“Haha, I heard long ago that Moonlight Highness’s beauty is second to none in the world. Seeing you today, you truly live up to your reputation. I am the Elf King, Seth. You may call me Seth, Your Highness. We do not need those formal etiquettes here. This is my wife — Fei.”
“Um, hello Seth, hello Queen Fei. In that case, the two of you can just call me Liuli. To be honest, being called Your Highness all the time makes me feel a bit overwhelmed.”
Elf King Seth was indeed a very kind leader, just as Serveyia had said.
Talking to him did give one a feeling of a spring breeze to some extent.
But how should she put it? Liuli always felt that Seth was not as simple as he appeared.
Generally speaking, a leader who was too gentle could not truly lead a country or even a race.
Therefore, this Elf King must have a hidden side that she did not know about.
“Then I shall do as you wish, Miss Liuli. After your long journey and tiresome travels, I have prepared a banquet to welcome you. Please follow me.”
‘A welcome banquet? It seems I really am held in high regard.’
Usually, welcome banquets consisted of the most famous food of a race. But what kind of famous delicacies would the Elf Race have?
She couldn’t be blamed for thinking about food; there were simply too few things to eat on the motorhome.
This made Liuli extra hungry for real food.
However, as much as she thought about it, since the other party had already invited her, she had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, at such formal banquets, food was likely not the focus; people’s attention would mostly be on the conversation.
“Alright, I understand. Thank you for the arrangements, Seth.”
Serveyia stood behind her acting like a bystander, not even intending to help share the pressure.
‘Is she really that confident in me? Is she not afraid I’ll actually make a mistake?’
“Serveyia, why aren’t you speaking?” On the way to the banquet hall, Liuli found an opportunity to lean closer to Serveyia and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll say something wrong?”
“I am, but what use is fear? If you are always afraid and never do it, when will you grow, little fox? The Elf King’s personality is relatively kind, which is perfect for practice. Only through practice can you grow. So, seize this opportunity. Wouldn’t it be better to accumulate some experience for future diplomatic visits?”
“But I don’t know if what I just said was problematic. You know I’ve never been very good at reading expressions. Do we have to review everything together every night?”
“If there is a real problem or if you do something wrong, I will remind you, little fox. Besides, everyone has a different way they like to interact. Although there is a relatively universal social solution, if you want to achieve the best results, you still need to know them well enough. Generally speaking, when meeting for the first time, the main goal is simply not to make mistakes.”
“So, my performance just now was fine, right?”
“It was fine. Avoiding mistakes is relatively simple.”
“Miss Liuli, this should be your first time in the Elven Territory, right?”
“Yes, Mr. Seth. It’s very different from the places I usually stay. To be honest, it’s quite refreshing.”
“The Elf Race has lived here for generations. In the past, when information technology was not yet developed, the elves could almost be considered as living in seclusion within this forest. Except for dealing with some travelers who stumbled in and some poachers, we almost never met people from other races. Back then, the Elf Race was also very isolated and far less developed than it is now. Our desire for peace is also very simple. Whoever comes here would not have the heart to destroy the scenery before them, right?”
Elf King Seth introduced the place to Liuli, and Liuli followed Seth’s gaze.
There were many young elves walking and chatting happily. However, given the lifespan of the Elf Race, whether those people were actually young was another matter.
“Indeed. But peace is not so easy to maintain, is it? Especially when there is not enough strength, blindly pursuing peace is meaningless. So, I am really curious, how did the Elf Race manage to stay out of trouble in such a situation?”
To be honest, Liuli did not know if her question was appropriate. After all, it sounded a bit too offensive.
“Because our Elf Race is not without strength; we just do not want to be involved in war. If there is a choice, we naturally do not want to be caught up in it. But if there is no choice, we do not fear war. The Elf Race is a favorite of nature, and with the protection of the Tree of Life in the forest, the elves will not fear any enemy.”
Well, it was only then that Liuli realized what Serveyia meant by what she had said to her before.
‘If I had thought about the “Tree of Life loli” description at this moment and couldn’t help laughing out loud, it would probably have turned into a real diplomatic incident, wouldn’t it?’
“So, according to your words, Mr. Seth, the biggest threat to the Elf Race is still poachers, correct?”
“Yes. To the Elf Race, those poachers are like annoying flies. Although they cannot cause any substantial threat and the damage they do is small, if left alone, they can cause quite a bit of trouble. The most detestable thing is that these people often act alone and can’t achieve anything great. But because of this, catching them is also quite difficult. More importantly, these people are very cunning and often use various reasons to cover up their poaching motives.”
“This leaves us very helpless even after catching them. If it is an attempted poaching, as long as they insist they had no such intention, there is nothing we can do but give a symbolic punishment. However, for the act of poaching, as long as they destroy the forest, it is an indelible harm to us. Even if we catch and punish them, it is nothing more than turning a losing situation into a lose-lose situation. For us, it’s not worth it.”
Liuli barely managed to finish listening to Seth’s long speech. To be honest, this kind of complaining felt very grounded.
Although she might not be able to help at this moment, just chatting about such content was enough to make Liuli feel the distance between the two of them closing.
Honestly, if two strangers could solve a problem together, the distance between them would undoubtedly shrink.
Although Liuli couldn’t give any answers to this problem, wasn’t being able to listen in itself a way to close the distance?
“So, does Mr. Seth hope that I can help you solve this problem?”
“Haha, of course not. We have thought about this problem for a long time and cannot completely solve it. Miss Liuli has just arrived; how can we expect her to do more for us?”
Well, at this point, Liuli was already a bit unsure why Mr. Seth was saying these things to her.
Was it to close the distance between them, or did he really want to seek help or something similar?
Serveyia still didn’t speak, as if in her view, this was still a problem that Liuli needed to solve through her own efforts.
‘Ugh, is this really a problem I can solve through my own efforts?’
“It sounds like you really have a hard time, Mr. Seth.”
“Actually, I’m fine. The ones who have it hardest should be the members patrolling the front lines. It is their hard work day and night that prevents the destruction of the forest from being so serious.”
Liuli became more and more confused as she listened. What exactly did Seth want to express? Did he want her to help, or did he want her to sympathize with them?
“Let’s not talk about those disappointing things. Today is the first time Your Highness Liuli has come to the Elf Race’s territory. By all accounts, we should not discuss these unhappy topics.”
‘Wait, did I start this topic?’ Liuli felt a bit emotional.
It seemed she had only asked why the Elf Race could live in peace on this continent, and as a result, the conversation had somehow gone off track. Could this really be blamed on her?
However, Liuli also knew that she should not speak at this time.
After all, she was a guest. If the host did not want to discuss the topic, it was understandable to find a way to steer the conversation away.
As for whether there was really something he wanted from her, that was unknown.
In any case, if there really was something he needed help with, Mr. Seth would surely find her again.
Moreover, Serveyia had not said anything more.
If there really was something to be careful about, Serveyia probably wouldn’t let her face it alone, right?
“This is the banquet hall for today. To be honest, we don’t have much experience hosting foreign guests, so if there is anything lacking in our hospitality, I hope you will be patient with us, Miss Liuli.”