Luo En instinctively glanced at Astraea, and seeing that she had no reaction, he suppressed his thoughts.
Unlike the little elf, Luo En, who had little experience, was naturally thrilled by the invitation from a duke.
That was a Grand Knight! The top combat power of the Human Kingdom, a figure who could potentially change the course of a battle just by appearing on the field.
Not to mention that Duke Maximus was already a long-established veteran powerhouse; probably no knight in the kingdom would refuse his recruitment.
“It’s not a life-or-death job. Just go and crack down on some shady figures who don’t want to see the light of day,” Maximus said, tapping the table with his fingers. “I’ll personally give you some guidance on the ways of knighthood, and your salary will be on par with a royal knight.”
The duke was no fool who wanted the horse to run but wouldn’t feed it. He knew that even knights who upheld virtue needed money, so he was never stingy in that regard.
Luo En was just an unknighted squire. It was already generous of the duke to offer him the treatment of a royal knight. If Luo En hadn’t been blessed by the All-Father, Maximus probably wouldn’t have even bothered to meet him.
“This…”
“We accept!”
Luo En was still hesitating, but Astraea had already agreed in one breath, as if afraid Maximus would change his mind.
The little elf didn’t understand what the treatment of a royal knight entailed, but even just Maximus’s offer of guidance on the knightly path was rare enough. After all, she wasn’t a knight herself, so she couldn’t help Luo En in that area.
“That’s for the best.”
Maximus stopped tapping his fingers. He pulled out a receipt-like document from his massive desk and wrote something on it with his pen.
“On the eighth day of each month, the steward will pay your salary. I’ll also prepare a set of armor for you personally. As for weapons… it seems you already have your own, right? You can stay here during this time.”
In just a short moment, the duke made a series of decisions, so fast that Astraea could barely keep up with his train of thought.
But as for staying, they definitely wouldn’t stay in the Duke’s Mansion. First, it would be too conspicuous.
Second… Astraea felt that the duke’s elven aura was far too thick. She didn’t want to be too close to this creepy duke—better to keep her distance.
‘It’s like he’s been smeared all over with [Redacted].’
Astraea muttered inwardly, though she didn’t dare show it on her face.
Luo En gave Maximus a knightly salute, accepting the job. From now on, he could say he was a knight of the ducal house. How many knight-less people would envy him…
“Teacher Astraea, can you teach me magic now?”
When they returned to their temporary guest room, Luo En respectfully offered Astraea the only chair in the room, which amused the little elf.
She didn’t want to sit on a cold chair.
Astraea waved her hand, and when Luo En came closer, she pushed him down onto the chair.
The little elf’s strength was nothing to Luo En, but he obediently sat down.
He didn’t quite understand what the little elf meant, but that didn’t stop him from following her instructions.
Then Astraea slipped directly into his arms. Feeling herself wrapped in warmth again, the little elf nodded in satisfaction.
[Redacted]
“Move the chair forward a bit,” Astraea commanded from within Luo En’s embrace.
Luo En had no choice but to hold the little elf with one hand and scoot the chair toward the table.
“Okay, that’s it.”
Astraea sat up straight and grabbed the paper and pen that were already on the table.
When it came to magic, she should start with the great Elven Goddess…
Actually, scratch that. What was written in elven history might not even be true. Astraea decided to skip the mythological tales that every elf had to hear before learning magic.
“So-called magic is actually a way to utilize the elements in the world. Don’t worry about what elements are for now. You just need to use magic. Let me give you an example.”
As she spoke, Astraea drew two vertical lines next to each other on the paper. One line was a bit longer, the other shorter, but overall they were both very short.
“Every person—or rather, every living being—has a magic core. You can sense it, right?”
Luo En nodded. It wasn’t difficult. Everyone in the world had one, even though the Priests of the All-Father couldn’t find it when dissecting heretical corpses.
“Good. Now reach out and try to use your magic core to attract the elements.”
That wasn’t too hard either. An ordinary person could manage it after a bit of thought—it was just a matter of proficiency.
