After all that hassle, Ron finally learned that he was already in the Elven City-State. Although Astraea really wanted to replicate the Elven Goddess’s teleportation array so they could return to the Human Kingdom, without knowing the coordinates, even if she replicated the array, they might be teleported to some random place.
Without accurate coordinates, ending up stuck in a wall was a real possibility. Those were lessons of blood and tears in the history of magical exploration.
But compared to that, what troubled Astraea more now was how to disguise Ron. The disguise magic the little elf had used before actually served an optical camouflage function. It could make the little elf’s face look less stunning and make her pointed ears look similar to human ears. But it was only appearance; in reality, disguise magic couldn’t change the form of things.
So if disguise magic were used on Ron, it could indeed make him look like an elf, but his massive build couldn’t be changed. Simply put, Ron’s collision volume was too large compared to a normal elf.
Then again, what if they just made Ron’s ears pointed and claimed he was a half-elf? Half-elves were very rare in the world. Astraea had only heard of such beings but didn’t know what half-elves actually looked like. Since even she didn’t know, ordinary elves probably wouldn’t know either, right?
Thinking this, she cast the spell on Ron. Watching the 2.2-meter-tall Ron’s ears become as pointed as hers, the little elf nodded with satisfaction.
“Not bad, this look.”
Of course, appearance alone wasn’t enough; Ron needed clothes too. His previous clothes had been stretched to tatters by his grown body, with many places split open, barely hanging on him now. Astraea secretly glanced at the huge bulge, and immediately her face was dyed with an abnormal blush.
“Teacher Astraea, what’s wrong?”
Astraea, whose tone was unnatural, didn’t notice the knowing smile on Ron’s face.
“N-nothing! It’s just a bit too hot here.”
After these days of close companionship, Ron had figured out the true nature of his little teacher. He might not have known at first, but later he figured out what the occasional water sounds by his ear at night were. This lewd elf!
Astraea, thinking she had fooled him, collected fallen leaves everywhere on the ground and used strips torn from her previous cloak to make Ron a set of leaf clothes. This thing definitely wasn’t warm, but the Elven Home Island had spring-like weather all year round—land that could make the Human Kingdom cry with envy—so there was no need for much warmth.
As for whether Ron in his leaf clothes would attract attention, that wasn’t a concern. In fact, as a race close to nature, many elves directly used forest fallen leaves to make clothes. Although those weren’t as rough as the ones on Ron, they weren’t much better either. So Ron’s outfit wasn’t out of place.
“Alright, done.”
After putting the leaf clothes on Ron and casting a preservation spell on the leaves, Astraea finally completed all her preparations. Now they could walk freely in elven society!
As for the collar on Astraea’s neck, the little elf had an explanation for that too. She would say it wasn’t a collar but an ornament. Anyway, the little elf wasn’t willing to take off this gift Ron had given her. After all, only with the collar around her neck did she feel like Ron was right beside her. Was Astraea still a normal elf?
“Teacher Astraea, where are we going now?”
Ron was completely unfamiliar with the Elven City-State, so now he could only obediently listen to the little elf. Besides, he was a guardian knight; if the little elf said east, he would never go west.
“Hmm… bring your armor and come with me first.”
Looking at the two Sacred Guard members lying there like corpses, Astraea felt they should deal with Ron’s armor first. Ron couldn’t wear the armor now, but they couldn’t just leave this human-style armor lying around, right? She didn’t know any Spatial Storage Spell either, so now they could only find a way to hide the armor. And coincidentally, Astraea knew such a good place in the Sacred Ground.
Closing her eyes and feeling the call in her heart, the little elf led Ron through the forest. As the Elven Sacred Ground, the forest’s vegetation was very dense; clearings like the one they had just been in were actually rare. If a normal human came, they would probably need a machete to hack out a path just to barely pass through.
But Astraea wasn’t human, and Ron wasn’t an ordinary human either. When approaching those obstructing bushes, the branches and leaves would slightly tilt, making way for Ron.
Ron, who had drunk the Forest Holy Liquid and been blessed by the Elven Goddess, was curious about how the bushes moved while observing as he traveled. He only figured out that it wasn’t the bushes moving, but the entire forest cooperating with his movement. This was a novel experience for Ron.
“Only Xi’aofula Suona has enjoyed such treatment before.”
