Noli’s expression didn’t look like she was joking; she had seriously thought this through.
“Are you really sure about this?”
Noli nodded without hesitation.
“So these next few days you’ll be going to have this outfit made?”
“No, that’s secondary. The main thing is to assist Ivina in arranging my companions.”
According to Noli, most of these elves were basically homeless.
After getting approval from above, Ivina had reasonably assigned these elves to various positions.
Noli was one of the people responsible for this task.
Being an elf herself, she naturally understood elves better than Ivina, so it was only fitting that this responsibility was given to her.
Noli kept some elves in the Knight Order, training them as a special unit within the Order.
The rest were assigned to different roles.
At the very least, these elves now had a place to settle.
“So you’ll be managing these elves afterward?”
Lucas asked, curious after hearing Noli’s explanation.
“Ivina said I only need to supervise them lightly. The main thing is still to handle matters here with you.”
“Do you believe me now?”
When Lucas asked this, Noli hesitated briefly—just a moment.
“After everything that’s happened, I can believe you’re not a bad person. But the whole ‘saving the world’ thing… I’m still a bit skeptical.”
Lucas didn’t expect Noli to fully trust his mission to save the world; as long as she was willing to believe in him now, that was enough.
The things she would see in the future would surely convince her.
“By the way, what about the markings on your leg? Did you find anything out?”
Lucas was still quite concerned about those markings.
What exactly were they?
At his question, Noli sat on the sofa and started taking off her socks.
Wait, wasn’t this development a little off?
And didn’t Noli care about modesty?
Such a short skirt—she’d flash herself if she wasn’t careful!
Still, Lucas’s gaze stayed fixed on Noli’s thigh.
She removed her socks, revealing legs covered in green markings.
Those markings showed no signs of fading.
“That’s why I had Ivina make me these footed stockings. On one hand, they cover the markings, and on the other, they let me keep contact with the ground so I can draw power from nature.”
“Have you tried controlling ice these days?”
Noli nodded.
“Yes. Since the markings appeared on my legs, I’ve felt my ice powers grow much stronger—and not just a little bit.”
Lucas understood deeply.
The memory of Noli summoning that blizzard was still vivid.
With such power, he really hoped she would join his team.
“So that’s the situation.”
Noli put her socks back on.
“Hmm? Why are you staring at me like that? Don’t you want me to join?”
“That’s not what I meant—I just wanted to warn you… your skirt… I saw… white…”
At first, Noli didn’t understand what Lucas meant.
She even looked down at herself.
After a few seconds, she finally caught his meaning and her face flushed red.
“Don’t look!”
Noli casually shaped a chunk of ice and threw it at Lucas.
Her strength really had been enhanced; she no longer needed time to form a basin-sized ice chunk—it was effortless now.
Fortunately, Lucas was quick and caught the ice chunk, or else being hit in the face by that would probably have broken his nose.
Wait, throwing ice chunks was one thing, but don’t create a blizzard in the living room!
This house was barely settled with Relia; don’t destroy it so soon!
Luckily, Noli didn’t go further.
After calming down, she returned to her normal self.
Now, what excuse would Lucas give Relia for all the snowflakes scattered on the floor?
Lucas sighed and quietly picked up cleaning tools to clear away the snow.
“Oh, Ivina said that if I’m with you, I can stay here, so it’s easier to act and stay in contact.”
Lucas remembered that Relia hadn’t objected to Noli living here either.
This was bad—he’d better not upset Noli at home from now on.
“Well then, please take care of me from now on, Lucas.”
Noli came closer and gently patted Lucas on the shoulder.
Lucas sighed softly.
The future might be full of turmoil.
***
Relia warmly welcomed Noli’s arrival, even making extra food at dinner to celebrate her moving in.
It felt like if more teammates came, this house might not have enough space.
Relia and Noli chatted happily at the dinner table.
Although they hadn’t met much before, the two quickly became familiar with each other.
Judging from Relia’s manner and speech, she seemed like a completely different person from before.
Just a period working with the princess had brought about such a big change.
In that case, sending her to the princess wasn’t a bad idea after all.
Now Relia’s demeanor was increasingly elegant, and Lucas felt himself growing more fond of her every day.
After dinner, Relia wanted to chat with Noli some more.
Lucas didn’t disturb the two girls and went out alone to wander the capital.
He had earned some money from recent missions, but still wasn’t close to affording high-end items.
With daily expenses, he didn’t know when he’d be able to buy a gift for Relia.
Should he check the guild?
But at his current level, the easiest quests were probably already taken.
After some thought, Lucas headed to the Knight Order.
He wasn’t going there to find work but to visit the department Ivina mentioned, the one recording abnormal phenomena in Morovira.
Ivina had already arranged for him to freely access their files.
Lucas had never had time to come here before; this was his first visit.
The office was pitifully small, piles upon piles of files stacked everywhere, occupying most of the space, barely leaving any room to stand.
Lucas started flipping through from the most recent files.
Page by page, he found little of value.
Most records were about what monsters appeared where and when, or notes on special lunar phases.
Then he saw a record from decades ago.
It described a strange incident decades prior—a mysterious stone fell from the sky within the kingdom’s territorial waters.
An invasion from beyond Morovira… could that falling stone be the invader?
Lucas continued searching but found no further clues.
That one sentence was all there was about the stone.
He closed the file silently and left the Knight Order, heading home.
He’d been away for some time; Relia must be finishing up with Noli.
“Lucas, you’re back!”
Hearing the door open, Relia, wearing an apron and cleaning, came over immediately.
“Lucas, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Relia’s sudden serious expression surprised Lucas; she had never shown this side before.
“Tomorrow, Her Highness the Princess wishes to see you.”