Chapter 37: I need time

When Green returned to the Lord’s Manor, a petite figure darted toward him.

“Big Brother, Big Brother!” The little girl running up to him had a mischievous smile on her fair face, giggling sweetly as she affectionately tugged at Green’s trouser leg.

“Did you give the gift to Witch Sis?” The girl’s large, sparkling eyes brimmed with anticipation. “I know Witch Sis loves playing with dolls the most!”

“Yes, I gave it to her.”

Green reached out and pinched the girl’s soft, tender cheek. “So, Mary, have you been a good girl lately, so your mother doesn’t have to worry?”

He crouched down, chatting with the little girl.

“Hmph!” Mary raised her head proudly and started boasting, “Big Brother, you don’t know how awesome I’ve been lately! Not only can I go to the market and buy ingredients by myself, but I can even clean the house so well that even Mr. Brown praised me!”

Brown?

Green raised his eyebrows.

He hadn’t expected that the knight who was originally strongly opposed to hiring refugees in the Lord’s Manor would actually change his stance now.

But, after all, time changes people, for better or worse.

Just like the witch the girl spoke of.

Once upon a time, witches were something everyone feared and hated, a menace to be eradicated at all costs.

But now Sophie had become someone that some people looked up to in their hearts.

At first, it was only those refugees who survived the Long Winter thanks to Sophie’s inventions.

But as Green began to publicly praise Sophie’s deeds and cleared out certain unstable elements in the territory, everything changed.

Witch Sophie was no longer a symbol of destruction and despair.

On the contrary, at least here in Fallen Leaf Town, she had already become a symbol of hope.

As the territory welcomed more people, Green firmly believed that more and more would come to accept Sophie in the future.

“All right, that means our Mary really is the best girl.”

Green reached out and patted Mary’s forehead. The girl closed her eyes and purred, looking just like a cat enjoying the petting of a two-legged beast.

“Hey, Mary, don’t bother the Lord!”

At that moment, a middle-aged woman in a chef’s robe hurried over, quickly pulling Mary away and bowing repeatedly to Green.

“I’m so sorry, Lord, Mary’s still young and doesn’t know the proper manners…” The cook’s face had gone a bit pale, bowing her head in fear and apologizing over and over.

Although she had long heard that Fallen Leaf Town’s lord was quite different from other nobles—

Still…

Letting a commoner girl cling to him so disgracefully, talking about dolls, and even mentioning that suspiciously close witch?

The cook was trembling all over.

Her husband had died early in the Long Winter, killed during a bandit raid, leaving just the mother and daughter.

If they hadn’t been lucky—meeting a traveling merchant who brought them to Fallen Leaf Town—they would never have survived until now.

But here, the cook had discovered that it was nothing like the “evil witch’s den” people whispered about. On the contrary, the prosperity and abundance of resources here made it seem like paradise—even the legendary City of Radiance might not compare.

So, the cook cherished her job here dearly, never expecting her own daughter would be so thoughtless…

She looked nervously at Green.

To her surprise, the lord, rumored to be a good-for-nothing, didn’t get angry at all.

In fact, Green even showed a slightly apologetic expression.

Apologetic?

To me, a commoner?

The cook almost thought she was imagining it out of fear.

“Sorry, Mrs. Cook.” Green gave a few polite coughs, his formerly casual demeanor becoming a bit more serious. “I was the one who lost my composure just now.”

He didn’t say anything like “no need for such formality” or “I don’t care about the difference between nobles and commoners.”

Because Green understood: change is never the work of a moment.

“But, it’s good for children to be lively.”

Green gave the cook a slight nod, then walked to his study.

“Lord!”

Sir Brown, who had been waiting for a while, bowed and said, “The envoy from the Elven Court has arrived.”

“Good.” Green looked around and lowered his voice. “How are the security arrangements?”

“Everything went smoothly, sir.”

Sir Brown nodded vigorously. “Ever since you ordered the registration of outsiders, it’s become very difficult for other territories to send spies. Who’d have thought disaster relief grain could be so useful?”

“Excellent.”

Seeing that the territory’s development was getting on track, Green smiled with satisfaction and gave another order: “Keep security tight. I have a feeling the neighboring lords still have tricks up their sleeves.”

“I’ll make sure security is airtight!”

Sir Brown nodded forcefully.

Ka-chak.

Green opened the door to the study.

Sunset light streamed through the windows, casting a thin layer of gold over the spacious room.

A graceful figure was browsing its contents with interest.

“For humans, you are indeed impressive.”

Sharp pointed ears, a cold, porcelain face, and proud eyes.

The Elven envoy was a textbook-perfect version of how humans imagined elves.

“I am deeply honored.”

Green casually pulled up a chair and sat, making a pot of steaming hot tea for his distinguished guest.

“Would you like some?”

He offered the cup.

“This tea…”

Ambassador Linda’s exquisitely sculpted face showed a hint of surprise, her bright eyes flashing with astonishment. “It’s actually brewed from World Tree branches?”

“I thought Miss Linda must be homesick after such a long journey, so I took the liberty of using this tea to ease your longing for home.”

Green smiled radiantly.

“Hmph, as expected of a cunning human…”

The elf lady picked up the cup, eyeing it warily. “Trying to use this trick to lower our guard?”

Ambassador Linda did not immediately take a sip.

Humans were not to be trusted; those short-lived creatures only cared about immediate gains and never understood long-term thinking.

For profit, they’d do anything, even betray their closest friends.

Such a corrupt race had only reached their current position through a string of underhanded means.

As a proud elf, she would never be fooled by this human!

However…

After confirming the tea wasn’t drugged, Linda still took a sip.

Delicious, so fragrant…

“Wait.” Linda’s eyes widened as if something had just occurred to her. She blurted out, “How did you manage to harvest such fresh tea leaves at this time of year? And with such barren, poor soil in this wasteland—how could you possibly grow leaves of this quality?”

Facing Linda’s barrage of questions, Green stroked his chin mysteriously.

“Well,” he replied lightly, “it’s just that our Fallen Leaf Town is lucky enough to have a certain remarkable witch.”

A witch?

Those pitiful things—long-lived, but little different from humans in essence, cursed besides?

In Linda’s mind, witches were always hunted by the Church of Light or teetering on the edge of losing control. In no way could she associate the word “remarkable” with them.

“I’ve told you before, Miss Linda—I sincerely want to cooperate with your people.”

Green spoke earnestly, “I can help you heal the World Tree.”

Heal the World Tree?

That was a problem the elves had struggled with for years. And now, this human, who wouldn’t even live a hundred years, dared to say he could solve it?

But, but…

Linda looked at the cup in her hand, inhaling the fragrance of World Tree branches, and recalled the sweet taste of the pure energy she’d just swallowed…

Gulp.

Miss Linda swallowed.

“What do you want in return?”

She asked softly.

“Time,” Green replied without hesitation. “I need more time.”