Luo En did as the little elf said. He extended his hand and focused his will, giving his magic core the command to “attract.” Then he felt something being drawn in, but nothing happened on his hand.
Seeing Luo En’s confused expression, Astraea chuckled lightly.
Most people got stuck here. They could attract the elements, but nothing happened afterward. So the commoners who occasionally tried would assume they had no magical talent.
But in reality, they were just missing one step. Astraea drew a line on the paper connecting to the longer vertical line, then bent the line at the end to form a small circle, and marked an X inside it.
“See, this is what the magical circuit you just constructed looks like.”
“Is my magical circuit also bent?”
“No, silly. I’m just illustrating it this way for convenience. In this case, the elements you attracted are released into the surrounding environment at this small circle—that is, your hand. The total quantity is too small, so nothing happens.”
Astraea explained why nothing happened when Luo En attracted the elements. Luo En listened intently, occasionally unconsciously stroking the little elf’s soft hair.
“This is where we need the elements to form a circuit. Look.”
The little elf drew a line from the other end of the circle and connected it to the other end of the two vertical lines.
“Like this. When the circuit forms a closed loop around you and the element release point, a complete magical circuit is constructed.”
As she spoke, the little elf extended her hand, and a faint orb of light gathered in her palm.
“The attracted elements return to your magic core through the other channel, then are sent back to the element release point. During this process, very few elements break free from your attraction, so your spell can persist for a long time.
“Also, if you want to increase the output, you can attract more elements to replenish the circuit. When the elements you attract and the ones dissipating reach equilibrium, that moment is your maximum magic output.”
The light orb in Astraea’s hand grew brighter, until finally Luo En couldn’t look directly at it.
“Now, you can call it Flash Magic or Illumination Magic. But remember, don’t attract too many elements at once—your magic core won’t be able to handle it.”
The little elf casually snapped her fingers to cut off the magical circuit, and the dazzling orb flickered in midair for a few seconds before dissipating into nothing.
“Do you want to try? Hmm?”
Astraea put down the pen. The most basic principle of magic was exactly this—nothing too complex. As long as you had a bit of intelligence to understand it, you could learn it.
Seeing the encouraging look in the little elf’s eyes, Luo En also reached out and began attracting elements again.
Soon, a light orb appeared in his hand.
But compared to Astraea’s orb, Luo En’s was not only dimmer but also flickering, though it was larger in size.
“The magical circuit is unstable, right?” Astraea had anticipated this. She immediately said, “Don’t copy my hand gesture exactly. Beginners can use their other hand to simulate the return circuit.”
Luo En reluctantly withdrew his left hand, which had been holding the little elf’s waist.
When both hands overlapped, the light orb he had condensed became much more solid. Even though its brightness was still far behind the little elf’s, it could at least serve as a makeshift candle.
“You have great talent! Once you get used to it, you’ll be able to cast magic with one hand like me.”
Astraea curled up and snuggled deeper into Luo En’s arms [Redacted].
Luo En could only feel the little elf’s unique fragrance continuously entering his nose [Redacted].
“Mmm…!”
“Wow!”
[Redacted]
The result of this was that the light orb in Luo En’s hand started flickering again. By the time Astraea’s teasing left Luo En blushing, the disrupted magical circuit finally collapsed.
The light orb vanished. Luo En was breathing heavily but hadn’t lost his reason.
“Alright, alright. Practice diligently from now on. Once you can stabilize this spell despite my interference, I’ll teach you something else.”
Although it was for teaching purposes, to avoid turning a hard seat into a plug, Astraea decided to quit while she was ahead. Consider it training Luo En’s willpower.
The little elf slipped out of Luo En’s arms. With her nimble movements, she didn’t seem dizzy at all like before.
Refreshed!
That was how Astraea felt. But one thing still bothered her.
Maximus had such a thick elven scent on him. Where exactly was he keeping the elf?
She hadn’t even heard the voice of any of her kin yet. Considering that elves had much sharper senses than humans—even now, she could clearly hear Luo En if he secretly pleased himself!
Taking a deep breath, Astraea turned her head and quietly glanced at Luo En, who was focused on practicing magic.
Oh no, he’s so handsome!