299 School Begins
It was another early morning, Roy, carrying a small bucket and accompanied by Mrs. Winnie's Night Blade Leopard, went for a walk on the beach.
The tide had just receded, and Roy planned to dig up some oysters and grill them right there on the Black Pearl.
The Night Blade Leopard had grown quite large; one of its fleshy paws was almost the size of Roy's hand. Its body was long and slender, and it could leap ten meters away with a light leap, revealing two long fangs...
Roy still remembers how fierce and adorable it looked when it was a puppy, quite unlike the glutton it is now.
Mrs. Winnie no longer dared to tie it to the door of the Potion Shop, because with it guarding the door, the Potion Shop hardly had any customers.
They had to rebuild a small den in a big tree in the backyard, but the Night Blade Leopard wasn't used to living in the new den; it preferred to perch on the branches of the apple tree...
Roy walked ahead carrying a small bucket, while the Night Blade Leopard jumped around him, teasing the small fish that had fallen into the shallow puddles.
Roy dug up a bucket full of oysters, and a few abalone, filling a small bucket.
The elves don't eat shellfish; only waterfowl and beavers occasionally come to eat some, but this coastline is so long that oysters grow all over the rocks...
Roy, carrying two fish and a bucket of oysters, led Night Blade Leopard to the front of the Black Pearl. Before he could even climb the ladder into the cabin, he saw Woods sitting on the rocks by the sea, lost in thought, with a roll of luggage on his back.
Roy quickly put down what he was holding, ran to Woods, and asked loudly, "Woods, when did you get back?"
When Woods saw Roy, he smiled and said, "The Supply Ship entered the port this morning. Roy, it seems Miss Tiffany wasn't on board, so I didn't get on..."
"Yes, after we brought Abbott back to Castleton, she saw Abbott and then left. She didn't say where she was going at the time, and it's been almost half a month since she left." Roy put his arm around Woods ' shoulder and boarded the ship with him.
The Night Blade Leopard had already nimbly leaped onto the deck, peeking cautiously downwards...
"... I went to the Goddess of Freedom Temple and found that the doors were sealed off," Woods said, recounting his repeated setbacks that morning.
Roy was silent for a moment before speaking:
"High Priest Reed left Castleton a few days ago, and the Goddess of Freedom Temple has been handed over to the Elven Council of Elders of Castleton City..."
Woods asked somewhat awkwardly, "Did High Priest Reed leave too?"
Roy took Woods's luggage and pulled him into the cabin, saying, "Don't worry, you can stay on the Black Pearl, or at my house, I'm living alone now anyway."
Woods looked at the large ship, pointed to the roof of the Ship Building, and asked Roy, "Then I'll stay here! Roy, can I live on the Ship Building? I like places with plants."
"Of course, you can stay wherever you want, except for Miss Tiffany's room," Roy emphasized.
"Okay," Woods readily agreed.
He tossed his luggage onto the deck, stepped over the Night Blade Leopard, pulled a potion bottle from his pocket, and said smugly, "Roy, I have good news for you. I got a drop of the Spring of Life, a gift from Earl Swynborne. He said everyone would get a reward for saving Miss Christine, so I asked him for a drop of the Spring of Life. Now the mainmast can come back to life..."
"..."
Roy couldn't quite understand Woods's thinking. He had been obsessed with reviving the mainmast, which had been dead for who knows how many years. Did he really think the mainmast would grow into a towering tree in the future? Woods had already walked quickly to the front of the mainmast.
Even the Night Blade Leopard was drawn over, lying on the deck nearby, staring curiously at Woods.
Woods carefully dripped a drop of the Spring of Life, which he had worked so hard to obtain, onto the mainmast. Then, he solemnly performed a revival ceremony. Sure enough, the mainmast showed signs of life. Although he did not see it turn green or take root, Roy could feel the strong life force.
Woods then drew another rune on the mast before stopping, satisfied.
Roy was a little worried that the ship might turn into a tree in a few years, not knowing what it would become...
