Chapter 24: The Elf Skilled at Self-Conquest

Astraea called out to Luo En. She stared at the straight sword the young man had thrown aside, unable to look away.

“Want this?”

Luo En’s anger naturally wouldn’t fall on the little elf. He just glanced at the intricately patterned, finely crafted straight sword and immediately made a decision.

“If you want it, take it. This is our spoils of war.”

The little elf happily picked up the straight sword from the ground. As a swordswoman, she had some understanding of swords.

Although this straight sword had many flashy patterns on it, its craftsmanship was a cut above standard issue by a mile.

Compared to the little elf’s original rough straight sword, this one looked like a piece of junk picked up from somewhere.

The only problem was that this straight sword was designed for a normal human’s build. It was a bit too long for the little elf, but that didn’t matter. She could just hold it with both hands and use it as a two-handed longsword.

Looking it over again and again, Astraea grew more and more satisfied. In the end, it took Luo En patting her head to remind her that they were still out on the street.

Elves were truly rare in the Royal Capital. Commoners basically never saw them, and the cowardly noble children who dared not go to the front lines saw them even less. An elf like Astraea, who walked openly in the Royal Capital and could even teach a noble a lesson with a single sword stroke, was even rarer.

At this moment, Astraea could feel the various gazes from the onlookers, and the center of discussion among the crowd had become her.

If not for Luo En’s earlier firm refusal to sell Astraea, the little elf reckoned that they could have held an auction for her on the spot.

But for now, Luo En was right—it was better to find a place to stay first. However, they had spent quite a bit of money along the way, and the little elf wasn’t sure if they had enough left.

If it were just her, it wouldn’t matter. She could sleep under a bridge in the Royal Capital, but Luo En probably couldn’t handle that kind of place, right?

Oh, right, Lily still needed to be sent to a professional groom. That was another expense…

As Astraea calculated in her mind, she wrapped the straight sword, which was more like a longsword to her, in a cloth.

The kingdom did not forbid slaves from carrying swords. On the contrary, the kingdom’s control over weapons was not strict. In theory, you could walk down the street with a spear.

The kingdom mainly controlled armor. Commoners possessing armor in secret was a capital offense. Only nobles or adventurers of a certain rank could wear armor.

While Astraea was still calculating their funds, Luo En had already taken Lily’s reins and prepared to move on. Having never been short of money from a young age, he had no concept of it. The little elf had been managing their money along the way, and Luo En did whatever she said. As a result, Luo En didn’t actively think about it.

He held Lily and the little elf’s hands, one in each. Although he was still wearing the same coarse cloth clothes and no longer emitted golden light, no one would underestimate him now.

Look, even a slave under his command was so capable. What about him? Anyone with a bit of brains wouldn’t cause trouble for him now.

Luo En’s image in everyone’s eyes had become that of “a person who likes to play the pig to eat the tiger.”

But just as Luo En thought there would be no more trouble, new trouble found them.

“Please stop, Sir Knight.”

—

Maximus noticed that an—no, two—unusual guests had arrived in the Royal Capital.

As a great knight, especially one blessed by the All-Father, he was very sensitive to the aura of the deity he served.

That day, as usual, he left Aiouwen, who was rolling her eyes and unconscious, and went to the palace to see the young king, whose face was haggard as if he would ascend to heaven at any moment. Then he suddenly sensed an aura of the All-Father.

To be honest, this wasn’t anything unusual. The Church of All-Father in the Royal Capital would occasionally hold some sacrificial ceremonies and the like, and then he would perceive the All-Father’s aura.

At first, Maximus thought it was just a routine sacrifice by the Church of All-Father. But just as he was about to dismiss it, he felt that this aura was different from usual.

The daily sacrifices of the Church of All-Father were meant to cater to the All-Father’s preferences.

And according to these religious fanatics’ understanding, what did the All-Father like most? That’s right, the heads of Heteromorphs.

So, every time the Church held a sacrifice, the priests chose various Heteromorph heads as offerings, with elf heads being the best.

But naturally, it wasn’t easy to get an elf head in the Royal Capital, so most of the time they used goblin heads as substitutes.

The All-Father, accepting such offerings, would inevitably emit an aura tainted with a bloody smell.

This smell wasn’t an olfactory one, but a certain feeling. Those All-Father priests pursued this feeling, believing it to be the true form of the All-Father.

