Contrary to Lu Qiuchen’s expectations, the figure ahead did not panic upon noticing the situation. Instead, they lightly leapt over the knights’ encirclement, springing up onto the nearby wooden eaves, then swiftly climbed to the rooftops. With agile steps, they darted across the interconnected blacksmith shop roofs, heading straight toward the center of town.
“Who the hell is running wild on my roof? Don’t let me catch you, brat!”
A muscular man, his work clothes soaked with sweat, stormed out of his smithy, holding a blacksmith’s hammer in one hand and shouting up at the rooftops.
“Alice! It’s an elf! I saw pointy ears just now!” Lilia whispered excitedly, pressing closer to her.
“You’re supposed to call her Sister Alice!” Lu Qiuchen internally complained. This girl had been sweetly calling her “Sister” nonstop in the carriage, yet the moment they got off, her true nature resurfaced.
“Alice! Let’s follow and take a look! I’ve never seen an elf before!” Lilia still clung to her previous way of addressing her.
This little blue dragon was just like Andora—every time she went a few days without causing trouble, she had to stir up some mischief to keep things lively.
“Alright, I’ve never seen an elf either. Don’t forget your staff!” Lu Qiuchen replied with a helpless expression, agreeing before Lilia could press her further.
“You’re the best, Sister Alice!” Lilia squealed with delight.
What a shameless dragon! Where did the cool and elegant ice queen from when they first met go?
Seeing that Lu Qiuchen agreed, Lilia excitedly prepared to cast a spell. Reminded in time, she quickly pulled out the staff she’d prepared earlier as a cover, then used Levitation to lift both of them as they pursued the elf.
Unlike silver dragons, who specialized in water and ice magic and minored in spatial magic, or black dragons, who could only cultivate fire magic, red, blue, and green dragons practiced not only their two innate elemental disciplines but also learned basic spells from other schools—like wind and earth. Levitation, a tier-4 wind spell, was one that Lilia had taught herself.
A figure lightly dropped from the eaves and wove through the narrow alleys of the old city, twisting and turning before vanishing into a secluded passageway rarely traveled by others.
The figure cautiously scanned their surroundings. Confirming they weren’t being followed, they slipped swiftly into a dim back alley.
Moments later, a blonde, blue-eyed elf strolled casually out of the alley and onto a busier street. As she passed familiar shopkeepers and neighbors, they greeted her warmly.
“Veronica! Want some freshly baked white bread? We’ve got lemon cake and coconut cookies, too!”
“Hey, Veronica, how’s life treating you here? Honestly, you should move to the new district—the conditions there are so much better than this dump!”
“Thanks, but I’m good for today.”
“I quite like it here, actually. But thank you for your concern!”
The elf named Veronica responded to each person kindly, chatting briefly as she walked briskly forward.
“Elves are so gentle and kind. Way easier to get along with than those picky noble ladies. I wish my son would marry an elf, settle down, and stop dreaming about becoming a knight.”
“Yeah, keep dreaming! Your fool of a son marrying an elf? Elves can live for hundreds of years, you know!”
Veronica ignored the idle gossip behind her as she continued walking.
Soon, she reached the edge of the district and stopped in front of a standalone house that, while clearly old, had its own charm. She pulled out a key and quietly unlocked the door, slipping through the narrow gap and immediately closing it behind her.
Only after locking the door and confirming she was safely inside did she let out a long breath of relief and relax.
“What are you doing?”
A stranger’s voice came from behind her, making her body tense. Instinctively, she reached for the dagger hidden at her waist, pivoted, and dove into the adjacent bedroom, her back flat against the wall as she prepared for a potential attack.
But no strike came.
She waited in tense silence, unaware that Lu Qiuchen and Fiya were now standing right behind her. Watching the elf’s anxious reaction, Fiya finally couldn’t hold back her laughter, covering her mouth as she whispered, “Sister Alice, this elf seems kind of… clumsy~”
The elf, who had been pressed tightly against the wall, turned her head at the sound of voices. Her pale face instantly flushed bright red—Lia’s words clearly had quite the impact.
She raised her dagger defensively in front of her. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment, her cheeks grew redder still. Glaring at the two unfamiliar girls before her, she snapped, “Who are you? Why did you break into my room?”
Seeing the elf’s eyes beginning to mist over, Lu Qiuchen got the distinct feeling that she was genuinely upset. She cleared her throat and tried to make her voice sound more serious. “You caused a commotion at the city gate.”
“Don’t try to deny it. I saw everything you did… Forest Elf.” Lu Qiuchen did her best to sound authoritative, trying a cryptic bluff to pressure the elf. Unfortunately, her naturally gentle voice softened the effect, and the intended intimidation came off a little strange.
The elf froze for a second, but didn’t seem to care about the odd tone. Realizing she had already been exposed, she became more alert and instinctively covered the small pouch tied to her waist with her right hand.
“So you’re here to steal my gem too?” the forest elf asked, her face still flushed but now tinged with the grievance of someone wronged.
Lu Qiuchen and Lia simultaneously wore confused expressions.
Wait, aren’t we here to catch a thief and maintain city peace? Why does she look like the victim all of a sudden?