"Wait, I need to go to the hillside and get some leaf mold. The ballast in the hold below the Bottom Cabin needs to be replaced with a hold full of nutrient soil so that the mainmast's root system can grow stronger..." Woods said proudly to Roy.
Roy started setting up a barbecue grill on the deck.
The Night Blade Leopard then obediently stood guard in front of the two sea fish, its wary gaze darting back and forth between Roy and Woods.
"You two, come and help me right now..."
Miss Tiffany's voice came from below the cabin, startling Roy.
As Roy walked to the entrance of the Ship Building, he saw Miss Tiffany carrying heavy suitcases, swaying as she climbed the stairs. Her two large suitcases were covered in seaweed and were wet, as if they had just been pulled from the sea.
Roy quickly ran down, and Woods followed closely behind. The two of them carried heavy suitcases and struggled to get them onto the deck.
Miss Tiffany was also soaking wet, and returned to her room with her Tri-Color Fish Tail swaying. When she came out of the room, she had transformed into an elven beauty.
Roy and Woods looked at each other on the deck, surprised that Miss Tiffany had returned as well...
"Tiffany, I thought you went home." Roy sat in front of the grill, cooking fish for the Night Blade Leopard first.
Miss Tiffany emerged from the room, drying her wet hair with a towel.
Woods glanced at the beach and could still see two labored drag marks on the sand where the tide had just receded. Thinking of Miss Tiffany's two unusually heavy suitcases, Woods could only swallow hard...
"I went home, packed some things I usually need, and then came back. School starts soon, and this semester I'm taking Elven History as an elective..."
Miss Tiffany said to Roy and Woods as she dried her hair.
"..."
On the deck, only the Night Blade Leopard was intently guarding the two grilled fish.
In any case, the Black Pearl quickly returned to its usual bustling atmosphere...
Two days later, the Elf Academy started its semester.
This semester, Roy enrolled in Instructor Nora's martial arts training course again. In addition, since he no longer needed to work part-time at the Goddess of Freedom Temple, he had more time to study, so he also enrolled in five courses: Naga Language, Twin Seas Geography, Astrology, and astrology related to the stars.
Woods has decided to study botany, Magical Potions, and Animal Behavior this semester.
Moira entered the Elf Academy and became inseparable friends with Miss Tiffany. Roy couldn't understand how the two, with their completely opposite personalities—one Half-Elf and the other Naga Sea Clan, one a born assassin and the other a born Water-based Mage —became such close friends who could talk about anything.
Moreover, the courses these two girls chose left Roy a bit puzzled; they had actually enrolled in Landscape Art and architecture.
Well, it's understandable that elves with lifespans of eight hundred years can be a little willful.
On the first day of school, when Roy saw Klayr, he found him surrounded by a group of Silver Moon Elf, who fawned over him and asked him all sorts of questions along the way.
Klayr responded very patiently to each question...
He is now not only a prominent figure at the Elf Academy, but also the youngest musician in Castleton City. Roy wanted to go up and say hello to Klayr, but he was pushed out by the group of Silver Moon Elf every time he tried.
Klayr was surrounded by a group of Silver Moon Elf and had no way to squeeze out of the crowd.
This semester, apart from his martial arts training class, all his other courses are related to music.
This semester, although Roy took two more elective courses, he didn't need to work part-time at the Goddess of Freedom Temple, which gave him more time to study. He was either in class at the college or reading in the library, leading a busy and fulfilling life.
Princess Ophelia occasionally sees Roy at the academy and will stop to chat with Roy for a few minutes...
Ms. Edith and Roy continued their friendship, and she would occasionally invite Roy to balls...
Instructor Nora would notify the Adventure Group members every two weeks to have a small gathering at the tavern next to the library.
Roy would set aside one day each month to visit Wellington Castle and tell Countess Amelia about the interesting things happening in Castleton City. He would also write to Xavier to tell him about the various situations in Castleton City...
(One volume complete)