As an elf, Astraea couldn’t help feeling a bit jealous seeing Ron so loved by the forest. Ron’s footsteps paused upon hearing the name the little elf said.
“The elf who supposedly stabbed the All-Father?”
“Right, she’s an elven hero, but she should be dead by now.”
Astraea recalled the scene she had seen in her dream before—Xi’aofula being pierced by the All-Father’s halberd. If that scene were shown, it could probably scare all elven newborns into crying. Ron had a strange expression. Earlier, he had heard all the conversations between the All-Father and the Elven Goddess while maintaining consciousness.
Judging by the All-Father’s attitude, that elf named Xi’aofula should probably still be alive and well. Just that she might have already been pickled by the All-Father. Thinking that Astraea was still an elf, Ron felt it was better not to tell her the truth.
After traveling for who knows how long, Ron could vaguely see a body of water ahead. When the little elf led Ron completely out of the forest, Ron was startled to realize that before him was a huge lake. The lake water was clear and emitted a sacred aura. In the center of the lake was Lakeheart Island, upon which stood a giant statue of the Elven Goddess.
“This is?”
“This is the Holy Lake.”
Astraea introduced it to Ron. Since just now, she had felt a strange feeling in her heart, urging her to come to this lakeside. Few elves came here; little Astraea used to come here to play often. Like the forest, this lake was also considered elven sacred ground, and Senhill Village was nearby, less than 10 kilometers away.
But the little elf didn’t want to go home for a visit. If she led Ron, this hulking guy, home, her parents would definitely break her legs. As for the Sacred Guard? The Sacred Ground was too big; if they kept high alert, then the elves wouldn’t need to deploy troops on the front lines—every elf in the race could come guard the Sacred Ground. Running into two Sacred Guard elves earlier was already bad luck.
“Come deal with your armor quickly; it’s troublesome to carry.”
The little elf said as she threw a gauntlet in.
splash
The gauntlet flung by the little elf drew an arc in the air and fell into the lake. Ron’s eye twitched.
“Isn’t this the Holy Lake? How…”
“It just sounds nice, that’s all. Just think of it as throwing pebbles in.”
Astraea said nonchalantly, then threw another gauntlet in. She had thrown plenty of things into the lake as a child and the Goddess hadn’t done anything to her. Well, that wasn’t right either—she still hadn’t grown up, so the Goddess probably wouldn’t mind.
“This… alright.”
Ron hesitated before flinging his breastplate. His strength was far greater than the little elf’s; the heavy breastplate flew over 100 meters before falling into the lake. And then nothing happened.
“See, the Goddess is magnanimous; she won’t mind us throwing a few things.”
The little elf said as she handed the leg armor to Ron; it was too heavy for her to throw far. Ron, completely unaware that the Elven Goddess was covering her face while watching them, threw the leg armor into the lake as well. The remaining miscellaneous items were quickly disposed of, and now they could walk around boldly.
They still needed to find a way back to the Human Kingdom; the two of them had suddenly disappeared, and they didn’t know how Maximus and Lucius were reacting.
Should they take the route she had used to stow away to the Human Kingdom when she was 18? Astraea recalled in her mind the journey where she followed a smuggling ship through over two months of hardship before reaching Port Tils. Better think of another way; stowing away could only serve as a backup route.
Since they came to the Elven Home Island through the teleportation array maliciously hidden by the Elven Goddess… The little elf looked at the giant Elven Goddess statue on Lakeheart Island. Maybe they should try asking the Elven Goddess to teleport them back? But the Goddess wouldn’t be so idle as to teleport them to the Elven Home Island just to mess with them, right? The Goddess must have a purpose. Recklessly begging the Goddess to send them back probably wouldn’t work anyway.
‘Damn it… what does that Goddess want us here for?’
Astraea, who had no trace of reverence for her own mother goddess, racked her brains thinking about what the Elven Goddess meant. Ron, seeing the little elf thinking so hard, didn’t disturb his little teacher. He squatted by the lake, picking up pebbles and practicing his throwing technique.
This was good for him to get familiar with his rapidly increased strength, and he also wanted to see how far he could throw the pebbles. Until he saw a figure walking toward them.
“Teacher Astraea? Stop thinking for now; someone seems to be coming toward us.”
“Don’t disturb me, I’m thinking.”
“Someone seems to be coming toward us.”
“Huh?”