“Don’t… just call me by my name.”
Ye Xingyao reached out, stopping Fumier before the words “Big Sister Xiao Yao” could escape her lips.
If she didn’t speak up now, she might actually end up as “Big Sister Xiao Yao.” At the very least… she wasn’t mentally prepared for that yet.
‘Even if my future self gets used to living as a girl, this sense of strangeness in my heart probably won’t fade easily.’
‘Of course, if I decide to do something “interesting” on my own… that’s a different story. Yeah, that’s it.’
“That makes sense. It wouldn’t be right to address the Lady Star Elf so casually… How about… Miss Xingyao?”
A look of distress appeared on Fumier’s face. After a moment of thought, she offered a compromise.
“That… works, I guess. But why call me Lady Star Elf?”
After some hesitation, Ye Xingyao finally agreed to the title “Miss Xingyao.” Otherwise, she might lose herself in a chorus of “Big Sister Xiao Yao” and accidentally expose the truth to her sister. If that happened, her life as a brother would truly be over…
‘I can’t let that happen!’
“But the Lady Star Elf is the Lady Star Elf, isn’t she?”
Fumier tilted her head, looking at Ye Xingyao with confusion.
“I think Xiao Yao is asking why you’re suddenly using a formal title for her,” Yi Shiyue said, stepping in to smooth things over as the communication between her girlfriend and the little Blood Elf reached a strange stalemate.
“Oh, I see! Let me think… Miss Xingyao knows I came to Satellite City specifically to find the Star Elf, right?”
Ye Xingyao nodded. The girl had mentioned that before.
“A Star Elf only appears when the Elf Race is about to face a great disaster, so I came to…”
She trailed off. Ye Xingyao and Yi Shiyue both felt a surge of tension until they saw the conflicted expression on Fumier’s face.
“Um… to help? To assist? Ugh, Mandarin is so hard to speak. Anyway, anyway, I’m here to help!”
“You’re not from Zhongzhou? But your Mandarin is quite standard.”
Ye Xingyao was a bit puzzled. Even as a Hunter, she had only ever operated around Satellite City. Aside from online videos, she didn’t know much about people from other states.
In this world, every state held traces left behind by historical Eastern and Western peoples. Even in Zhongzhou, names like Ivanov or Ridkovsky were common. People might find them a bit of a mouthful, but they didn’t think much of it.
“No, I’m from Xizhou. Well, you should know who I am by now. I’m a Blood Elf. Um… what else should I say?”
Fumier tapped her lip, her thoughts drifting away. It took her a moment to snap back to reality.
Taking this opportunity, Ye Xingyao studied her face again. It was small and exquisite, quite different from most people in Zhongzhou. Combined with her outfit, she looked like a little doll.
“I remember now! The elders in my family said the Elves in Zhongzhou are useless because they can’t even win over a figure like the Star Elf… As it happens, Fumier isn’t a very important person at home…”
Suddenly, the door to the Safehouse opened. Seeing that it was Hongye Qiu, the girls nodded to one another and continued listening to Fumier’s explanation.
“Fumier thought that if I could find the Star Elf and help her grow, then maybe fewer Elves would have to die.”
“That’s why Fumier came to Zhongzhou! But humans here still seem to harbor a lot of hatred toward the Elf Race. I had nowhere else to go, so I asked Mite for help… You probably know the rest.”
Fumier’s voice grew quiet, and her expression turned somber. She likely felt guilty for helping Mite.
“I see. I was wondering why the Blood Elves, who usually keep to themselves, would suddenly send such a young child to Zhongzhou… So, you’re a runaway?”
Hongye Qiu pulled over a chair and sat in the center of the Safehouse. Including her, the room was now quite crowded. Fumier sat on the bed while Yi Shiyue supported Ye Xingyao nearby, making the once-spacious living area feel cramped.
“Yes. But don’t worry, ma’am. I don’t think anyone from my family will come to Zhongzhou to look for me!”
Fumier nodded, then added something as if she had just remembered.
“Because of your hair color?” Hongye Qiu pressed.
“That might be part of it…”
A lonely expression returned to Fumier’s face.
“What are you guys talking about? I don’t follow.”
Ye Xingyao had a habit of asking when she didn’t understand something. ‘Am I really the only one here who knows nothing?’ She had just caught a glimpse of Xiaoyue looking equally confused.
“Well… let me explain. Generally speaking, Blood Elves have white hair. Fumier doesn’t have that hair color, though her eyes are exactly like theirs,” Hongye Qiu said, leaning her Katana against the chair as she recalled what she knew of the Blood Elves.
“And? What does that have to do with her running away?”
Ye Xingyao still didn’t understand what Hongye Qiu was getting at. It was understandable — while she knew the Elven Language and was knowledgeable for her age, she knew nothing about Elven history.
“Wait, I think my grandmother mentioned this. There’s a group of High Elves in Xizhou who place extreme importance on blood purity. They even only allow marriages within the family to maintain their noble lineage…”
Yi Shiyue finally finished her train of thought and picked up where Hongye Qiu was headed.
‘Is the only one here who’s completely clueless really just me?!’ Ye Xingyao felt a wave of frustration.
“Exactly. So, a hair color like Miss Fumier’s would likely be heavily criticized within her family,” Hongye Qiu said, casually finishing the sentence Yi Shiyue hadn’t quite completed.
“Haha… It wasn’t quite that bad. Everyone was very kind to me. It’s just that Fumier could never be of much help to them…”
Fumier gave a forced laugh. It was clear the topic made her uncomfortable.
“So… Sister Hongye, what’s the word from the Human Alliance? And what about that Magical Girl, Miss Jin Ming?”
Seeing the mood, Ye Xingyao changed the subject.
“The Human Alliance plans to share their information once they’ve finished interrogating Mite. As for the Magical Girl, Qiluo contacted me and said she has already made it home safely.”