Elf

On the tenth day since leaving the Sword Village, Flamme heard that there was an elf village nearby. Extremely curious about elves, Li Yan naturally hugged Flamme's thigh and begged to go take a look.

Pampering Li Yan, Flamme naturally agreed to Li Yan's request.

Stepping onto the path into the forest, Li Yan held Flamme's hand in anticipation as he walked forward. Perhaps because it was already close to evening, the sky was covered with dark clouds.

"There's an aura of a magic outburst, A Yan. Don't rush forward."

Flamme looked ahead with a solemn expression, able to feel a massive magic outburst as if someone was fighting a life-or-death battle.

A magic outburst?

Li Yan's heart tightened as he cautiously gripped the staff in his hand.

"A Yan, I might be running into a big one this time. It won't be those small-time demon small fry from usual."

A hint of gravity surfaced on Flamme's face as she held Li Yan's hand and walked toward the place where the battle was most intense.

The fires of war, destroyed houses, elf corpses covering the ground, and the fallen, dead large-armored demon were slowly dissipating. The elven maiden kneeling on the ground at death's door merely lowered her head in silence.

"One of the Demon King's generals, Bazaalt of the Throne. It's the one that led an army to destroy your village, isn't it?"

Flamme walked calmly toward the armored demon that was about to dissipate. Seeing the fallen, dead demon general from up close, Li Yan could not help but marvel at the other's massive size and powerful physique.

A demon's death generally turned into magic that dissipated into heaven and earth; not even a demon general was an exception. This was also the truth behind why demon soldiers left no corpses along the way.

The elven maiden knelt on the ground at death's door, her magic extremely terrifying. At a first glance, Li Yan could roughly judge her magic level. If following the leveling system, it should have already reached the standard of level 50, which explained why she could solo a demon general.

Looking at his own magic standard of at most around level 38, Li Yan felt his own weakness for the first time, even though he was still an ordinary 11-year-old human boy.

"The elf about to die over there, you killed this demon, right? What truly terrifying magic."

"You must be quite strong to actually fight a demon head-on."

Flamme looked with interest at the elven maiden who knelt on the ground at death's door with a blank expression.

The elven maiden curled up into a ball and ignored Flamme, only lowering her head and peeking at Li Yan and Flamme out of the corner of her eye.

"A Yan, this is the consequence of fighting a demon head-on. It's stupid and naive. She clearly could have run away, hid, or ambushed them."

Flamme gently stroked Li Yan's head to teach him, her eyes gazing at the magic radiating from the elven maiden as she lamented the passing of such a good sapling.

"That's why I say, I really don't understand what powerful mages are thinking. They could clearly kill with much easier methods, yet they choose the most foolish way. A Yan, you mustn't learn from this."

Flamme approached Li Yan's face with a solemn expression, extending a jade finger to gently warn him against the elven maiden as a negative example.

Li Yan nodded his little head obediently, gazing at the elven maiden kneeling silently on the ground. His heart surged with excitement—that was a real elf from another world.

Although his heart was excited, Li Yan's excellent aristocratic etiquette kept his expression unchanged as he only nodded obediently and listened to Flamme's teachings.

Perhaps finding it uninteresting, Flamme pulled Li Yan's hand, intending to leave this place of trouble. The elven maiden before them was clearly a trouble—a trouble that would attract demons.

"You should understand. You should be able to understand what I'm thinking because, compared to me, you are much stronger as a mage."

The elven maiden spoke softly with a very calm face, as though stating something utterly ordinary and commonplace.

"Oh?"

Flamme, who had originally intended to take Li Yan and leave, felt a hint of interest rise up, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly. It was the first time in all her years of practicing magic-restricting spells that someone saw right through them.

"Why do you think that?"

Flamme let go of Li Yan's hand, walked calmly up to the elven maiden, squatted down slightly, and looked straight into the elven maiden's eyes.

"Intuition!"

The elven maiden spoke blankly.

With the emergence of this iconic scene, Li Yan could not help but feel excited in his heart. If he guessed correctly, the elven maiden before him should be Frieren. According to the plot development, he would soon gain a junior martial sister—and a youthful, cute elf maiden at that, with a head of beautiful white hair and a blur of innocence.

"What a pity. You're so outstanding, but I already have a disciple. Although he doesn't have magic as strong as yours, I can no longer do without him. Sorry."

Flamme stood up, a trace of regret showing on her face, instantly stunning Li Yan, who had been waiting calmly on the surface while his heart was immensely excited.

"Eh?"

Watching Flamme make what seemed like a serious decision, Li Yan could not help but widen his eyes. This kind of decision was absolutely unacceptable.

"Actually, Godmother, I think you can take on another apprentice after all. After all, having a junior sister is a dream I've cherished for a long time."

Li Yan hugged Flamme's arm, his serious little face carrying a hint of expectation as he blinked his large eyes at Flamme.

"Godmother~ Please, I want a junior sister."

At night, Li Yan carried the elven maiden, who was a bit taller than him, on his back, his face plastered with surprise. According to the original plot, Flamme should have been the one carrying her.

"Since you wanted to save her, then you'll be completely responsible for her all the way from here on out."

Flamme smiled as she spoke the words of a demon. With Flamme's help, he was forced to carry the elven maiden on his back, acting as a human porter.

The night journey was exceptionally quiet. Flamme patted the elven maiden's head and asked curiously, "Why did your village get attacked by demons? Logically speaking, the demons wouldn't send a demon general to attack a small village like yours."

The elven maiden shook her head gently. "I don't know. When the demons attacked, the men, women, and children in the village were all attacked indiscriminately by them. I was clearly the strongest mage in the village, yet I didn't protect them."

"What a fool. Facing so many demons, if it were me, I'd run away immediately. Right, A Yan?"

Flamme said willfully.

The elven maiden squirmed about with dissatisfaction, an expression of anger appearing on her face. "Put me down."

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't be willful, Junior Sister. What Godmother said is indeed right. Hey, hey, hey, stop moving around. Let's just say Godmother was half-wrong, alright?"

The swaying elven maiden almost caused Li Yan to lose his balance. He was still only an 11-year-old child, yet he had to carry a junior sister whose weight was similar to his and whose age was much, much older than his.

"Oh my, A Yan. To actually say Godmother was half-wrong—as expected, men are all the same. Once they have another woman, they abandon Godmother."

Flamme puffed out her cheeks and lightly pinched Li Yan's little face.