Sara, Tina, and the others quickly immersed themselves in the preliminary discussions and resource allocation for modifying the Teleportation Array.
Headmaster Kleya also had to deal with the backlog of academy affairs and, incidentally, “discipline” the loose-tongued Luke.
Swan (and Iguneel inside her) had some complaints about being left behind, but Yize’s suggestion to “make good use of No.1 as a punching bag” did hit the mark for her needs—stabilizing her surging power while venting the pent-up hatred in her heart.
She glanced at No.1, who was collapsed at the edge of the Training Ground, barely breathing but with eyes full of venom. Her gaze turned cold as she silently accepted this arrangement.
Although Vivian was “threatened” by Yize into not daring to accompany them, the perk of “a big meal before departure” eventually lifted her mood from cloudy to clear.
She was now pestering Kasmir and a few of the smarter-looking Blood Pillars, eagerly interrogating them about which restaurant in the Imperial Capital was the most distinctive and luxurious, completely casting aside the “important task” of “reforming the Blood Race.”
Kasmir carefully handled the “inquiries” of this willful Empress while secretly sighing in relief—at least, for now, His Highness had stayed behind, meaning the lives of “unstable factors” like them were safe.
As for Yize, after briefly delegating the follow-up matters, he took Riya and quietly left the still-noisy Starlight Academy area.
He and Riya walked side by side, strolling through the somewhat desolate streets of the Imperial Capital in the afternoon.
The winter sun carried a cold temperature, stretching their shadows long.
After a series of thrilling events, this rare, undisturbed quiet walking time allowed their tense nerves to relax slightly.
“First, let’s go to the pastry shop in the west of the city,” Yize suddenly spoke, his voice carrying a smile. “Let’s bring some sweets for the little ones.”
Mentioning the children at the orphanage and the intelligent, sensible, and exceptionally talented Linke, Yize’s tone involuntarily softened.
It must be said, Linke was indeed very likable.
Riya nodded. She could sense Yize’s relaxed mood at the moment, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
She didn’t have a deep impression of those children, but knowing that it was a place Yize cared about, she kept it in her heart.
The two bought two large bags of pastries and candies emitting a warm, sweet fragrance, then headed towards the orphanage located on the edge of the commoner district of the Imperial Capital, converted from an abandoned small church.
Before they even got close, they could hear the crisp laughter and running noises of children coming from the yard.
Yize pushed open the slightly ajar fence gate, and a familiar scene came into view.
In the small yard, a few older children were wiping and hanging up laundry, while younger ones were chasing and playing.
“Brother Yize!”
A sharp-eyed child spotted him and cried out in surprise and joy.
“Brother Yize is back!”
In a flurry, the children swarmed around him like birds returning to their nest, their small faces glowing with pure joy.
They had long regarded this big brother, who didn’t show up often but had saved them from the abyss and given them a home, as an important family member.
“Easy, easy, don’t fall.”
Yize laughed, crouched down, opened his arms to catch a few little ones rushing over, and casually raised the bag of pastries in his hand.
“See what delicious treats I brought?”
“Pastries!”
“And candy! Brother Yize is the best!”
The children cheered.
Yize patiently distributed the snacks, ruffling one child’s hair, patting another’s shoulder, asking about their recent situation, whether their studies had improved, and whether they had listened to Sister Linke and the Matron.
Riya stood quietly behind him, watching the gentle expression on his face as he interacted with the children, so different from when he faced enemies or handled affairs. Her crimson eyes also rippled with softness.
“Brother Yize.”
A soft voice, carrying a barely noticeable hint of restraint, sounded.
Yize looked up and saw a girl wearing a faded white plain dress, standing in the shadow under the eaves not far away, her hands clasped in front of her, quietly watching him.
It was Linke.
For some reason, Yize’s heart stirred slightly.
The Linke before him seemed somehow different.
Her smile was still that standard, gentle arc with a hint of shyness, and her greeting tone was as soft and polite as ever.
But Yize felt that the smile seemed to lack a bit of the light that used to instantly light up in her eyes when she saw him return; the greeting was also too… calm?
It lacked the vividness and sense of reliance that should belong to Linke’s age, especially when facing him.
Was it an illusion?
Or was it because he had been through too much lately, suspecting everyone?
Suppressing the subtle strangeness in his heart, Yize stood up, walked in front of Linke, and habitually wanted to ruffle her hair. He raised his hand halfway but paused—Linke seemed to have slightly shrunk back?
Although the movement was extremely small, Yize keenly caught it.
He naturally withdrew his hand, his smile unchanged: “Linke, you’ve been working hard lately. Is everything okay at the home?”
“Everything is fine, Brother Yize.”
Linke replied softly, her voice steady and calm: “The other children are obedient, and their studies haven’t fallen behind.”
The answer was flawless, clear, and even more “mature and sensible” than before.
But it was this overly perfect “sensibility” that deepened the strange feeling in Yize’s heart.
The previous Linke, though shy and introverted, would always inadvertently show her little-girl desire for praise and attention in front of him.
Now… compared to before, she seemed to have lost a lot of her ‘liveliness’…
“That’s good.”
Yize nodded, not probing further—maybe it was just that the child had grown up and become calmer?
He then said: “By the way, Linke, besides coming to see you all, I’m also here to say goodbye.”
“I received an urgent message from my adventurer companions and need to leave immediately to handle some matters near the Elven Territory. I might be away for a while.”
He carefully observed her reaction.
Hearing the words “Elven Territory,” Linke’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and a flicker of extremely complex emotions—a hint of a strange color—seemed to pass deep in her eyes.
But that emotion disappeared too quickly, so fast that Yize almost thought it was an illusion.
