“Of course, I still have one condition.” The baron’s voice instantly snapped the little elf out of her pink-tinted fantasies.
“I hope Miss Astraea will agree to become my incompetent son’s teacher.”
“Huh?”
“Luo En! Get out here!”
The baron barked, and the little elf heard a thump, as if some tin can had crashed onto the floor.
Then came a series of clang, clang, clang footsteps. When the owner of those footsteps appeared before the little elf, Astraea was utterly dumbfounded.
“Th-this is your son?” The little elf’s tone carried a hint of reverence. She was terrified that if she accidentally offended the baron, the two-meter-tall baron’s son in front of her would slap her to death with one hand.
“Hmph! Pay your respects to your teacher!”
The baron continued to berate the two-meter-tall tin can, while Astraea watched this father-son duo with twitching eyes.
The Port Tils region truly was a land of outstanding people. Even a two-meter-tall tin can walking out of a rural village was perfectly normal, right?
The little elf wasn’t sure, but she noticed the nun seemed already accustomed to this bizarre scene.
No, Sister Yisiweila herself was bizarre enough…
Then, under Astraea’s gaze—as if she were watching a freak show—a slightly immature boy’s voice came from inside the tin can: “Sister Yisiweila, Father is being mean to me.”
“Luo En, are you done playing around?”
The nun replied curtly, as if she didn’t want to get involved in this strange father-son conversation.
“Fine. Where’s my teacher? I can’t seem to see her.”
The tin can’s voice made Astraea’s face darken. If it weren’t for her dignity, she would have kicked the tin can right in the knee.
“Impudent! Have you no manners? Get out of my enchanted armor!” the baron roared again, raising his hand as if to bestow some fatherly love on his son.
Click… click… click
The sound of metal clasps disengaging rang out. The towering tin can before the little elf began to disassemble—first the arms, then the chest plate. In less than three seconds, a young man about 1.6 meters tall jumped down from the base of the tin can.
Now he looked much more normal, if you ignored the full-face cross-shaped helmet still on his head.
It seemed fatherly love really worked. The little elf suggested giving this young man even more fatherly love in the future.
“You’re my teacher?” The boy’s immature voice came from inside the helmet.
Looking at this strange young man who was a head taller than her, Astraea suddenly felt a wave of helplessness. She felt like she hadn’t been reborn into another life, but was instead fighting some incomprehensible ancient god in an absurd dream.
And that ancient god was now trying to destroy her sanity with all sorts of bizarre scenarios—just like this one.
“No, I’m not. I haven’t agreed yet…”
“Monthly salary: fifteen silver coins.”
“Yes! I am your teacher!”
The little elf shamelessly betrayed herself from one second ago, without a moment’s hesitation.
Come on, that was fifteen silver coins a month. That salary was enough for a family of three to live a decent life in Port Tils.
Such generous pay was enough to make the little elf sell what little integrity she had left.
“Hmph.” The boy made a sound identical to his father’s. “Then listen up, old man. I am Luo En·Irvine·Logan, son of Baron Ili, and a squire.”
His arrogant demeanor made Astraea momentarily unsure whether Luo En was the elf or she was.
Smack!
Fatherly love arrived late but it still arrived. Baron Ili slapped the boy’s helmet, and the force sent the helmet flying off.
But the boy was no ordinary person. After receiving such passionate fatherly love, he didn’t budge a single inch. And… well, he didn’t fight back—he just glared at his father.
“This is my troublesome brat. Please take good care of him, Miss Astraea.” The baron ignored his son and politely pulled a contract from his chest pocket. “Three copies. If Miss Astraea finds it acceptable, just sign your name.”
Wait, the baron had prepared this in advance? That didn’t seem right. It hadn’t even been an hour since the little elf met the baron. Where did Baron Ili get this contract? Could the Human Kingdom have grown so powerful that even a minor baron could foresee the future?!
The more Astraea thought, the more horrified she became. Thinking about the All-Father Church’s fanaticism, she felt deep despair for the elves’ future.
This was it. Once the Human Kingdom broke through the elven city-states, they would all become humans’ !
‘Father, Mother… please wait until your child succeeds…’
The little elf, lost in her increasingly absurd fantasies, was almost drowning in her own delusions.
“Idiot. My father’s been wanting to find me a teacher for a while now.”
