Regarding the issue of gladiators, Astraea buried it deep in her heart.
This wasn’t something she could solve right now, and she wouldn’t recklessly jump out shouting about liberating gladiators or anything like that.
She had sympathy, but she wasn’t an idiot.
Doing so would only harm herself, and her guardian knight Luo En would be harmed as well—maybe even a bunch of innocent gladiators would get caught in the crossfire.
Though those gladiators were already in a state of sustainable persecution.
The little elf withdrew her gaze from the twin siblings and began to idly survey the entire arena floor.
Thanks to Maximus, even though Luo En was only a squire, the box he’d been assigned was beyond compare with what other knights received.
Not only was it luxuriously decorated with an unlimited supply of fruit, but it also had an excellent view. From inside the box, she could see all the different venues across the arena.
Even if some venues were too far away to see clearly, the box thoughtfully came equipped with an Observation Magic Array, which allowed her to adjust the viewing screen.
To be honest, even the place where the little elf and Luo En currently lived wasn’t as luxurious as this box.
The red soft lounge chair inside used a material the little elf couldn’t name, padded with plenty of soft down underneath. As soon as Astraea lay down, she sank at least eight inches.
Of course, such excellent treatment came with a price. At the duke’s request, Luo En had signed up for the regular knights’ competition—he had to achieve a good result as a squire among the regular knights.
After a boring hour passed, the gladiator performances on the field finally ended, and Astraea could no longer bear to watch those heartbreaking scenes.
The Kingdom Knight Tournament moved into the classic opening ceremony segment.
The young king, who had squeezed time to deliver the opening address, used makeup to conceal his haggard face. Through the magic of the court mages, he appeared very energetic.
After casting a resentful glance at the leisurely Maximus, the young king ascended the podium and began his first speech hosting the Knight Tournament since his accession.
The content was nothing special—just emphasizing that during the current Great Expedition, humanity should unite under the radiance of the All-Father and drive out the Heteromorphs.
Astraea was not human, so she wasn’t impressed by the king’s speech. She was more concerned about what the heavily taxed farmers would eat.
Unfortunately, the king’s entire speech was about glory and the like. Regarding the kingdom’s foundation—those farmers—he mentioned only one word.
Endurance.
Though the king’s speech was boring, as a symbol of his personal rule, many nobles offered their cheers. Such insincere cheers were not few.
However, Astraea could see that after cheering, many nobles still fixed their eyes on Maximus, who acted as if nothing had happened.
The duke, who had held power for fifty years, had already become the symbol of the kingdom. For many young nobles, the duke was already governing when they were born.
Now, if Maximus showed even the slightest sign of dissent, the young king’s personal rule would immediately become a joke.
Countless powerful nobles stared at the duke.
Maximus ignored these gazes. With his sword at his waist, his tall frame knelt on one knee before the young king.
“By the All-Father above, long live His Majesty!”
The regent duke chose to pledge loyalty. The All-Father bishop behind the young king immediately stepped forward and placed the golden laurel crown—symbol of royal authority—on the king’s head.
“By the All-Father’s witness!”
Then came a group of dozens of senior Allfather Priests, who chanted in unison to praise the young king while also reciting prayers to the All-Father.
Fortunately, they didn’t suddenly decide to perform some Heteromorph sacrifice at this grand event, or else Astraea would have felt truly uncomfortable.
The laurel crown settled on the young king’s head, then shone with golden light. The aura it emitted was one the little elf was extremely familiar with.
The All-Father.
The god of humanity, witnessing the young king’s coronation.
The priests, who had originally only been going through the motions, fell to their knees weeping one after another. The nobles in the audience shouted “Long live!” and even the gladiators on the field paid tribute to the king, who had manifested a divine miracle.
The only three people on the field whose emotions remained stable were the king, Luo En, and the little elf.
The king was not happy; on the contrary, his face was ashen, but his expression was completely hidden from outsiders by the All-Father’s golden light.
Luo En himself was a Chosen One and had been screwed over by the All-Father before. Already not very devout, he now felt even less connection to the All-Father.
As for the little elf? She sadly realized that she seemed to have grown accustomed to the All-Father’s aura—she no longer bristled at it.
“By the way, what exactly did your human king do to receive a blessing just from being crowned?” Astraea, now thoroughly marinated in the All-Father’s presence, asked.
“Not sure, but if His Majesty is blessed by the All-Father at this critical juncture, it should greatly boost morale on the front lines, especially among the chaplains.”
