“Well, it’s normal for you to think that way, after all, you’re just a trash knight.”
Unexpectedly, the little elf retracted her hostile gaze, as if what had just happened was just Luo En’s imagination.
But the sweat stains remaining on Luo En’s back and the arguing voices still echoing in his mind told him this was no illusion.
In other words… he had really been dancing on the little elf’s minefield, and the five voices in his head had pulled him back just in time.
But normal people in the world shouldn’t have five voices in their heads, right? And these five voices were constantly arguing.
Astraea really wasn’t surprised by Luo En’s attitude, nor did she like being cryptic. Seeing his confusion, she straightforwardly explained, “Hmph~ As they say, a person is shaped by the society they live in~ A Lord Apprentice Knight like you, born into a noble family and pampered since childhood, who’s hardly ever interacted with us lower-class folk—how could you possibly treat everyone equally~?”
“Well~ You’re a fool who struts around in shiny armor all day, with only honor and loyalty in your head. You don’t even know what commoners eat or wear, do you? Looking down on everyone from on high and then pretending to be a champion of justice… Isn’t that right, trash knight~?”
“Is… is that so?”
Luo En asked hesitantly. Still, it was good that the little elf wasn’t dwelling on that matter. But for some reason, he now had an urge to pin the little elf down and give her a thorough scolding.
“Huh? You want to pin me down and teach me a lesson, right? Hmph~ Unfortunately, you’re just a little trash who can’t use magic and even lost to me in swordsmanship~ There’s no way a trash like you can do that~”
Astraea taunted with a hint of anticipation, but just as she finished, Luo En suddenly placed one hand on the little elf’s head.
“?”
The little elf’s reason began to slowly return, but her eyes once again showed signs of being replaced by hearts.
“Teacher Astraea, you’re being affected too, aren’t you?”
The apprentice knight covered his own head with his other hand. Just now, after the little elf’s taunt, the five voices in his head that had been arguing immediately stopped bickering and in unison told him to go all in.
Great, Luo En went for it! But then he didn’t make any further move, so the five voices in his head started arguing again, as if they were born to disagree.
Astraea’s reason fully gained the upper hand; in the end, no hearts appeared in her eyes.
Although she wasn’t sure what state Luo En was in, it seemed he was in the same situation as her.
“Tch, trash… I’m going to go solve this problem now.”
Her reason had returned, but her words were still full of inexplicable expressions. The little elf decided to say no more.
Loose lips sink ships.
Suppressing her desire to enjoy Luo En’s touch a little longer, Astraea turned and continued forward.
The God of Wisdom and Strategy—that was the little elf’s first target to visit.
According to legend, the God of Wisdom and Strategy was the embodiment of all knowledge and wisdom in the world. Those who were its followers were all erudite and knowledgeable. Therefore, the little elf thought these fellows should have heard of her condition, right?
Although it wasn’t the kingdom’s mainstream faith, that didn’t mean the church was some kind of pariah. On the contrary, followers of the God of Wisdom and Strategy were generally quite wealthy.
What kind of person could access more knowledge? Naturally, rich people or nobles. The bishop of the Church of the God of Wisdom and Strategy in Port Tils was a locally famous old noble.
Adrian Ogwen McBride, a viscount of the kingdom, and a collateral brother of the current regent.
“You again!”
Several noble guards saw the little elf’s figure in her green cloak and immediately arched their backs like startled cats, going into spine-dragon mode.
They raised their spears, the tips pointing at the little elf who had stopped in her tracks.
“Toot!”
A guard with a whistle blew it. Luo En felt something was off. Even the voices in his head fell silent at that moment, leaving only one that was shouting about how great battle was.
Shing!
The apprentice knight drew the longsword from his back, while more and more guards arrived on the scene.
“What’s going on?!”
Luo En held his longsword, his expression grim as he stared at the guards who had already surrounded him and the little elf. He was certain he had never offended these guards.
Not only had he never offended them, he was even meeting them for the first time today. Usually, he only stayed in the countryside, and even when he occasionally went to the city, it was only to visit the church.
“Already scared, trash~?”
Astraea finally explained, “Didn’t I tell you? I’m a legendary swordsman who has charged in and out of the Viscount’s manor seven times.”
Luo En’s face was covered in black lines. So the little elf had offended them and then brought him back to the scene of the crime to wander around.