Luo En’s disdainful voice popped the little elf’s bubble. He really didn’t understand why his father had picked such a stupid little thing to be his teacher.
Just look at her dazed expression—she was worse than a village child! He’d bet that even the dumbest kid in the village, Ivan, wouldn’t stand there gawking at his father like that.
Just look at that tasteless green cloak! By the All-Father, he wouldn’t even use that cloak as a rag for his floor!
Just look at her face… Huh? She was actually pretty cute…
Luo En grumbled internally, but as he thought, his mind started to wander. In the end, he figured having such a lol—no, such a pretty young thing as his teacher might not be so bad?
The kid seemed a bit dumb, but that was fine. As long as he could look at her.
Luo En nodded to himself. He didn’t dare openly oppose his father’s decision. Though his father’s stubbornness had only ever caused him pain in the past, this time seemed different?
Damn, why did he keep thinking his teacher was more and more beautiful? Did a mother’s ditziness get passed down to her children?
“But why me? I’m just an ordinary adventurer, aren’t I?”
Rarely, Astraea regained her senses before signing. She asked a critical question.
The terms were tempting, but the little elf didn’t think she was qualified for this job. She was just an ordinary adventurer who knew some magic, swordsmanship, and a few tunes. What could she possibly teach Luo En, the son of a baron?
The baron seemed to have anticipated the question. “Miss Astraea is a spellcaster, am I right?”
The little elf nodded. The baron was powerful; it was no surprise he could sense the mana around her.
“That’s enough. There aren’t many adventurers Sister Yisiweila would recommend to me.”
The baron gave a slight smile, but with his face, it came off as somewhat sinister.
In the end, Miss Astraea signed the contract. The terms were too generous. She just had to take Luo En along on her travels, with no fixed workplace or even any requirement on what to teach him—it was all up to her.
Seeing the little elf sign, the baron nodded in satisfaction. He picked up one copy, his expression solemn as he raised it high.
“The All-Father bears witness.”
The contract burst into golden flames. The fire was so scorching hot that Astraea instinctively stepped back half a pace.
She had a feeling that if that flame touched her, she would be reduced to ashes.
The flames enveloped the baron’s hands but didn’t harm him. He waved his hand, and the contract turned to golden ash in the fire before scattering in the wind.
“The All-Father has witnessed our agreement.” The baron handed one of the remaining two copies to Astraea.
The moment the little elf took the contract, she felt a subtle, ominous presence watching her from somewhere.
The feeling lasted only an instant, but it was enough to make Astraea’s hair stand on end.
Her ears, which had been drooping, shot straight up, nearly breaking her Disguise Magic.
Thankfully, it was just a moment. Once the sense of being watched faded, the little elf quickly channeled new mana into the disguise magic circuit on her face.
‘Good, good. That scared me to death.’
The new mana instantly repaired the crumbling magic circuit, and Astraea’s slightly blurry face reverted to its ordinary appearance.
“Miss Astraea, just now you—”
The baron asked out of concern, but before he could finish, Astraea cut him off. “N-no, nothing. Just remembered something. So, Sir Baron, may I leave now?”
“Of course. Luo En!” The baron slapped the boy on the head. “Go pack your things. Don’t come back until you’re a full knight!”
The baron grabbed the boy by the collar and tossed him toward the castle.
“You old bastard, just you wait! I’ll make His Majesty personally knight me!”
Luo En rolled to absorb all the momentum, then used the momentum to stand and walk into the castle.
“Please forgive the spectacle. That brat is always like this.” The baron turned to the little elf with an apologetic smile.
‘No, no, I think it’s your parenting skills that are the problem,’ the little elf thought to herself. She was surprised Luo En hadn’t fought back. If it were her, the baron would have long known what it meant to have a loving daughter teach her father a lesson.
But she didn’t dare say that. She just wanted to get as far away from this insane family as possible.
Oh, right. According to the contract, she had to take that brat Luo En with her. The aura of that so-called All-Father was too overwhelming. Astraea didn’t dare break the contract in the slightest.
What if the All-Father took one look at her and killed her? The elven scriptures recorded that before becoming a god, the All-Father had a special fondness for elves. Astraea did not want to become the star of “Elf Love TV” in another world.
As for Luo En… the little elf fell into thought. He was still young. She should be able to correct his terrible personality, right? Shouldn’t she?