"As you said, even the Bat King of a nest of Vampire Bats is only at the second tier. Could Goliath, protected by a great swordsman, really come to harm? Dear, could you tell me what level you are now?" Elufiel turned to the little girl before her.
Goliath looked up at her, then at Odovish. Seeing that he did not object, she answered, "I'm already at the late first tier. I'll break through to the second tier soon."
"See? Her strength is already sufficient, isn't it? Children need to grow through real combat. You think so too, so why not tell her?" Elufiel directly exposed the mask the mage had been maintaining. "I saw the healing potions you prepared."
Odovish: "..."
Goliath looked at Odovish in delighted surprise. The housekeeper and the swordsman exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.
Gryphon City 5
Throughout the entire morning, no matter how Goliath pleaded, Odovish did not take out the healing potions he had prepared. He merely watched Sharon bandage the wounds the Vampire Bats had inflicted on Goliath.
Elufiel noticed that Goliath had the most wounds on her arms, perhaps because she had used them to block the attacks. Sharon used quite a few herbs on them, and when the last of the medicinal powder was nearly gone, the housekeeper sighed. "It seems I'll have to visit the herbal shop again tomorrow. Miss Goliath, could you perhaps study some of the subjects a proper lady ought to learn?"
Goliath's shoulders slumped as she said pitifully, "But I really don't like tea ceremonies or flower arranging."
"Then what about the lyre?" Sharon asked with a smile.
"..." Goliath did not know how to make the housekeeper forget the subject. After freezing for a moment, she secretly turned to look at Elufiel.
Perhaps because she had seen that this guest was not afraid of her uncle, Goliath's eyes held a glimmer of hope as she looked at Elufiel.
This time, Elufiel merely smiled without speaking. Of course she understood music. Her favorite toy was Sylvanas's music box, and she could play and sing the entire tune. Of course, that was the only tune she knew.
Odovish looked at Goliath. "There's no need to look at her anymore. I believe Miss Elufiel's etiquette is absolutely impeccable, isn't it?"
Elufiel continued smiling. As an "elder" of such great seniority, would anyone really dare find fault with her manners?
In the end, Goliath was forced to add a music class and an etiquette class, because Odovish believed his niece should not be a barbarian who only knew how to wield a blade.
After the dejected Goliath was taken away by Sharon to bathe and change clothes, Odovish introduced Elufiel to the seventh-tier great swordsman Gabriel. This fierce-looking man had once served the husband of Odovish's cousin, and later became Goliath's swordsmanship instructor.
When only Elufiel and Odovish remained in the sitting room, the elf approached the mage and asked, "Why did your niece choose the path of a swordsman? Her affinity for Arcane seems quite good."
"Do you think being a mage is a particularly desirable profession these days?" Odovish asked in return.
Elufiel nodded thoughtfully. "Still, if she were willing, you would have more than enough ability to protect her, wouldn't you?"
Odovish said nothing, tacitly acknowledging the elf's words. After a while, the mage said, "Mages in Kanado are divided into two types. One type is born spellcasters. They can directly draw energy from the Ley Lines, and can cast some minor spells instantly. The other type becomes spellcasters later in life. Through long years of study, they connect themselves to the Ley Lines, and every spell must be cast by constructing a model within them. I belong to the former, while Goliath belongs to the latter."
"It is enough for me alone to bear that past and that hatred," Odovish said flatly. "As for Goliath, if she wants to become a great swordsman like her parents, then she can. I want her to grow up happy, rather than sink into the vast mire of the Arcane-Divine Conflict."
"Goliath has a good uncle." Elufiel saw the mage in a different light. He was a wise and proud spellcaster, yet he always carried a measure of humility, wrapping himself in coldness. Beneath his restrained, quiet exterior, as still as the bottom of a frozen lake, lay a warm heart. At that moment, Elufiel felt that the mage was not as cold as he appeared, though his face often looked as expressionless as if it had been frozen by a god of ice and snow.
Odovish stayed in the little house with Goliath for two days. During that time, Elufiel watched the wounds on Goliath's hands heal slowly, and finally could endure it no longer. She used a Healing Spell. Gabriel nearly drew his sword on her. Had Odovish not stopped him quickly enough, the two might have fought inside the house.
Unlike Sharon and Gabriel, who remained tense, Goliath was very curious about Elufiel. During their spare time, she often dragged the elf aside to ask strange questions, such as, "Have you ever seen the Light God?" "Does the Holy See really forbid divine casters from marrying?" and "What is the principle behind Healing Spells?"
Elufiel said that she truly knew nothing. She had never seen the Light God, only Sargeras. Priests in Azeroth could fall in love freely. As for the principle behind Healing Spells... perhaps faith in the Holy Light granted eternal life?
The elf sought help from the mage, but Odovish merely drank tea and read his book at leisure, ignoring her pleading looks. Thus, Elufiel could only rack her brains and make up answers that sounded reasonable enough to satisfy Goliath's curiosity.
Naturally, Odovish's tacit approval of Goliath playing(?) with Elufiel eased Sharon and Gabriel's wariness. They believed everything was under Mr. Snow's control.
This was their third day here. Early in the morning, Elufiel knocked on Odovish's door. "Mr. Mage, would you have time to accompany me for a stroll through the streets and admire some of Gryphon City's other famous buildings?"
"Didn't you say you didn't appreciate dwarven style?" Odovish asked, leaning against the doorframe.
Elufiel raised a faint smile. "Sometimes, it's still worth seeing a different kind of beauty. A rougher kind."
Before you continue