out to see the world!’
With that thought, Anahita hopped up and down on Lance’s shoulder.
She moved closer to his helmet and began to nuzzle it affectionately.
…….
“What is this?”
Seeing Lance return safely, Astrid breathed a sigh of relief. However, she immediately noticed the small, snow-white bird nuzzling Lance’s shoulder.
The bird looked extraordinary. Even as an Elf Princess, Astrid had never seen a bird of such quality and cuteness!
She reached out, wanting to play with it, but the snow-white bird flapped its wings and flew directly onto the top of Lance’s helmet.
It was clearly unwilling to be touched by Astrid.
Seeing this, Lance explained, “This is the Ice Element Lord, Miss Anahita. She’s the one who was wrestling with the Fire Element Lord to the north of the village.”
Hearing those words, Maji and Zaen, who were about to step closer, froze in their tracks. But they soon dismissed the idea, assuming Lance was joking.
They knew what that terrifying Element Lord looked like; it was at least 4 or 5 meters tall!
The palm-sized bird in front of them was, at most, a flea that had fallen off an Element Lord!
Zaen leaned in toward Anahita and laughed. “Lord Lance, you certainly have a sense of humor. How could this little bean be an Element Lord?”
“Hee-hee, it’s so cu—”
Before he could finish, Anahita squinted her eyes. Sensing that this stupid Takin was insulting her, she condensed the Power of Factors and summoned a massive block of ice.
With a loud *thud*, Zaen was completely frozen inside.
Astrid’s expression shifted instantly. Having reached the peak of the High Rank, she knew exactly what the Power of Factors was! She instinctively leapt to the side.
Lance was also startled. He clearly hadn’t expected the seemingly docile Anahita to attack without warning.
Taking a step back, he spoke in a stern tone, “Miss Anahita! Do not hurt him!”
Having received an order, Anahita immediately admitted her mistake. With a wave of her snow-white wings, she dispelled the ice around Zaen and even restored his condition as she did so.
“Lance! What is going on?” Astrid asked, her gaze wary. This was a powerful being of the Elemental Tier, someone who could annihilate all of them with a single gesture!
“Don’t be nervous! Don’t be nervous!” Lance reassured them. “Miss Anahita is very friendly!”
“She wanted to see the outside world, so she signed a contract with me… She will protect us, and in exchange, I will take her to see the surface world… That’s how it happened.”
Anahita felt very grateful as she listened to the story Lance had concocted. He had defined her as a partner and protector, not a servant!
Sensing the looks of awe and gratitude from the three people around her, Anahita felt much better. She proudly raised her small bird head and ruffled her wings.
This display made the Elf Princess’s eyes sparkle. Her girlish heart was instantly captivated.
She spoke up immediately, “Miss Anahita, I am Astrid, a good friend of Lance’s. You are truly beautiful. May I touch you?”
Anahita paused, not expecting this Elf to be able to converse with her.
After understanding the words, she felt a bit puffed up with pride and acted as if it were a difficult decision.
“Ahem, you really are quite presumptuous. However, for the sake of Mas… for the sake of Lance, I suppose I can let you touch me.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Anahita flew onto Astrid’s shoulder. She maintained a dignified air, but her actions showed she had accepted Astrid’s request.
Feeling the cold sensation on her shoulder, Astrid was overjoyed.
With a look of pure happiness, she used her index finger to gently stroke the white feathers on the ice bird’s back.
Even with her vast experience, Astrid couldn’t help but marvel at the situation.
On one hand, she was amazed that Lance had encountered such a miracle. On the other, she was impressed by Lance’s extraordinary linguistic abilities.
Even professional Elementalists could only communicate with elemental beings in a very vague manner.
Yet, Lance was able to negotiate a detailed contract with one!
‘If I had that kind of language skill, would there be anywhere in the South and North Continents I couldn’t go?’
Feeling a surge of envy, Astrid asked somewhat sourly, “Can you really not teach that skill to me? Not even with a Memory Stone?”
Lance thought for a moment and shook his head. “I have no memory of learning this skill, so there shouldn’t be a Memory Stone for it.”
Astrid let out a sigh. Regardless, as long as she stayed by Lance’s side, she could share the benefits of the skill.
At that moment, a thought suddenly surfaced in the Elf’s mind. ‘So that means… if I keep Lance by my side forever, won’t I be able to use this skill all the time?’
In an instant, scenes flashed through Astrid’s mind—images of her and Lance traveling as partners across the South and North Continents in the future.
Suddenly, her imagination paused, freezing on the image of a pointed-eared girl with dark-blonde hair wearing a pale-white wedding dress… and standing beside her was still that silver-armored knight named Lance…
With a sudden *whoosh*, Astrid’s fair face was instantly dyed crimson.
Seeing this, Lance felt helpless. ‘I really don’t want to withhold this skill, Miss Elf! But you don’t have to be this angry… I didn’t expect her to be so petty. She’s already overheating…’