“The Elven Territory…”
Linke repeated, her voice still soft but seeming to hold something more: “They say it’s… beautiful, but also very far away. Brother Yize, please be careful.”
“I will.”
Yize smiled, his tone serious as he instructed: “You’re the most sensible one among the children at the home.”
“While I’m away, take care of yourself and the kids. If you encounter any problems you can’t solve, you can go to Starlight Academy to find Senior Sister Sara, or leave a message at the Imperial Palace. I’ve already informed them.”
“Mm, I understand.”
Linke obediently nodded: “Brother Yize, go with peace of mind. I’ll take good care of the home.”
Her response was still proper, and she even proactively made a promise like “take good care of the home,” making her seem especially reliable.
Yize gave a few more instructions, handed Linke another bag of spare daily necessities and a small pouch of Gold Coins. Her fingers seemed a bit cold when she took them.
Only then, amidst the children’s reluctant farewells, did he leave the orphanage with Riya.
After walking a certain distance out the gate, Yize couldn’t help but look back again.
Linke was still standing under the eaves, watching them.
The cold winter sun fell on her light golden hair and plain dress, tracing a quiet, somewhat lonely figure.
When Linke saw Yize look back, she slightly nodded and again showed that standard, gentle smile.
Everything seemed so normal.
But the indescribable sense of dissonance in Yize’s heart lingered, refusing to dissipate.
“What’s wrong?”
Riya sensed his hesitation and asked softly.
“Nothing.”
Yize shook his head, withdrew his gaze, and tightened his grip on Riya’s hand: “I’m probably overthinking. Let’s go. We should set off.”
He decided to temporarily set aside this doubt. For now, Uncle Lailong’s urgent plea for help was more pressing.
However, Yize did not know that the moment he turned and disappeared around the street corner—
Under the eaves of the orphanage, the flawless, gentle smile on “Linke’s” face melted away like snow under sunlight, bit by bit, until it settled into a calm flatness.
Deep in her eyes, the last trace of the “performer’s” lively spirit also vanished.
She quietly turned and walked back inside the church, entering a small storage room.
Inside, besides piled-up clutter, there was only a pot of seemingly ordinary, silver-green leafed fern placed in the corner.
“Linke” walked up to the plant, extended her slender fingers, and gently touched one of the freshest leaves.
The moment her fingertip touched the leaf, a faint, barely noticeable pale green light flashed.
Then, a strand of spiritual will containing key information, following the interconnected脉络 of the original body across the distant void, crossed the vast spatial barrier and transmitted.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in a place far from the hustle and bustle of human nations—
Deep within an ancient forest shrouded in eternal magical light and boundless vitality, the seat of the Elven Royal Court.
At the core area, within a delicate treehouse naturally grown from living wood, under the massive canopy of the World Tree.
On a soft carpet strewn with petals and fragrant herbs, a young girl slowly opened her eyes.
She bore a striking resemblance to the “Linke” in the orphanage, except the contours of her features had shed their last trace of childishness, becoming exquisitely beautiful.
More importantly, there was her figure.
The slender, thin frame of a little girl was gone, replaced by the graceful curves of a youthful maiden, elegant and full of life.
A simple elven casual dress draped over her blossoming figure, her bare skin fair and radiant, as if carrying its own soft glow.
She was the real Linke.
Just moments ago, through the “Nature Incarnation” left in the Imperial Capital—an entity created by fusing a part of her own source power with a natural spirit—she had received the information transmitted across the great distance.
“Brother Yize… is coming to the Elven Territory?”
The young girl—Linke murmured, her voice as pleasant as wind chimes, but carrying an uncontrollable tremor.
It was not fear, but excitement, mixed with strong anticipation and a hint of shyness.
The Coming-of-Age Ceremony was not only a transformation of outward appearance but also the complete awakening and sublimation of an elf’s mind and soul.
Many once-vague emotions and模糊realizations had become clear and profound in the time since the ritual’s completion.
Linke clearly remembered the warmth of his palm when he ruffled her hair, the feeling she liked when he touched her, the feeling she liked when he praised her…
Those little moments, originally just warm memories and dependence buried deep in her heart.
But after the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, when her dormant bloodline fully awakened, when she began to view the past and future from the perspective of a true Elven Princess…
These memories were polished anew, shining with a completely different luster.
That warmth turned into heart palpitations.
That dependence grew into affection.
That admiration transformed into… infatuation.
Yes, Linke found that she seemed to have developed a budding, genuine romantic feeling for that human youth who was not of her kind, with a mysterious identity, yet was powerful and gentle—a feeling that transcended friendship and gratitude.
In the Elf race, which values purity of bloodline and natural harmony, this was almost unimaginable.
But she couldn’t deny it, nor could she suppress it.
Especially after learning that Yize was actually coming near the Elven Territory…
‘Will he… really come? Will he know my true identity?’
Linke thought to herself, her voice barely a whisper, a rosy blush creeping onto her cheeks like blooming peach blossoms.
She walked to a mirror and looked at the face in it, which had shed its childishness and was breathtakingly beautiful, and… the now obviously more curvaceous body.
An elf’s coming of age was a sublimation of life. The change in appearance was not merely maturity but a natural adjustment towards the most perfect form of their bloodline.
Linke inherited her mother’s stunning looks, and after coming of age, her beauty was among the top even in the Elf race, known for its beauty.
A rosy blush crept onto her fair cheeks like blooming peach blossoms.
‘I wonder… my current appearance… Will Brother Yize… like it?’
She silently asked herself, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum, ripples of shyness spreading in her eyes.
No longer was she the timid little girl who needed his protection and looked up to him, but an Elven Princess who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him, perhaps even… make him take notice.
This thought filled her with both shyness and hidden anticipation.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.