A Magical Prodigy Among Elves

At this time, the two teammates who had originally been from the north had already left the party, leaving only Daimon and Flamme traveling together.

They passed through the elven village that had been massacred by the Demon Race. The elves in the village had perished together with the Demon King's army, leaving only a severely injured Silver-haired Elf Girl kneeling on the ground, waiting to die.

Flamme, who had returned from the Demon King's castle, had long since grown accustomed to such scenes.

She first acknowledged the elf girl's strength, then habitually mocked her, believing that choosing to confront such a powerful enemy head-on had been utterly foolish.

Of course, mockery was mockery. Though sharp-tongued and soft-hearted, Flamme still had Daimon carry her on his back, intending to take her to a nearby town and have a Monk at the church treat her wounds.

What Flamme had never expected was that this Silver-haired Elf Girl possessed magical talent far beyond the ordinary. She was actually one of the rare magical prodigies among the Long-lived Race of elves!

Relying on instinct alone, the girl had judged that this seemingly weak human before her was actually a powerful mage far superior to herself.

This discovery both shocked and delighted Flamme.

Furthermore, the information they had gathered from the Demon Race along the way—that the Demon King had ordered the extermination of the elves—made Flamme keenly realize the Demon King's fear of the elven race.

Without the slightest hesitation, Flamme immediately decided to take her as a disciple and teach her everything she knew.

At this point, Flamme's letter was drawing to an end.

At the very end, she left behind her itinerary: first, she would take Frieren to meet her teacher, then she would come visit him in this forest.

Beyond that, she shamelessly declared that her newly accepted disciple would surely earn Lin Yu's approval.

It sounded like a joke between friends, but Lin Yu still keenly sensed the deeper meaning behind it—Flamme wanted to leave her Holy Scripture to Frieren!

That was why she needed Lin Yu's approval.

"Only in her thirties, and she's already thinking about what happens after she dies?"

Lin Yu grumbled aloud, but an indescribably complicated emotion welled up in his heart.

The question of lifespan!

Thinking that he would lose this friend in a few decades, he truly felt uncomfortable.

Lin Yu shook his head, composed himself, and tucked the letter into his robes.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Lin Yu raised his head and looked at the old village chief and Daimon. "Do you have anything else?"

"No—"

Daimon shook his head, but the old village chief beside him hurriedly glared at him before respectfully saying,

"Lord, regarding the construction of Ridge Peak City's walls..."

"Didn't we already discuss that? You're fully in charge of it!"

Lin Yu waved his hand and glanced at him. "Or do you need me to send some Yellow Turban... Magic Warriors to help?"

The old village chief quickly stated, "That isn't necessary. It's just that while building the city walls, we also need to establish a City Protection Barrier. We would like to request some Magic Crystals from you as an energy source for the barrier."

"So that's what this is about."

Lin Yu nodded. "Tonight, I'll have Rolycoly move its nest. If you need them, go mine them yourselves!"

The old village chief was overjoyed. "Thank you for your generosity, Lord!"

Daimon, standing nearby, looked utterly confused. He did not understand what the two things had to do with each other.

Lin Yu noticed his confusion and explained with a smile, "That place used to be where I tested new magic. Because of Magic Convergence and Magic Permeation Theory, a large Magic Crystal Vein formed underground."

"Rolycoly likes that place. For the past few years, it's been resting atop the vein..."

So that was how Magic Crystal Veins were formed?

Daimon slightly opened his mouth and stared at Lin Yu in bewilderment.

Seeing the expression on his son's face, the old village chief snorted softly, looking immensely proud.

Then, he swiftly adjusted his expression and said to Lin Yu with respect and unease, "Lord, there is one more matter. Regarding the Lord's Guard that Ridge Peak City will soon establish, I would like Daimon to serve as its first Guard Captain..."

"You're not exactly avoiding favoritism when recommending talent, are you?"

Lin Yu teased with a smile.

The old village chief said solemnly, "Daimon was the vanguard of Lord Fulamei's party. He has fought the Demon King and the Demon King's army head-on. There is no better warrior in all of the Spine Peak Territory!"

Lin Yu nodded. "That is true."

Hearing their words, Daimon frowned.

After hesitating for a moment, he bowed and said, "Thank you for your favor, Lord, but I am an Adventurer. It would be difficult for me to serve you for long. If you can accept a Guard Captain who may answer his companions' call at any time and abandon his duties to go adventuring, then I..."

"No problem!"

Lin Yu agreed without hesitation, a trace of appreciation appearing on his face as he looked at him.

Caught off guard, Daimon stopped mid-sentence and stared at Lin Yu with a face full of shock and confusion.

He had said that to make this Lord back down, yet Lin Yu did not care at all about his loyalty to his companions. He even considered it a commendable quality.

Of course, that only applied to Flamme's companions.

If it had been someone else, it would have been completely different!

Daimon recovered from his shock and said hesitantly, "Lord, isn't this inappropriate?"

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow and asked, "So you don't want to accept?"

Daimon looked conflicted.

"Fine."

Lin Yu nodded, then turned to the old village chief with a smile. "I rarely interfere with your decisions, but in this matter, let Daimon decide for himself. He delivered Flamme's letter to me, so I owe him a favor."

The old village chief had just been plunged into wild delight, only to be dragged out of it by his own son in the blink of an eye.

However, that only applied to the first half of Lin Yu's words. When he heard the final sentence, the disappointment and anger that had just surfaced instantly turned into intense delight.

The old village chief straightened his robes, turned around, and looked at Daimon with a stern expression.

"Daimon, do you really want to waste the Lord's reward on this?"

"..."

Daimon seemed to realize something as well, and his expression began to shift.

Lin Yu watched the two with interest, sensing that there seemed to be some hidden matter between them that he did not know about.

Before long, Daimon gritted his teeth. At his old father's urging, he unexpectedly changed his mind, dropped to one knee, and swore fealty to Lin Yu in the manner of a knight.

Lin Yu looked at them in surprise and said thoughtfully,

"From the sound of it, you don't want to waste this favor."

"It is a reward, Lord!"

The old village chief corrected Lin Yu, then said with utmost respect, "Lord, you should know that Daimon's ancestors and mine were once knights of the Unified Empire. Because one of our ancestors made certain mistakes, our noble title was stripped away... along with our family name!"

Hearing this, Lin Yu suddenly understood and finally grasped the old village chief's desire.

In this world, commoners had no surnames. Only the nobility had the right to possess surnames that could be passed down to their descendants.

"Come to think of it, the Unified Empire seemed to have sent a state letter acknowledging my status as Lord..."

"That's right."

"I understand. Do you want to become nobles again, or reclaim your former family name?"

"Neither!"

The old village chief shook his head and knelt on one knee alongside Daimon, looking at Lin Yu with burning eyes. "That ancestor from three generations ago brought shame upon that surname. What Daimon and I want is a brand-new surname bestowed by you, Lord!"

Huh?

Lin Yu stared at the old village chief in complete confusion.

It was not really his fault. After all, he had never had any direct contact with the nobles of this world.

For former knightly families like the old village chief's, a surname represented glory more than the meaning of the name itself.

After all, their former surname had also been bestowed by a noble. It did not carry the inherited significance tied to ancestor worship that Huaxia surnames did.

Though he did not entirely understand, Lin Yu chose to respect their wishes.

After giving it some thought, he looked at the father and son kneeling before him and said, "Then let it be Sydong."

"In another language I know, it means rock."

Rock?

That sounded much better than "donkey's tail"!

The old village chief was ecstatic and promptly pulled Daimon down to bow in thanks.

"Thank you, Lord!"