Astraea felt like she must have gone mad.
She had actually set aside her elven pride and said those words to Luo En.
But the words had already left her mouth, and when Luo En had just spoken the title of the Elven Goddess, Astraea felt a new gaze upon them.
Now, under the witness of the All-Father and the Elven Goddess, the little elf had no room to take it back.
For no reason, a sense of irritation welled up inside her, but she seemed even more irritated by that irritation itself.
What was she even doing?
Astraea couldn’t understand.
She felt as if she was being controlled by some existence, but not a control that stripped her will; rather, it was a control in ways she could hardly imagine or detect, making every action seem like her own volition yet not something she would normally do.
But this was “seemed,” not “certain.”
The little elf was now sure something was wrong with her mind, but she couldn’t pinpoint what was off.
And what frightened her most was that she wasn’t sure if her discovery of these anomalies was truly her own discovery.
It sounded convoluted, but the little elf felt that Luo En should understand her feelings.
Yes, Luo En was a person blessed by the gods; he should know well what that felt like.
Although the little elf’s emotional changes didn’t show on her face, Luo En noticed every single one.
He didn’t say anything, just stepped forward and hugged the little elf.
Elves had much sharper senses than humans.
Did the same go for their hearts?
Luo En didn’t know, but he could tell that the little elf was severely lacking a sense of security.
So how to give the little elf the security she lacked?
The answer was an embrace.
A warm and firm embrace was exactly what the little elf needed now.
Like calming a frightened little beast, Luo En held the little elf in his arms and gently stroked her head.
Luo En tried his best to envelop the person in his arms with his aura.
His body wasn’t large, but luckily the little elf was small enough.
This was a technique his father taught him, and his father had learned it from his grandfather, who was a tamer by trade.
Normally, Luo En could only practice on Lily or his father’s fine horse.
Now, finally, there was a person—or rather, an elf—to practice on.
After all, elves and humans were both animals.
Luo En suddenly felt like he was being a bit too much, but he was determined not to let the little elf in his arms know what he was thinking.
The little elf was lost in her tangled thoughts when Luo En hugged her.
The warm embrace seemed to calm her emotions a bit, and Luo En’s stroking gave her a long-lost feeling of being cared for.
‘So warm… like Mom…’
Just kidding.
In both her past life and this life, Astraea’s mother had never stroked her like this.
Immersed in this feeling, Astraea recalled a meme she had seen while surfing the internet in her past life.
Ah, the original family.
Although the little elf’s personality issues couldn’t simply be blamed on her original family, it had to be said that this aspect did have a significant impact on her.
Astraea understood this, but many things couldn’t be solved just by understanding.
She admitted that she was a twisted person, even before her past life when she wasn’t influenced by gods.
Gradually, Astraea curled up in Luo En’s arms and fell asleep.
She set aside the things she couldn’t figure out and simply indulged in the desires of her body.
Sleep… sleep…
The elven deity, the guardian of love, would bestow their blessing.
***
To be honest, when the innkeeper saw a young man leading a beautiful heteromorph out of his inn room, he thought for a moment that his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Although merchants like him weren’t particularly devout to the All-Father, could anyone explain where this heteromorph came from?!
By the All-Father…
The innkeeper was already thinking about how to beg for mercy later to get the heteromorph to spare him, and then secretly find a town guard to report it.
As for Luo En?
Sorry, the innkeeper instinctively assumed Luo En was a despicable human traitor seduced by a heteromorph.
“Boss,” Luo En led the little elf to the counter and placed the room key on it, “We’re checking out.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.” The innkeeper, who was almost about to blurt out pleas for mercy, choked back his words due to Luo En’s exceptionally normal attitude.
He mechanically picked up the room key.
Then he stared blankly as Luo En led the little elf out of his inn.
‘No, wait? That heteromorph just walked out in broad daylight?’
“Oh, by the way, boss, you take good care of the horses.”
Luo En, who had already led Lily out, turned back and praised with a smile, startling the innkeeper who had just recovered.
Utterly indifferent to others’ attitudes, Luo En took Lily’s reins and the little elf’s hand and walked boldly down the main road.
