Mental Connection

"Burp!" Iron Hammer let out a loud burp, then embarrassedly scratched his head and put down the basket of bread.

Claire walked forward and asked, "Are you full?"

The minotaurs patted their round bellies and showed their big white teeth, "We're full! We haven't eaten this much in ages. When we were fighting, we never knew where our next meal was coming from."

The team they belonged to back then was almost eaten out of house and home by them. Iron Hammer was still wondering if he was captured by humans because they, the minotaurs, ate too much and were abandoned on the battlefield by the orcs.

"Now that you're full, it's time to work," Claire joked. "If you don't do a good job, don't expect to eat this much from now on."

"We'll definitely work hard! Master!" Iron Hammer patted his chest to guarantee.

"Call me Lord or Viscount. Viscountess," Claire said. She still didn't like being called Master by others. Even the maids in the Viscount's mansion called her Young Miss or Viscountess.

Although he didn't understand what Young Miss and Viscountess meant, Iron Hammer still taught the minotaurs behind him to do the same. Finally, they all said in unison, "We'll definitely work hard! Viscountess!"

The roar from so close by almost made Claire's ears ring. She rubbed her ears and led the Iron Hammers to the construction site. The workers who were still working stopped their tasks when they saw these twenty or so behemoths and looked over curiously.

Claire glanced around. It was clearly impractical to have these minotaurs build walls. Setting aside whether they could do it, the bricks were smaller than their palms and looked like toys in their hands. Making them stack them up one by one would be truly difficult for them.

Claire's gaze finally fell on the larger building materials. She pointed to the marble that was being used as door lintels and pillars and said, "Try lifting this."

"I'll do it!" Iron Hammer pushed aside the minotaur brothers who were stepping forward and walked to a piece of marble alone.

Claire also looked over. The piece of marble was at least three to four meters long and about as big as a child could hug. Judging by the naked eye, it should weigh over a ton.

If these workers were to carry it, it would take at least five or six people, and it would be very inconvenient to transport.

However, Iron Hammer directly clamped it to his waist with one hand and easily lifted the piece of marble. He didn't look like he was exerting himself at all.

Claire's eyes lit up. It seemed that the hundred gold coins she had spent were worth every penny.

"Where should I move it, Viscountess?" Iron Hammer turned his head.

"Move it over here, put it on top of this!" the architect nearby immediately shouted.

"Oh, oh!" Iron Hammer strode over, each step making a heavy sound.

The other minotaurs were not idle either. They all ran over and carried the larger, harder-to-move building materials, placing them one by one according to the architect's instructions.

If they were found to be slacking off, they might not get a full meal.

When things calmed down a bit, Claire called the architect over. "With them joining, how long will it take to finish?"

The architect made a rough estimate and then said, "Simple buildings like the hospital can be completed within three to four days. However, more time-consuming buildings like schools will take longer, but they can also be completed within a week."

Claire nodded, waved the architect away, and then called for Regan.

"Remember to make more food," Claire said, looking at the minotaurs working diligently. If there wasn't enough food, these honest bulls would go hungry.

Regan nodded, took notes, and wrote it down. He was now the steward of the barony, and these trivial matters were naturally his responsibility.

"You watch here. I'm going back to the mansion first." Claire hadn't forgotten about the half-elf slave she had bought. That was her main target.

"Young Miss, walk slowly," Regan said respectfully.

Claire didn't dare to open the half-elf's iron cage. The slave merchant had mentioned when introducing her that she had a fierce temperament and was not as honest as the minotaurs, so Claire had kept her locked up. She directly cast a levitation spell and then carried the large iron cage to the sixth floor.

The half-elf was very quiet. Even when Claire moved her to the sixth floor, she didn't make a sound. She just curled up in the corner of the iron cage, lowering her head silently.

It was just noon. Claire instructed Yuna to make an extra lunch and then went down herself to bring both lunches up.

After the lunch was brought into the room, the half-elf finally reacted. Her beautiful eyes finally moved away from Claire and landed on the food Claire was holding.

Claire found a low table, placed the food on it, moved it to the side of the iron cage, and pulled over a lounge chair, intending to eat there with her.

However, as she was doing all this, a thought suddenly popped into Claire's mind: Why do I feel like I'm training a hawk?

Shaking her head, she cast away the fanciful thoughts. Claire pointed to the food on the table and said to the half-elf, "Eat. Can you understand me?"

Whether the half-elf understood Claire's words or was attracted by the aroma of the food, she slowly moved from the corner by the iron cage.

At first, she glanced at Claire with some apprehension, but in the end, she couldn't resist the aroma of the food. By the time she realized it, the strangely shaped food was already in her mouth.

The moment she ate the braised pork belly, Claire could clearly see a glint in her eyes. She was no longer the indifferent person she was before.

Claire smiled and didn't say anything more. She just sat there and ate with her.

Soon, her portion of meat was finished, but the bowl of rice remained untouched.

"You eat it like this," Claire demonstrated by picking up a piece of meat and bringing it to the rice for her.

However, the half-elf looked at her empty food dish and then at Claire, tilting her head as if to say, My meat is gone.

Claire simply gave her half of her remaining braised pork belly. Then the half-elf began to eat like Claire, slowly, a spoonful of rice with half a piece of meat, chewing gently and swallowing slowly.

After the food was finished, Claire removed the table. The half-elf no longer curled up in the corner. Instead, she looked at Claire with her beautiful, expressive eyes. Clearly, this meal had brought them much closer.

After cleaning up, Claire gave the half-elf a friendly smile and said, "Hello!"

The half-elf tilted her head again, not quite understanding Claire's actions.

"Oh, I forgot you don't speak Common."

Claire then tried to communicate with her in magical language, but was met with the same expression of curiosity.

"You don't speak magical language either?" Claire scratched her head in frustration.

Humanity's magical language originated from the spells of Elves and Dragons, and the magical languages of Dragons and Elves, in turn, originated from the gods. Therefore, Claire had assumed that if the other party knew magic, they would at least understand the magical language even if they didn't know the common tongue.

"No way, do I really have to learn Elvish too? That's too high a price to pay just to hire a doctor."

Claire sat back down on the lounge chair, continuing to brainstorm. However, a casual glance caught sight of a book she had acquired the previous night, which she had placed on the table.

Her eyes immediately lit up. "Lan Zhao said this can establish a connection with pets and transmit emotions between them. Perhaps I can use this to communicate with this half-elf. There's no harm in trying."

With this thought, Claire calmed herself and walked over to the half-elf. Following the method described in the book, she slowly drew out a thread of mental energy. The thread drifted gently towards the half-elf's forehead. The half-elf merely looked at the thread with curiosity and didn't try to avoid it.

The thread smoothly entered the half-elf's body. The moment it did, Claire felt as if her mind had suddenly been opened, connecting her to the other being.

Thanks to "Night Owl Who Can't Sleep" for the 100 Qidian coins, "Observer in Spacetime" for the 1500 Qidian coins, and one monthly ticket!!!!!