Tiya put down the broom and looked at her father:
"I need to go to the castle to see... to speak with the bishop about this."
The hotel owner nodded hurriedly:
"Go quickly, go quickly!"
Castle, restricted area.
Ed wasn't particularly upset that someone had bought his horse. Although it might seem like it would disrupt his plans, it could actually help him avoid some unexpected pitfalls.
At worst, we can just give him a set as a surprise when the special armor for Hoofed Beast is developed later.
He has confirmed the [ Gungnir ] training program and armor development mission with Xilǐ'er and Gray for the next period of time, and will try to complete the implementation before the large-scale Blood Corpse Tide appears, so as to further enhance the players' combat power.
Ed was sitting at his desk, reading Yiden's experimental records, which he intended to read before bed. However, there was an uninvited guest in the study at that moment.
"So, what brings you here, Number Four?"
"Can't you come if there's nothing wrong? Number Three."
Number Four sat on another chair, but his body slumped down rather rudely, changing from a sitting posture to a reclining one.
"No, I just remember assigning you rooms."
Ed pointed to several guest rooms on one side of the castle, where the rooms had been officially assigned not long ago.
Unlike Tiya, who had a home to return to, many of the people around Ed were truly without parents or homes, and ultimately had no choice but to let him arrange their accommodations.
Besides himself, there are four surviving numbered test subjects, plus Gray who just arrived today, Xilǐ'er who has been staying for a while, and even Radish needs a stable... He needs to coordinate all of these things.
In short, Ed felt he really needed something like a butler to help him manage these things.
As for Little Green, it's more like a database and monitoring center than a butler. Moreover, as part of itself, calling Little Green also consumes its own energy, so this niche is indeed currently vacant.
Number Four pretended not to notice Ed's subtle attempts to "discourage" him.
She remained lying in the chair, and seemed intent on continuing to use it as a bed.
Ed glanced over and noticed that Number Four, whom he hadn't seen for a while, had become much healthier.
The other person's previously dry, gray hair had become quite shiny, and they no longer looked as malnourished as before.
Indeed, in this kind of world, the fastest way to recover is to have enough nutrition.
"I hate that space, even if it's just as a bedroom. I've had enough of being in a cell."
Number Four shifted his position in the chair, looking relaxed and languid.
Ed frowned:
Do you have claustrophobia?
What is that?
Number Four instinctively asked a question, but this unfamiliar word was composed of three words from the Kingdom's language, and understanding its meaning was not difficult.
The girl thought for a moment and replied:
"Perhaps, but anyway, I don't really want to go back right now. I've never heard of this word before; could it also be knowledge bestowed upon you by the Tree God?"
Ed neither confirmed nor denied this, while Number Four continued to sigh:
"We all thought you were going to die. Everyone was very sad during that time. If Tiya hadn't told us her story, there might have been even fewer survivors."
"Oh? What did she say?"
Ed flipped through the experimental records in his hand, trying to separate the bloody and cruel contents from his surviving companions in front of him, which made his answer sound somewhat perfunctory.
Number Four seemed oblivious to Ed's attempt to appease her; she leaned back in her chair and extended her finger.
"Her family runs a hotel, right? They have a lot of stories passed down from the past. At first, she was telling us about things from the first few years of her life, then it started talking about her father's childhood, and so on, going further and further back in time."
Ed's tone carried a hint of amusement:
"Where was she talking about when you were rescued?"
Number Four thought for a moment and said:
She recounted how, nearly a hundred years ago, two Short-Eared Elf cured her grandfather's illness; those two elves called themselves 'Sealers.'
Ed snapped the experimental record shut, his single eye filled with shock as he looked at Number Four.
" Short-Eared Elf? Sealer?"
Number Four nodded blankly:
"Yeah, is there anything surprising about it?"
Haven't you read " The Mobilization Order " yet?
What is that?
Number Four looked bewildered. Ed, observing the other's expression, realized he needed to develop some propaganda methods targeting the natives.
Although the news had been spreading for half a day, most NPCs in White Wax Town and the area near the castle knew about the impending arrival of the Blood Corpse, NPCs like Number Four, who only returned in the evening, were not very clear about it.
Ed looked at his idle fellow experimenter:
"If you're not sleepy, come with me to find Tiya."
Number Four, who had just been startled by Ed, was instantly wide awake. With nothing else to do, she followed Ed with great interest, and the two headed toward the castle's main hall.
Just as the two were about to go to the inn via the Inverted Staircase, Tiya appeared at the castle gate as if she had sensed a summons.
Seeing the other party's hurried manner, all three showed a look of surprise. After a brief exchange, the two sides successfully completed the handover and confirmed that they were talking about the same thing.
Tiya immediately began to recount the story, omitting some meaningless parts for the sake of fluency, and Ed quickly learned the whole story.
It was pretty much the same as what Number Four had said: two wandering elves who called themselves seal masters cured Tiya's grandfather's illness and then left White Wax Town to continue their wanderings.
However, neither Tiya nor Number Four omitted a single key adjective in their narration—
Short ears.
An elf is an elf, and there's no need to keep emphasizing that even if they have short ears, unless both of them consider " Short-Eared Elf " a fixed term.
To clear up his doubts, Ed took the two to the hotel, where they discovered that Tiya's father had the same story, so it seemed to be a common saying.
Didn't four generations of this family realize that something was wrong here?
Seeing that the three people around him didn't seem to notice anything amiss, Ed felt a sense of unease.
It is well known that people tend to emphasize what they lack most, so constantly emphasizing the Short-Eared Elf feels like an attempt to cover up the truth.
If we had to draw an analogy, it would be like the "big-eared sheep," "short-nosed elephant," and "humming cow" of another world—all of which are a kind of hidden metaphor.
So what are these two elves hiding?
Ed almost effortlessly came up with a possibility—
Neither of them are elves.
Ah, are there any species in this world that resemble elves, but with shorter ears?
Yes, all four people present at this moment are such creatures.