“Teacher Astraea, are you listening?”
“Of course! Please continue.”
The little elf sat obediently on the edge of the bed, her elven ears twitching as if still savoring the aftermath of her recent release.
Luo En, on the other hand, pulled a chair over and sat down in front of the little elf, bringing his eyes level with hers.
Seeing the little elf in a listening posture, he continued, “We need to talk. From the very beginning until now, we’ve actually been influenced by the gods, haven’t we?”
Astraea nodded, then suddenly shook her head.
In fact, she realized her condition had improved a lot; when speaking to Luo En, she no longer blurted out those awful words.
The reason she shook her head was that she recalled something.
“We probably weren’t under the gods’ gaze from the very beginning,” the little elf explained to Luo En, “At least when we first met, I’m pretty sure there was nothing wrong with me. There are plenty of elves disguising themselves within the kingdom; the All-Father shouldn’t be specifically watching me.”
“Then when did you first feel something was wrong?”
“The first time… Ah! I know!” Prompted by Luo En, Astraea remembered the possible reason they had been noticed by the All-Father.
“It was that contract!”
That was it.
The contract signed by Baron Ili and the little elf.
From the moment the baron asked the All-Father to witness the contract, the little elf felt the sensation of being watched for the first time.
That time it even made her fur stand on end.
And precisely because the contract was witnessed by the All-Father, the little elf never dared to even think of abandoning Luo En and sneaking away.
“I see. Teacher Astraea, I have no more questions.” Luo En nodded.
He had gotten the answer he wanted, and next he would solve the problem.
He didn’t want to be a puppet controlled by the gods.
Perhaps it was considered an honor in the eyes of the Church’s paladins, but he wasn’t that kind of religious fanatic.
Following his original career path, becoming a knight of the All-Father and receiving a fief from the king or regent, he would sooner or later lose himself under the influence of the All-Father’s power.
But now he had another path to choose.
Aside from the All-Father, didn’t he also have the power of another god within him?
Luo En had a crazy plan in mind.
He would make the powers of the two gods cancel each other out, ultimately allowing his own will to dominate!
“Don’t you really hate me?” Astraea asked suspiciously.
She was now appearing before Luo En in a completely heteromorphic form.
As a human and an apprentice knight of the All-Father, Luo En didn’t even hiss at her or cut her down?
It was unbelievable.
“Of course.” Luo En smiled at the anxious little elf, “I like Teacher Astraea, and it’s from the bottom of my heart.”
“Ehhh?!”
Faced with such almost-confession words, the little elf was completely critical-hit by Luo En.
However, although Luo En had confirmed that his feelings were not influenced by the gods, the same couldn’t be said for the little elf.
As an elf, Astraea was naturally attuned to magic—that was the world’s favor toward elves.
But every advantage has its disadvantage.
The elves’ generally strong magic affinity also resulted in their magic resistance being lower than that of humans.
In human terms, high magic attack but low magic defense.
So Astraea was more susceptible to the gods’ influence than Luo En.
Even worse, she couldn’t tell whether the thoughts in her head were her true feelings or something that had been guided.
But regardless, attacked so directly by Luo En, the little elf couldn’t organize an effective defense.
She could only watch helplessly as the apprentice knight stormed her heart.
“Ugh…” Astraea lowered her head shyly.
She couldn’t resist, but she couldn’t respond directly either.
In the end, the time was too short.
Even with a god’s help, making the little elf accept a stranger within just a few days was still too fantastical.
Luo En understood this principle too, so he wasn’t in a rush.
He and the little elf still had plenty of time.
“By the way, Teacher Astraea.”
“Hmm?”
“You plan to go to the royal capital afterward, right?”
“I do have that plan… What’s wrong?”
Seeing Luo En actively change the subject, the little elf, finally recovering from her shyness, felt relieved.
If Luo En had pressed the attack, she really wouldn’t have known how to respond.
“I just wanted to say, according to the knowledge bestowed by the All-Father, the royal capital is the most heavily guarded place in the entire kingdom.”
“So?”
“It is equipped with the most advanced magic detection system. No magical aura can escape this system’s patrol, and this system was installed ten years ago.”
“You mean…”
“I mean, Teacher Astraea, if you enter the city with your Disguise Magic, you will definitely be caught.” Luo En said calmly.
As an elf, if caught in the human kingdom’s capital…
Astraea could almost imagine herself being finely minced into filling by those All-Father priests.
With such a powerful system installed ten years ago, the little elf didn’t believe it hadn’t been upgraded and iterated over the past ten years.
