Harmless Little Elf

"Most of our family members studied at First University, but they usually went to Alpha Academy. This year, my cousin and I surprisingly got into Jiuyou Academy, which really shocked the old folks back home." Li Meng excitedly counted on her fingers, "My acceptance letter was delivered by my cousin. She's also a freshman at Jiuyou Academy this year, so the school gave both our letters to her to pass on to me."

Let her take care of you at school, Zheng Qing grumbled silently in his heart.

"My sister is ranked third among the freshmen this year. I'll have her look out for you guys, and leave everything else to me!" the little loli declared, patting her chest with great bravado.

Xiao Xiao glanced up at Zheng Qing.

"I woke up this morning and found the acceptance letter on my bedside table. To be honest, this strange object appearing out of nowhere scared me quite a bit. I almost replaced all the talismans in my house." Zheng Qing chuckled, recalling the morning he received his letter.

"What about you? Watermelon head," Li Meng said to Xiao Xiao without any politeness.

"Me?" Xiao Xiao glanced at her and put away the brush in his hand, "I was specially recruited, so I didn't receive an acceptance letter."

Zheng Qing didn't immediately ask Xiao Xiao what "specially recruited" meant.

He was nervously covering his hair, looking with apprehension at a small elf floating before him.

This small elf was wearing a crisp uniform identical to the flight attendants, emitting a faint green glow. The fine tendrils on its head trembled slightly, and it stared with large, dark eyes, making a constant chirping sound.

"What do they want!" he exclaimed nervously.

"They're just offering drinks, why are you so nervous?" Li Meng poked her own cheek with her index finger and stuck out her tongue, "Shame on you! You're already a university student, and you're still afraid of little elves!"

Zheng Qing's face immediately turned red. He noticed that the little elf was dragging a huge glass bottle with its slender arms, and the orange liquid inside was bubbling vigorously.

"I'm not scared, I've just been attacked by these little things before, so I feel the need to be cautious." He lowered the hand covering his hair and emphasized, "Haven't you guys been attacked by these little things?"

His unforgettable magical experience at the Shangyuan Bookstore's Alchemy Workshop came to mind. He vividly remembered both the rough blood alchemy magic of the old bookbinder and the peculiar behavior of the little elves pulling his hair.

"Magical Creatures Realm, Alchemical Creatures Phylum, Elf Class, Aves Order, Sprite Family, Plantae Genus, Green Sprite Species." Xiao Xiao stared at the floating elf and said rapidly, "This is a magical creature with an extremely gentle temperament, almost never actively attacking humans. In the Wizard Alliance's 'Illustrated Handbook of Magical Creatures,' it's listed as a completely harmless creature, even less dangerous than a slug."

Zheng Qing blinked. He basically only understood the last sentence: these little elves were harmless creatures.

"Holy crap, a scholar!" Li Meng looked at Xiao Xiao in shock, exclaiming a curse word that didn't match her identity or age, "You said you were specially recruited earlier, does that mean this? Are you the top freshman at Jiuyou Academy this year? What was your score on the Global Higher Education Entrance Examination for Wizards? How old are you this year?"

The little girl wriggled in her seat, trying to attract Xiao Xiao's attention. The pigeon, Xiao Bai, cooed along with her, flapping its wings. Poseidon, who had been dozing in Zheng Qing's arms, was woken by the noise and let out an unhappy squeak. The floating elf looked terrified, its drink bottle swaying precariously as if about to fall, making Zheng Qing's heart pound.

Xiao Xiao didn't speak, merely adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and glanced at Zheng Qing.

Zheng Qing hadn't recovered from the "harmless creature" shock; his mind was filled with thoughts of what he had done to offend these little things.

Seeing Xiao Xiao's gaze, he immediately exclaimed, "I really didn't provoke them, they attacked me on their own!"

"Magical creatures do have some natural instability, but any unstable outburst has its triggers." Xiao Xiao took a transparent glass from the nearby snack cart and placed it on the small table.

The little elf, chirping, pulled the large drink bottle and filled his cup with the orange beverage.

"Would you like some?" he asked Zheng Qing and Li Meng, raising his cup, "Sugar-free orange juice, very good for your health."

"I want Green Bee!" Li Meng eagerly raised her hand and called out.

"Minors cannot drink alcoholic beverages," Xiao Xiao said, shaking his head as he handed her a glass of orange juice.

Li Meng mumbled, pouting, and took the cup.

"I'll just have plain water," Zheng Qing sighed, looking at Xiao Xiao.

"Are you twelve this year?" Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow.

Zheng Qing dejectedly went to find a cup himself.

After the little elves who delivered the drinks left, the conversation in the compartment unconsciously returned to the acceptance letters.

Every time Zheng Qing thought about his acceptance letter, he felt an urge to complain, "Don't you guys think this way of delivering acceptance letters is a bit, well, a bit impolite?"

"Impolite?" Xiao Xiao put down his drink and curiously opened his black-covered notebook.

"It's just that they don't pay much attention to people's privacy. The school could have just put it in our mailboxes," Zheng Qing complained, "Or called to notify us. At least it wouldn't give someone a heart attack."

"For wizards, only the soul is considered a recognized privacy," Xiao Xiao said dismissively, his pen scribbling in his notebook, "As for the school's method of delivering acceptance letters, I do know a bit. This delivery method, along with the student selection process, belongs to some ancient formations of First University and is not controlled by the school's wizards. Hence, it naturally appears abrupt and clumsy."

Zheng Qing recalled what Thomas had said and somewhat understood Xiao Xiao's meaning.

"But I still think this habit is not good," Zheng Qing insisted on his opinion.

"The power of habit is necessary and deeply rooted in any place or force. Or rather, habit creates tradition, and tradition maintains society. First University is no exception; it is also a society constructed from various habits and traditions." Xiao Xiao steered the conversation to a more profound level.

"Hmm, that makes sense." Zheng Qing felt their discussion was getting a bit difficult, "While treating traditions as traditions is understandable, it's also necessary to make necessary developments and improvements during the inheritance process. Therefore, I still believe that the school's method of delivering acceptance letters has room for improvement."

"Tradition is not immutable," Xiao Xiao's face showed a hint of seriousness, "But no matter what, the current traditions are still continuing, and we can only accept these traditions."

Lan Que tilted its head and silently gazed at its little sable.

Shi Yuan quietly counted his prayer beads.

Li Meng blinked, looking blankly at the two people in conversation.

A sense of solemnity rose in Zheng Qing's heart.