Although he wanted to say he didn’t know the little elf, these guards obviously wouldn’t listen. Luo En had no choice but to adopt a stance while asking, “What do we do now? Do we fight?”
One-on-one, or even two-on-one, these guards might not be able to beat Luo En. But the current situation was not as simple as two-on-one; twenty-on-one was possible. Luo En couldn’t use magic, so he couldn’t survive a siege by so many.
As the spears gradually closed in, the voice in his head shouting ‘Battle!’ grew more and more frantic. Luo En felt dazed, and his hands holding the sword began to tremble slightly.
“You little thief, go to hell with your sweetheart!”
A guard roared, and with a sudden burst of strength, thrust his spear forward!
Luo En saw the spear thrust at him and immediately swung his longsword to deflect the attack.
But that was all he could do. Having just swung his sword, Luo En had no way to pull it back in time for another block, and there were at least twenty more spears ready to thrust at him and the little elf!
‘I can’t do anything…’
Luo En thought, and for a moment it even drowned out the frantic voice in his head.
Was he going to die here together with the little elf? No, the little elf could use magic. They wouldn’t stop here!
“Watch closely, trash~”
Astraea stepped forward. After passing Luo En, she extended her left hand from under her cloak.
Spreading her five fingers, Astraea chanted, “Repel.”
In an instant, a violent gust of air erupted from the little elf. Apart from Luo En, the guards stumbled back several steps as if pushed hard by someone.
Then the little elf pressed her left hand against her chest.
“Enhance.”
This time Luo En saw clearly. A complex circular magic array appeared on the little elf. The tiny particles he had seen earlier when the little elf used healing magic to remove his fatigue were now being attracted by the array and flowed into her body.
Then the little elf leaped to a guard who was still standing. Her right hand gripped the straight sword at her waist, and she swung it fiercely.
Bang!
The straight sword, swung together with its scabbard, immediately knocked the guard unconscious. Then came the second guard, third, fourth…
If any of them managed to react, the little elf would extend her left hand and cast a spell to push them away.
In less than ten seconds like this, all of the twenty-odd guards present—except for those who had been lying on the ground from the start—were knocked unconscious by the little elf.
“See that? You trash knight, you’re still centuries away from catching up to me!”
The little elf sheathed her sword at her waist, looking smug as she flaunted her strength.
She was indeed qualified to show off. Other elves her age were still playing in the mud in their villages.
As for Luo En, he was now completely convinced by the teacher his father had found for him. It was just a pity that his father had only found him a teacher; if only she were a spouse…
“Teacher Astraea is amazing.”
Luo En sheathed his longsword. The five voices in his head started up again, but he had grown somewhat accustomed to them. At least now he could ignore the suggestions from those five voices and talk to the little elf according to his own will.
“Of course, as your teacher, I’ll naturally teach you magic. You better thank me properly~”
Although her words were still a bit strange, the little elf’s meaning was indeed that. As a knight with virtues, how could he not know magic?
“But before that, we need to visit the owner here. Teaching you magic will have to wait, you trash.”
Having said that, Astraea led Luo En as they stepped into the gate of the Viscount’s manor.
At that moment, all the nearby guards had been cleaned up. There were only some servants in the manor, and these servants were not hostile to the little elf like the guards had been.
“Miss Astraea, welcome!”
A maid saw the little elf and smiled, greeting her. As for the guards lying behind the little elf, the maid elegantly ignored them.
The gardener, who had just finished trimming the flower bushes, also shouted upon seeing the little elf, “Little Astraea! Take a look at how this uncle is taking care of these flowers. Hoho, the daffodils you asked me to look after last time have recovered their vitality!”
Astraea returned a sweet smile, “Yes, thank you, Uncle Gardener. I’ll come to pick them up later.”
Luo En watched the little elf get along so well with the servants along the way, and he found it somewhat absurd.
Just a moment ago, she had beaten up so many guards at the manor gate. Why were the servants in the manor welcoming her so warmly?
Was it the Viscount’s order? That would make the Viscount very strange. Who would greet someone with a smile after that person had beaten up their gatekeepers?
“Hehe~ The trash knight can’t figure out why I get along so well with everyone, right?”
The little elf seemed to know what Luo En was thinking and poked him with a smile.
This gave Luo En quite a fright. He now suspected that the little elf had some kind of mind-reading magic or something.
“No, I don’t know any mind-reading magic.”
“You still say you don’t?!”