The present human kingdom was not like some half-dead space corpse.
Although the human kingdom was a bit fanatical, it was a regime with full independent research capabilities.
More importantly, the God of Wisdom and Strategy was truly a benevolent god.
Thus, the kingdom’s mages and alchemists were producing magical creations that changed by the day.
The little elf estimated that over ten years, that magic patrol system had been updated countless generations.
In another ten or more years, it might even be deployed across the entire human kingdom.
“So we have no choice but to turn back? How frustrating… Ugh…”
Astraea was a bit dejected.
The vibrant scene of saving money over the past two years was still vivid in her mind.
Could this trip to the royal capital turn into her end?
Seeing the little elf’s expression, Luo En finally spoke his mind, “It’s not without a solution.”
“Huh? Can you take me in as a noble, Luo En?” The little elf’s hope reignited.
She thought perhaps the kingdom’s nobles did have that authority?
“Theoretically, yes, but some preparations are needed.”
“What preparations? As long as I can enter the royal capital for fun, I won’t mind the trouble!”
“Then well, Teacher Astraea, become my slave.”
“Okay, okay… Wait, what did you say?!”
The little elf looked at Luo En in disbelief, as if trying to confirm whether that insane statement had just come from the mouth of the clean-cut young man before her.
But unfortunately, no matter how much the little elf doubted whether she had misheard, the fact was that Luo En had indeed said such an insane thing.
“Listen, Teacher Astraea, the kingdom’s nobles are allowed to keep slaves, so…”
As a slave, naturally, there would be no need to consider racial issues.
Although the Church of the All-Father couldn’t stand heteromorphs, they didn’t have the power to challenge the kingdom’s noble system.
So if she became Luo En’s slave, the little elf would be able to enter the royal capital accompanied by Luo En.
But this made the little elf suspect whether Luo En had lost his mind.
He actually asked an elf if she was willing to become his slave!
What was that?
Even asking a normal human such a question was outrageous.
And what’s more, Luo En’s target was an elf, a naturally proud elf!
Although the little elf’s thought process was indeed different from a normal elf’s, that didn’t mean Luo En’s current behavior wasn’t outrageous.
Aside from Luo En having lost his mind, Astraea really couldn’t think of any other explanation.
“I am Astraea Saienxier, a noble elf! Even if I die here, jump from here, or get finely minced into filling by the All-Father priests, I will not become a human’s slave!”
The little elf stood up and declared resolutely.
No matter her past life, in this life she was undoubtedly an elf, and the pride taught to elves from childhood would naturally manifest in her.
“Eh? What are you doing?”
After Astraea’s declaration, she saw Luo En stand up from his chair, walk to the wall, and pick up his longsword.
The little elf started trembling.
Was Luo En finally going to expel the heteromorph?
Even as a genius, she couldn’t defeat Luo En, who had two gods backing him.
But after picking up the longsword, Luo En simply checked it for damage, then hung it on his back along with its sheath.
He casually explained to the little elf, “Since Teacher Astraea doesn’t agree, then we’ll have to head back as soon as possible. I suppose you wouldn’t want to go south, would you? It’s fine. I’ll accompany you wherever you go.”
With that, Luo En started packing his luggage.
Judging by his posture, he really seemed ready to leave immediately.
But soon, Luo En got the response he wanted.
Just as he was about to shoulder his pack, a small hand tugged at his clothes.
Luo En stopped and looked back at the little elf tugging at him with an ambiguous smile.
“Ugh… You won’t do anything strange to me, will you?” The little elf said hesitantly.
She really couldn’t bear to go back just like that; she still wanted to see all the great rivers and mountains of the world.
Besides, given how things were developing, who knew if the elven city-states would even exist in the future.
She had to adapt to future life in advance, right?
With mixed feelings, even a hint of hidden joy, the little elf made a difficult decision.
“I will never do anything strange to you without your consent. I swear in the name of the All-Father.”
Luo En swore solemnly.
The little elf felt that sense of being watched again.
This time, without Disguise Magic to shield her, she bristled right in front of Luo En.
“Okay, okay, I believe you! Don’t swear to the gods so casually in the future!” Astraea said hurriedly.
She really didn’t want to feel that bristling sensation again.
“Then who will witness my oath? The Elven Goddess?”
Given the little elf’s race, Luo En made a polite guess.
But the little elf didn’t want anything to do with any gods right now, not even the Elven Goddess.
She said a bit awkwardly, “Having you witness it yourself is enough. Luo En, I am willing to become your… slave.”