Chapter 68 (continued)

The child was quiet and liked to laugh. Even when Moli yelled at her, she would laugh. Anna was pinned to the ceiling by Mel, and she still laughed. Mel and I did a preliminary check-up, and the little one didn't have any health problems. She just had never learned to speak.

Judging from her current age, she should be nearly ten years old, which is indeed a very young elf. But even if she is young, she is not an infant. As Holy Tree Elf with divine talent and bloodline among the elves, she should have learned to speak fluently by the age of three or four. This means that she was probably kidnapped not long after she was born.

However, I haven't heard of any missing Pokémon in recent years, so we can't say for sure what happened to Ruiduo, so we'll just have to keep her with us for now.

"Moli!" I called to my apprentice, then stared into her eyes and cast a spell on her.

They didn't sense anything unusual, so they asked curiously, "Teacher, what kind of spell is that?"

Anna was pulled in front of Mel, who was preparing to cast a spell. She blinked and asked, "Is this a spell to prevent the devil from seducing me?"

... I practically want to detain her and give her a crash course in basic Abyss creature knowledge! Demons or devils don't seduce; in fact, even succubi, who acquire souls through sex, don't possess the ability to seduce. They rely on magic, not appearance!

If we must discuss the appearance of demons and devils, Anna and Moli, being "appearance-obsessed," have absolutely no need for devil protection spells, because naturally existing demons are in no way more aesthetically pleasing than man-made Electronic Demon. Otherwise, why would people habitually use "demon" or "devil" as negative adjectives? They would scream loudly the moment they see one. Judging from their volume, I think they could use screaming to drive away demons, and it might even become a new magical research achievement.

I explained, "This is a spell that forbids you from swearing, because Ruiduo needs to start learning languages, and elves have excellent memories, so you can't say even a single swear word!" Not just swear words, but also sentences with messy grammar and vulgar vocabulary.

"I—" Anna opened her mouth, the spell took effect, as if a giant hand had grabbed her neck, she gasped and turned pale, but couldn't utter a single swear word.

"From now on, you can only speak sentences with beautiful grammar and vocabulary." I looked at them with a smile.

"Take good care of Ruiduo." Mel affectionately patted the girls' heads.

We then enjoyed a lazy and comfortable night.

The next day I learned that the hotel was called "Wealthy Dragon's Nest Grand Hotel." Ugh, that name really sounded like something out of a nouveau riche hotel. And I hadn't even noticed yesterday that the room Mel and I were staying in was filled with dazzling decorations. The ceiling was hung with all sorts of huge, multicolored diamonds, though the red diamond the size of a fist looked obviously fake. And the bed was so big that ten of me could roll around on it...

Then the Dragon Clan's housekeeping manager apologized and changed our room.

"When you checked in yesterday, you were holding special passes, unlike ID cards which show your race. The front desk also said you requested a large room, a large bed, and a sturdy one... so naturally, they assumed you were from the Dragon Clan. Our hotel is committed to providing a warm, home-like experience for guests of all races, so we arranged for you to stay in a standard Dragon Clan room..."

Because of this, I couldn't help but laugh at Mel for a long time, until Mel stomped his feet, looked at me with red eyes, and seemed to mean that if I didn't stop, he would make me lose all the energy to laugh at him.

"Alright, I won't laugh anymore, my evil dragon Mel," I said.

Mel's neck turned red.

After that, we had a few days of free time. Mel and I could read in our hotel room, and we also went to the magic supply store in town. We also made a good relationship with the room manager and got a bottle of his saliva, a bottle of his tears, and a pair of nails in exchange. The condition for the exchange was that I would make him a solid elemental crystal statue. My craftsmanship has always been terrible, but this dragon manager didn't care about the quality of the carving at all. The statue could emit a dazzling light after being infused with Magic Power, so the manager agreed to the exchange without hesitation.

During this time, Anna and Moli changed Ruiduo's dresses one after another, and soon their room was filled with colorful princess dresses and piled up a small mountain of dazzling jewelry. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the two of them were dragons!

Sigh... that wasn't a doll, it was a little elf!

Ruiduo, dressed in a pink princess dress and wearing a delicate silver flower wreath on her head, toddled into our room, climbed onto the bed, stretched out her little hand, and said to me in her newly learned human language, stuttering:

"Teacher~~ Hug me!"

Then...

Mel said somberly, "I don't really want to send her back to the Elven Sanctuary."

Me too...

News reports about Reynold are broadcast daily. The good news is that Reynold is currently out of danger and appears on television every day, greatly increasing his exposure. The television station rebroadcasts the signal sent by the kidnappers over and over again. Even the television station of the Holy Dragon Empire, as a friendly neighbor of the Federation, has its spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Office strongly condemning this heinous kidnapping.

Reynold's popularity has now surpassed Mel's... The video of him being tied up by the kidnappers has surpassed the one where Mel snapped the orc's neck in daily online views.

After dinner on the third day, Mel and I leaned against the bed, flipping through the spellbook while listening to the analysis of the Speaker's kidnapping case on TV. Ruiduo had been taken out by Anna and Moli to buy new dresses again, and now the three of them were all dressed in exquisite and gorgeous dresses. When they came in, they spoke and acted with grace and elegance, making me feel as if three princesses from different countries were having a gathering. Therefore, Mel and I were very satisfied.

We believe that even if we send Ruiduo away in the future, the spells on Anna and Moli should not be lifted. A mage should have the elegant demeanor she possesses now.

Just as I was about to drift off to sleep, my phone vibrated; it was a video call request from Lusien.

Mel picked it up, and a holographic projection appeared above the phone. We saw Lusien's serious face, and Ms. Angela and Ms. Alessia huddled together.

"There's been new progress," Lusien said bluntly.

Mel put down the spellbook and began to listen attentively to his explanation.

"Her Excellency Alessia's special reconnaissance team has determined that the kidnapper of Speaker Reynold was not the 'Dawn Alliance' they claim to be; it was likely a frame-up. However, since we currently lack concrete evidence, and given that the extremist group Dawn Alliance has indeed been at odds with our country for a long time, regardless of who the real culprit is, we must immediately begin investigating Dawn Alliance. This involves a matter of national stance."

I listened with a sense of understanding, but not quite. For example, I didn't understand anything he was talking about, such as policies and public opinion.

"The problem now is that we have very little information about the real kidnappers, and although the magical tracking device on Speaker Reynold has been removed, the last place he was seen was no longer within the Federation, nor in the Gray Mountain Kingdom the dwarves with whom we have close cooperation. Therefore, we cannot send troops or special forces, as that would invite international condemnation."

Lusien frowned, and Ms. Angela continued coldly, "But Reynold can't just not go to the rescue; that would be seen as a compromise with the hostile forces!"

As she spoke, she touched her waist, and I noticed that there seemed to be a piece of leather sticking out from her back, which looked... like a whip.

"Speaker Reynold's supporters will be furious!" Alessia added, "Besides, if a core member of the nation's leadership is captured and no one goes to rescue him, our Federation will be laughed at by the international community to death."

"Therefore," Lusien said, "We now need to discuss a preliminary plan to rescue Speaker Reynold. Please continue to wait patiently for news. If necessary, I can apply to the Magitech Corps to reimburse your expenses."

I looked at Mel, and Mel returned my smile.