Astraea felt a little creeped out by the stares from all around, especially when she saw a little girl pointing at her ears and exclaiming excitedly, “Mommy! Is that big sister a heteromorph?”
The little elf shrank her neck.
She regretted not using Disguise Magic as Luo En suggested and just walking out like this.
After all, this looked like a provocation to the Church of All-Father in town, didn’t it?
“Heteromorph!”
With a sudden shout, the little elf’s face showed an “I knew it” expression.
The priests of the All-Father had arrived, and Luo En and the little elf hadn’t even walked 200 meters.
An old priest, with two nuns behind him, blocked their path.
The old priest gripped a one-handed war hammer with both hands, while the two nuns clasped their hands together and stood behind him.
He was not a battle priest, and his aged body could no longer support intense combat.
Astraea saw through the old priest’s true nature at a glance, and the two nuns behind him were mere mortals who couldn’t even use Holy Light spells.
If Astraea wanted, she could easily defeat these three followers of the All-Father without even buffing herself with magic.
The old priest could also see that although the elven heteromorph was small, the magical aura she emitted was far beyond his own.
The two nuns behind him were trembling, but he still stood there, blocking the little elf and Luo En.
For no other reason than that he was a priest of the All-Father, and he could never tolerate a heteromorph defiling human land.
“Hello, Father,” Luo En was not angered by the old priest’s interception.
Instead, he politely gave a noble’s salute, “With no offense intended, I am Luo En, son of Baron Ili. This elven heteromorph is my slave.”
“We have not violated any kingdom laws. I am currently on my way to register her, you see.”
Luo En let go of the little elf’s hand, then turned and commanded, “Astraea, sit!”
The little elf glared at him, but then obediently sat on the ground as Luo En ordered.
She now suspected that Luo En had some unspeakable fetish—after all, he was a noble—though she did feel a secret thrill from it.
‘Ah, so embarrassing… but why is my heart pounding? Luo En’s forceful demeanor… hmm…’
With a blush on her face, Astraea sat on the ground and began her usual routine of internal thoughts.
After all, she was just thinking to herself; no one would know what she was thinking.
“I see,” the old priest’s tense muscles relaxed a bit.
If he could avoid it, he didn’t want to risk his life.
He was a follower of the All-Father, but living could create more value for the All-Father, right?
Nevertheless, the old priest admonished with a stern face, “Lord Luo En, it’s not a good idea to walk around with an unregistered heteromorph slave. Please be more careful.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Father.”
Luo En replied dismissively, but his attitude didn’t seem sincere at all.
The old priest frowned but said nothing more.
If he had any doubts earlier, he was now fully convinced.
That’s just how nobles were.
The old priest’s decades of experience told him that the arrogance displayed by the young man could only come from a noble—or perhaps an elven heteromorph?
Anyway, the old priest filed today’s incident under “young nobles playing fancy tricks again.”
Shaking his head, thinking that these nobles would one day pay for their disrespect to the All-Father, the old priest left the scene with the two nuns.
“Alright, Astraea-sensei, you can stand up now.”
Luo En smiled and patted the little elf’s head.
The soft strands felt great to the touch.
After the first time, Luo En had grown fond of the feeling.
Astraea stood up and glared at him unhappily, “Hmph! Who was it that promised not to do weird things to me earlier?”
“This isn’t something weird, Astraea-sensei.”
Luo En spoke while continuing to stroke the little elf’s head, but she felt like he was petting a cat.
“I was just handling the priest. See, if it weren’t for my quick thinking, how would the old priest have believed my story?”
“W-well, I guess?”
Astraea was led around by Luo En.
Although she instinctively sensed something off, under his head-patting assault, she accepted his explanation.
“Alright, Astraea-sensei, let’s hurry to the Adventurer’s Guild. We still need to register your identity.”
As Luo En called her to move forward, Astraea thought of one question.
‘How has Luo En changed so much? Before, he was just following behind me. But now…’
Astraea looked at her small hand being held by Luo En, showing a puzzled expression.
‘How did it become like this?’