Clunier—that was what the elves called this world. The elven sages believed the world was spherical because the stars seen through astrological magic were all round.
But so far, no elf had ever accomplished the feat of circumnavigating the globe. Astraea thought she might give it a try.
Either way, she had a long lifespan ahead of her. She would definitely get bored with just one human kingdom. However, before that, she needed to solve the problem of a pack animal.
“Sister, please don’t be angry…”
“I’m not angry.”
“Then can you stop frowning?”
“Adventurer Miss!”
“Yes! I’m here!”
The nun looked at Astraea, who was sitting upright in front of her, and sighed.
“The All-Father teaches us not to be complacent over small gains. Adventurer Miss, you placed a reward far exceeding my labor into my pocket. Is this…” The nun cautiously looked around before whispering the word that must not be heard by others, “…blasphemy?”
The nun placed the silver coin that Astraea had secretly put in her pocket onto the simple table. The coin glinted in the light streaming through the crack in the window. Astraea would bet that if she tossed that silver coin into any tavern, it would spark a scramble.
A single silver coin wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to make the lower classes throw away their pride and fight over it.
But the nun simply pushed it back to Astraea, as if it were no different from a common copper coin.
“But I don’t believe in the All-Father…” Astraea muttered. She was an elf—why would she believe in some human god?
According to the human church’s doctrine, all non-humans were to be lined up and slaughtered. Astraea didn’t have any strange fetish; she saw no need to give a god who despised non-humans one more inhuman believer.
However, after seeing the nun’s sharp gaze and arms that were thicker than her own legs, the little elf quickly bowed down at light speed: “I was wrong, Sister.”
Astraea lowered her head, putting on a repentant expression. Seeing her correct her mistake, the nun’s expression improved considerably.
Did Astraea truly admit her mistake? Of course not.
The little village church was indeed a bit shabby—all wooden structure, not even a single stained glass window. Moreover, every week the nun found a way to give the village children a free meal.
Astraea couldn’t change the children’s circumstances, but she could let them eat a little better.
She didn’t voice her reasons, because she knew that a stubborn believer like the nun would never accept her gift. However, the little elf, who had been turned away at the baron’s castle, had her own reasoning.
“Actually, this silver coin is payment I’m giving in advance to Sister. I still need to ask a favor of Sister.” Then Astraea briefly recounted her experience at the baron’s castle gate. “I need Sister to introduce me to the baron.”
The nun pressed her palms together, and Astraea felt as if she had been covered in a Holy Light Blessing again.
“Then follow me, Adventurer Miss.” The nun probably saw that Astraea wouldn’t give up, so she simply took the convenient exit Astraea had offered.
The little elf wore a “plan succeeded” expression as she hurried to follow the nun. Fortunately, although the nun had long legs, she didn’t stride too quickly, so the little elf could keep up with her short legs.
From the village church to the baron’s castle took about ten minutes to walk. Astraea chatted with the nun about interesting incidents that had happened nearby.
“Sister, did you know? The church at Port Tils is very, very large. Although the nuns and priests there aren’t as kind as Sister, their sacrament tastes quite good.”
Astraea described the scene she had seen when she first arrived in the human kingdom. At that time, she had disguised herself as a believer and scammed a meal at the church in Port Tils.
“Mm.”
“There was a viscount who dueled a baron in the street. He lost but still bullied others using his status. It was really interesting.”
“Mm. That viscount is my uncle.”
“And… huh?”
Astraea was stunned. That shameless viscount was the nun’s uncle? Had she stepped on the nun’s landmine? Would the nun discuss some physics problems with her?
The little elf’s mind started wandering wildly again, but this time she didn’t need to pull herself back. The nun’s next sentence struck her like lightning: “Setting aside my uncle’s matter, Adventurer Miss, the elf species wanted in Port Tils—that’s you, isn’t it?”
“Eh? H-how could that be?” Astraea averted her gaze guiltily. It was true she was wanted, but right now she didn’t look like an elf at all, did she?
She had carefully hidden her ears and such with magic, and even made her face deliberately plain. Although her magical skill wasn’t profound, it was already a stretch that the high-ranking priest in Port Tils could see through her true appearance. But a low-ranking nun from such a nondescript little village wanted to see through her magic? That was a pipe dream!
