What an adorable little elf

Elves were not a common sight in Southshore.

In fact, they were hardly ever seen anywhere in the human kingdoms.

Although the High Elves had fought alongside the Alliance against the Orcs, most had returned to their homeland after the war.

Rhode knew that nearly all the High Elves now lived far, far to the north, in the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas. The Blood Elf offshoot did not exist yet, and they rarely ventured south.

Yet there really was a little High Elf girl standing before him.

For some reason, Rhode felt excited. Even the stagnant pool in his heart seemed to ripple.

Being alone on this farm all the time was boring him to death.

Now someone had come to keep him company, and an adorable little elf at that.

Rhode switched to Thalassian. "So, what's your name?"

"You speak Thalassian?" The child looked a little surprised, but answered with another question. "Are you a bad person?"

"No. You're the one stealing my corn, so you're the bad person."

"I was just hungry. I'm not a bad person either. I'm Lilia. Liliya Summerdragon."

"Hello, Lilia. Are you still hungry? Stop eating raw corn. Come into my house. I have some roasted Potato Blocks left over from dinner. Those should fill you up."

"All right. You're very generous."

Clearly, Rhode's Thalassian had easily won the little girl's trust.

Not everyone could speak Thalassian.

Besides, could an ordinary farmer living on a farm really be a bad person?

Of course, perhaps it was because... a High Elf traveling alone, however young she was, probably had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Once inside, Rhode lit the lamp, took some food out of the cupboard, and shared it with this greedy little kitten.

"What's your name?" Lilia asked.

"Rhode."

"Rhode what?"

"What do you mean, Rhode what?"

"Like my name," Lilia said earnestly. "There's a Xia Long at the end."

"I don't have one. I'm a farmer. Farmers only have one name."

"All right, Rhode."

Rhode said nothing, and neither did Lilia. For a while, the only sound was Lilia eating her roasted Potato Blocks.

Rhode simply watched her, feeling unusually content.

Beautiful things always lifted the spirits.

"Aren't you eating, Rhode?" Lilia spoke again.

"I'm fine," Rhode said.

"Galinder says you won't grow tall if you don't eat."

"Who's Galinder?"

"A very tall elf."

"Oh. I'm already tall enough. I don't need to grow any taller."

"I still need to grow." Lilia stood up and raised her hand, demonstrating. "I used to be this tall, and now I'm this tall. Someday, I want to be that tall."

She stretched her hand higher, then stood on tiptoe when that still wasn't enough. "That tall will do. I've heard female elves don't look pretty if we grow too tall."

"Tall looks pretty," Rhode said.

"Then I'll grow a little taller..."

As they grew more familiar with each other, Lilia became more talkative.

She chattered about wanting to grow as tall as so-and-so, how someone else was amazing with a bow, how another person had accidentally burned her skirt with magic, and how someone was so mean that nobody wanted to be her friend...

Rhode simply listened quietly, smiling knowingly from time to time.

A child's world really was simple and happy.

Thinking of his own troubles, Rhode couldn't help letting out a soft sigh.

"Why are you sighing, Rhode?" Lilia looked up and asked.

Rhode answered honestly. "I could have given you more Potato Blocks, but wild boars have dug up far too many of them lately."

"Why don't you drive them away?"

"I don't know when or where they'll show up. There's no way to chase them off." Rhode shook his head.

"Oh, then why don't you put some Alarm Wards in the fields? That way, you'll know as soon as they come."

"Alarm... Wards? What are those?" Rhode had no idea what she meant.

"A very simple spell. You put a ward on the ground, and whenever something enters its range, it alerts you. Then you'll know." Lilia kept chewing her delicious roasted Potato Blocks.

Rhode's eyes widened. "You know magic?" She really did have a few tricks up her sleeve.

"Of course!" Lilia looked proud. "We elves are born knowing how to use magic!"

That did sound about right.

He had heard that all High Elves were skilled with magic. Even warriors and hunters used it to help themselves in battle.

"I'll show you. Hic!" Lilia popped the last bit of roasted Potato Blocks into her mouth and let out a satisfied burp.

Then Lilia walked outside, and Rhode hurried after her.

She picked a random patch of open ground, muttered a few words, and raised her hand.

Rhode thought he saw something flash on the ground, but it quickly vanished.

Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

Rhode rubbed his eyes, but he really couldn't see anything.

"Ha, I forgot. Only the caster can see the ward. You can't see it!" Lilia bent down, picked up a twig, and tossed it onto the open ground.

"Did you feel that? The ward was triggered. That means there's something near it!"

Lilia tilted her head at Rhode's blank stare and laughed again. "I forgot again! Only the caster can sense that too."

Rhode pursed his lips. "What good does it do if you sense it? I'm the farmer, not you."

"If I teach you, then you'll know how, won't you?"

"Teach me magic?" Rhode's eyes lit up.

Who wouldn't want to become an Archmage? Then he could stop being a farmer and actually pursue his modest goal.

"Yes!" Lilia added, "I can feel Mana Surge inside you. You can learn magic."

"Mana Surge? What's that?"

"You need mana to cast spells. It's what gives you the potential to become a mage," Lilia explained. "Using magic means releasing your own mana by casting a spell."

"That's too complicated. I don't understand."

"It's easy. Just do what I tell you."

Then Lilia began teaching Rhode how to recite an incantation and cast a spell.

Clearly, though, what Lilia called "easy" was only easy for elves like her, who had a natural affinity for magic.

Rhode listened for ages and was still completely lost. He had no idea where to begin.

It was a bit like Messi teaching you to play soccer: "Just dribble the ball past all your opponents, then shoot and score."

I simply can't do that!

"I'm too stupid," Rhode said sheepishly.

"Maybe you really are a little stupid..." This kid was far too blunt.

"I'd better stick to patrolling with my pitchfork." Rhode gave up and turned to go back inside.

"But maybe I'm just not very good at teaching." Lilia giggled. "I don't really like studying magic either. I don't even know how I learned it."

That must have been what people called talent.

Just like top students always said, "I barely studied. I just got it."

"But if you had a spellbook, maybe you could learn by reading it," Lilia added.

"Oh? A spellbook?" Rhode stopped. "Do you have one?"

"I don't have one with me, but I know where to find one." Lilia yawned. "But I want to sleep now. Talking about magic always makes me sleepy."

"All right, get some sleep. We can talk tomorrow." A child's rest mattered most.

There was only one small bed in the farmhouse, so Rhode had Lilia lie down and tucked her in.

Children always fell asleep easily.

Lilia curled up on the bed with her lips pressed together, her body bent like a little shrimp. The blanket lay lightly over her, her long golden hair fanned across the pillow, and her chubby little hands were clenched into fists.

Rhode sat beside the bed, watching her quietly.

Lilia suddenly opened her eyes. Looking at Rhode, she asked, "Are you trying to sneak a kiss, Rhode?"

"No," Rhode said, a little embarrassed. "I'm just watching."

"Is it because I'm not cute enough?"

"Of course not. You're very cute."

"That's good, then."

Satisfied, Lilia closed her eyes and fell asleep.