But this time was different. Maximus felt the same aura as when he had received his blessing.

Pure, bright, warm, without a trace of blood.

Oh, yes, yes! This was the true All-Father!

Maximus sat up from the bedside with a whoosh, ignoring the unsatisfied Aiouwen. He changed into plain clothes and ran out of the duke’s mansion without even taking a carriage.

This matter was of great importance. He had to see it for himself to be at ease.

And since the Blue Armored Knights in charge of guarding the Royal Capital were all soldiers he had trained himself, Maximus quickly obtained the exact locations of Astraea and Luo En, and stopped them before those religious fanatics from the Church could.

“Please stop, Sir Knight.”

Luo En looked warily at the super-sized man in front of him. The aura emanating from him gave Luo En a feeling of closeness.

But a feeling was just a feeling. The example of the young man earlier was there; trusting such vague feelings too much would only harm him.

“Sir, may I ask who you are?”

Wary as he was, Luo En still gave the big man a knight’s salute. He knew that with such a large build, the other party’s attainment in the way of the knight was likely very deep. He might even be something like a kingdom knight.

Maximus found it amusing to see Luo En, who was wary but neither humble nor pushy. The young man left a good impression on him, and the other party indeed had clear traces of the All-Father’s blessing.

He, who had also been blessed by the All-Father, could easily perceive it.

As for the little elf, she was already scared stiff. In her perception, Maximus’s whole body emitted the hateful aura characteristic of All-Father knights. And from some indescribable part of him, Astraea could smell a strong scent of elf bodily fluids.

Too, too perverted!

This big man had definitely done some unspeakable things to elves. Just thinking about it made Astraea’s face blush.

“Who am I?”

Maximus’s gaze finally shifted to the little elf. Seeing the collar she wore, his usually expressionless face showed a hint of playful interest.

Just as he thought, someone understood him. Elves were so delightful. And the most convenient part was that if the target was human, he would have to hold back a bit, but with elves, it didn’t matter. He could let himself go completely.

How could those stubborn religious fanatics ever understand that feeling? They were just distorting the All-Father’s will based on their own wishful thinking!

“I am Maximus, the Regent of the Kingdom, and your compatriot.”

The duke withdrew his gaze and then said flatly. He could tell that Astraea also had the aura of the All-Father’s blessing. Although he didn’t know why the All-Father would bless a Heteromorph, since the All-Father had already acknowledged her, it wasn’t his place to nitpick.

But Maximus’s words were difficult for Luo En and the little elf to understand.

Regent of the Kingdom and compatriot? What was all this? Not to mention whether the man’s claim of being the regent was true, the term “compatriot” was intriguing. Did they have something in common with a regent?

‘It can’t be that this regent also has to go out begging to get by, can it?’

Astraea thought casually. At least this big man claiming to be the regent showed no hostility toward them, so although the little elf was scared, she didn’t make any reactive moves.

She just obediently followed Luo En, pretending to be an insignificant character.

Luo En’s steps were quite large. For each step he took, she had to take two quick steps to keep up. Fortunately, Luo En was always paying attention to her situation and deliberately slowed down.

Such small details warmed Astraea’s heart. Ever since the last blessing, Luo En had indeed become very considerate. To be honest, even without any cognitive errors, the little elf believed she would drown in such tenderness and become… less like herself.

‘Just now, Luo En refused the duel because of me, right? Ugh… so embarrassing…’

Even without Dorn explaining much, the observant Astraea began to conquer herself. She always noticed small details, and Luo En had just shown his tenderness in those details.

It was right in Astraea’s strike zone.

As for Luo En, he was completely unaware of the messy thoughts in the little elf’s mind. He was just vigilant against all possible threats as usual.

Maximus’s words naturally caused a stir in his heart. He had no idea what the duke meant by “compatriot,” but he didn’t show it at all. This calm demeanor made the duke even more satisfied.

‘This boy is an uncut gem.’

The duke thought so. Although he had the strength of a great knight, there were some matters that he, as a duke, couldn’t directly intervene in. In the Royal Capital, the number of people he could absolutely trust and deploy was very limited.

And now, Luo En had come to him.

Maximus made up his mind. He would train Luo En well. No one was more trustworthy than a knight personally blessed by the All-Father.

More importantly, as a knight, Luo En could set aside prejudice and accept an elf. Maximus was completely certain that Luo En was his compatriot.