"Hello!" Claire waved, sending her friendly emotions over.
The other party tilted her head again. Seemingly sensing that friendly emotion, her previously somewhat dull eyes became slightly more lively.
"Hello..."
The next second, Claire's eyes widened slightly. A pleasant yet somewhat frail voice actually rang out in her mind.
This Mental Connection could actually communicate across language barriers! Had the book mutated because it had come to this world? Or was it because the creatures she had connected with back in Lan Zhao's plane were pets without any real language system, so this function had never appeared?
Seeing Claire spacing out, the other party waved a hand in front of her face, drawing Claire's attention back.
Claire shook her head, casting those distracting thoughts aside. She could verify it later when she had the time.
"Hello, my name is Claire. What's your name?" Claire smiled. Although this Mental Connection conveyed language, emotions were not diminished in the slightest. Claire could clearly sense that the other party was not particularly wary of her, so she did her best to display her own friendliness.
"What is this? It's so amazing. I can feel that you don't mean me any harm..." The Half-elf sent another message before saying, "My name is Rona."
"That's a very lovely name," Claire praised. It was a common line for building rapport with others.
"I can feel that you don't actually think my name is lovely..." Rona said gloomily.
Claire had forgotten that she was still connected to the other party mentally. She could only offer an awkward smile. How was she supposed to know whether Western names sounded nice or not?
"How were you captured?" Claire changed the subject.
"I forgot. I woke up after sleeping in the forest and had been captured."
Claire was puzzled. Generally speaking, humans rarely managed to enter areas where elves gathered, and the same was true for Half-elves. Elves were born darlings of magic. An adult elf possessed the strength of an Archmage, while even a Half-elf had the strength of a High Mage. They were also extremely protective of their own, so humans rarely dared provoke them.
Rona sensed Claire's confusion and said directly, "I wandered out on my own."
Claire immediately dismissed the thoughts in her mind. She had just made the same mistake again.
To avoid leaking her wild thoughts again, Claire got straight to the point. "Do you know medicine?"
"Mhm!" The other party nodded. "I learned it when I was in the village, but it's different from your medicine. We mostly use herbs for treatment."
Claire nodded. Oh, so it was similar to traditional Chinese medicine.
"What is traditional Chinese medicine?" Rona looked over with curious eyes.
"Nothing," Claire replied dismissively. The thoughts in her head were really hard to control. She needed to finish this quickly and sever the Mental Connection.
"I want to hire you as a physician in Nafu City. Are you willing?"
"My Slave Contract is in your hands. You only need to give an order. You don't need to ask whether I'm willing."
"I don't like forcing people to do things."
She was different from those simple-minded Minotaurs. Those Minotaurs would work obediently as long as they were fed, but Rona, as a Half-elf, possessed medical skills far beyond those of human doctors. Claire hoped that Rona would be willing to become Nafu City's physician rather than be forced into it.
Rona raised her head and looked at the delicate-featured girl before her. She could clearly feel that everything Claire said at that moment was true, and the emotions she conveyed were exceptionally kind. It was a friendliness she had never encountered before. The humans she had met previously either stared greedily and lustfully at her body or looked down on her with lofty arrogance. No one had ever made her feel such kindness.
Besides, Claire had willingly shared her food with her. She probably was not a bad person.
Still, Rona hesitated. "I don't speak your language, and... your people may be afraid of my appearance."
"You don't need to communicate. When someone comes, just prescribe medicine for them. The people in the viscount's territory are very friendly. And by human standards of beauty, you're very pretty. They won't fear you," Claire said with a smile.
Rona froze for a moment. Claire had not lied to her about that.
"Alright..."
"Deal. Your pay will be ten Gold Coins a month!"
"I don't want money." Rona shook her head.
"Then I'll keep it for you. If there's anything you want to buy later, you can ask me for it." Claire smiled, then took out the master-servant contract between them from her Spatial Ring and handed it to Rona.
Rona looked at the scroll of contract in her hands in surprise. "This..."
"You're already the viscount's territory's physician. How can you still be a slave? You're free now."
