Inside the bug room of Nameless Castle.
Liszt stood before a box covered in jade powder, watching the Tulip Bug lying there lazily. He could sense the little fellow's anxiety and could only do his best to encourage it with his own emotions.
Beyond that, he had no more effective methods.
It was only an Elf Bug. It possessed simple emotions, but no real intelligence or comprehension. The only communication possible was for Liszt to convey commands through emotions.
Or he could reach out and stroke it, showing his affection.
"Uwaa." On the edge of the box, Zyra the Thorn Sprite yawned and let out a bored cry. She was the tyrant of the bug room.
In the box to Liszt's right, Mickey was counting the corn kernels she had collected.
She disliked Zyra and did not like clinging to Liszt either—perhaps she was not as hot-tempered as Zyra, but she was comparatively more independent, immersed in her own little world.
Zyra, Nami, Mickey, as well as Fizz, Tahm, and Eddie—these sprites were all adorable, condensed from the essence of heaven and earth. Each was an independent individual with its own personality and thoughts. In truth, they had no concept of "their own kind." Even sprites of the same genus did not regard one another as kin.
Take Pike, the Giant Kelp Great Elf. He probably had a "bloodline" connection with the three Giant Kelp sprites, Fizz, Tahm, and Eddie—it was highly likely that they had been born from the Giant Kelp Bug Grass propagated by Pike.
Yet Pike was just as vicious toward the three Giant Kelp sprites, showing not the slightest affection an elder might have for the younger generation.
In Liszt's view, sprites had inherited the "nature" of plants. They naturally grew quietly and independently, unlike humans