If this nun could actually see through her magical disguise today, then Astraea swore she would wash her hair upside down tonight!
The nun, a bit speechless, pulled out a small mirror from her pocket.
“Eh?”
The mirror showed Astraea’s current appearance. Her hair color and such hadn’t changed, but her features had become much more delicate. Her originally rough skin had turned smooth and fair, and her ears had become pointed and long, trembling slightly with their owner’s emotions.
Even though her face was still a bit dirty, it was obvious that Astraea now could be called an exquisite young… beauty in the making.
B-but why? How had her magic failed? In her perception, the nun was just a lowest-rank nun!
The little elf felt her brain smoking. She immediately sensed the residual magical circuits on her face and found a trace of holy light within.
It was very clear. Astraea’s eyes sharpened. To be able to detect and destroy her disguise magic with a wave of a hand—this nun before her was definitely no low-rank nun. She was a hidden big shot! Even the high-ranking priest at Port Tils could only see through her magic, not destroy it without her notice!
And now… The little elf immediately probed the surroundings with her magic. But facing her undisguised magical fluctuations, the nun showed no reaction. She simply stood there, looking at the suddenly bristling little elf as if nothing had happened.
‘I’m done for. She really is an expert.’
Astraea felt her back getting damp. She was drenched in cold sweat.
Elves were nature’s darlings. Every elf received a blessing from the Elf Goddess at birth. The blessing varied in strength, but overall, elves’ magical talent was generally much higher than humans’.
Add to that their long lifespans—as long as they didn’t die young, every elf would eventually become a master of magic.
However, Astraea was still in the young stage of an elf. Although she was quite skilled in magic, for now she could at best go fifty-fifty with some decently strong adventurers.
Under the careful tutelage of the sages in the elven village and her parents for eighteen years, the little elf had deeply understood one principle.
That was… as long as the green mountains remain, there’s no shortage of firewood!
Facing a mysterious powerhouse, if you can neither win nor escape, then you have no choice but to do a full 360-degree spinning airborne, sincerely prostrate yourself with a full-body dogeza and beg for forgiveness!
“I’m sorry, honored nun! I failed to recognize your greatness! I didn’t know which deity had descended to experience mortal life, and I ended up offending you! I deserve ten thousand deaths! First sin: I shouldn’t have teased your uncle. Second sin: I shouldn’t have insulted you with silver coins. Third sin: I attempted to hide the truth from you. Please, I beg you, let me go like a fart! I will never appear before you again!”
A string of apologies without any pauses, seemingly practiced countless times and thus extremely fluent, poured out of Astraea’s mouth as she performed a dogeza prostration in one second. Her clothes had been folded and placed neatly beside her in an instant, and it even looked like she had used magic to smooth out the wrinkles, making them appear brand new.
At that moment, the nun still hadn’t figured out what had happened to make Astraea, who had been chatting with her just a moment ago, pull such a stunt.
“Wait, are you really an elf?” After realizing, the nun couldn’t help but twitch her lips. How did she remember that the kingdom’s records described elves as proud and preferring death over surrender?
In the end, this unknown creature kneeling on the ground, trembling incessantly and utterly shameless—aside from having a pair of long ears, how was it anything like an elf!
The nun was left bewildered alone in the wind. She was indeed not an ordinary low-rank nun, but she wasn’t powerful enough to casually see through and destroy the little elf’s magic. This matter was actually just an accident.
As everyone knows, whether it’s mana or holy light, they are essentially just two different forms of the same energy. Since they are both energy, they will inevitably produce fluctuations when deployed. And the little elf’s magic wasn’t strong enough to remain stable after being subjected to two holy light spells in quick succession.
Therefore, after the nun’s two Holy Light Blessings, the disguise magic on Astraea’s face logically failed.
As for why the little elf herself hadn’t noticed, it was simply because she hadn’t been on guard against the nun, so she didn’t bother to monitor the spell’s operation.
In fact, from the moment they left the village, the little elf’s disguise magic had already failed. Yet at that time, Astraea was still obliviously telling the nun the story of the viscount and baron at Port Tils.
The nun had been staring at the little elf’s big pointy ears for a while before she couldn’t help but expose her.
“So you, embarrassing elf, put on your clothes and stand up from the ground first!”
The robust nun blushed for the first time in front of Astraea as she scolded her.