Chapter 1249: Chapter 1249: Miss Elf
"Speaking of which, once I complete the final journey with the key this Sunday, I’ll be liberated from all the tedious chores."
Shard said while tidying up the campsite.
"Because of the Arcane Technique you mentioned—Fiona’s Household Servant?"
Luviya asked with a smile.
"Yes."
Shard said, a bit excited, as he stoked the campfire:
"I don’t know the specific effects yet, but even if it can’t cook for me, it should at least be able to help fold clothes, clean the floor, or wipe windows, right?"
Even though Miss Galina’s maids came to Saint Delan Square for a big cleanup every Saturday, Shard couldn’t completely ignore the cleanliness of his home during regular times either:
"So are you going to use this Arcane Technique to feed the cats?"
Luviya asked again, and as expected, saw Shard shaking his head:
"Of course not, feeding cats isn’t a chore; it’s a pleasure. I wouldn’t ruin my pleasure."
The smile on the purple-eyed girl’s face became even more apparent.
The two, together with the unicorn, had dinner, and Shard even took out a bottle of red wine to toast with Luviya by the campfire. The unicorn wanted to taste the wine too, but Shard rejected it with the reason that "underage unicorns" shouldn’t drink alcohol.
But in Luviya’s view, even adult unicorns should abstain from alcohol.
The starry sky outside the city was quite bright; Shard originally thought he would stargaze with Luviya until late and then spend the night in the tent. Unexpectedly, at just around seven o’clock, the familiar whistle of an elf girl sounded in the woods.
Yet this time, the well-fed little beast didn’t eagerly run over and instead lazily called out in the woods:
"Mmh~"
The sound was equally penetrating, causing the whistling to stop. About ten minutes later, the same blonde elf girl from last time appeared in the flickering light at the edge of the campsite.
She had spotted the glow of the campfire from the woods, so she walked slowly, ensuring the unicorn was safe before daring to approach.
She came to the fence that was more symbolic than functional and recognized Shard—both times he hadn’t disguised himself, though last time the forest was so dark she couldn’t see clearly. Realizing that this time his companion was different from the last, the lady from before was clearly taller.
"Miss, you really should keep an eye on it. It can’t always run out and luckily find me. What if it meets bad people?"
Shard complained to the elf, who stood outside the fire-covered area, timidly not daring to respond. Luviya waved her over with a smile:
"Come and sit here, rest a bit. We don’t limit its freedom; you can take it away anytime."
Luviya’s friendliness worked well, or perhaps the unicorn almost resting its head on Shard’s lap coaxed the elf girl to approach.
She thanked them softly in Delarion and sat by the campfire near the unicorn’s tail.
With the small beast, the elf wasn’t as polite, angrily patting its back:
"Why did you run out again? If the teacher finds out, we’ll both be in trouble."
"Leaving Saint Byrons unauthorized, the academy’s punishment seems pretty severe."
Shard said with some sentiment.
"Yes, the academy rules state..."
The elf girl stopped, pursed her lips, and blinked at Shard. She looked slightly older than Angelina but was actually over fifty years old:
"You knew I was a student at Saint Byrons?"
Luviya shook her head with a smile:
"Don’t worry, we’re students of Saint Byrons too, but we’re correspondence students."
"The local correspondence group, without you guys."
The elf said nervously. She was a Four-Ring Sorcerer, and though exotic sorcerers were generally stronger than human ones, she couldn’t possibly beat the Five-Ring Shard and Luviya. And her words confirmed that she had come to Randall Valley several times and knew about the local correspondence group, even without the unicorn sneaking out.
"We’re not members of the local group; we’re from elsewhere."
Shard said, pulling a badge from his pocket:
"Look at this, it can’t be fake, right?"
The elf girl looked at the purple gold medal in the firelight with her mouth agape in astonishment:
"Feliana’s Medal? Are you the one rumored to have completed it in just half a year..."
"Feliana’s Medal" itself is a useful alchemical item; Shard valued its "Clean Clothes" effect, which is why he carried it with him.
"Shh!"
Shard raised a finger, signaling her not to continue. He didn’t mind exposing his identity since he now had teachers at the academy. Moreover, the penalty for correspondence Circle Sorcerers leaving their area was less compared to regular students leaving the academy unauthorized.
Indeed, if Shard were to threaten with lines like "Elf, you wouldn’t want people knowing you left the academy without permission, right?" he could potentially gain more good things from the girl before him.
But fortunately, he is still a good person.