Rona raised her head and looked at Claire. "You're giving this to me. Aren't you afraid I'll run away?"
Claire pointed at her head and said, "The emotions you sent me tell me that you won't run away. Besides, I'm confident I can turn Nafu City into a city that no one will want to leave once they come here!"
"Oh, right!" Claire suddenly slapped her forehead and shouted, "We've been talking for so long that I forgot you're still in an iron cage."
With a click, the iron cage opened, and Rona slowly stepped out.
Once outside, Rona stood a head taller than Claire. Her fine figure was fully displayed, curvaceous and graceful, and her golden hair, the signature trait of the elf race, made her appear especially noble.
Claire did her best to control her thoughts so that nothing strange would be transmitted.
Then she said politely, "You can go take a bath first. The washroom is to the left when you leave. I'll have a maid bring you suitable clothes later."
Rona did not refuse. Ever since being captured, she had spent most of her days in an iron cage. She could not even remember how long it had been since she last bathed. Half-elves inherited elves' obsession with cleanliness, so being able to wash first was naturally the best outcome.
After washing up, Rona pushed open the door to Claire's room again.
Claire, who was writing furiously inside, glanced up at her. Once she recognized who it was, she lowered her head again. After Rona had gone to bathe, Claire had shut off the Mental Connection, so they were back to being unable to understand each other's language.
Rona did not disturb Claire. Instead, she examined the furnishings in the room and lightly nudged a gold cup beside the door with her foot. It was one Claire had tossed out during her third transaction and had not yet put away.
After taking a few more steps, Rona's gaze settled on the water-blue Water Cloud Beast egg. Claire had not put it back into her personal space, fearing it might fail to hatch.
Rona walked over to the Water Cloud Beast egg and tapped it with her small hand. She could sense life growing inside. This was a talent Half-elves inherited from elves, a mysterious gift when it came to living things.
Claire paid her no mind, while Rona began playing with the egg on her own. She closed one eye, widened the other, and pressed close to the shell, wanting to see exactly what creature was hatching inside. Then she tapped it in several places, listening to the echoes from within.
The egg was the only thing in the room that could stir even a little of her interest. In the end, she simply picked it up and carried it over to Claire.
Claire stopped writing and saw Rona standing beside her, watching her write. She wanted to speak, but could not communicate because of the language barrier.
So Claire cast the Mental Connection again. "Don't worry. The hospital will be finished in a few days. It'll be yours then. You can do whatever you want there."
"I'm not worried. I'm curious about what you're writing." Rona stared at the manuscript in Claire's hand. She did not even know the Common Tongue, much less its written script.
"This?" Claire picked up the papers on the desk and said proudly, "This is a textbook I wrote myself."
She had racked her brains and dredged up everything she remembered from her previous life, extracting an otherworld version of an Elementary School Textbook from nine years of compulsory education! It mainly taught common knowledge from her previous life. For example, if water was not boiled, it contained certain Germs that could make people sick. Claire had discovered that most people in the viscount's territory simply drank water straight from the well after drawing it. There was also knowledge about what Germs moldy food could contain and similar matters.
Later, there would also be books of fables, mainly teaching honesty, courage, loyalty to the viscount's territory, and love for Lord Viscount. But that would have to wait. For now, Claire was focusing on common knowledge.
Rona stroked the egg in her arms and asked, "What's the most you can write in a day?"
"Five thousand! Writing books is an act against the heavens. Five thousand words is already humanity's limit. Any more, and you could easily drop dead from overwork."
Thanks to "Observer in Time and Space" for the 233 Qidian Coins donation and "Fantasy Dream" for the monthly vote!!!!!
Even though I got a little cheeky at the end, I still need to explain: it's not that I don't want to release more chapters. This book is still in its new release period. If I update too much, it'll go premium before all the recommendations have even been used, which will have a huge impact on its performance.
I'll go all out after it goes premium, alright? There'll be a massive update on the day it goes premium!
And it's not like these chapters are short, okay! Every chapter has over 2,400 words. Other authors do the same! I've been wronged, my lord!
Before you continue