Relations between dragons and elves weren’t exactly friendly, but they had once fought side by side. Realizing she might have jumped to conclusions and that there could be more to the situation, Lu Qiuchen chose to remove her disguise and reveal her true form to earn the elf’s trust.
But the moment the elf saw the dragon horns and tail on the girl before her, her expression twisted with anger instead. She screamed, “You wretched dragonkin!” and rushed forward.
Lia, seeing the elf try to attack her sister, let out a cold snort and placed her hands on her hips. A flash of lightning sparked, and with a clang, the dagger fell to the floor. The elven girl collapsed unconscious.
Lu Qiuchen looked helplessly at her troublemaking little sister.
She’s only just reached the Saint tier—was that really necessary? Honestly, with how boastful this might sound, that elf’s dagger wouldn’t even scratch her skin.
*****
Later that evening, Veronica slowly opened her eyes in a daze, only to be horrified to find herself tied spread-eagle to her own bed. Her limbs were secured to each of the four bedposts.
The two wicked women who had barged into her house earlier were now standing at her bedside, posing as if they were about to torture her. Unable to hold it in, she let out a loud scream.
After the scream subsided, Lu Qiuchen nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad. This rookie’s got guts.”
Veronica didn’t understand what she was saying, but Phia still played along and repeated the line Lu Qiuchen had taught her: “Go ahead and scream—no one will come to save you.”
After a pause, Phia added her own twist: “We’ve already put up a soundproofing spell. No one can hear you!”
Veronica’s face turned pale with terror. Recalling the conversation she had overheard before passing out, she hurriedly said, “It was those human tin cans who stole my gem! I was just trying to take it back!”
The two dragons exchanged a knowing glance, as if to say I knew it, then looked at Veronica again with somewhat apologetic eyes.
Veronica’s mouth twitched. Of course she wasn’t an idiot—she could tell these two weren’t actually hostile toward her. Even though they were still putting on an intimidating act, their eyes were bright and clear. A wave of grievance washed over her. Biting her lip, she softly began to cry.
The two by the bed panicked. They looked at each other, then quickly untied the elf.
Meanwhile, the true culprit behind this prank, Phia, shamelessly pushed all the blame onto her adoptive sister. While consoling the elf, she ratted out Lu Qiuchen without hesitation.
“It wasn’t my idea! It was that evil woman over there who wanted to see you embarrassed.”
“Can you stop crying already~~? If you keep crying, I’ll start crying too!”
Seeing the two girls on the verge of tears, Lu Qiuchen felt deeply troubled. Then she remembered—she was also a woman now. With a sigh, a thought surfaced, something she’d read before: the body shapes the mind. If someone like her had their body turned female, would their thoughts and personality unconsciously shift under the influence of estrogen? Would she slowly become more feminine?
Would I eventually turn into a soft, delicate girl too? I really don’t want that.
She pushed aside these useless thoughts for the time being and waited for Fiya to soothe the elf.
“We saw it earlier, really. Big Sis said it was a gem unique to forest elves. We were just teasing you a little, I’m sorry~~ Please forgive us.”
Thanks to Fiya’s combined tactic of coaxing and acting cute, the elf still looked reluctant to accept the apology, but at least the tears had stopped.
Wiping her eyes, the elf’s face remained flushed with anger as she shouted, “You filthy reptiles, get out of my room right now!”
Lu Qiuchen gave a bitter smile. To actually provoke a forest elf—usually so gentle and kind—to the point of cursing, our joke really went too far. We’re total villains in this case.
The elf girl fell silent, expression cold. With no other choice, the two dragons left, clearly dejected.
“What kind of gift should we bring tomorrow as an apology?” The two discussed as they walked farther away.
Back in the room, the elf sat in a daze for a while, then quietly started gathering the ropes scattered on the floor.
*****
At dawn the next day, as Veronica opened her door, she was met with two smiling faces thrust close to hers.
Lu Qiuchen wore a sincere smile. “We hope you’ll forgive us. This is a lemon cake—fresh from the oven!”
The elf girl slammed the door shut with a frosty face, then tried to sneak out through the window on the side of her room—only to once again see those two annoying faces waiting outside.
Her fists clenched. So tempting to punch them!
She remembered how she’d been knocked out in one hit yesterday and also recalled that these two nuisances were dragons. After quickly assessing the difference in their strength, she begrudgingly let them inside.
Lu Qiuchen had spent some time at the inn yesterday reviewing everything that had happened. She came to the conclusion that Veronica’s anger likely stemmed from the two of them being dragons. After placing the cake on the table, she cautiously asked, “Miss Forest Elf, do you dislike dragons in general? Or did some dragon do something to make you hate them?”
As soon as she heard that, Veronica’s face turned bright red. “You’re one to talk! What you two did yesterday was already super annoying!”
“What’s worse is—your kind has been harassing our village for a whole month! No one could get proper rest!”
Lu Qiuchen and Fiya looked at each other, realization dawning on their faces.
Of course… the two silver dragons who just finished their punishment on Dragon Island!
They both looked awkward. This really wasn’t something easy to explain away. Better to change the subject for now.
“Veronica, yesterday you mentioned that a human ‘tin can’ stole your gem. Could you tell us more about that? We’ll help you get justice!” Fiya clenched her tiny fists and gave the elf a wink.