(Heartfelt thanks to Chenfeng☆, Wufeng Haotian, Pang Zi Zhong De Da Pang Zi, You Bi Ji Yue, and Xianyu Laike for their donations!)
The morning sunlight fell upon the densely wooded Elf Forest, filling the entire forest with a vibrant vitality that especially warmed the heart.
On a small path paved with stone slabs, Noah held Est's hand as they slowly made their way deeper into the forest.
While holding Noah's hand and matching his pace, Est slowly walked forward, yet her head remained tilted as she gazed at Noah, her large, mysterious eyes brimming with confusion.
"Master, is there something you want to tell me?"
Throughout the entirety of yesterday, at Noah's request, Est had been resting in the form of a short sword, her Spirit Armament form, carried close against Noah's body.
So Est did not know what had happened yesterday.
Yet just now, Noah had suddenly awakened Est and, without further explanation, brought her into the Elf Forest for a walk.
Est's intuition told her that Noah seemed to have something very important to tell her.
But half an hour had already passed since they entered the Elf Forest.
And during those thirty minutes, Noah had not spoken to Est at all. He had simply kept walking, making the doubt in Est's heart grow ever stronger.
In the end, Est could only say this.
"Did I do something wrong? Is Master planning to punish me in a very H way?"
Noah's indifferent expression was instantly shattered by Est's words, and his entire face fell.
"Why would you think that?"
"Didn't Master say so before?" Est blinked.
"If someone does something wrong, they will be punished in a very H way."
"That was just to scare Alice. I was never really planning to do that." Noah wore a