"This is a joint student of the Prophet’s Society and the Academy, sent on a mission to Randall Valley. I wasn’t at ease about her, so I used some methods to follow her here. We are both members of the Tobesk Region Correspondence Group of the Draleon Kingdom, both at Five Rings. Shard Hamilton, Luviya Annette."
Shard briefly introduced their identities and then looked solemnly at the elf in the firelight:
"As your seniors, we really must warn you not to leave the Academy casually. The circle sorcerers outside the Academy can truly ’consume people.’
The elf girl nodded fearfully:
"It’s said that correspondence circle magicians like you, can easily beat three of us at the same level."
"That saying is somewhat exaggerated. How do the Academy students view correspondence students?"
He asked curiously, and the elf girl hesitantly replied:
"Murder, arson, robbery, theft, gang fighting and smuggling... probably like that."
Coincidentally, Shard really had done all these things.
"Ahem, please introduce yourself, after all, this is our second meeting, just tell us simply who you are."
The elf girl nervously nodded:
"Elf of the Moon Creek Clan, Emilia Xenode."
Her name "Emilia" was the same as Iluna’s middle name, which typically conveys the meaning of industriousness, practicality, solidity, diligence, caution, patience, beauty, straightforwardness, and loveliness.
"I’m a fourth-grade student at the Academy, but I’ll definitely become fifth-grade by the end of this year. I’m... responsible for taking care of this little beast, this child always likes to wander everywhere, it probably discovered that I sometimes suddenly disappear within the Academy, and that’s how it found the way here."
But her method shouldn’t be [Spatial Labyrinth], otherwise, Shard would have sensed the presence of the Ancient God Statue long ago.
"We will keep this secret for you."
Luviya said, glancing at Shard:
"Myself and this gentleman have no intention of prying into your secrets, but please take good care of this child."
She pointed to the unicorn, her tone very gentle:
"Recently, Randall Valley has had some issues, the power of juvenile unicorns isn’t strong, if they do encounter danger, you definitely won’t be able to reach in time."
The elf girl nodded embarrassedly, and Shard added:
"Randall Valley’s earth is spreading a curse, and illicit organizations like [Blood Spirit School] have come to this area. Before you encountered me early Tuesday morning, I saw them near here with the unicorn, but I scared them away."
This was not a lie.
The elf girl also knew of [Blood Spirit School], which made her nod nervously:
"I’ll keep an eye on it, she’s now at the age where she loves to travel. If it were in the old times, they would leave the clan for short trips, but now they can only roam in Saint Byrons. Saint Byrons is large, but not enough to satisfy its curiosity."
It was evident that she was also quite aggrieved.
After speaking, she hesitated a bit and quietly asked Shard:
"Sir, since you’re not a local, do you have a way to purchase ’specialty’ from the New World?"
"Specialty" usually refers to goods from illegal smuggling channels, which is the "slang" of circle sorcerers. Shard immediately understood what she wanted to do. Unlike correspondence circle sorcerers, a disadvantage for academy sorcerers is that when certain materials are out of stock at the Academy, they can only wait for replenishments, lacking channels to purchase on their own.
Like Dr. Schneider, who could convert academy bonuses through connections with students, because he had contacted students in the Academy, offering supplies at a low price.
"Do you have a list?"
Shard asked, the elf slightly shook her head, then took out paper and pen and wrote a few lines:
"These will do, I can buy them at thirty percent above the price."
"Wind Vane Bluegrass?"
Shard noticed the familiar material, which is generally used for spatial sorcery or rituals, indicating that the elf girl has a [Space] spirit rune.
"No problem, today is Friday, so... how about delivering them here next Tuesday evening?"
He suggested, and the elf was happily surprised by Shard’s quick response, nodding in agreement.
"However, since we’re helping you, you should do a few things for us too."
Luviya said with a smile, this couldn’t be said by Shard; otherwise, it would sound like a threat. And although Luviya didn’t know exactly what Shard wanted, seeing his enthusiasm, it definitely wasn’t just an interest in the elf.
"Alright... but I can’t tell you how to return to Saint Byrons from Randall Valley!"
"We don’t intend to invade the Academy, that idea is too crazy."
Shard laughed and shook his head:
"Help me investigate some local historical materials of Randall Valley, and about the ’Crazy Earth’ curse. Find anything from the Academy Library, any information will do."
He couldn’t directly ask Miss Danester; the lady had already become suspicious of Shard’s relationship with the "God Summoner."