Luo En imagined it: those religious fanatics, upon hearing that the king had been blessed by the All-Father, would probably fight even more crazily. The Multiracial Alliance on the other side was in for a treat.
The little elf sighed quietly. Now she thought the All-Father was nothing but a big fool who had nothing better to do than randomly throw blessings around.
Of course, it might be that mere mortals couldn’t understand the mind of a god. In any case, Astraea stopped trying to figure out what the All-Father was thinking.
She looked at Luo En with bright eyes and said in a coquettish tone that even she couldn’t maintain without cracking up: “Brother Luo En, do your best in the knight competition~”
Then she reached out her hands, wanting a hug from Luo En. But Luo En was simply stunned by the little elf’s attitude.
“It’s okay, Teacher Astraea. You don’t have to force yourself for my sake.” Luo En gently placed his large, ungloved hand on Astraea’s little head, and she squinted in contentment.
Another month of living together had cooled their interaction from the unnaturally intimate state before. Now Luo En and the little elf’s dynamic truly resembled that of a guardian knight and his charge.
But for some reason, Luo En always felt that the little elf had been somewhat dissatisfied with him lately. Yet every time he really looked into it, that dissatisfaction vanished into thin air.
It was baffling.
‘So comfortable… I want Luo En to keep petting me… No!
Astraea, immersed in Luo En’s gentleness, suddenly opened her eyes. Her pointed ears twitched a few times, as if she was forcing herself to snap out of it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Almost forgot the important thing.”
Astraea turned over and got up from that impossibly soft lounge chair. She fumbled under her cloak for a bit, then pulled out a small white porcelain bottle.
The little elf pulled out the wooden stopper, and a strange fragrance wafted from the bottle’s mouth.
Luo En took a sniff. The smell was complex, hard to describe. If he had to compare, it was like mustard mixed with cooling balm—one whiff and it went straight to his head.
“What is this?”
When he didn’t know, he asked. Luo En had that good habit in front of the little elf, and she never hid things from him.
“This is a Secret Potion from our elves.” Astraea handed the little bottle to Luo En. “I begged Aiouwen for a long time before she agreed to teach me how to make it.”
It was also thanks to Maximus’s private treasury that she could find the spiritual materials unique to the Elven City-States.
“What does the potion do?” Luo En looked at the thick, emerald-green liquid inside the small porcelain bottle. He could feel the vast vitality contained within.
“Drink it down, and I’ll tell you.” The little elf was being coy this time. She smiled at Luo En. “Or… I could feed it to you.”
Now that got Luo En’s interest. He hadn’t actively harassed the little elf this past month, but that didn’t mean he had no interest in that direction.
It was just that due to the guardian contract, Luo En felt he ought to be more serious.
Now that Astraea herself had proposed such an idea, Luo En naturally wouldn’t refuse.
Still in his armor, Luo En took off his helmet, then sat down and looked at the slightly embarrassed little elf.
“R-really, you pervert knight…”
Astraea’s face was bright red, her ears twitching. But she wasn’t joking; she actually took the little bottle back from Luo En’s hand.
After taking a small sip, the little elf held the liquid in her mouth and leaned close to Luo En’s lips.
The darling of nature bent down and delivered the potion into the knight’s mouth. A surge of immense vitality burst forth, and Luo En’s eyes widened.
Just that small sip made him feel as if he had merged with his surroundings. The elements he had only vaguely sensed before revealed themselves in full glory for the first time.
Smooch smooch~
The little elf’s tongue roamed inside Luo En’s mouth, ensuring the potion was delivered as thoroughly as possible.
Before Luo En could recover from the shock of the potion’s effect, Astraea straightened up, panting slightly.
Then she took another small sip of the potion and delivered it into Luo En’s mouth again…
The opening ceremony of the Knight Tournament came to an end. The young king, who had stolen the spotlight bathed in the All-Father’s light, announced the start of the tournament.
Astraea finally fed Luo En the last mouthful of the potion. Not a single drop remained in the white porcelain bottle. Although there was a motive of taking the opportunity to steal kisses from the knight, the little elf had still accomplished the important task well.
“Huff… How do you feel?”
Satisfied, Astraea sat back on the soft lounge chair and asked Luo En while catching her breath.
It had gotten a bit too intense; toward the end, Luo En, no longer caring about the potion’s effects, had almost kissed her unconscious again.
“Couldn’t be better, Teacher Astraea. What is this?”
His mind clearer than ever before, Luo En stretched his limbs. He had a wonderful sensation—as if the whole world had accepted him.
“Hehe~ This is naturally…”